It was another mixed bag for former Syracuse football players in the NFL in Week 8. Two of our favorite Orange stars found the end zone. On the other hand, a pair of former Syracuse safeties suffered injuries. Let’s find out how the Syracuse NFL contingent performed this past weekend.
Oronde Gadsden, Chargers
It was yet another standout performance from Gadsden in Week 8, with this one coming on Thursday night. Justin Herbert targeted him multiple times on the opening drive, culminating with Gadsden scoring the first touchdown of a 37-10 win for the Chargers. He later had an impressive 40-yard catch and run, finishing with 77 yards on five catches, drawing praise from both Herbert and Jim Harbaugh.
📝 TOP TAKEAWAYS 🎥 from WEEK 8 of NFL Football! 🚀
- Justin Jefferson hasn’t had a TD since WK1, but averaging 9 tgts/gm helps.
- Justin Herbert is slinging: 3 more TDs.
- Oronde Gadsden II has arrived: 5/5 rec | 77 yds | 1TD. Three straight TE1 weeks! pic.twitter.com/RMboluuhhJ
— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) October 27, 2025
Ifeatu Melifonwu, Dolphins
The Dolphins pulled off a shocking 34-10 win over the Falcons after looking like the worst team in the league in recent weeks. Melifonwu was in the middle of things defensively, finishing with five tackles (four solo) and a forced fumble. Unfortunately, he later left the game with a hand injury.
Alijah Clark, Cowboys
The good news is that a rash of injuries put Clark into the starting lineup for the Cowboys. The bad news is that he gave away a 32-yard pass interference penalty and then left the team’s 44-24 loss to the Broncos with a rib injury. The silver lining is that Clark collected six tackles in the game before being forced to leave.
Andre Cisco, Jets
Cisco and the Jets can rejoice after getting their first win of the season, an amazing 39-38 comeback over the Bengals. Unfortunately, Cisco recorded just three tackles and then left the game with a shoulder injury.
Sean Tucker, Buccaneers
With Bucky Irving still out, Tucker finally got an even share of the carries with Rachaad White. Tucker got 12 carries, gaining 42 yards on the ground, which was more than White’s 35 rushing yards. More importantly, Tucker scored a touchdown in Tampa’s 23-3 win over the Saints. He also had two kickoff returns for a total of 50 yards.
Sean Tucker powers it in for the Bucs TD on 4th down 💪
TBvsNO on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/dZ6uNf7eK3
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Riley Dixon, Buccaneers
The Bucs only needed Dixon to punt it three times on Sunday. One of those punts was a 58-yarder, helping give Dixon an average of 50 yards on those three punts.
Zaire Franklin, Colts
It was another week and another win for Franklin and the Colts. However, Franklin finished with just two tackles, in part because he didn’t play in the fourth quarter of Indy’s 38-14 blowout win over the Titans.
Andre Szmyt, Browns
Both Szmyt and the Browns had a rough day in New England. Cleveland suffered a 32-13 loss, while Szmyt missed a field goal despite making his only PAT attempt of the game.