Great News: Bobby Okereke concludes the NFL season for the New York Giants with a positive note.”

Great News: Bobby Okereke concludes the NFL season for the New York Giants with a positive note.

Bobby Okereke and Azeez Ojulari, both of Nigerian heritage, shone for the New York Giants as they concluded their season with a decisive 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The final week of the regular season also witnessed crucial moments for other African players such as YaYa Diaby of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Levi Onwuzurike of the Detroit Lions, and Charles Omenihu of the Kansas City Chiefs.

While it wasn’t the most eventful week for Africa’s NFL stars overall, with many likely conserving their energy for the postseason, their contributions in key moments were highly impactful when they did take the field.

While not all of Okereke’s defensive efforts in the Giants’ victory against the Eagles are captured on the statistics sheet, the dynamic linebacker posed significant challenges for the Eagles offense to operate smoothly. Recording eight tackles, a sack on Jalen Hurts in the second quarter, and a tipped pass, Okereke encapsulated a season where he transitioned from a heavily scrutinized signing to a beloved figure among fans at MetLife Stadium.

African moment of the week: YaYa Diaby (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

For a franchise in reconstruction such as the New York Giants, a win over the Eagles can be important for morale despite the absence of a postseason reward, but not as important as a win which clinches a division title.

The reason Diaby won Moment of the Week over the Giants duo is because his sack on Bryce Young came in a game in which the Buccaneers did just that – wrapping up the NFC South despite the New Orleans Saints’ huge 48-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Diaby stopped the Panthers’ opening series with an eight-yard sack to set the tone for the game, which the Bucs won 9-0.

In a superb rookie season after being drafted 82nd overall out of Louisville, the linebacker of Guinean heritage got 7.5 regular season sacks. His role has grown throughout the course of the campaign and the Buccaneers will need every bit of help he can offer in the wild card clash against the Eagles.

Honorable mentions:

Levi Onwuzurike got a sack as the Detroit Lions finished a superb regular season with a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Meanwhile, fellow Nigerian-American Charles Omenihu got one for the Kansas City Chiefs in a narrow 13-12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Lions finished as the third seed in the NFC to set up a wild card round clash with the Los Angeles Rams, while the Chiefs finished third in the AFC to set up a date with the Miami Dolphins.

Africa-born player watch:

This was a quiet week for the Africa-born players in the NFL, but Nate Landman had an impressive game for the Atlanta Falcons despite it ultimately coming in a 48-17 defeat to the New Orleans Saints.

Landman’s 10 tackles and a forced fumble meant the Zimbabwe-born linebacker finished with 110 total tackles, three forced fumbles, two sacks and an interception in a career-defining campaign for the former Colorado Buffaloes star.