Foyesade Oluokun leads Jaguars to victory in titanic tussle between African NFL talents

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun has been among the top African performers in the NFL week after week, not only this season but over the past two years.

However, this week was a special display even by his standards as he led the Jaguars' defense in a 31-24 win over the New Orleans Saints, who themselves had star performances from African players in Alvin Kamara and Paulson Adebo.

Elsewhere in the league, there were key displays from Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Odafe Oweh, Larry Ogunjobi and Nate Landman.

African Player of the Week: Foyesade Oluokun (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Oluokun, who is of Nigerian descent, led the NFL in tackles in each of the last two seasons. However, in the Thursday night game at the Superdome against the Saints, he did more than just make hits.

In the first quarter, he dived acrobatically to tip a pass away from Chris Olave that could so easily have led to a Saints touchdown had he allowed Derek Carr's throw to reach the wide receiver.

In the third quarter, he once again had Carr's number in a crucial swing-moment as he intercepted his pass and ran it back 24 yards for the pick-six.

Oluokun finished the game with 14 tackles and was the difference between victory and defeat.

African Moment of the Week: Foyesade Oluokun (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Oluokun's pick-six ultimately had to take the cake, because had it not been for this, the result of a tightly-contested game would likely have been different.

The touchdown and subsequent extra point stretched the Jaguars' lead to 24-9 and at that moment, they appeared to be in control of the game. However, they nearly let it slip from their grasp as the Alvin Kamara-inspired Saints leveled at 24-24.

Thankfully for the Jaguars, they had built up just enough of a buffer, with Oluokun leading the way, to help them through that difficult period in the game and they ultimately had the last laugh, clinching a win.

Honorable mentions:

Had Oluokun not been the player of the week, it likely would have been Kamara, whose mother escaped the Liberian Civil War to move to the United States, enabling him to launch his football career.

It was his two-pointer that leveled the game at 24-24 and nearly undid all of Oluokun and co's hard work. Meanwhile, Paulson Adebo, who is the son of a Beninese immigrant mother, also had an impactful game for the Saints, including a forced fumble.

Odafe Oweh, a first generation Nigerian-American, made a sack and a forced fumble in the Baltimore Ravens' whopping 38-6 win over the Detroit Lions, as did Justin Madubuike, his teammate and compatriot.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is of Sierra Leonean descent, got himself a touchdown in the Seattle Seahawks' 20-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The New York Giants picked up their second win of the season in a 14-7 victory over the Washington Commanders and Nigerian-American Bobby Okereke contributed 11 tackles for the second week running.

The Cleveland Browns' Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Ghana) and Nigerian duo Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and David Njoku were on the winning side of a fierce fight against the Indianapolis Colts, another side containing top African talent in Mo Alie-Cox (Sierra Leone), Kwity Paye (Liberia), Dayo Odeyingbo and Samson Ebukam (Nigeria). The Browns edged the topsy-turvy contest 39-38.

Another Nigerian-American, Larry Ogunjobi, was impactful on defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 24-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, making four tackles and a sack.