New Orleans Saints’ Nigerian-American safety Ugo Amadi is having one of his best seasons in the NFL and his performance in the 14-11 win over the New York Giants played a crucial role in keeping the 2025 Super Bowl hosts in playoff contention.
He was not the only player of African descent to have a big week, though. The San Francisco 49ers’ Isaac Guerendo was one player who had a game to remember, while Joseph Ossai, Foyesade Oluokun, Chidobe Awuzie, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba stood out.
African Player of the Week: Ugo Amadi (New Orleans Saints)
Amadi, who is of Nigerian descent, takes Player of the Week honors for week 14 as a result of how influential his performance against the Giants was.
With eight tackles and two passes defended, Amadi popped up at crucial moments to make the difference in a tight game.
The first pass defense saw Amadi prevent quarterback Drew Lock from picking out Darius Slayton on first down in the second quarter. However, it was his second that was particularly important.
With less than a minute on the clock in the fourth quarter and the Saints holding a 14-11 lead, the Giants had possession of the football on 3rd & 10.
Lock tried to throw his way out of a tight spot by picking out Wan’Dale Robinson. Had the pass gone to hand, the Giants would have been inside Saints territory with a fresh set of downs.
As it turned out, the Saints took the win to stay in contention in the NFC South. The Saints are currently 5-8 for the season and trail leaders Tampa Bay Buccaneers by two wins. The teams will face off in January in a game which may well be crucial in deciding who makes the playoffs.
African Moment of the Week: Isaac Guerendo (San Francisco 49ers)
In their 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears, Isaac Guerendo, whose father moved to the US from the Central African Republic, had his most memorable game to date.
The running back scored two touchdowns and earned his team 78 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards.
He was the closest contender to Amadi for African Player of the Week, only missing out because his performance came in a game which his team dominated in all respects whereas Amadi may have been the difference between victory and defeat for the Saints.
However, in the Moment of the Week category, it is impossible to overlook Guerendo’s first touchdown at the end of the first quarter.
It was a play on which the former Louisville Cardinal demonstrated the full extent of his ability as he made an acrobatic catch to put the Niners in the in-goal area, and then strolled over from close range to finish what he started.
The Niners went into the break at the end of the quarter 14-0 up as a result of Guerendo’s touchdown. Any wind in the Bears’ sails had been completely knocked out and the Niners never looked back.
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Honorable Mentions
There was at least one positive for the Bears in their loss to the Niners: Rome Odunze scored two touchdowns. The rookie wide receiver, who was drafted ninth out of Washington this year, took time to get up to full speed in the NFL but is now repaying the Bears’ confidence.
There were other strong offensive performances from the Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Sierra Leonean descent) and the Carolina Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard (Nigerian descent).
Smith-Njigba scored a touchdown in a 30-18 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, Hubbard’s touchdown came in a valiant 22-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles for the Carolina Panthers.
On defense, Foyesade Oluokun (Nigerian descent) has struggled to find his best form this season but he once again stood up as the leader of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense with 11 tackles in a 10-6 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Chidobe Awuzie, another son of Nigerian immigrants, got an interception for the Titans in the same game but ended up on the losing side.
Africa-Born Player Watch
Some more key moments came from players who were born in Africa. Perhaps most notably, Lagos-born Joseph Ossai got a sack on Cooper Rush for the Cincinnati Bengals in their 27-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
Cameroon-born Arnold Ebiketie also had a sack in week 14, but in a 42-21 defeat for his Atlanta Falcons to the Minnesota Vikings.
On offense, Liberian-born Gus Edwards scored a touchdown for the Los Angeles Chargers, but they suffered a narrow 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, who once again are showing they will be difficult to stop as the playoffs draw ever nearer.
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