While his Tampa Bay Buccaneers team squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead in Sunday's overtime loss to New Orleans, former UConn star Danny Lansanah continues to produce for the Buccaneers.

Lansanah made his second career start, had a career-high 10 tackles and returned a Drew Brees pass 33 yards for an interception for his second defensive touchdown of the season, the most in the NFL. It's pretty heady stuff for a 29-year-old who has found a home after trying to make his mark with the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and New York Jets. He came into the season with two tackles in six career NFL games, both coming with the Packers in 2008. He has 21 tackles this season and is tied with Josh McCown and Vincent Jackson for the team lead in touchdowns.

Other than Will Beatty helping the New York Giants defeat the Atlanta Falcons 30-20 for a third win in a row, there wasn't much good news to report as another former Husky went down with a concussion. Last week it was cornerbacks Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson being knocked out of games with head injuries and on Sunday Donald Brown of the San Diego Chargers suffered the same fate. Brown's departure, the latest injury at the running back position for the Chargers, opened the door for rookie Branden Oliver to run for 114 yards, added 68 receiving yards and score two touchdowns.

Here's the breakdown
Will Beatty, OT New York Giants: Started in 30-20 win over Atlanta
Donald Brown, RB San Diego: Had 26 yards rushing and a 4-yard reception in 31-0 win over New York Jets
Darius Butler, CB Indianapolis: Had two tackles including a tackle for loss in 20-13 win over Baltimore
Marcus Easley, WR Buffalo: Was not active (knee) in 17-14 win over Detroit
Dwayne Gratz, CB Jacksonville: Was not active (concussion)
Ryan Griffin, TE Houston: Had one catch for eight yards in 20-17 overtime loss to Dallas
Danny Lansanah, LB Tampa Bay: Had 10 tackles, two passes defensed and returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown in 37-31 overtime loss to New Orleans
Robert McClain, CB Atlanta: Had three tackles in 30-20 loss to New York Giants
Sio Moore, LB Oakland: Bye week
Dan Orlovsky, QB, Detroit: Did not play
Kendall Reyes, DT San Diego: Had one tackle in 31-0 win over New York Jets
Anthony Sherman, FB Kansas City: Had one catch for 12 yards and made two tackles in 22-17 loss to San Francisco
Shamar Stephen, DT Minnesota: Had one tackle in 42-10 loss to Green Bay
Jordan Todman, RB Jacksonville: Had two catches for 23 yards, 55 yards on two kickoff returns and a tackle in 17-9 loss to Pittsburgh
Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB Tennessee: Was not active (concussion) in 29-28 loss to Cleveland

It wasn't long ago that fans of the New York Giants were calling for former UConn offensive tackle Will Beatty to lose his starting job. Now he is among the top-rated left tackles in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, a site that breaks down game tape to provide individual player ratings.

Beatty and Pittsburgh's Marcus Gilbert were named as the offensive tackles on the PFF Team of the Week. Beatty has given a perfect rating on pass protection and finished with a plus 3.3 rating in Thursday's win over Washington.

Beatty was also named to the PFF Team of the Week after the Giants' week 2 game against the Cardinals. He is the only former UConn player named to the PFF Team of Week although Anthony Sherman was the honorable mention selection at fullback last week.

UCONN/TULANE START TIME
The American Athletic Conference announced that Oct. 11 UConn/Tulane game will kickoff at 8 and air on ESPNews.

Former UConn offensive tackle Will Beatty got the start at left tackle in last night's preseason game against Indianapolis in his first live game action since suffering a broken leg in the 2013 regular-season finale.

Courtesy of the transcript on the Giants official site, here are some thoughts from Beatty, who according to reports was in the game for about 10-12 snaps.

"I felt good out there, but I'd feel a lot better with a win. I felt like I had an average performance, but I don't want to be average. I want to be extraordinary."

In the same game former UConn DB Darius Butler had a nice play for the Colts resulting in a diving interception on an Eli Manning pass intended for Victor Cruz but one of his teammates was called for an illegal contact penalty wiping out the interception.

As for the game, former Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib led the Giants to a come from behind 27-26 win.

Shamar Stephen, the first UConn player taken in May's NFL draft, continues to impress for the Minnesota Vikings. The seventh-round pick received work with the starters and recorded three tackles in a 30-28 win over Arizona.

As for some of the other former Huskies in action last night, Danny Lansanah had two tackles in Tampa Bay's 20-14 loss to Miami and Kashif Moore had a 12-yard catch in Pittsburgh's 19-16 win over Buffalo while Lawrence Wilson had a tackle in the St. Louis Rams' 21-7 loss to Green Bay.

MAJOR HONOR FOR JENNINGS
Former UConn defensive end Teddy Jennings was named to the All-Arena Football League first team after finishing his rookie season with a team-leading 11 sacks for the Philadelphia Soul.

Jennings recorded 5 1/2 sacks in back to back games against Iowa and Orlando. He finished fourth in the league in sacks and seventh with 11 1/2 tackles for loss despite missing three games.

Jennings and Portland defensive back Varmah Sonie, who had nine interceptions, were the only rookies selected to the AFL defensive first team.

There have been plenty of questions concerning former UConn offensive lineman Will Beatty's timetable for a return to the football field following the horrific injury he suffered in the 2013 season finale for the New York Giants.

Well, the speculation came to an end yesterday as Beatty took part in drills, on a limited basis.

Beatty was cleared to practice on Monday which was a major landmark in his return from a fractured tibia he suffered in the third quarter in the December game against the Washington Redskins.

Beatty started all 16 games for the first time in his career but had a disappointing season. The return to football drills is the first step for Beatty, a second-round pick by the New York Giants in the 2009 NFL Draft, as he looks to return to the form that earned him a five-year contract worth nearly $40 million.

It's hard to imagine there has been a day where so many different UConn products made splash plays on the same NFL weekend.

Jordan Todman had a 5-yard touchdown run, his second of the season, and Dwayne Gratz had five tackles and an interception in his return to the starting lineup as the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated Tennessee for their first win of the season. Todman also had a 2-yard catch and returned three kickoffs for 99 yards including a 46 yarder.

Donald Brown scored the Indianapolis Colts' only touchdown on a 13-yard reception and finished with 64 yards on five receptions in a 38-8 loss to St. Louis.

Ryan Griffin caught a 2-yard touchdown pass, the first of his NFL career, in the Houston Texans' 27-24 loss to Arizona. It was his first catch in nearly a month as Griffin had his first two career catches in an Oct. 13 loss to St. Louis.

Sio Moore had a sack, a forced fumble and a team-high nine tackles in Oakland's 24-20 loss to the New York Giants. There aren't any stats for offensive lineman but Giants left tackle Will Beatty started and helped the Giants' Andre Brown run for 115 yards.

Also, Marcus Easley had his first two career receptions as he had 13 yards on a pair of catches in Buffalo's 23-10 loss to Pittsburgh.

Kendall Reyes had four tackles in San Diego's 28-20 loss to Denver.

Will Beatty signed a five-year contract worth a reported $38.75 million with the New York Giants less than two weeks before he would have hit the free-agent market.

Former UConn star Will Beatty was re-signed by
New York Giants on Wednesday.  (AP photo)

Beatty was the 60th overall pick in 2009 after a breakout senior season at UConn. He started four games as a right tackle as a rookie in 2009. The following season he started 10 games at left tackle before a detached retina ended his season. He started 15 games during the 2012 season.

"It’s good to be home,” Beatty said in a post on the Giants' official site. “It’s a great feeling. You could be going through free agency, but when that happens a lot of stuff is going through your mind. That feeling is no longer there. You’re settled in with a great team, a team I love playing for. I know the coaching staff. I’m looking forward to getting back in it and moving forward."

Darius Butler is the first of the three former UConn players to have a chance of seeing action in the NFL playoffs when the Indianapolis Colts play at Baltimore tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Butler, a cornerback, was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 2009. After playing two seasons with the Patriots, he spent last year with the Carolina Panthers before being let go on Aug. 31. Butler was signed by Indianapolis on Sep. 25 and played 11 games for the Colts. Butler has 31 tackles and four interceptions for the Colts. Indianapolis also has two former Huskies on injured reserve. Running back Donald Brown ran for 417 yards in 10 games while linebacker Scott Lutrus was put on the IR in the preseason. Former UConn stars Kashif Moore and Greg Lloyd also spent time on Indianapolis' practice squad this season.

The other two UConn products on playoff teams will have to wait a week to get onto the field.

Donald Thomas, an offensive guard who played in all 16 games and started seven games, is another player who benefited from a change of scenery. Thomas started 13 games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He is in his second season with the Patriots and played a key role in allowing the Patriots to overcome a string of injuries on the offensive line. The Patriots are the second seed in the AFC and will host the highest remaining seed which emerges from this weekend's action on Jan. 13.

Cornerback Robert McClain of the Atlanta Falcons has been one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season. Like Thomas and Butler, he was given an opportunity to play due to injuries to established players.

McClain, who played 16 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2010, was an under the radar offseason signing by the Falcons and he has 61 tackles and an interception this season for Atlanta.

The Falcons are the top seed in the NFC and will host the lowest remaining NFC seed on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.

Here is a breakdown on how the other UConn products fared this season (not including players on practice squads):

OT Will Beatty, New York Giants: Played 16 games and had 15 starts for Giants
S Tyvon Branch, Oakland: Had 94 tackles and an interception while starting 14 games
WR Marcus Easley: Did not have a reception in three games although he did return two kickoffs for 75 yards
QB Dan Orlovsky, Tampa Bay: Was 4 of 7 for 41 yards in 41-0 loss to New Orleans in only appearance
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had 28 tackles in 16 games and 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks came in win over New York Jets.
FB Anthony Sherman, Arizona: Played 13 games with four starts. Had no carries but had five receptions for 39 yards
RB Jordan Todman, Jacksonville: Had three rushes for eight yards and one catch for no yards in only game against New York Jets

Just a quick recap of how former UConn stars fared in exhibition games on Thursday night

WR Marcus Easley, Buffalo: Had one catch for 12 yards in 7-6 loss to Washington
DB Robert McClain, Atlanta: Tied for team lead with five solo tackles and six overall tackles and had an interception in 31-17 loss to Baltimore
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had four total tackles and 1/2 a sack in 21-13 win over Green Bay
OG Donald Thomas, New England: Got start at LG in 7-6 win over New Orleans
LB Lawrence Wilson, New Orleans: Had four total tackles in 7-6 loss to New England.

There will be six more preseason games on Friday although there are reports that former Huskies Will Beatty (New York Giants OT) and Jordan Todman (Minnesota Vikings RB) will be held out because of back and ankle injuries respectively.

In the Canadian Football League Larry Taylor returned eight punts for 88 yards, had 85 yards on four kickoff returns and ran once for 13 yards in Calgary's 31-20 win over Hamilton. Taylor added to his league league in combined return yardage. He has 1,228 yards between kickoff, punt and missed field goal returns and no other CFL player has hit the 1,000-yard mark.