The back half of the NFL season is underway, and with it, comes another week of Penn State football standouts tearing it up at the pro level.

This week, a relatively quiet Sunday led to a Monday night matchup filled with Penn State representatives on both sides of the field. Saquon Barkley was, as usual, superhuman, and Mike Gesicki had arguably his best performance in his young career this weekend.

Here’s a look back at how some of the Nittany Lions fared during the ninth week of the NFL season:

Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

Saquon Barkley had a quiet game by his standards Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas had done a very good job at keeping the superstar at bay, but Barkley decided to do Saquon Barkley-type things early in the fourth quarter.

Retweet this if Saquon Barkley is faster than you pic.twitter.com/7NQA79X2aB

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 5, 2019

He took a screen pass for a 65-yard gain, and ended with a combined total of 95 yards. He had 28 yards rushing yards on 14 carries, and six catches for 67 yards in the Giants 37-18 loss against the Cowboys.

Barkley and the Giants will get back after it against the New York Jets at 1 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins

Mike Gesicki put together a career-best receiving performance Sunday against the New York Jets. In the Dolphins 26-18 win, Gesicki hauled in a career-high six passes for 95 yards, leading the team in both categories.

During his career-best performance, Gesicki had no shortage of highlight-reel plays as he consistently looked like the best player on the field throughout the game.

Mike Gesicki shook him down the sideline @mikegesicki pic.twitter.com/z7eS4Um7nB

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 3, 2019

Gesicki’s breakout NFL performance came against Adam Gase — the head coach who completely underutilized the tight end’s talents during his rookie year. His big performance helped the Dolphins pick up their first win of the 2019 season, and the team will trot out against the Indianapolis Colts at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris Godwin had a relatively unproductive week by his own high standards. The Buccaneers wide receiver and fantasy football darling took a backseat to Mike Evans.

He still produced a very solid line of seven catches for 61 yards in a 40-34 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Chris Godwin nearly scores a TD.

He is one of the most consistent WRs since entering the league. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/y60O0Jiy47

— AllThingsBucs (@AllThingsTBbucs) November 3, 2019

Through nine weeks, Godwin is fifth in the league in receiving yards (766) and eighth in reception (54) through eight games played. He also shares a tie for third in the NFL in receiving touchdowns with six. Godwin also logged his first rush attempt in his NFL career on Sunday — an eight-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Godwin and the Buccaneers will get back after it against the Arizona Cardinals at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Troy Apke, Washington Redskins

Troy Apke continued his recent stretch of good form against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Although he and the Redskins lost 24-9, Apke posted a career-high tackle output with seven stops on Sunday.

One of those tackles was a crucial third-down stop on the 1-yard line. He met Frank Gore at the line of scrimmage and stifled him to prevent the Bills from tacking on six points.

Nice stop on 3rd and goal from the one by safety Troy Apke. Filled his lane and attacked Gore as he cut back to make the stop #Redskins pic.twitter.com/8IZkuP9soH

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) November 3, 2019

Apke is very quietly making a name for himself in the Redskins organization after getting a small amount of snaps in games earlier in the year. He, most notably, recorded his first career interception against the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the season.

The Redskins will be idle this week before taking on the New York Jets at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 17.

Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles

Miles Sanders had a semi-productive game against the Chicago Bears. The rookie running back produced 73 yards of offense in the Eagles’ 22-14 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

Miles Sanders is a playmaker. pic.twitter.com/7eMLHdas4O

— The Last Black Man in Virginia (@MVPnuby) November 4, 2019

He had 42 yards on 10 carries and 31 receiving yards on three catches. He and fellow ex-Big Ten running back Jordan Howard continue to split reps, but Sanders has emerged as one of the Eagles’ top playmakers on offense.

Sanders has only found the end zone once through nine games as an Eagle. He and the Birds will be off this week before taking on the New England Patriots at 4:25 p.m. Sunday, November 17.

Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears

Allen Robinson had by far his least productive game Sunday. He was finally “Trubisky’d,” as he caught one pass for six yards in the Bears’ loss against the Eagles.

He was targeted five times — which usually makes a receiver look unproductive — but throws like these give plenty of reason to believe that output wasn’t his fault.

Allen Robinson had Mills beat by a few yards so naturally Mitch Trubiusky underthrows it and it ends up incomplete.pic.twitter.com/xfsf5ZdLQR

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 3, 2019

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky misses a wide open Allen Robinson on third down pic.twitter.com/SKr8m7IHvT

— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) November 3, 2019

Robinson and the Bears’ offense will get their next chance to bounce back when they take on the Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. Sunday in Chicago.

Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys

Sean Lee had his best performance of the year against the Giants on Monday Night Football.

He made a season-high 12 tackles and looked like the Sean Lee of old. He and the Cowboys linebackers did an incredible job of containing fellow Penn Stater Saquon Barkley at MetLife Stadium.

Hello there Sean Lee pic.twitter.com/MpIvqxY5z9

— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 5, 2019

The veteran got the best of Barkley on a few different occasions, and that helped the Cowboys pick up a big 37-18 win over their NFC East rival. Dallas will be back in action against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football during week 10 of the season.

Other Notables

• Sam Ficken: Ficken made three field goals on four attempts for the Jets in a loss against the Dolphins. He missed his first attempt of the game from 49 yards, but he redeemed himself by making the next three — including a career best 52-yarder. He also made his only extra point attempt on the day.
• Adrian Amos: Amos was reliable for the Packers on Sunday, totaling seven tackles in a 26-11 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. Green Bay fell to 7-2 on the year thanks to a lethargic performance against the Chargers.
• Daquan Jones and Austin Johnson: Jones contributed six tackles, and Johnson chipped in with four stops in the Titans’ loss against the Carolina Panthers. The pair of Tennessee defensive tackles both contributed a pass deflection, as well.
• Robbie Gould: Gould made all four of his extra-point attempts in Thursday’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals to help keep the 49ers undefeated in a 28-25 victory.