Inside The Huskies

Budda Baker Goes Long Distance Again and Still Can't Score

The former Husky safety picks up another long pick, but end zone eludes him.

Dan Raley

Budda Baker will find an NFL end zone someday. For now, he's content to steal the football and just see where it takes him.

On Sunday, the former University of Washington safety now Arizona Cardinals secondary leader returned an interception 77 yards against the Chicago Bears before two guys knocked him down on the opposing 15 in a 33-22 victory.

A year ago, Baker intercepted a Seahawks pass and raced 90 yards with it before he was memorably caught from behind by DK Metcalf at the Seattle 8.

It's hard to imagine anyone in pro football churning out 167 yards in two plays and not getting a touchdown payoff.

Byron Murphy returns an interception 13 yards against Chicago.
Byron Murphy returned an interception 13 yards against Chicago.  :: Quinn Harris/USA TODAY Sports

Cornerback Byron Murphy, both a Cardinals and UW teammate, and Baker each intercepted Andy Dalton passes for Arizona, the team with the NFL's best record (10-2). 

Murphy went only 13 yards on his return, but he had an exceptional day, coming up with 6 tackles, including half a sack, plus 2 pass deflections and a quarterback hit.

Baker finished with 5 tackles and a pass defend.

Overall, it was a very good day for Huskies now drawing a pro paycheck.

In Detroit, former UW defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike shared in the Lions' first victory in 12 games, a walk-off 29-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings on an 11-yard TD pass on the game's final play.

Onwuzurike, a rookie, helped keep the Lions close by providing 3 tackles, including a tackle for loss.

For Tampa Bay, one-time Husky defensive tackle Vita Vea had his typical disruptive outing, coming up with a pair of sacks in as many tackles in the Buccaneers' 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on the road.

In the same game, former UW edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka chipped in 2 tackles.

Myles Gaskin goes for a short game against the New York Giants.
Myles Gaskin picked up 44 yards on 15 carries against the New York Giants :: Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports

In Miami, ex-Huskies Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed shared the ball-carrying duties in the Dolphins' 20-9 victory over the New York Giants. 

Gaskin picked up 44 yards on 15 carries and caught 2 passes for 5 more yards. Ahmed went for 23 yards rushing on 8 running attempts.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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