A pair of Lions were involved in National Football League preseason action this past weekend as Robert Alford saw time with the Atlanta Falcons and Bryan Bennett took snaps for the Indianapolis Colts.

Alford was a part of the Lions’ football program as a defensive back from 2008-2012, landing on the Southland All-Conference team in his senior season. A Hammond native, Alford attended Hammond High Magnet School prior to his time with the Lions. Alford was drafted by the Falcons in the second with the 60th pick overall.

It did not take long for Alford to make an impact for the Falcons’ defense. Alford amassed two interceptions in his rookie season and three more last season.

Alford was unable to record any stats during the Falcons’ first two preseason games due to him still nursing a wrist injury that ended his season last year early. Alford’s break from football ended as the Falcons took on the Miami Dolphins this past Saturday, losing the game 9-13. Despite the losing effort, the game saw the first snaps from Alford this season. Alford finished the game with three tackles. Falcons head coach Dan Quinn commented on his team’s performance following the game.

“Defensively I thought on third down we made a real improvement,” said Quinn in a postgame press conference.

Bennett also saw limited action with the Colts during their preseason game last week, a 24-14 win over the St. Louis Rams. Although starting quarterback Andrew Luck and second string Matt Hasselbeck saw a majority of the snaps, Bennett was able to enter the game in the fourth quarter. Bennett was able to attempt one pass before killing the clock to finish off the game. He finished 0-1 passing.

“It’s good to get a win, it doesn’t matter what time of the year it is” said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano in a postgame press conference. “I’m proud of the guys. I love the energy and the passion that they played with. We were looking to get a fast start and I’m proud of the guys.”

Both the Falcons and the Colts will play in their final preseason game this Thursday. The Falcons will look to bounce back as they take on the Baltimore Ravens while the Colts will hope to continue their success when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Both games are scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. eastern.