Week 1 of the NFL season has come and gone, and while we were all busy losing our fantasy football openers, dozens of former Michigan Wolverines made their marks for their respective teams.
We’ll be recapping how former Wolverines do in the NFL all season long, and this week started things off with a bang. Let’s kick things off with the Golden boy leading his team to a comeback in primetime
J.J. McCarthy leads Vikings to comeback win in first NFL start
J.J. McCarthy is a winner, plain and simple. As Clayton Sayfie pointed out last night, he hasn’t lost a regular season game as a starter since he was in high school.
That streak continued last night, with McCarthy leading the Minnesota Vikings to a win over the Chicago Bears — the team McCarthy grew up rooting for — on Monday Night Football. While the Vikings were down 13 points in the fourth quarter, McCarthy was able to lead a riveting comeback by scoring three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes of the game.
After missing all of the 2024 season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy is essentially a rookie. He did throw an interception that was returned 74 yards for a score, but he completed 65 percent of his passes for 143 yards and two passing touchdowns. He scored the go-ahead touchdown with his legs with less than three minutes left.
McCarthy wasn’t perfect and his counting stats don’t jump off the page, but the comeback in his very first start against a divisional rival had Vikings fans very excited for the future. McCarthy also made history as the first player to score three fourth-quarter touchdowns in his NFL debut, while also leading a comeback down 10 or more points in his NFL debut.
Another thing that was great to see — it appears the Vikings locker room loves this guy just as much as Michigan fans do.
In that same game, Josh Metellus led the Vikings with six total tackles.
Will Johnson makes his mark in NFL debut
McCarthy wasn’t the only Wolverine who impressed in his NFL debut. Arizona Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson lowered his shoulder and broke up a pass to Chris Olave in a play that went viral on Sunday afternoon.
As ESPN’s Field Yates pointed out, Johnson was targeted seven times and only allowed four catches for 32 yards. He notched three passes defensed and had an interception called back because of a penalty far away from the play in the win.
According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson was the second-highest rated cornerback in Week 1, behind only Sauce Gardner. To say the Cardinals got a second-round steal feels like an understatement.
In that same game, Saints guard Cesar Ruiz posted the lowest grade on New Orleans’ offensive line (36.5), including an absymal run blocking grade (32.3) that ranked dead last among 62 qualified guards. Ruiz was part of a unit that helped the Saints rush for 107 yards and allowed one sack.
Other notable performances
In a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet posted more yards (47) than starter Kenneth Walker (20) and scored Seattle’s lone touchdown of the game. If you had to start him in fantasy, you probably weren’t disappointed.
In a dominant win over the Detroit Lions, Rashan Gary posted his 40th career sack, nearly recording a safety when sacking Jared Goff right near the Lions’ end zone.
Gary was near the middle of the pack among edge defenders on PFF (66.2, 43rd out of 98 players), recording 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss and seven total tackles.
Starting at center after the retirement of Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow was part of a Detroit unit that struggled against the Packers. The Lions only rushed for 46 yards and allowed Jared Goff to be sacked four times, and Glasgow put up a PFF grade of 43.6, which was dead last among the 30 Week 1 centers. The Lions may need to do some retooling if Glasgow and the rest of the line doesn’t improve.
In that same game, Aidan Hutchinson was fairly quiet by his lofty standards, racking up 0 tackles and one quarterback hit. His PFF grade was fine (72.0, 27th among 98 edge defenders) and in his defense, he was literally tackled by Packers offensive linemen on plays like this.
In a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Josh Uche logged just one tackle.
In a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil on Friday, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna recorded two tackles and a tackle for loss.
In a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Nico Collins caught three passes for 25 yards. In that same game, Rams running back Blake Corum got one carry for two yards.
In a win over the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals Dax Hill posted the 11th-best grade among safeties (78.6), racking up nine tackles. Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II recorded two tackles and two passes defensed. In that same game, Browns linebacker Devin Bush posted seven tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass defensed and a quarterback hit. His defensive grade (87.5) ranked eighth among 67 linebackers. In his debut, defensive tackle Mason Graham recorded three tackles.
In a dominant win over the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye logged a tackle for loss.
In a win over the New York Giants, Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil had two tackles.
In a win over the Seattle Seahawks, Jake Moody went 1-for-3 on field goals, with his lone make coming from 32 yards.
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