After an underwhelming Seattle debut in Week 1, **Cooper Kupp (EWU)** had a strong bounce-back, putting together the kind of performance Seahawks fans were hoping for when their team signed the Yakima native and Eastern Washington legend this offseason.
Coming off a two-catch effort against San Francisco, Kupp had seven receptions on nine targets and totaled 90 yards during Seattle’s 31-17 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.
He provided a reliable safety valve on underneath routes throughout the day for new Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who found Kupp for a couple of clutch third-down conversions in the second half. Kupp recorded 33 yards on two catches during one third-quarter drive to set up a touchdown that tied the score at 14-14.
Many Seattle fans on social media celebrated the effort as a potential return to form for the 32-year-old Kupp, who had struggled to produce consistent results over the past three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams due to injuries.
**• Cam Ward (WSU)** still hasn’t secured his first NFL win, but the Tennessee Titans quarterback scored his first-career touchdown during a 33-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
And it was quite a TD pass from Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. On a third-and-goal play with 38 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Ward evaded pressure in the pocket and spun outside, sprinted toward the right sideline, then heaved a highly difficult, high-arching pass across his body, placing the ball perfectly into the arms of Elic Ayomanor for a 9-yard touchdown – Ward probably threw the ball 30 yards across the field, however.
The play produced a viral response online and provided an exhibit of the unique arm talent Ward possesses, the skills that made him such an intriguing prospect during his time at WSU (2022-23) and Miami (2024).
For the game, Ward completed 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and that TD, and didn’t commit a turnover. But he was sacked five times. Ward has absorbed 11 sacks already in his young career – no NFL QB has taken more sacks in the first two games of his career in the last 75 seasons, according to CBS.
**• Kendrick Bourne (EWU)**, now a ninth-year NFL wide receiver, signed with San Francisco on Tuesday after spending a couple of weeks weighing his options in free agency. Bourne had a decent return to the 49ers lineup, recording 32 yards on three catches during a 26-21 win over New Orleans.
The former EWU star (2013-16) spent his first four NFL seasons in San Francisco, producing 1,769 yards and 11 touchdowns in that span before a four-year stint with New England.
**• Jaylen Watson (WSU)**, a two-time Super Bowl champion and starting cornerback with the Kansas City Chiefs, was the team’s highest-graded defender during a 20-17 loss to Philadelphia, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
Watson tied for the game high in tackles with nine and was key in holding Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to just 101 yards on 15 of 22 passing.
**• Jaden Hicks (WSU)**, also a starter in the Kansas City secondary, had a much less productive performance against Philadelphia. The second-year safety posted two tackles.
**• Kaden Elliss (Idaho)**, a starting linebacker and team captain for Atlanta, helped key the Falcons to a dominant defensive performance during a 22-6 win over Minnesota. He posted four tackles and one quarterback hit, and blew up a fourth-and-1 QB sneak in the first quarter.
**• Christian Elliss (Idaho)** made his eighth NFL start, seventh with the New England Patriots at inside linebacker, and tied for the team lead in tackles with eight during a 33-27 win over Miami. The two-time All-Big Sky first-teamer (2019-20) has cemented himself as an NFL starter after going undrafted in 2021.
**• Jalen Thompson (WSU)**, the Arizona Cardinals’ eighth-year starter at strong safety, played every defensive snap and had another strong outing during the team’s 27-22 win over Carolina. He led Arizona with 10 tackles, six solo.
**• Samson Ebukam (EWU)** held down his starting role at defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts. The 2017 EWU grad didn’t make much of an impact on paper during the Colts’ 29-28 win over the Denver Broncos, finishing with one tackle, but he did receive a few shoutouts online for causing pressure in Denver’s backfield on several occasions.
**• Daniel Ekuale (WSU)** saw plenty of snaps at the left-side defensive end position for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their loss against Seattle. He logged one tackle and got a hand on one pass at the line of scrimmage to force an incompletion.
**• Chau Smith-Wade (WSU)** started at cornerback for Carolina and made two tackles during the Panthers’ loss to Arizona. The former Coug (2020-23) surrendered an 11-yard touchdown reception to Arizona’s Michael Wilson with 4 seconds left in the first half, making the score 20-3 in favor of the Cardinals.