The Seattle Seahawks saw tight end and former Hawkeye Noah Fant furnish one of his best performances in some time.
Fant caught all six passes for 60 yards. His performance helped push Seattle to 3-0 on the season after securing the 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Tight end Erick All Jr. continues to find his place with the Cincinnati Bengals, reeling in all four catches for 22 yards in the 38-33 primetime loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
The Detroit Lions secured the 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals — despite losing Sam LaPorta for some time. The tight end left the game right before halftime with an ankle sprain.
He eventually returned to the game but didn’t see any production as he was clearly affected by the injury. His availability next week will be one to monitor.
Speaking of former Iowa tight ends now injured, TJ Hockenson has yet to see time on the field for the Minnesota Vikings as he continues to recover from a torn ACL and MCL. It’s been reported that Hockenson is targeting a Week 6 return.
And the San Francisco 49ers were without tight end George Kittle in the 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Recovering from a hamstring ailment, Kittle is not expected to be out long term and, in fact, should suit up next weekend.
Defensive playmakers
The Denver Broncos defense overpowered a red hot Tampa Bay offense on its way to a 26-7 victory over the Buccaneers. Cornerback Riley Moss amassed three solo and assisted tackles each and deflected one pass.
On the flip side, linebacker Anthony Nelson, and even offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs off of a Buccaneers turnover, logged one tackle each.
Linebacker Josey Jewell shined once again with three solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and two deflected passes to help the Carolina Panthers secure the 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Lukas Van Ness was doing it all for the Green Bay Packers with one solo tackle and one assisted tackle — including one sack, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit — in the 30-14 win over the Tennessee Titans.
AJ Epenesa put up a similar statline to Van Ness, logging two solo tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits to help the Buffalo Bills secure the 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.
Safety Amani Hooker logged three solo tackles, two assisted, and two tackles for loss for Tennessee.
The New York Giants grabbed their first win of the season with the 21-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Giants safety Dane Belton logged two solo tackles in the win.
Linebacker Jack Campbell snagged a pair of solo and assisted tackles to help the Lions slow down a rolling Cardinals offense. Fellow linebacker Ben Niemann also contributed to the victory with one solo tackle and one assisted tackle.
Blockers up front
The Pittsburgh Steelers are down three starting offensive linemen but luckily still have James Daniels available. The guard and center was the highest graded offensive lineman on his team with a 93.2, playing a key role in the Steelers’ 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson made his 2024 debut after recovering from an ankle injury and provided an instant impact. He held star 49ers linebacker Nick Bosa to just one solo tackle and one assisted tackle while playing a key role to Rams running back Kyren Williams’ three touchdowns.
Going against a Dallas Cowboys team that holds the worst run defense in the NFL through the first two weeks, center Tyler Linderbaum helped guide the Baltimore Ravens to a whopping 274 rushing yards — running back Derrick Henry and quarterback Lamar Jackson combining for 238 yards — in the 28-25 win.
Despite his one surprise tackle, Wirfs’ dominance couldn’t propel the Bucs run game enough to get going as the team finished with just 91 rushing yards on the day.
And guard Brandon Scherff allowed just three pressures all night, but the Jaguars offense accumulated only 200 passing yards and 92 rushing yards in the blowout loss.
Can’t forget about the punter
The Chicago Bears, now 1-2, suffered a 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but Tory Taylor saw a light workload on the day. The Aussie accumulated three punts for 127 yards with a long of 54 yards.