Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal suffered a rough 40-21 loss to the Utah Utes at Stanford Stadium last Saturday night. Obviously, the Cardinal was shook up following the home loss to Utah, who got an early lead and never looked back, despite the fact Stanford showed an ample amount of life in the third quarter.

The Cardinal will travel to Sun Devil Stadium to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils next Thursday at 6:00 pm PT on ESPN. As you can see, this will be a nationally televised game, so there’s a chance Stanford will unleash their anger on ASU, but then again it’s college football and we’ll never know what’s going to happen. All I can reassure you about is the fact that this likely will be a better game than the San Jose State Spartans facing a conference or non-conference team.

Anyhow, Stanford’s focused on their upcoming game. But, in the meantime, Stanford has been checking out their former standouts who currently play in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz continued his historic pace by having a day in the Eagles’ 23-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Ertz caught his first touchdown of the season and led the Eagles in targets (11), receptions (10) and receiving yards (110) on 97% of offensive snaps with Carson Wentz targeting him on 35% of pass attempts. Since 2001, there have been three instances where a tight end has caught 10 or more passes three times in a game during a full season–Ertz has accomplished the feat in the last four weeks. Ertz, who’s on pace for 131 catches and nearly 1,400 yards, is one of four players in the league with at least 10 targets in every game so far. Ertz has joined the likes of Adam Thielen, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper had a career-high nine receptions in the Falcons’ 41-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hooper also led the Falcons in targets (12) and receiving yards (77) on 76% of offensive snaps. Hooper’s 21 receptions rank second on the Falcons and ninth in the NFL among tight ends.

Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Blake Martinez finished with a career-high two sacks in the Packers’ 31-23 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Martinez finished with four solo tackles, four run stops and a 78.8 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. According to PFF, Martinez ranks third in total defensive rating (86.8) and fifth in run stops (18) among qualified linebackers.

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid made his first career interception in the Texans’ 19-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Reid finished with two quarterback hurries and six tackles on 90% of defensive snaps, helping limit the Cowboys to 292 total yards in the overtime win. Reid has been one of the top rookie defensive backs in the NFL after five weeks.

Falcons safety Jordan Richards tied a career high with a team-high seven tackles on 77% of defensive snaps in Atlanta’s 41-17 loss at Pittsburgh. According to Pro Football Focus, Richards finished with three run stops while allowing two catches for 19 yards on four targets.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman continued his stellar season with another shutout performance in San Francisco’s 28-18 loss to Arizona. Sherman didn’t allow a catch on two targets while appearing on every defensive snap. Sherman missed Week 4 with a calf injury sustained in Week 3. On 146 coverage snaps in 2018, Sherman leads qualifying cornerbacks in fewest catches allowed (1) and passer rating allowed (39.6).

And, of course, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is currently leading the NFL in average yards from scrimmage/game, just a sliver ahead of Alvin Kamara and Todd Gurley.