Tight End U made its presence known in Week 11, with three former Cardinal tight ends leading their respective teams in receiving yards.
Zach Ertz ’13 played his best game since being traded to Arizona in Week 6, bringing in eight receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns. A second quarter touchdown gave the Cardinals a 13-3 lead, and Arizona held on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 23-13 and stay atop the NFC.
On the other side of the ball, Seattle’s Colby Parkinson ’20 added a six-yard reception, giving him his second catch of the season.
The Browns won a hard-fought, low-scoring game 13-10 against the winless Detroit Lions. In a game where both quarterbacks struggled, Cleveland’s Austin Hooper ’16 led the game with 53 yards on four receptions. Dalton Schultz ’18 had six receptions for a team-leading 53 yards, but Dallas was defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs 19-9.
Christian McCaffrey ‘17 did Christian McCaffrey things against Washington, once again eclipsing 100 scrimmage yards. Along with 59 yards on the ground, he caught seven of his eight targets for 60 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown.
Former Cardinal wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside ’19 had his first reception of the season this weekend. The former second round pick caught his only target for 23 yards in the Eagles’ 40-29 win over the Saints.
On the defensive side, Casey Toohill ’20 had the chance to assume a bigger role for the Washington defense with defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat sidelined with injuries. In Washington’s 27-21 win against the Panthers, Toohill had a hit on Carolina’s mobile quarterback Cam Newton and made a solo tackle on McCaffrey.
Rounding out former Stanford defensive linemen were Solomon Thomas ’17 and Harrison Philips ’18. Thomas had two solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack for the Raiders, but Las Vegas fell to the Cincinnati Bengals 32-13. While Philips was able to record seven total tackles for the Buffalo defensive line, his team ultimately fell to the Indianapolis Colts, whose defense held an elite Bills offense to 15 points.
Indianapolis’ defensive performance was led by linebacker Bobby Okereke ’19, who had seven total tackles, six of which were solo. The Colts moved to 6-5 on the season after their 41-15 win, bringing them above .500 for the first time all season.
Another linebacker who contributed to a victory this weekend was Brennan Scarlett ’16, who had a tackle for Miami as they defeated the New York Jets 24-17.
Justin Reid ’18 and Paulson Adebo ’21 highlighted Stanford’s contributions to NFL secondaries. Reid’s two total tackles helped the Texans upset the AFC-leading Tennessee Titans 22-13. Adebo had four solo tackles and one assisted tackle for the Saints in their 40-29 loss to the Eagles.
Jake Bailey ’19 led special teams once again, punting four times for 193 yards and pinning three inside the 20 as the Patriots beat the Falcons 25-0.