Tar Heels in the NFL: Week 8 Roundup

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last checked in with our Tar Heel NFL alums and for some of them (one in particular), life is looking very different. Here are how things went for Chapel Hill’s finest this past week in the NFL:

The Good

• Cole Holcomb and the Washington Redskins had a tough time of it against the red-hot Minnesota Vikings, but Cole had the best defensive play of the game for Washington, tracking down Stefon Diggs on a long reception and forcing a fumble that Washington recovered. It wasn’t quite Don Beebe vs. Leon Lett, but it was a terrific hustle play, the kind that Cole has become noted for both in college and the pros. He also added 7 tackles to his effort.
• T.J. Logan had some strong returns for Tampa Bay against the Titans on Sunday, returning a punt 40 yards and a kickoff for 25. Ultimately, however, the Bucs came up short against Tennessee.

The Bad

• The ongoing saga of Mitchell Trubisky had yet another installment on Sunday, when the Bears missed yet another game winning kick, this time against the Chargers. Mitch had another tough night, though his offensive line didn’t do him any favors. On 23-35 passing, he tallied 253 yards and an interception. Fair or not, the lion’s share of the blame for Chicago’s disappointing start to the season has largely gone to Trubisky and, barring a major turnaround, the criticism isn’t going away any time soon.
• Veteran Zach Brown is currently without a team after being released by the Eagles. This came in the aftermath of their defense being torched by Kirk Cousins and the Vikings after Brown expressed the Eagles’ desire to make Cousins beat them with the pass (which, by the way, is a totally reasonable statement that aged poorly due to the Eagles horrendous secondary). Recently released Eagle Orlando Scandrick indicated last week that team captain Malcolm Jenkins was behind Brown’s release.

The Double-Plus Ungood

• Mack Hollins had a...difficult October. With Desean Jackson’s return from injury taking longer than expected, the hope in Philly was that Hollins could provide a deep threat in his absence. Instead...

Here’s hoping there will be another “Return of the Mack” in November!

The Rest

• Gio Bernard, the wearer of wolfskins, tallied 55 total yards against the Rams. They came on three rushes and two receptions.
• Tre Boston recorded seven solo tackles in the Panthers’ loss to the undefeated 49ers.
• Eric Ebron had three receptions for 26 yards in Indianapolis’ last second victory against the Broncos (all hail the G.O.A.T. kicker Vinatieri!)
• Robert Quinn was on a bye for Dallas, while Andre Smith and MJ Stewart did not see any snaps.
• Ryan Switzer continued his usual returning duties for Pittsburgh, returning a kick for 25 yards and a punt for 2 in the Steelers’ win over the hapless Dolphins.