Tar Heels in the NFL: Week 5 Roundup

Several impressive showings and a few frustrating days for Carolina alums.

By Christian Schneider Oct 8, 2019, 1:00pm EDT

With Mack Brown and Co. getting back to the win column this weekend, let’s take a look at how UNC’s football alums fared in the league:

The Good

The horrendous Washington Redskins were once again horrendous against the decidedly NOT horrendous New England Patriots, but Cole Holcomb was once again a bright spot. Holcomb tallied ten tackles, eight of them solo, in what was another solid performance from him. He played a big hand in stifling the Patriots’ run game in the first half, though things went badly in that department after intermission.
Zach Brown had a tough game against Green Bay last week, but he bounced back nicely on Sunday with five tackles, one for loss in Philly’s easy win over the hapless Jets.
Ryan Switzer made a solid impact on special teams in Pittsburgh’s tough loss to Baltimore. He had two kick returns, one for 20 yards to help set up a score, and a 13-yard punt return.

After being victimized by Robert Woods last week, MJ Stewart seems to be in the doghouse in Tampa Bay. He only saw the field for 23 snaps in Sunday’s loss to New Orleans and made next to no impact. The good news for Stewart is that the Bucs beleaguered secondary made the usually average Teddy Bridgewater look like an All-Pro so limiting him didn’t really help matters.
The Indianapolis Colts may have had the most impressive win of the weekend, as they knocked off Kansas City in Arrowhead. Eric Ebron, however, was a non-factor after being targeted four times and only hauling in one catch for 8 yards. His workload has fallen off drastically from last year’s Pro Bowl campaign, a trend that seems likely to continue in Indy’s current scheme.
Gio Bernard’s touches in Cincy continue to diminish. He had just five touches rushing and receiving for a total of 26 yards.

Mitchell Trubisky was out for Chicago’s game against the Raiders, still suffering from last week’s shoulder injury. His backup Chase Daniel struggled early and was unable to complete the comeback against Oakland, likely silencing those who thought he might be the better man for the job in Matt Nagy’s offense.
TJ Logan saw one kick return for the Bucs that went for 19 yards.
Andre Smith recorded a tackle for loss against the Jaguars.
Smith’s teammate Tre Boston had three tackles, two of them solo.
Robert Quinn’s sack streak came to an end against Green Bay, in which he recorded a single tackle on what was a rough day for the Cowboy defense.
Mack Hollins was targeted once against the Jets and had no receptions.