Week 6 brought another busy NFL slate for Maryland football alumni, with 11 Terps seeing game action and a few more waiting in the wings on practice squads or injured reserve.
The headline belonged to Chad Ryland. The Arizona Cardinals kicker knocked through a game-winning 43-yard field goal to beat the Los Angeles Rams, 18-16, and did it in a game where Arizona never found the end zone. Ryland accounted for every point in the win, including a single-game career-high six field goals on Sunday.
The finish came down to a tight sequence in the closing minute. The Rams scored with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and on the ensuing kickoff, punter Ethan Evans booted the ball into the end zone, sending it out to the 35-yard line. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett then completed a 21-yard pass, and an unnecessary roughness penalty moved Arizona into range for Ryland’s decisive kick.
The Lebanon, Pennsylvania, native has been sharp through six games, converting 14 of 16 field-goal attempts for an 87.5% success rate. After the game, he described the Cardinals’ approach this way: “We [the kicking unit] are trying to go 1-0 every kick,” said Ryland postgame. “The more we can stay in that mindset, focus on our process and reset our process each time, it’s monotonous but it works.”
Ryland’s stretch in Arizona has given him the kind of stability he didn’t find with the New England Patriots in 2024, when he lost the preseason kicking competition to now Tennessee Titan, Joey Syle. Now in his third season with the Cardinals, he’s turned himself into a reliable piece of the roster.
Arizona’s upset of a projected playoff-caliber Rams team also came at a time when the Cardinals are not expected to make a deep NFC West push in 2026, with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. being traded to the Houston Texans listed as one of the reasons why. Still, wins like this are the kind that matter when a team is trying to build for what comes next.
The Cardinals return home Sunday to face the Denver Broncos at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
Elsewhere among the Terps, Washington Commanders tight end Chig Okonkwo had a strong Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, catching seven passes for 69 yards and leading Washington in receiving. He was perfect on targets, hauling in every throw his way.
Commanders wide receiver Stefon Diggs also returned to action after missing Week 5 with a hamstring injury. He caught six passes on seven targets for 44 yards, after being limited in practice on Friday and Saturday.
Safety Nick Cross added two tackles for Washington as well, and he was playing through illness after entering the game questionable. It was also his first action since Week 2 after dealing with an undisclosed internal injury.
Cross had a full week of practice with no restrictions.
On the other side of that same matchup, 49ers defensive end Sam Okuayinonu remained on injured reserve following September foot surgery, with the team hoping for a late-season return.
Tarheeb Still was busy for the Los Angeles Chargers, finishing with eight tackles in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Deonte Banks chipped in four tackles and a pass defended for the New York Giants against the Saints.
Atlanta Falcons linebacker Josh Woods posted four tackles against the Chicago Bears, and he did it while playing a season-high 44 snaps on defense after previously filling mostly a special teams coverage role.
There were also quieter stat lines across the league. Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman DJ Glaze played 66 snaps against the Buffalo Bills and earned a 75% overall blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
Bills running back Ty Johnson caught two passes for 24 yards and added three rushing yards on one carry. Steelers offensive lineman Spencer Anderson logged seven special teams blocking snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For Carolina, offensive lineman Corey Bullock did not see offensive snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles. Damien Lewis returned at left guard after missing Week 4 with a UCL injury, pushing Bullock back into a depth role; he did, however, play four special teams blocking snaps.
Jakorian Bennett did not make his season debut for the Eagles against the Panthers. He’s been working back from a preseason knee injury, and his 21-day practice window was opened on Oct.
- He was limited in practice all week.
Several Terps were off this week. Dolphins safety Dante Trader Jr., Dolphins defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, Vikings wide receiver Tai Felton and Vikings wide receiver Jeshaun Jones all had Week 6 byes. Bengals safety Beau Brade and Dolphins offensive lineman Gottlieb Ayedze also had Week 6 byes while remaining on practice squads.
A few other roster situations were worth noting. Commanders defensive tackle Byron Cowart remained on the practice squad, as did Chargers offensive lineman Josh Kaltenberger.
Ruben Hyppolite II, who was released by the Chicago Bears in September after being waived with an injury designation on Aug. 30, reached a settlement with the team following shoulder surgery in September. He had reverted to the Bears’ IR after not being claimed in August and is now a free agent.
Longtime Terps running back Roman Hemby stayed on the Raiders practice squad in Week 6 after being elevated in Week 5, though he did not play after starter Ashton Jeanty was active following a questionable injury report designation.
Former two-year Terps wide receiver Nick DeGennaro signed to the Commanders practice squad on Oct. 7 and is listed as a development player on the team’s roster. He spent the offseason and preseason with the Patriots.
In Other News...
Maryland Football Just Entered A Reset Fans Never Expected
Maryland football is headed into an unexpected reset after Michael Locksley stepped down as head coach at the University of Maryland, effective immediately. The move comes with the season still in motion, and the school has already said it will launch a national search for his permanent replacement.
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim will take over in the interim for the rest of the year, giving the Terrapins a short-term bridge while the bigger question hangs over the program. For Maryland, the next few weeks are now about keeping the locker room steady, managing the finish to the season and figuring out what kind of leadership the program wants next. [Read more 🡒]
Marylands Next Game Suddenly Feels Bigger Than Fans Expected
A bye week often gives a program a chance to reset, but Maryland comes out of it with a matchup that carries a little extra weight. The Terps are back at home on Saturday, Oct. 31, and the timing alone gives the game a different feel, with both sides trying to regroup after recent losses and both staffs having made midseason changes on defense.
Illinois is the visitor for a noon kickoff on BTN, and the setting makes this one stand out before the ball is even teed up. For Maryland, the date adds a small bit of history to the occasion, and the combination of a fresh start, a conference opponent and a Halloween stage gives this game a little more edge than a typical late-October home date. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Just Made The Program Reset Fans Knew Was Coming
Maryland moved on from Mike Locksley in the middle of his eighth season, a jolt that had been building for weeks as the Terps kept stumbling through another rough stretch against higher-level competition. The decision ends a run that included some real progress, especially the three straight bowl wins from 2021 to 2023, but it also closes the book on a tenure that never fully escaped the frustration of a 38-49 record since 2019.
Athletic director Jim Smith, who arrived in 2025, made the call with five games still left on the schedule, a sign that the programs leadership decided there was no point waiting any longer for a turnaround. For Maryland, the timing matters almost as much as the move itself, because the next coach will be inheriting a roster, a fan base and a standard that have all been shaped by years of uneven results and one very clear expectation: the reset has to work. [Read more 🡒]