Week 6 turned into another strong showcase for Michigan’s NFL crowd, with Aidan Hutchinson once again headlining the group. The former Wolverines star was right in the middle of Detroit’s 45-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, finishing with two assisted tackles, half a sack and two quarterback hits. He also helped bring down Jacoby Brissett on a key fourth down late, with Arizona still trying to stay alive in the game.
That performance pushed Hutchinson to four sacks through five games, and he continues to anchor Detroit’s defensive front.
Jaishawn Barham also kept his rookie season on track, turning in seven tackles in Dallas’ 24-16 loss to Tampa Bay. The former Michigan linebacker now has 28 tackles through five games, and three of those outings have ended with exactly seven stops.
Nico Collins gave Houston another reason to smile in a 26-3 win over Tennessee, hauling in five catches for 56 yards as the Texans picked up their first victory of the season. Through three appearances, the former Michigan receiver has stacked up 249 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Plenty of other Wolverines found their way onto the stat sheet around the league.
In Cincinnati’s 31-24 win over Miami, Dax Hill posted four tackles, all but one of them solo, while DJ Turner II added a pass breakup and Erick All Jr. caught three passes for 25 yards. On the other side, Josh Uche finished with three tackles and two solo stops for the Dolphins.
Josh Metellus was busy for Minnesota in the Vikings’ 23-13 win over New Orleans, collecting five tackles with four solo stops.
Jourdan Lewis logged four tackles, three solo, in Jacksonville’s 19-17 win over Philadelphia.
The Giants and Commanders played to a 27-27 tie in overtime, and several Wolverines were involved there too. Mike Sainristil had five tackles, four solo, for Washington.
J.J. McCarthy carried the ball twice for two yards for New York, Jon Runyan Jr. started at guard, and Dominic Zvada went 2-for-5 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points.
AJ Barner finished with three receptions for 20 yards in Seattle’s 32-29 loss to San Francisco.
Chicago’s 31-7 loss to Green Bay included eight tackles and two tackles for loss from Devin Bush, plus two catches for 19 yards from Colston Loveland.
Rashan Gary made six tackles, four solo, in Tampa Bay’s 24-16 win over Dallas, while Barham added his seven-tackle day for the Cowboys.
Kwity Paye had one assisted tackle in New England’s 45-17 win over Las Vegas.
And in Buffalo’s 37-34 win over the Rams, the result closed out the Week 6 slate on a high-scoring note.
In Other News...
Michigans Turnover Problem Just Forced A Change They Couldnt Avoid
Michigans turnover trouble has become hard to ignore, and Kyle Whittingham sounded like a coach who knows the margin is no longer a side note. Speaking Monday, he stressed how important it is to win the turnover battle, especially after a season in which Michigan has slipped to a minus-4 turnover margin and watched clean defensive starts get undercut by mistakes on the other side of the ball.
The latest response was a change at punt returner, a move triggered by recent miscues and one the staff could no longer put off. Michigan has lost the turnover margin in four of its past five weeks, and the pattern has lined up too neatly with the losses for anyone around the program to dismiss it as bad luck. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Bye Week Puts Bryce Underwood And The Offense On Notice
Michigans bye week arrived with the offense still searching for answers and the bigger picture looking a lot less comfortable than the program is used to. The Wolverines have fallen well short of recent standards, and with four wins needed in the final seven games just to avoid matching their worst mark since 2014, the pressure is squarely on sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood and offensive coordinator Jason Beck to get things moving in a better direction.
The break does buy the coaching staff some time, and head coach Whittingham is being given that window to sort through the issues and keep building toward a more consistent identity. For Michigan, the week is less about rest than reflection, a chance to step back, make adjustments and figure out whether the offense can start looking like something the rest of the schedule will have to take seriously. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans UCLA Test Suddenly Feels Very Different For One Reason
UCLAs win over Oregon kept the Bruins unbeaten and pushed them deeper into the national conversation, but the bigger news for Michigans coming trip out west is the change under center. Nico Iamaleava is now likely out for the season, and UCLA is expected to turn to Cal Poly transfer Ty Dieffenbach at quarterback as it moves into a brutal stretch that also includes Wisconsin and USC.
For Michigan, the matchup now looks different in a hurry. What had been shaping up as a test against an unbeaten team suddenly comes with a layer of uncertainty, because the Bruins are trying to replace a key piece on the fly while still protecting their perfect record. The Wolverines still have their own goals to chase, but the quarterback situation alone gives this meeting a very different feel than it had just days ago. [Read more 🡒]