Week 7 and the opening of Week 8 brought a little bit of everything for former Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NFL: a linebacker takeover in Minnesota, a season-best workload for a few role players, and a handful of injury-related returns that still haven’t translated into full-time roles.
The loudest performance came from Blake Cashman, who keeps making his case for Vikings defensive MVP one week at a time. In Minnesota’s win over Indianapolis, Cashman was everywhere.
He logged 58 snaps and piled up a team-high 12 tackles, including eight solo stops and two tackles for loss. He also got home twice for sacks of Daniel Jones and broke up four passes.
Indianapolis targeted him five times, and he allowed three catches for 23 yards. The NFL noticed too: Cashman was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Boye Mafe also made his presence felt for Baltimore. In the Bengals’ win over the Ravens, Mafe played 53 defensive snaps and put together a sharp all-around outing with five tackles, three solo, a tackle for loss and a sack and a half of Tyler Huntley. He was targeted once in coverage and gave up a three-yard completion.
Elsewhere in the defensive backfield, Jordan Howden had his most active game of the season for New Orleans. Against Pittsburgh in Paris, he played 30 defensive snaps and 16 on special teams, finishing with two solo tackles.
He was targeted once in coverage, but Pittsburgh didn’t complete the pass. For the Saints, John-Michael Schmitz saw five special teams snaps in the win over the Texans without recording a statistic, while Tyler Nubin returned from the neck injury he suffered in Week 5 and got only a sliver of playing time: one defensive snap and nine on special teams, plus two tackles.
Back in the Twin Cities, another Gophers alum had a busy homecoming. Justin Walley returned to Minnesota with the Colts and saw a bigger role with Sauce Gardner hurt.
Walley played 41 defensive snaps and three on special teams in the loss, recorded three solo tackles, and forced an Aaron Jones fumble. The Vikings tested him four times through the air, and he allowed three completions for 16 yards.
On the offensive side, Rashod Bateman returned from a shoulder injury and got back on the field for the Bengals’ loss to Cincinnati. He played 49 snaps, was targeted four times and finished with two catches for 33 yards.
For Dallas, Brevin Span-Ford put in a solid shift in the win over Philadelphia. He was on the field for 53 offensive snaps and 13 on special teams, caught both of his targets for 11 yards, and added a special teams tackle.
There was a season-high workload for Nick Kallerup in Seattle’s win over Kansas City. He played 26 offensive snaps and four on special teams, didn’t show up in the box score, but helped clear the way as Emanuel Wilson ran for more than 100 yards and a touchdown.
Ko Kieft found a way to leave his mark for Tampa Bay. In the Buccaneers’ blowout win, he played six offensive snaps and five on special teams, then recovered a muffed Carolina punt late in the first quarter.
That turnover led to a field goal for Tampa Bay. It was the first fumble recovery of Kieft’s career.
Not every Gopher had the same kind of night. Aireontae Ersery played all 61 offensive snaps and three on special teams for Houston in the overtime loss to the Giants, but the day was rougher in the grading department. He was flagged twice and earned a 48.2 overall grade, including a 49.1 pass-blocking grade and a 45.1 run-blocking grade from PFF.
A few others were limited by circumstance rather than production. Max Brosmer served as the Vikings’ third quarterback and did not see action.
Benjamin St. Juste was inactive for Green Bay against Detroit.
Cody Lindenberg played three defensive snaps and 16 on special teams for the Raiders, recording one tackle. And on the practice-squad front, Deven Eastern remained with Seattle without appearing in a game, while Kyler Baugh and Esezi Otomewo were not called up for Pittsburgh.
For former Gophers, it was a week defined by defense, with a few key special teams moments and several players still trying to earn more of a foothold as the season moves forward.
In Other News...
Minnesota Faces A Brutal Test In Bloomington With Little Margin
Minnesota heads to Bloomington with little room for error, and the matchup comes at a tricky time for both teams. The Gophers have been stuck in the same offensive rut as Indiana, which has made this one feel less like a showcase and more like a game decided by whichever side can find a spark first. Against the defending national champions, Minnesota will need cleaner execution and a steadier offensive rhythm than it has shown lately if it wants to hang around into the fourth quarter.
The problem is that Indiana still has the kind of talent that can tilt a tight game even when it has not been scoring freely. Charlie Becker remains the player Minnesota has to account for on every snap, and he gives the Hoosiers a dangerous edge in a contest where every possession matters. Recent trends point to a close one, and if the Gophers cannot keep pace when the game tightens late, Indiana looks positioned to find just enough to escape at home. [Read more 🡒]
Minnesota Faces A Brutal Road Test That Could Expose Everything
Saturdays trip to Bloomington gives Minnesota a chance to see where it really stands against a top-five opponent on the road, and it comes at a time when the Gophers have built their identity around defense and ball security. Indianas visit from that angle is an especially interesting one, because the Hoosiers have not looked nearly as sharp on offense as their ranking suggests, while Minnesota will be trying to lean on a unit that has kept it competitive in Big Ten play.
The challenge for the Gophers is simple enough to say and harder to execute: protect the football and force Indiana to play cleanly. Drake Lindseys recent turnover issues have made that task more urgent, and Minnesota cannot afford to give a struggling opponent extra chances in a game with this much weight. Indiana will be looking to get its offense moving again at Memorial Stadium, but for Minnesota the bigger question is whether a disciplined road performance can keep this from turning into a revealing afternoon in all the wrong ways. [Read more 🡒]