A handful of former Rutgers players made their presence felt in the opening week of the 2026 NFL season, with Kyle Monangai leading the way and a few others contributing in different roles across the league.
Monangai delivered the biggest highlight of the bunch. In Chicago’s 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers, the Bears running back ripped off a 61-yard touchdown, the best run of his young NFL career. He finished with 100 rushing yards on 10 carries and added two catches for 24 receiving yards.
Bo Melton’s week was a little more chaotic before it ever got to kickoff, but he still found a way to matter. After being waived by Green Bay, re-signed to the practice squad and then added back to the active roster in time for the opener against the Minnesota Vikings, the receiver made his lone target count with a 10-yard catch. His bigger contribution came on kick returns, where he handled four for 124 yards and broke off a 59-yard return in the first half.
Eric O’Neill also made a strong first impression. The defensive end, who won a roster spot after a standout summer, recorded three tackles in his NFL debut as Detroit edged the New Orleans Saints 31-30 in overtime.
Max Melton chipped in for Arizona in its upset over the Los Angeles Chargers, finishing with a tackle and two passes defended.
Elsewhere, Jonah Jackson was on the field for every one of Chicago’s 75 offensive snaps at right guard and gave up just one quarterback pressure. Sebastian Joseph-Day posted two tackles for Pittsburgh in its win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Christian Braswell saw limited action in Jacksonville’s blowout victory over the Cleveland Browns, playing 11 snaps total - six on defense and five on special teams. Michael Burton logged 16 snaps for Cleveland in that same game, with six on offense and 10 on special teams.
Wesley Bailey played two special teams snaps for the Rams in their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. Andrew DePaola was listed as a captain for Minnesota. Christian Izien, who had been questionable earlier in the week because of a groin injury, ended up inactive for Detroit.
In Other News...
Rutgers Gets An Early Shot At A USC Weakness Fans Noticed
USC opened the season with a comfortable win over Louisiana, but the final score did not hide some of the defensive issues that showed up along the way. The Trojans allowed 358 total yards and gave up 146 on the ground, with Louisiana quarterback Lunch Winfield accounting for 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns, a reminder that Lincoln Rileys group still has work to do before the schedule tightens.
For Rutgers, that creates an early opportunity to test a weakness that was already visible in Week 1. Riley acknowledged afterward that USC needs to improve defensively, even as he looked ahead to Big Ten matchups with Rutgers and Oregon, and the Scarlet Knights will be watching closely to see whether the Trojans can clean things up before conference play really starts to bite. [Read more 🡒]
Dabo Swinney Suddenly Faces Pressure Clemson Fans Never Expected
After just the second week of the 2026 college football season, the coaching conversation has already turned sharp, and not just in the usual places. A handful of familiar names are drawing scrutiny for different reasons, with poor results and uneasy program circumstances putting pressure on staffs that were expected to have more cushion than this. It is early, but the noise around several high-profile jobs is loud enough to matter.
Greg Schiano is part of that uneasy early-season group, which says plenty about how fast the mood can change around Rutgers-adjacent coaching chatter. The list also includes Dabo Swinney, Bill Belichick, Mike Norvell and Dan Lanning, each dealing with a different kind of spotlight as fans and decision-makers look for signs of stability. None of it means a season is already lost, but it does underline how little patience exists when expectations and results start to drift apart. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into USC With One Huge Problem Fans Keep Watching
Rutgers heads into the USC game already facing a daunting early-season test, and the betting markets reflect just how steep the challenge looks. The Scarlet Knights opened as a massive underdog and the number shifted slightly, while the total sits at 58.5, a sign that oddsmakers expect USC to keep scoring. The Trojans have rolled through their first three games by wide margins, and their offense has looked every bit like the kind that can punish mistakes quickly.
For Rutgers, the concern is less about one matchup and more about whether the team can stabilize enough to stay competitive on the road. Through its first two games, the Scarlet Knights have dealt with inconsistency at quarterback and uneven defensive play, leaving plenty of questions as they try to find a rhythm. USC, meanwhile, keeps showing a balanced attack with productive quarterback play, which only raises the pressure on Rutgers to sort out its own issues before the game gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]