Week 3 delivered one of those NFL Sundays that kept the scoreboard operators busy. The league had 12 one-score games, matching the record for a single week, and a handful of former Stanford players were right in the middle of the action.
The headline matchup for Cardinal alumni came in Santa Clara, where Christian McCaffrey ’18 and the San Francisco 49ers edged Michael Wilson ’21 M.A. ’22 and the Arizona Cardinals 36-30. McCaffrey did his usual damage, rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while adding four receptions for 41 yards. That gave him 116 yards from scrimmage, the most by any Stanford football alum this week, and helped push San Francisco to 3-0.
Wilson was heavily involved on the other side. He was targeted 17 times at Levi’s Stadium and finished with 11 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown in the defeat. Three weeks after signing his $75 million extension, Wilson has 163 yards on 18 catches with one touchdown.
Elsewhere, Austin Hooper ’17 got Atlanta going early. The Falcons tight end scored a touchdown to open Week 3, and he finished by catching both of his targets for 11 yards in a 35-14 win over Green Bay. That result gave Atlanta its first win of the season and moved the Falcons to 1-2.
Brycen Tremayne ’22 turned in another solid receiving day for Carolina, even though the Panthers came up short in Cleveland. Tremayne caught four of six targets for 83 yards, highlighted by a career-long 31-yard grab, in a 21-18 loss. Carolina is also 1-2 through three games.
A few other former Cardinal chipped in across the slate. Bobby Okereke ’18 recorded four tackles in Carolina’s loss to the Browns.
Elijah Higgins ’23 caught three passes for 20 yards in Arizona’s defeat against San Francisco. Dalton Schultz ’18 hauled in all three of his targets for 10 yards apiece in Houston’s 19-17 loss to the Colts, and he now ranks fourth among tight ends in receiving yards this season with 205.
Harrison Phillips ’18 finished with four tackles in Detroit as the Jets fell 31-24.