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Hoos in the NFL: Olamide Zaccheaus, Dontayvion Wicks Shine in Week 16

Matt Newton

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Week 16 was a big one for former Virginia football players in the National Football League, particularly for UVA's trio of wide receivers in the league, who accounted for a combined 11 receptions, 111 receiving yards, and three touchdowns this weekend. Let's recap all the performances from the nine former Wahoos who played in week 16 of the NFL season.

Olamide Zaccheaus had the standout showing of the weekend, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help the Washington Commanders pull off a huge come-from-behind 36-33 victory over their division rival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

First, Zaccheaus made a great sliding catch in the end zone on a low pass from Jayden Daniels to get the Commanders back within one possession early in the fourth quarter.

Then, Zaccheaus caught a pass from Daniels in space and then broke a couple of tackles to get into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown to give Washington the lead.

It was the fourth start of the season for Zaccheaus and he made it count, finishing with five catches on eight targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns, all season-highs. The Commanders are now 10-5, two games behind the Eagles for the lead in the NFC East, but in very solid position to earn a Wildcard berth to the playoffs.

Dontayvion Wicks caught three passes for 13 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game for the Green Bay Packers, who posted the first shutout of the NFL season by blanking the New Orleans Saints 34-0 on Monday Night Football. He could have had a second touchdown late in the game, but Green Bay's backup QB Malik Willis had his pass deflected at the line of scrimmage as he targeted Wicks, who was wide open on a slant with nothing but green grass in front of him. Nonetheless, Wicks caught a touchdown pass for the first time since week seven and had his most targets since week 5.

Malik Washington made his second start of his career and caught three passes on four targets for 28 yards as the Miami Dolphins defeated the San Francisco 49ers 29-17 to stay alive for the playoffs. He also returned one kickoff for 32 yards and had two punt returns for 15 yards while playing seven special teams snaps and a season-high 58 offensive snaps (87% of Miami's offensive snaps). The Dolphins are tied with two other teams at 7-8 and are part of a five-team group battling for the last two spots in the AFC Playoff picture.

Charles Snowden returned to the field after missing last week's game and recorded three tackles, including one solo stop, while playing 37 defensive snaps (55%) and three special teams snaps (11%) to help the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 19-14. The Raiders snapped a 10-game losing streak with the win and are now 3-12 on the season, though that's probably not a good thing, as they are unlikely to land the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft now.

Brent Urban posted one tackle in seven defensive snaps and three special teams snaps in the Baltimore Ravens' 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's now a tie between those two teams at 10-5 atop the AFC North standings with two games to play.

Juan Thornhill recorded four tackles, including three solo stops, in 30 defensive snaps (54%) and Rodney McLeod Jr. had one tackle in 12 defensive snaps (21%) and 13 special teams snaps (62%) in the Cleveland Browns' 24-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns have lost four games in a row and are now 3-12 on the season.

Morgan Moses played every offensive snap at right tackle for the second week in a row and 10th time this season as the New York Jets dropped to 4-11 this season with a 19-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Joey Blount made a solo tackle for the second week in a row, playing 18 special teams (55%) for the Arizona Cardinals, who fell to the Carolina Panthers in overtime 36-30, a brutal loss that officially eliminated the Cards from playoff contention.

Two other former Cavaliers are on injured reserve, as Bryce Hall went down with an ankle injury in the season opener, while Jelani Woods suffered a toe injury in preseason and was placed on season-ending IR.

Read last week's edition of Hoos in the NFL here: Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 15 for Former Virginia Football Players

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.