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Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 6 for Former Virginia Football Players

Matt Newton

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Week six of the NFL season saw seven former Virginia football players see the field for various teams. Let's check in to see how all of these former Cavaliers and their teams fared in week 6.

Rodney McLeod Jr. had the play of the week for the purposes of Hoos in the NFL, returning a blocked field goal 50 yards for a touchdown. The Philadelphia Eagles were attempting a 57-yard field goal just before halftime when Cleveland Browns star defensive lineman Myles Garrett broke through the line and smothered the kick. McLeod recovered the loose ball and took it the rest of the way for a touchdown to tie the game at 10-10 going into halftime.

McLeod, who made his second start of the season and played each of Cleveland's 62 defensive snaps for the first time this season, also made eight tackles and recorded one pass defended, but the Browns ultimately suffered their fourth-straight loss, falling to the Eagles 20-16. In a stat that is more embarrassing for the Browns than it is impressive for Rodney McLeod Jr., his two touchdowns on the season are tied with Cleveland wide receiver Amari Cooper for the team lead in touchdowns this season.

Charles Snowden has now started five of six games at defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders. It hasn't been a great year for the Raiders, who fell to 2-4 on the season with a 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but this has been a very exciting campaign for Snowden, who posted another career-high in tackles with six on Sunday. He played 33 defensive snaps (49% of Las Vegas' defensive snaps) and 10 special teams snaps (40%). For the season, Snowden has logged six games played, five starts, 18 total tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, and more experience than he has ever had playing in the NFL.

Brent Urban registered one pass defended and played 15 defensive snaps (25%) and eight special teams snaps (28%) for the Baltimore Ravens in their 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Also on the field in that game was Olamide Zaccheaus, who had four receptions on six targets for 27 yards and also returned one punt for 10 yards. Zaccheaus played 23 offensive snaps (39% of Washington's offensive snaps) and one special teams snap (3%) for the Commanders, who had their four-game winning streak snapped in the loss, but still sit atop the NFC East standings.

One week after earning his first start of the season for the Green Bay Packers, Dontayvion Wicks unfortunately suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to leave the game, which the Packers won over the Cardinals 34-13. Wicks wound up recording only one catch for nine yards on three targets and played a season-low 10 offensive snaps before exiting the game with the injury and he is now considered "week-to-week."

Joey Blount played no defensive snaps, but was on the field for 13 special teams snaps (48%) and made one tackle for the Arizona Cardinals in their 34-13 loss to the Packers.

Morgan Moses returned to the field at right tackle for the New York Jets after missing the last two games with an MCL sprain. In their first game following the firing of head coach Robert Saleh, the Jets missed two field goals in the second half and ended up falling to the Buffalo Bills 23-20 on Monday Night Football.

Malik Washington and the Miami Dolphins had a bye this week. The Dolphins are still without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has been out since September 15th with a concussion. The earliest he can return to practice is October 23rd.

There are three former UVA football players on the Injured Reserve:
- Safety Juan Thornhill (Browns) - injured in week 1
- Cornerback Bryce Hall (Buccaneers) - injured in week 1
- Tight End Jelani Woods (Colts) - injured in preseason

Read last week's edition of Hoos in the NFL here: Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 5 for Former Virginia Football Players

Published
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.