Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 8 for Former Virginia Football Players

Matt Newton | Oct 29, 2024

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Week 8 of the NFL season saw nine former Virginia football players see the field, including two games with multiple former Wahoos participating. Let's check in to see how all of these former Cavaliers and their teams fared in week 8 on this edition of Hoos in the NFL.

Three UVA football alums played in the Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns game on Sunday. In his second game back from injury after missing five games in a row, Juan Thornhill posted four total tackles, including three solo stops, to go along with one pass defended and one quarterback hit to help the Browns pull a stunning 29-24 upset over the Ravens. Thornhill played 53 defensive snaps (78% of Cleveland's defensive snaps), while fellow former UVA safety Rodney McLeod Jr. recorded two solo tackles and one pass defended while playing 42 defensive snaps (62%) and 16 special teams snaps (55%).

On the other side of the ball, former Virginia defensive end Brent Urban went down with a concussion early in the first quarter of Sunday's game and did not return to the field after playing only one defensive snap. The Ravens had their five-game winning streak snapped, while the Browns ended a streak of five-consecutive losses with the win.

In the other game this weekend that featured multiple former Wahoos, the Arizona Cardinals beat the Miami Dolphins 28-27. Joey Blount played no defensive snaps and recorded no stats, but played 22 special teams snaps, or 85% of Arizona's special teams snaps. Blount has played on defense for the Cardinals in only one game this season, but he has been on the field for the majority of their special teams snaps so far.

Malik Washington had no targets in the receiving game for Miami, but returned two punts for a total of 25 yards, including one that went for 19 yards on Arizona's first punt of the game. The rookie receiver played 16 offensive snaps (25%) and 15 special teams snaps (58%) for the Dolphins, who suffered their fifth loss in the last six games even with the return of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Charles Snowden recorded four total tackles, one solo tackle, and one quarterback hit on Patrick Mahomes in the Las Vegas Raiders' 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Snowden played 18 defensive snaps (25%) and five special teams snaps (21%) and has recorded at least one tackle in each of his eight games so far this season. Nearing the midway point of the season, Snowden has amassed 23 total tackles, two tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks. Before this season, he had yet to record a single defensive stat in his NFL career.

The up and down 2024 season continued for Dontayvion Wicks, who was targeted only twice and played just 21 offensive snaps (30%), but caught both of those passes for 11 yards to help the Green Bay Packers defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-27 to improve to 6-2 on the season. Wicks has had a couple of great games this year - including five catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings and three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown last week against the Texans - but he has also had four games of three or fewer targets. The Packers are cruising at 6-2, but they are still trying to sort out who their go-to receivers are.

The Washington Commanders beat the Chicago Bears on a miraculous Hail Mary from Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown in what will likely go down as the play of the year in the NFL this season. Olamide Zaccheaus wound up on the winning side thanks to that play, but he had no receptions and no targets in the game. He did return two punts for 29 yards and played 26 offensive snaps (35%) and seven special teams snaps (27%).

Morgan Moses played all 62 offensive snaps and four special teams snaps in the New York Jets' 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots. The Jets gave up two sacks and rushed for 112 yards and 4.0 yards per carry, but they suffered their fifth-straight defeat.

There are two former UVA football players on the Injured Reserve:
- 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 7 for Former Virginia Football Players