Stanford NFL stars join rare company

The Stanford Cardinal in the NFL are no doubt some of the league’s biggest stars. From Christian McCaffrey to Zach Ertz and players dotting rosters in every corner of the country, the former Cardinal continue to set the Pac-12 bar for pro careers.

With his performance in Week 1 for the Carolina Panthers, McCaffrey became the second player to rush for at least 25 touchdowns and haul in at least 15 receiving touchdowns over their first 50 career games. McCaffrey joined just Chuck Foreman in doing so.

To date, McCaffrey now has 26 rushing touchdowns and 15 receiving touchdowns since he entered the league in 2017.

McCaffrey is also third in the league since 2017 with seven games with multiple rushing touchdowns.

Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz is now second in the NFL since 2017 with 21 red-zone touchdown receptions (Davante Adams, 24). He hauled in three catches for 18 yards and the red-zone score in the Eagles loss.

Elsewhere in the NFL in their strong debuts, Trent Murphy recorded a sack and two hurries as he now has seven sacks in his last seven games.

Four different Stanford players were named team captains as Blake Martinez, McCaffrey, Richard Sherman and Michael Thomas were donned the captain badge for the New York Giants, Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans, respectively.

Henry Anderson made three tackles and added three hurries in a 27-17 loss at Buffalo.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside played on 28 offensive snaps in the Eagles’ 27-17 loss at Washington.

Jake Bailey punted three times, landing all three inside the 20, with a net of 40.7. He also kicked off four times with four touchbacks in the Patriots’ 21-11 win over the Dolphins.

David DeCastro was inactive for the Steelers in their win on Monday night over the New York Giants.

Cameron Fleming started at right tackle in his first game with the Giants, playing all 68 offensive snaps in the 26-16 loss to Pittsburgh.

Nate Herbig made his first career start (right guard) playing all 68 offensive snaps in the Eagles’ loss at Washington.

Austin Hooper was targeted just twice in the Browns’ loss at Baltimore, totaling two catches for 16 yards and a tackle.

Peter Kalambayi played 16 special teams snaps in the Texans’ loss on Thursday night to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Bryce Love was inactive in Washington’s 27-17 win over Philadelphia.

Blake Martinez, the NFL’s second-leading tackler over the last three seasons, picked up right where he left off despite being with a new team. In his debut with the New York Giants, Martinez led New York with 12 tackles (eight solo), including one tackle for loss, and a team-leading Pro Football Focus grade of 83.9, in a 26-16 loss to Pittsburgh.

Ty Montgomery played four offensive snaps and 23 special teams snaps, recovering a key onside kick to secure a 34-23 season-opening win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

Bobby Okereke totaled one tackle on 19 defensive snaps in the Colts’ loss at Jacksonville.

Andrus Peat started at left guard, playing all 68 offensive snaps in the Saints’ 34-23 win over the Bucs.

Harrison Phillips returned from last season’s injury to make two tackles with two hurries and one QB hit in the Bills’ win over the Jets.

Jordan Richards was elevated to the active roster prior to Sunday’s game, playing on 17 special teams snaps in the Ravens’ 38-6 win over Cleveland.

Justin Reid played on 100% of defensive snaps, making five tackles with one pass defended in the Texans’ Thursday night loss at KC.

Brennan Scarlett made two tackles for Houston on Thursday night, playing 41 total snaps (26 defensive, 15 special teams).

Dalton Schultz was targeted four times, making one catch for 11 yards in the Cowboys Sunday night loss at SoFi Stadium against the Rams.

Richard Sherman began his 10th season on Sunday, starting at cornerback and made four tackles (all solo) for the 49ers in their loss to the Cardinals. Sherman, who switched between left cornerback and right cornerback throughout the game, allowed just one catch for nine yards on two total targets in 53 snaps in pass coverage.

Kaden Smith started for the Giants, making two catches for 17 yards in New York’s Monday night loss to Pittsburgh.

Solomon Thomas started for the 49ers, playing 40 defensive snaps in the 24-20 loss to Arizona.

Levine Toilolo started and made one catch for 13 yards in his team debut, a 26-16 loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Casey Toohill was inactive in Sunday’s loss to Washington.

James Vaughters made two tackles and one for loss in the Bears’ come-from-behind victory at Detroit.