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One of the best two-sport athletes in the history of Carolina athletics is getting the ultimate honor in the sport he dominated as a pro. Julius Peppers will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 3, joining Chris Hanburger (2011) and Lawrence Taylor (1999) as Tar Heels to be enshrined. The 2024 Hall of Fame Class was announced Thursday.
Only two Tar Heels remain in the NFL playoffs heading into next weekend’s divisional round — Houston offensive lineman Charlie Heck and Detroit wide receiver Antoine Green. Both saw limited action on wild-card weekend.
Sam Howell finished an up-and-down season as the first Washington quarterback to start every game since Kirk Cousins in 2017, with a league-high 21 interceptions and likely competition for the job next season.
Michael Carter had his best game of the season, juking a defender to the ground on one play, to help the Arizona Cardinals earn a road upset of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sam Howell again didn’t play well, but his receivers’ struggles didn’t help. For the second consecutive week, Washington coach Ron Rivera benched the struggling quarterback and got a spark off the bench from former N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Ty Chandler’s career-high 132 yards and a touchdown highlighted Week 15 for UNC alums on a weekend when coaches benched quarterbacks Sam Howell and Mitch Trubisky after ineffective efforts in losses.
Javonte Williams collected 91 total yards and a touchdown as Denver rolled to a 24–7 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Broncos’ sixth win in the last seven games.
Mitchell Trubisky put up decent numbers in his first start in nearly a year but was left frustrated after he couldn’t rally Pittsburgh from an 18-point first-half deficit against a bad New England team.
On a rough day for Sam Howell in another Washington loss, Mitchell Trubisky finally got on the field for the first time in over a month and was an accurate passer, but had his share of frustrations in Pittsburgh’s loss.
Week 12 of the NFL season started with a frustrating Thanksgiving Day for quarterback Sam Howell and Washington, but wide receiver Josh Downs and running back Javonte Williams helped their teams earn Sunday victories, running back Michael Carter made his Arizona debut and cornerback Mike Hughes started for Atlanta.
Ty Chandler had a career game in the spotlight of Sunday Night Football, but his Minnesota Vikings couldn’t stop Javonte Williams’ red-hot Denver Broncos. Sam Howell threw three interceptions in a Washington loss on a week that many UNC alums were either inactive or were on open dates.
Running back Javonte Williams continued to be a workhorse for Denver and had his best game of the season Monday night as the streaking Broncos won at Buffalo 24–22. Williams gained a season-high 110 total yards — his first time over 100 this season — with 79 rushing yards on 21 carries and 31 receiving yards, catching all four passes targeted to him, and his second touchdown this season.
Sam Howell threw for three touchdowns, including a huge late one to former UNC teammate Dyami Brown, and produced his fourth game with at least 300 yards this season. It was in a losing effort, but the second-year pro showed why he is the Washington Commanders’ franchise quarterback with another impressive effort.
Sam Howell had more of an up-and-down game than a week earlier when he had a career day, but the important difference for Washington was that it was a victory.
Cole Holcomb’s season likely came to a painful end Thursday night. Late in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s 20–16 victory over the Tennessee Titans, the Steelers’ starting left inside linebacker suffered a serious and gruesome left knee injury.
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