Pro Blue: Kris Jenkins Jr. picks up first NFL sack in blowout win over Raiders

Among the standout NFL performances from former #Michigan Wolverines was Kris Jenkins, who picked up his first NFL sack. We have that and more in Week 9’s edition of #ProBlue

It’s hard to believe that the NFL season is already halfway over; it feels like the season goes by faster every single season.

While a few top former Wolverines — Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins — have each been hurt for a few weeks now, there’s still plenty of former Michigan Wolverines making an impact in the NFL.

Here are some standout performances from Week 9, starting with a rookie picking up his first sack.

Bengals rookie defensive tackle Kris Jenkins picks up first NFL sack

In a blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders , plenty of non-starters got valuable game reps, including Kris Jenkins Jr.

The rookie defensive tackle had a career game, racking up a career-high five tackles and being credited with a sack after Desmond Ridder gave himself up when the pocket collapsed (8:05 mark of video at this link EDITORS NOTE Can’t embed NFL highlights). It was one of five sacks the Bengals defense recorded in the victory.

While a lot of his snaps came in garbage time, getting that game experience will certainly help Jenkins in the long run. He’s the second Michigan rookie to pick up his first sack in recent weeks, joining former teammate Jaylen Harrell.

In that same game, Bengals cornerback D.J. Turner II had three tackles, all of them solo. On the other side of the ball, Erick All caught two passes for 24 yards, but will not see the field again this season after tearing his ACL, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter .

Kwity Paye picks up a key sack on Sunday Night Football

Fourth quarter sacks always feel more valuable than sacks in any other quarter, especially when they come on third down. Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye picked up a sack of that exact variety in a Sunday Night Football loss to the Minnesota Vikings .

Paye is coming off a career season where he racked up 8.5 sacks for the Colts. He’s got 2.5 sacks and 17 tackles in seven games so far this season.

Also in this game, Vikings safety Josh Metellus was his team’s second-leading tackler, racking up five tackles, four of them solo.

Devin Bush Jr. leads Browns in tackles in loss

Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers picked up a win on Sunday, defeating the Cleveland Browns , 27-10. One of his former players led the Browns in tackles in that game.

Devin Bush Jr., midway through his sixth NFL season, amassed eight tackles, six of them solo, along with a sack (EDITORS NOTE – I looked for 20 minutes and there’s no video of this on Twitter or YouTube).

That was Bush’s fifth career sack and his first this season, as the former Michigan linebacker has 24 tackles on the season. He’s on his third NFL team after appearing in 52 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers over four seasons and 13 games with the Seattle Seahawks last season.

In that same game, Browns linebacker Khaleke Hudson had a solo tackle.

Seahawks rookie tight end A.J. Barner shows off his hops

In an overtime loss to NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams , Seattle Seahawks tight end A.J. Barner had a solid day. He caught a single-game career-high four catches for 27 yards, and he showed off his athleticism in the red zone, leaping over Rams linebacker Jacob Hummel to secure a first down in the fourth quarter.

Appearing in all nine of Seattle’s games in his first pro season, Barner has caught 14 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown while providing consistent blocking in the run game, just like he did opposite Colston Loveland in Ann Arbor.

In this same game, fellow Seahawk Zach Charbonnet had 33 all purpose yards, and 25 of those yards coming through the air.

Other notable performances

-In a win that was more dominant than the final score let on over the Green Bay Packers , guard Graham Glasgow helped the Detroit Lions rush for 124 yards and a score, while only allowing Jared Goff to be sacked once. In that same game, linebacker Rashan Gary had four tackles, a quarterback hit and half a sack. He completely disrupted the Lions on third down, bullrushing a solid offensive tackle in Taylor Decker to collapse the pocket.

-In a win over the New York Giants , Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil had four tackles, all of them solo. On the other side of the ball, Giants guard Jon Runyan Jr. helped New York rush for 164 yards and a rushing touchdown, only allowing Daniel Jones to be sacked twice.

-In a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars , veteran Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham logged a pass defensed.

-In a loss to the Atlanta Falcons , Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis logged six tackles, including a tackle for loss.