The 2026 NFL season is in full swing after an exciting weekend of games and plenty of former Ole Miss players were in the spotlight.
Jaxson Dart led the Giants to a Sunday night win against the Dallas Cowboys, Evan Engram caught a touchdown for Denver on Monday Night Football and Walter Nolen helped lead Arizona to a surprising win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, it wasn’t all good news. 49ers’ rookie De’Zhaun Stribling left his NFL debut after 11 snaps and New England receiver AJ Brown landed on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain and will miss at least the next four weeks.
Here’s a breakdown of how each ex-Rebel performed in Week 1 of the NFL season.
(Information from an Ole Miss Athletics press release was used in this article.)
Rebels in NFL: Week 1 Results
Seattle Seahawks 31, New England Patriots 10
Patriots
A.J. Brown, WR
- Finished with three catches for 26 yards in a loss to the Seahawks in Week 1. Placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.
Ben Brown, OL
- Inactive.
San Francisco 49ers 27, Los Angeles Rams 7
49ers
De’Zhaun Stribling, WR
- Played 21 snaps before leaving the game due to injury.
Jordan Watkins, WR
- Inactive.
Cincinnati Bengals 33, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27
Bengals
Cedric Johnson, DE
- Played 33 total snaps, recording one tackle on special teams in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Baltimore Ravens 41, Indianapolis Colts 23
Ravens
Tavius Robinson, OLB
- Recorded three total tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and four quarterback hurries in a 41-23 win over the Colts. Robinson’s PFF tackle grade of 73.1 ranked third among AFC North edge rushers in Week 1.
Colts
Tahj Chambers, LB
- Played 27 snaps on special teams, finishing with one solo tackle.
Kapena Gushiken, S
- Played 11 snaps on special teams.
Laquon Treadwell, WR
- Played 39 total snaps in a loss to the Ravens.
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Atlanta Falcons 13
Falcons
Jared Ivey, LB
- Making his Falcons debut, finished with two tackles in a loss to Pittsburgh.
Steelers
DK Metcalf, WR
- Finished with four catches for 40 yards in a 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Chicago Bears 59, Carolina Panthers 37
Panthers
Princely Umanmielen, LB
- Finished with three tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hurry in a loss to the Bears. His PFF tackle grade of 74.2 ranked eighth among all edge rushers in Week 1, and first in the NFC South.
Jacksonville Jaguars 34, Cleveland Browns 10
Browns
Sam Williams, DE
Buffalo Bills 36, Houston Texans 31
Bills
Dawson Knox, TE
- Finished with one catch for seven yards as the Bills took down the Houston Texans by a score of 36-31.
Las Vegas Raiders 27, Miami Dolphins 13
Raiders
JJ Pegues, DT
- Inactive.
Philadelphia Eagles 24, Washington Commanders 22
Eagles
Elijah Moore, WR
- Inactive
Arizona Cardinals 26, Los Angeles Chargers 14
Cardinals
Walter Nolen III, DT
- Recorded one tackle in a 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Nolen finished with a 63.5 PFF pass rush grade, sixth highest among NFC West defensive linemen.
Jayden Williams, OL
- Making his NFL debut, played 14 total snaps in a win against the Chargers.
Wydett Williams Jr., S
- Played five snaps on special teams in the win against the Chargers.
Chargers
Tre Harris, WR
- Brought down three catches for 20 yards in a loss to the Cardinals.
Deane Leonard, CB
- Inactive.
New York Giants 28, Dallas Cowboys 20
Cowboys
Jonathan Mingo, WR
- Hauled in one catch for 10 yards in a loss to the Giants.
Giants
Jaxson Dart, QB
- Went 23/29 through the air for 230 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 11 carries for 54 yards on the ground as the Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on Sunday Night Football. Dart’s PFF rushing grade of 78.1 ranked second among all quarterbacks in Week 1.
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Denver Broncos 10
Broncos
Evan Engram, TE
- Hauled in four catches for 43 yards and one touchdown in a loss to the Chiefs. Engram’s PFF receiving grade of 78.2 led all Broncos pass catchers.
DJ Jones, DT
- Played 39 defensive snaps, finishing with one tackle in a loss to Kansas City.
Chiefs
Diego Pounds, OL
- Inactive.
Injured Reserve
- Trey Amos, CB, Washington Commanders
- Laremy Tunsil, OT, Washington Commanders
Practice Squad
- Nick Broeker | OL | Buffalo Bills
- Chance Campbell | LB | Philadelphia Eagles
- AJ Finley | S | Seattle Seahawks
- Deantre Prince | CB | Chicago Bears
- Trey Washington | S | Indianapolis Colts
- Harrison Wallace III | WR | Arizona Cardinals
- Antwane Wells JR. | WR | Atlanta Falcons
