NC State Professional Athletes

The Meltdown at MetLife

NC State's most prominent NFL alumnus had one of the ugliest afternoons of his career on Sunday, and the fallout is loud.

Jacoby Brissett entered Week 4 with genuine momentum. Since 2025, he'd posted an 18-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in road games — one of the better splits at the position. The Arizona Cardinals were the more talented team on paper. They'd even had remarkable historical success at MetLife Stadium. None of it mattered.

Against the New York Giants, Brissett threw three interceptions and finished with just 166 passing yards and 18 rushing yards in a 36-24 Cardinals loss that dropped Arizona to 1-3. The killer blow came at the worst possible moment: Deonte Banks intercepted Brissett in the end zone in the game's final seconds and returned it 98 yards for a pick-six, turning what could have been a manageable defeat into an exclamation-point embarrassment.

Arizona's fan base responded accordingly, calling for a quarterback change. The Cardinals organization has not obliged. Head coach and front office voices doubled down on Brissett publicly in the days that followed, with players and coaches pushing back on the narrative that he should be pulled. Brissett himself acknowledged the losses have "upped urgency" but insisted there is "no panic" inside the building.

The offensive infrastructure deserves scrutiny too. Coordinator Mike LaFleur's unit has shown it can score points in flashes, but the inconsistency across four weeks — particularly in late-game situations — is a pattern that goes beyond one quarterback's bad Sunday. Still, three interceptions, a walk-off pick-six, and a 1-3 record make Brissett the undeniable face of Arizona's crisis.

Elsewhere Around the League

The Brissett story dominated the NC State alumni week, but two other Wolfpack products made notable contributions on Sunday.

Linebacker Drake Thomas had a timely play for the Seattle Seahawks in their 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers — recording an interception on the very first play from scrimmage to set the tone early. It was the kind of turnover that flips field position and momentum simultaneously, and Seattle cashed in.

In Buffalo, linebacker Bradley Chubb and the Bills were on the wrong side of an upset. The New England Patriots edged Buffalo 29-26 on October 4, with Drake Maye frustrating the Bills' pass rush all afternoon — scrambling out of pressure in a way that Chubb and company couldn't consistently solve. Maye threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, and his legs added another dimension that kept the Bills' defense off-balance throughout.

Jakobi Meyers caught three passes for 33 yards in the Jaguars' 22-17 win over Cincinnati — a modest afternoon for the receiver, but Jacksonville came away with the win. Alim McNeill logged a tackle-sack for Detroit in a 26-32 loss to Carolina, as the Lions' defense continues to search for answers after a shaky early stretch.

The week belonged to Brissett's implosion, though — and with the Lions coming to Arizona in Week 5, the pressure on the NC State quarterback to respond won't get any lighter.

NC State Alumni Report: NFL Week 3

NC State's two most prominent NFL skill players put up legitimate numbers in Week 3 — just with very different outcomes on the scoreboard.

Brissett Goes Off, But Cardinals Can't Finish

Jacoby Brissett turned in one of the more quietly impressive quarterback performances of the week and still ended up on the wrong side of a 36-30 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 27. The numbers were real: 38 completions, 280 passing yards, two touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown, and a 98.2 QB rating. The problem was a first half that buried Arizona before Brissett could dig them out.

Brissett was candid afterward, offering a blunt assessment of the Cardinals' early-game collapse. The comeback was genuine — Arizona clawed back into it in the second half — but the deficit proved too steep. He's now 2-13 as Arizona's starter, a record that obscures performances that have been, at times, statistically defensible.

The situation around him remains complicated. Rookie Carson Beck's rib injury derailed the Cardinals' original plan to develop him behind Brissett, and trade speculation swirling around wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has added noise to an already turbulent locker room. Brissett has publicly backed Harrison amid the chatter. Meanwhile, names like Mac Jones have been floated as potential reinforcements, and fantasy analysts are already flagging Brissett as a waiver wire option heading into Week 4. None of that is exactly the context a quarterback wants — but Brissett is producing inside of it.

Meyers Delivers in Blowout Win

Jakobi Meyers had a different kind of week. Playing against his former team, the New England Patriots, Meyers caught 7 passes for 64 yards and hauled in a touchdown as Jacksonville rolled to a 35-6 blowout on Sept. 27. Meyers had described the matchup as emotional in the lead-up — "like seeing your ex," by his own words — and then went out and dominated.

The performance has elevated his stock heading into Week 4 against the Bengals, where analysts have pegged him as a critical matchup advantage for the Jaguars. He does carry a limited designation on the early injury report for that game, which is worth monitoring.

Around the Rest of the Pack

A handful of other Wolfpack alumni had notable moments elsewhere. Bradley Chubb recorded activity in Buffalo's 24-16 win over the Chargers, though the bigger news attached to his name was a $17,000 fine from the NFL for a late hit on Justin Herbert during that game. Alim McNeill notched a sack for the Lions in their 31-24 win over the Jets. Payton Wilson recorded a tackle in Pittsburgh's Thursday night win over Cleveland. And Larrell Murchison was signed to the Rams' active roster ahead of their Week 4 matchup with the Eagles — a roster move that came alongside the waiving of fellow alumnus Tanner Ingle, who was released as the Rams addressed special teams concerns.

NC State's NFL footprint is wide. This week, the alumni at the center of it were exactly who you'd expect.

Cory Durden Is Talking — and He Has the Receipts

NC State defensive tackle Cory Durden didn't just help the New England Patriots dismantle the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. He made sure Aaron Rodgers knew about it afterward.

Durden was a force in New England's dominant 20-3 victory, a performance so lopsided that the Patriots' defense scored more points on their own than they allowed. Rodgers had a nightmarish afternoon, coughing up two turnovers and never finding any rhythm against a Patriots front that made life miserable all day. Durden made the moment permanent with a social media taunt aimed directly at the veteran quarterback — "Enjoy retirement my dog" — a post that quickly went viral and ignited chatter across NFL circles.

It was a statement game and a statement moment for the former Wolfpack standout. New England's defense held Pittsburgh to a field goal, and Durden's impact in the interior was a centerpiece of that effort. Fellow Wolfpack alum Payton Wilson was on the wrong side of that result, suiting up at linebacker for the Steelers in a loss that is sure to prompt uncomfortable questions in Pittsburgh this week.

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Bradbury's Bears Nightmare Deepens

If Durden's week was a highlight reel, Garrett Bradbury's was the opposite.

The NC State center turned in one of the most scrutinized performances of Week 2 across the entire league, drawing sharp criticism after a mistake-filled outing during Chicago's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears' offense managed just three points, and Bradbury's struggles at center were a focal point of the collapse — to the point that multiple reports now indicate Chicago's coaching staff is actively considering a benching.

The storyline isn't new. Bradbury and left tackle Braxton Jones have become a recurring problem for an offense that simply cannot afford internal breakdowns. The Bears' protection issues are stalling what should be a more dynamic attack, and Bradbury's stock is in freefall at the worst possible time. His name led a "falling" list in Chicago's Week 2 stock report, and the calls for a roster change at center are growing louder by the day.

Kentavius Street, another NC State alum on the Bears' defensive line, was on the field for Chicago's loss but escaped the headlines — at least for the moment.

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Around the Pack

The rest of the NC State diaspora had a mixed week.

Jacoby Brissett (Cardinals) is dealing with mounting pressure in Arizona after a dismal 31-7 loss to the Seahawks in which he threw for just 95 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His Week 2 performance drew widespread criticism, and he's since tumbled to 26th in NFL.com's quarterback rankings. He was practicing fully this week with a hip injury, but the Cardinals' situation at quarterback remains unsettled, with Gardner Minshew reportedly drawing interest from rival teams.

Jakobi Meyers (Jaguars) caught just one pass for 28 yards in Jacksonville's 13-20 loss to the Broncos. Trevor Lawrence has acknowledged Meyers' quiet start, though stopped short of sounding an alarm. Snap count analysis suggests the Jaguars need to get him more involved — and fast. In a notable sidebar, Meyers is set for a Patriots reunion next week when Jacksonville hosts New England.

Anthony Belton (Packers) popped up on the injury report with an elbow issue, adding to Green Bay's already-shuffled offensive line concerns heading into Week 3.

Brissett Rewrites Cardinals History

Nobody saw the Arizona Cardinals coming in Week 1 — except maybe Jacoby Brissett.

The NC State product turned in a 277-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 26-14 dismantling of the Los Angeles Chargers, a result FanSided ranked among the most embarrassing losses of the opening weekend. The win was stunning enough on its own, but the historical footnote made it something else entirely: head coach Mike LaFleur became the first Cardinals coach to win his debut since Don Coryell in 1973. Brissett, fully aware of the moment, has been candid about what delivering that win meant to him personally.

The numbers keep looking better in context, too. Brissett's 277 yards on Sunday put him atop the NFL in passing yards since taking over as Arizona's starter — a quiet but real statement of fact in a league that dismissed him as a placeholder. Pro Football Talk flagged the stat, and the analytics crowd took notice. A QB comparison from Sports Illustrated gave Brissett the clear edge over Seattle's Drew Lock ahead of Week 2, no small thing given the Seahawks are a significant step up in competition. Brissett acknowledged as much, making what reporters called a "candid admission" about the challenge ahead.

The subplot worth watching: Marvin Harrison Jr. had just one touch in the win. Brissett addressed it directly, explaining the game plan dictated the distribution — and then turned around and hyped running back Jeremiyah Love while calling out fantasy managers who slept on Kendrick Bourne's big game. For a backup-turned-starter at 33, Brissett is commanding the room like a franchise guy. Whether he can sustain it against a tougher schedule will define Arizona's fall.

Wolfpack Scattered Across the Week 1 Ledger

Brissett wasn't the only NC State alum making noise in the opening week.

In Jacksonville, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers had a quietly productive day — two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown — as the Jaguars rolled Cleveland 34-10. The Jaguars' Week 2 injury report brought good news, with Meyers listed as a full participant, suggesting no concern heading into the Broncos matchup.

In Chicago, defensive tackle Kentavius Street got after the quarterback in the Bears' lopsided 59-37 win over Carolina, posting a sack in a game that wasn't particularly close. Street told Sports Illustrated this week that he views the Bears' pass rush inconsistency as a temporary issue — and he's putting his game where his mouth is.

Up in Buffalo, linebacker Bradley Chubb is settling into his new AFC East home after leaving Miami. He logged a sack in Thursday's primetime home opener against Detroit — a 41-31 Bills win — and spent the week raving about defensive lineman Deone Walker's "once in a lifetime" athleticism. The Bills are Super Bowl contenders, and Chubb, for the first time in years, is on a roster built to match his ambitions.

Finally, Payton Wilson factored into Pittsburgh's 20-13 win over Atlanta, with T.J. Watt singling out the NC State linebacker as a rising star on the Steelers' defense. For a player still establishing himself at the NFL level, a public co-sign from Watt carries genuine weight.

The Wolfpack footprint across the league is wide. This week, Brissett made sure everyone noticed where it started.