If P.J. Fleck needed a little pick-me-up after the Gophers' 49-24 loss to Michigan in Saturday night's season opener, he received it Sunday from a trio of stars from Minnesota's 2019 team.
Antoine Winfield Jr., Tyler Johnson and Kamal Martin all had impactful games for their NFL teams.
Winfield, a safety who's making a case to be defensive rookie of the year, intercepted his first NFL pass in the fourth quarter as Tampa Bay defeated the Raiders 45-20 in Las Vegas. Winfield scooped up a tipped pass by Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, then returned the pick 16 yards to the Las Vegas 24-yard line. That set up a touchdown that put the Buccaneers up 38-20.
"It's a great feeling to get my first interception," Winfield told the Tampa Bay Times. "I felt like I should've had it last week [when he dropped a would-be interception against Green Bay], but you know, it was great finally actually catching the ball and it actually felt amazing."
Winfield ranks third on the team with 37 tackles (25 solo) and has two sacks.
Johnson was part of NFL history late in the fourth quarter when he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady, who moved ahead of New Orleans' Drew Brees for the NFL record with his 559th career TD pass. The wide receiver also had a 3-yard reception and has seven catches for 72 yards and two TDs this season.
Martin, making his NFL debut for the Packers after missing the first five games because of a training camp knee injury, started at inside linebacker and made six tackles, one for loss, in Green Bay's 35-20 win at Houston.
"They're having a phenomenal year right now, and it's so fun for our team right now to see those guys that they just played with have a ton of success in the NFL," Fleck said.
