The fourth week of the NFL season saw wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Rome Odunze continue their red-hot starts to the season with touchdowns, but Nigeria's most memorable moments did not all come from the usual suspects.
Uchenna Nwosu had a huge game not long after his return from injury for the Seattle Seahawks with two sacks. Meanwhile, Basil Chijioke 'CJ' Okoye - who Nwosu mentored at the NFL Africa Touchdown camp in Ghana - made his regular season debut for the Baltimore Ravens.
African Player of the Week: Uchenna Nwosu (Seattle Seahawks)
Nwosu - who was born in Carson, California, but is of Nigerian descent - missed 22 games out of 34 in the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined with injury. Additionally, he missed this season's opener while recovering from knee surgery.
The linebacker made his comeback in Week 2, but Week 4 was the one in which the world was truly reminded what he is capable of. The former USC Trojans star's two crucial sacks were instrumental in the Seahawks' third win of the season.
The first came in the last minute of Q1 as Nwosu sent Kyler Murray back eight yards to take the sting out of the Cardinals' last drive before the break. The Seahawks led 7-3 at the State Farm Stadium.
The second sack came in the fourth quarter, while the Cardinals were trying to stage a late fightback from 20-6 down. Nwosu could only delay them so long and they eventually clawed their way back to level terms. However, a 52-yard Jason Myers field goal ultimately secured a win which Nwosu played no small part in.
African Moment of the Week: Emeka Egbuka (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Although he could not prevent a 31-25 defeat to reigning Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles, Emeka Egbuka had the most memorable play of the week from an African player, with few competitors from anywhere in the league.
A 77-yard pass from Baker Mayfield set a Buccaneers fightback from 24-6 down in motion and Egbuka made sure he positioned himself perfectly. Despite the flailing last-ditch efforts of two Eagles players, the rookie wide receiver of Nigerian descent made the most difficult play appear effortless and strolled in for the touchdown.
In total, Egbuka had four receptions spanning a total of 101 yards in the Buccaneers' first defeat of the season.
Honorable mentions
Rome Odunze - also of Nigerian heritage - continued his superb start to the season with a touchdown in the Chicago Bears' 25-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He has scored five touchdowns this season - at least one in every game. Egbuka, meanwhile, has four to his name.
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze tells Rich Eisen about the differences between his rookie year and second season so far.
Justin Eboigbe - another player with ties to Nigeria - picked up a sack for the Los Angeles Chargers in their 21-18 loss to the New York Giants. Yet another compatriot, Adetomiwa Adebawore, got half a sack for the Indianapolis Colts in a 27-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba - who is of Sierra Leonean descent - made four catches in the Seahawks win over the Cardinals for a total of 79 yards. His longest reception was for 36.
Africa-born player watch
The most memorable moment came from Nigeria's CJ Okoye, who made his NFL regular season debut in the Ravens' 37-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The first ever player scouted by the NFL International Player Pathway Program directly out of Africa to appear in a regular season game made three tackles on debut.
The Defensive MVP at the 2022 NFL Africa Touchdown camp in Ghana, Okoye was on the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad in 2023 and 2024. In his first ever organized game of football in 2023, he recorded a preseason sack on the Rams' Stetson Bennett.
Although it took two years thereafter to show his potential in a regular season match, it was worth the wait for Okoye and undoubtedly the people who helped him along the way, from Ejike Ugboaja to Osi Umenyiora. Simply by standing up and showing he belonged, Okoye has proven that American football truly is becoming a global game.