Buckeyes in the NFL, Week Eight: Ryan Shazier is Back to Raise Hell

While Cam Heyward spent his week relaxin' with Will Smith (not the former Buckeye defensive end – see above), teammate Ryan Shazier continued his recovery from a sprained MCL in his right knee.

Shazier was listed as "probable" heading into Sunday and, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, all he needed was a positive pre-game warmup to declare himself ready to play. It was the first time he was active since he injured the knee in the Steelers' third game of the season, which was a Sunday night game against Carolina.

Former Miami Hurricane Sean Spence started in his place for past month of the season. Sunday, however, Shazier put on a bee costume – in solidarity with Ohio State sorority girls who will do the same, Friday – and retook his starting inside linebacker spot:

Luck Ran Out@3Spence1 ,@VinnyVidiVici98 ,@dabody52 ,@RyanShazier ! @steelers LBs 10/26/14. 51-34 Win vs Colts pic.twitter.com/FT2is2hjYH

— Morris Hope (@hopeman1969) October 27, 2014

Boom's Expanding Role

Colts starting running back and annual disappointment Trent Richardson is currently battling a hamstring injury, leaving an opening in the running back rotation.

Ahmad Bradshaw is, clearly, the lead back with his backfield mate hobbled –Richardson was active, Sunday, but did not take a handoff. That meant Boom Herron was elevated to the No. 2 role. 

The Colts found themselves down 25 points late in the first half against the Steelers, so Indianapolis abandoned the running game. Herron only carried the ball once, for two yards, and had one reception for five yards. 

Still, head coach Chuck Pagano appears to have faith in Herron's abilities:

#colts Pagano: Boom Herron. If needed, he'll go in and play great. Explosive, good vision. North-South runner. Hard to bring down. @rtv6

— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) October 24, 2014

norwell Cracks Carolina Rotation

Andrew Norwell spent his first six games as a Panther without putting on helmet or pads. Carolina wisely activated him, last week, after an injury to starting left guard Amini Silatolu.

In their previous game against Green Bay, starting right guard Trai Turner went down with a lower leg injury, forcing Norwell into the lineup. Both Silatolu and Turner were inactive for Sunday's game against Seattle, meaning Norwell earned his first career start.

During the week, Panthers teammates chided Norwell because he finally opened up to the media. It was good-natured and they complimented his mentality.

"He's got such a big heart and he doesn't want to let anybody down," center Ryan Kalil told ESPN.com. "He works his butt off and wants to be perfect and get it right. Those are the kind of guys you want to play with." 

Play of the Week

The first three quarters of the Browns-Raiders game were a pillow fight. They combined for five field goals in, either, a surprising display of defense or a not-as-surprising offensive power outage.

Oakland was poised to strike with another field goal late in the third quarter, but the Browns shifted momentum thanks to a turnover. Donte Whitner's huge hit forced a Darren McFadden fumble, and a fluky bounce off Karlos Dansby's hands resulted in a perfect rebound opportunity for Joe Haden:

How They Fared in Week Eight