Across The Shield: Chris Olave Tops 1,000 Yards for Second Straight Year, Zach Harrison Makes Two Sacks and Ezekiel Elliott Hurdles to A Touchdown

By Dan Hope on December 26, 2023 at 8:35 am
Chris Olave vs. Rams
Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports
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Only three wide receivers in New Orleans Saints history have topped 1,000 yards in both of their first two NFL seasons, and two of those three players are former Buckeyes.

Michael Thomas was the second Saints receiver to start his career with a pair of quadruple-digit seasons (after Marques Colston) as he topped 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons with the team. Chris Olave became the third Saints pass-catcher to start his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons on Thursday night, when Olave also had his fifth 100-yard game of the season.

Olave tied his career-high with nine receptions in Thursday night’s game, gaining 123 yards on those nine catches. That doesn’t even count his 2-point conversion catch in the fourth quarter that cut the Los Angeles Rams’ lead to eight.

That would be the final time the Saints scored in the game, however, as the Rams won 30-22. Jordan Fuller made a key play in the victory for the Rams, picking off Derek Carr for his second interception of the season, which set up a Rams touchdown drive that gave the home team a 27-7 lead in the third quarter.

Pete Werner had a productive game in defeat for the Saints, recording five total tackles with two tackles for loss.

Two sacks for Zach

One week after recording the first sack of his NFL career, Zach Harrison recorded two sacks in the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 16 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Harrison sacked Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew twice in the Falcons’ 29-10 victory. He also stuffed a Jonathan Taylor run for no gain and broke up a Minshew pass attempt for the first pass breakup of his pro career. He did all of that in just 25 snaps off the bench, recording four quarterback pressures on just 15 pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

In recognition of his best game as a pro to date, the rookie third-round pick earns our Pro Buck of the Week Award as the top NFL performer from Ohio State in Week 16.

Pro Bucks of the Week
Week Player Stats
Week 1 Saints CB Marshon Lattimore 1 INT, 3 PBU, 2 tackles
Week 2 Texans QB C.J. Stroud 30-47 passing, 384 yards, 2 TD
Week 3 Saints WR Chris Olave 8 catches, 104 yards
Week 4 Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 35-yard fumble return TD
Week 5 Bears QB Justin Fields 15-29 passing, 282 yards, 4 TD; 11 carries, 57 yards
Week 6 Bengals DE Sam Hubbard 7 tackles, 1 sack, 5 QB hits
Week 7 Dolphins LB Jerome Baker 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 22-yard interception return TD
Week 8 Broncos OLB Baron Browning 4 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 1 FF
Week 9 Texans QB C.J. Stroud 30-42 passing, 470 yards, 5 TD; 10 rushing yards
Week 10 Texans WR Noah Brown 7 catches, 172 yards
Week 11 Alouettes WR Austin Mack 6 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD in Grey Cup win
Week 12 Rams S Jordan Fuller 4 PBU, 3 tackles
Week 13 Saints WR Chris Olave 5 catches, 119 yards
Week 14 Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott 22 carries, 68 yards; 7 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD; 1 tackle
Week 15 Commanders WR Terry McLaurin 6 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD; 1 tackle
Week 16 Falcons DE Zach Harrison 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 PD

Harrison was one of four former Ohio State defensive linemen to record sacks in Week 16. Dre’Mont Jones and Jonathon Cooper recorded one sack each while Chase Young recorded a half-sack in combination with 49ers teammate Randy Gregory.

Bosa makes three tackles for loss

Nick Bosa set a new season-high with three tackles for loss in the San Francisco 49ers’ Monday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The former Ohio State defensive end made three run stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also teamed up with Young to put heavy pressure on Lamar Jackson and force an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety – though they received a big assist from the umpire when he fell while backpedaling and tripped up the Ravens quarterback.

Fields leads Bears to third win in four weeks

Justin Fields had a big game as a runner and was good enough as a passer to lead the Chicago Bears to their third win in four weeks on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Fields completed 15 of 27 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Bears’ 27-16 victory. His only touchdown pass of the day came on a 1-yard completion to Marcedes Lewis, but most of his yardage through the air came via his connection with Cole Kmet, who caught five passes for 107 yards including a 53-yard deep ball, Fields’ second-longest completion of the season.

As a runner, Fields averaged a season-high 10.8 yards per carry as he ran for 97 yards on just nine attempts, highlighted by a 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 39-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.

Altogether, Fields has now topped 260 yards from scrimmage in seven of his 11 starts this season as he looks to show that the Chicago Bears should move forward with him as their starting quarterback even though they are currently in line to pick No. 1 overall with the first-round selection they acquired from the Carolina Panthers when they traded the top pick in the 2023 NFL draft to Carolina.

Zeke hurdles his way to a touchdown

Before he became famous as an Ohio State and NFL running back, Ezekiel Elliott was a Missouri high school state champion in the hurdles. The former high school track star showed he hasn’t lost his hurdling skill in the New England Patriots’ Sunday night win over the Denver Broncos.

After catching a swing pass from Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe, Elliott leaped over a diving tackle attempt from Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian on his way to end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.

Elliott had nine catches, the second-most he’s had in an NFL game, for 33 yards along with 12 carries for 27 yards in the Patriots’ 26-23 victory.

Quick Hits

  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba made a crucial catch on the Seattle Seahawks’ game-winning drive against the Tennesee Titans, grabbing a 18-yard pass on a slant over the middle of the field to move the chains on 3rd-and-14, keeping alive a drive that would ultimately end in the deciding touchdown in Seattle’s 20-17 victory.
  • Two different pairs of Buckeyes – Olave and Fuller, and Garrett Wilson and Terry McLaurin – participated in postgame jersey swaps that were documented on the NFL’s official X account.
  • Taylor Decker was one of several Detroit Lions veterans called up to lead the team’s postgame breakdown in the locker room after the Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings to clinch their first division title in 30 years.
  • The Atlanta Falcons signed Tommy Togiai off of the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad on Wednesday. He was inactive for his first game with the Falcons.
  • The New York Jets signed Jalyn Holmes to their active roster on Wednesday after elevating him from their practice squad for each of their previous two games. He recorded two tackles in the Jets’ win over the Washington Commanders.
  • The Browns elevated Tanner McCalister from their practice squad for the second week in a row. He recorded two tackles in the Browns’ win over the Houston Texans.
  • C.J. Stroud was unable to play in the Texans’ game against the Browns, missing his second consecutive game with the concussion he suffered against the Jets in Week 14.
  • Jeremy Ruckert left the Jets’ Week 16 win over the Commanders with a concussion.
  • The Los Angeles Chargers designated Joey Bosa to return from injured reserve last week, opening up the possibility that he could return for their final two games of the season after he missed their last five games with a foot sprain he suffered in Week 11.
Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 16 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB DOLPHINS Did not play 35 tackles, 1 QB hit, 7 PD
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS Injured reserve (knee) 68 tackles, 1.5 sacks (0 yards), 2 TFL, 4 QB hits, 2 INT, 3 PD, 1 TD
VONN BELL S PANTHERS 7 tackles 62 tackles, 1 QB hit 1 INT, 2 PD
JOEY BOSA OLB CHARGERS Injured reserve (foot) 20 tackles, 6.5 sacks (59 yards), 6 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 3 tackles, 3 TFL 48 tackles, 10 sacks (58.5 yards), 13 TFL, 33 QB hits, 3 PD, 2 FF, 1 FR
NOAH BROWN WR TEXANS 3 catches, 38 yards 32 catches, 559 yards, 2 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles, 1 QB hit 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks (22.5 yards), 4 TFL, 8 QB hits, 2 PD, 2 FF
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR GIANTS Inactive 20 catches, 104 yards; 8 KR, 191 yards
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 4 tackles, 1 sack (10 yards) 69 tackles, 7.5 sacks (60.5 yards), 1 FF, 7 TFL, 12 QB hits, 1 INT, 2 PD, 2 FR, 1 TD
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 13 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Injured reserve (Achilles) 8 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB PATRIOTS 12 carries, 27 yards; 9 catches, 33 yards, 1 TD 157 carries, 549 yards, 2 TD; 45 catches, 280 yards, 1 TD; 1 tackle
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Started at TE 12 catches, 148 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS 15/27, 170 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 9 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD 196/302 passing, 1,976 yards, 15 TD, 9 INT; 105 carries, 579 yards, 3 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS 2 tackles, 1 INT 85 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 7 PD, 3 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 3 tackles, 1 TFL 8 tackles, 1 TFL
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS Inactive 26 tackles, 3 sacks, (18 yards), 2 TFL, 3 QB hits, 2 PD
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Started at LB 19 tackles, 1 QB hit
ZACH HARRISON DE FALCONS 3 tackles, 2 sacks (4 yards), 1 PD 28 tackles, 3 sacks (10 yards), 3 TFL,4 QB hits, 1 PD
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS Started at DT 30 tackles, 2 sacks (14 yards), 6 TFL, 3 QB hits
RONNIE HICKMAN S BROWNS 6 tackles 18 tackles, 2 PD
JALYN HOLMES DE JETS 2 tackles 3 tackles
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 4 tackles, 1 TFL 50 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 2 tackles 53 tackles, 5 sacks (31 yards), 6 TFL, 16 QB hits, 1 FR
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Started at LG 10 starts at LG
PARIS JOHNSON JR. OL CARDINALS Started at RT 15 starts at RT
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 6 punts, 44.3 average, 4 inside 20 57 punts, 47.2 average, 25 inside 20
DAWAND JONES OT BROWNS Injured reserve (knee) 9 starts at RT, 11 games played
DRE'MONT JONES DE SEAHAWKS 3 tackles, 1 sack (10 yards), 2 QB hits 38 tackles, 4.5 sacks (23 yards), 5 TFL, 12 QB hits
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS Injured reserve (ankle) 48 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 8 PD
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 1 tackle, 1 TFL 23 tackles, 3 sacks (19.5 yards) 8 TFL, 11 QB hits, 3 PD
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Non-football illness (heart) 3 starts at C
TANNER McCALISTER FS BROWNS 2 tackles 2 tackles
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 1 tackle, 13 games played at LS
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 3 catches, 50 yards 69 receptions, 885 yards, 3 TD, 1 FR TD
JAKE McQUAIDE LS LIONS Played at LS 1 tackle, 7 games played at LS
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Started at LT 9 starts, 14 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 15 games started at C
JEFF OKUDAH CB FALCONS 1 tackle 44 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 PD
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 9 catches, 123 yards 81 catches, 1,041 yards, 4 TD
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Injured reserve (shoulder) 2 starts at OT, 3 games played
ISAIAH PRINCE OT FALCONS Practice squad 2 games played
BRADLEY ROBY CB EAGLES Played at CB 21 tackles, 1 QB hit, 2 TFL, 1 FF
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Played at TE 16 catches, 151 yards
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 1 catch, 16 yards; 2 carries, 4 yards 57 catches, 565 yards, 4 TD; 6 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD
TREY SERMON RB COLTS 2 carries, 3 yards 30 carries, 128 yards
KENDALL SHEFFIELD CB 49ERS Released 4 tackles, 1 TFL
TYREKE SMITH LB CARDINALS Inactive 1 tackle
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA WR SEAHAWKS 6 catches, 61 yards 59 catches, 602 yards, 2 TD
C.J. STROUD QB TEXANS Inactive 275/441 passing, 3,631 yards, 20 TD, 5 INT; 35 carries, 143 yards, 3 TD
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS Injured reserve (knee) 39 catches, 448 yards, 1 TD
TOMMY TOGIAI DT FALCONS Inactive Has not played
NICK VANNETT TE CHARGERS Played at TE 3 starts at TE, 6 games played
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS 3 tackles 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 1 tackle, 1 PD 30 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 11 PD, 1 FF
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 5 tackles, 2 TFL 81 tackles, 0.5 sacks (4 yards), 3 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 1 PD, 2 FR
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 9 catches, 76 yards; 1 carry, -8 yards 88 catches, 958 yards, 3 TD; 2 carries, -2 yards; 0/1 passing
LUKE WYPLER C BROWNS Inactive 4 games played
CHASE YOUNG DE 49ERS 2 tackles, 0.5 sack (3 yards) 23 tackles, 7.5 sacks (49 yards), 7 TFL, 14 QB hits, 2 PD
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