Across the Shield: Marshon Lattimore and Michael Thomas Shine in London, Ezekiel Elliott Looks Good Losing & Ryan Shazier Mocks Ray Lewis

prevailing Across the Pond

The people of London were treated to a stupendous matchup between the Saints and the Dolphins this week. The game turned out to be a snoozer as New Orleans ran away with it 20-0, but it turned into a Buckeye showcase on both sides of the ball.

In just his second year in the league, Michael Thomas is already Drew Brees' top target and it showed on Sunday. The former Buckeye was targeting 11 times – more than all the other receivers combined – and pulled in eight passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

We have a TD in London! Drew Brees 3-yard TD to Michael Thomas!#Saints take a 10-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/nbla1aN7xQ

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 1, 2017

And for those of you wondering, he hasn't lost his trademark cockiness confidence since he's been in the league.

Michael Thomas said Ken Crawley's pick shows iron sharpens iron: "I feel like he could cover anyone if he could cover me in practice."

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) October 1, 2017

On the other side of the ball, rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore was even more impressive, though it may not have been so obvious to most onlookers. Pro Football Focus graded Lattimore's performance at an 88 – the second-highest graded cornerback in the entire league.

PFF: #Saints' Marshon Lattimore (88.0) 2nd-best grade among all CBs in league this week, while Ken Crawley (85.9) was 5th-best

— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) October 2, 2017

Here's what they had to say about his performance:

The raw coverage number of four catches allowed on four targets for 41 yards may not look stellar, but Lattimore was a strong presence on the field for the Saints playing physically at the line of scrimmage and beyond to disrupt the Dolphins’ passing game. His two biggest impact plays both led to fumbles, first wrenching the ball from Kenny Stills’ grasp on a screen and then covering DeVante Parker up on a screen early in the fourth quarter to prevent Jay Cutler throwing on an RPO which led to a forced fumble on a sack by Cam Jordan.

TL;DR, Lattimore had yet another great game, and people are starting to take notice.

Marshon Lattimore is fantastic. Forced fumble and lockdown player in coverage. He's already a budding star.

— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) October 1, 2017

Saints have not 1 but 2 young players in @Cantguardmike and @shonrp2 that are not just good, but potentially elite at their respective spots pic.twitter.com/eNZsw0Yo9L

— Michael Detillier (@MikeDetillier) October 1, 2017

Zeke Runs Wild, Loses

Cowboys fans have been waiting for Ezekiel Elliott to return to his 2016 form when he led the NFL in rushing by a wide, wide margin. But so far this season, the former Buckeye running back has rushed for 100 yards in a game just once this season and got absolutely shut down against the Broncos, managing just eight yards on nine attempts.

On Sunday, Elliott broke loose a little bit, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and he added four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

He had perhaps his best touchdown celebration to date the second time he scored as he found his mother in the stands, handed her the football and got a quick peck on the helmet.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, his performance wasn't quite enough. Dallas fell 35-30 to the Rams and are now 2-2 on the season.

The Steel Curtain

The Steelers took care of business in Baltimore on Sunday, topping the Ravens 26-9 on their home field. The win was due in large part to the play of two former Buckeyes – Ryan Shazier and Cameron Heyward.

Shazier was Pittsburgh's defensive MVP. He had a team-high 11 total tackles, a tackle for a loss and forced not one, but two interceptions on Sunday afternoon, including an acrobatic pass breakup that ultimately landed in the hands of teammate Mike Hilton.

Shazier celebrated in the most fitting way possible – by mocking the most iconic Ravens player in history on their own field.

Had to do it against the Ravens. Shoutout to the @raylewis @NFL @steelers. #nfl #gameday #steelers pic.twitter.com/nNnLK5I3tn

— Ryan Shazier (@RyanShazier) October 1, 2017

He wasn't the only Steeler that impressed on the defensive side of the ball as Heyward wreaked havoc on the Ravens as well. Heyward finished the game with four total tackles, two tackles for a loss, forced and recovered a fumble, and accounted for half of Pittsburgh's total sacks by himself, finishing with two on the game.

Heyward is back healthy after an injury cost him much of last season, and he's been one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen in the league so far this season.

Cameron Heyward's strong start to the season continued today pic.twitter.com/XSGUhm2IzE

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 1, 2017

DeForest Buckner and Cameron Heyward have been dominant as interior pass rushers through two weeks pic.twitter.com/0FKVJGjVc2

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 21, 2017

Cameron Heyward's tape this season pic.twitter.com/FrSjRuBduh

— Doug Farrar (@BR_DougFarrar) October 1, 2017

Hooker Nabs Another One

Thee NFL starts, three interceptions – that's where Malik Hooker is at right now.

The former Buckeye ball hawk picked off his third pass in three games on Sunday against the Seahawks, and this time he got to show off his running ability a little bit, returning it 29 yards before he was brought down.

3 STRAIGHT GAMES WITH AN INTERCEPTION!@malikhooker24 is a BALL HAWK. pic.twitter.com/KzC3qaZNcS

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 2, 2017

Hooker is now tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with Micah Hyde of the Buffalo Bills.

Meanwhile, the Browns continue to play Jabrill Peppers in a manner that would perfectly suit Hooker's skill set, but in no way suits Peppers'.

Too bad Hooker wasn't on the board when the Browns were on the clock, am I right?

Ohio Against the World

This is beginning to sound trite, but I really feel like I need to emphasize this: I really think it's possible for me to win a game with this team, but the stars are really going to have to align properly.

That means I need great games from everybody at the same time while my opponent has a sub-par performance. That's not what happened this week. It's hard enough to win a game when you're taking zeros at two positions, it's almost impossible when you net -4 points from four positions.

Also, there's almost no chance I beat 162.5 points (how is an 0-3 team in a 12-person league scoring that many points?) even with the best performances from everyone, so maybe I'm glad I had an off week.

We'll get 'em next time.