Across the Shield: Rod Smith Runs Wild, Marshon Lattimore Locks Down Julio Jones and Michael Thomas Has a Season High

By Kevin Harrish on December 11, 2017 at 10:46 am
Rod Smith Racked up 150 yards.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
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Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye. Across the Shield follows those who once wore Scarlet and Gray on their journeys through the NFL

Rod Smith Runs Wild

Try to wrap your head around this: on Sunday afternoon, Rod Smith accounted for more yards in a single NFL game than he did in three of his four seasons at Ohio State.

Playing in relief of the suspended Ezekiel Elliott, Smith accounted for 150 all-purpose yards during Sunday's game against the Giants, rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown on six carries and hauling in five passes for 113 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The play of the game was Smith's 81-yard touchdown to put the Giants to bed and seal a Cowboys victory.

Of course, Ezekiel Elliott, who Smith backed up briefly at Ohio State and now does the same in Dallas, was watching.

Still Can't Guard Mike

Michael Thomas has been having an unbelievable season up to this point, ranking No. 6 in the league in receiving yardage and No. 5 in receptions. He had his best game yet on Thursday night against the Falcons.

Thomas tied a season-high 117 yards and scored a touchdown, catching 10 passes on 14 targets. The performance earned Thomas the Saints' highest overall grade, a 92.7, according to Pro Football Focus.

Here's their evaluation of his game:

Thomas tied a season-high with 117 receiving yards, but it was his effectiveness of those yards that really made a difference. Out of his ten catches, nine went for first downs or a touchdown, including four on third down. His performances leaves him just eight yards shy of back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons with three games to go.

Can Guard Julio

Marshon Lattimore is just 13 games into his NFL career and he's already locking down arguably the best receiver in the NFL.

Lattimore, playing man-to-man coverage on the Falcon's star receiver for much of the game, helped limit Jones to just five catches on 11 targets. He had one pass defense and jumped in front of Jones for his third interception of the season, which he returned for 33 yards.

Lattimore is ready for his matchup with another top NFL receiver in a couple of weeks.

Shalieve

Ryan Shazier got nothing but support from his Steelers teammates on Sunday night when they took on the Ravens. From start to finish, someone was doing something to honor the former Buckeye linebacker who suffered a spine injury on Monday night.

It began with Shazier's former Ohio State teammate and now Steelers teammate Cameron Heyward carrying his No. 50 jersey onto the field when the team came through the tunnel.

Then Steelers linebacker James Harrison payed homage to Shazier during his warmup routine, going shirtless despite the freezing temperatures, just as the former Buckeye is known to do.

Harrison then led a pregame huddle which featured a chant of 5-0 – Shazier's number – shortly before kickoff.

The Steelers continued to honor Shazier throughout the game as well. At least half of the Steelers defense wore custom cleats in support of Shazier, according to ESPN producer Dominique Goodwin.

The team also wore custom undershirts in support of Shazier, which Roosevelt Nix proudly displayed after making a huge hit during the game's opening kickoff.

The best part: Shazier saw it all. He watched the game on television from the hospital, and even FaceTimed Heyward after the game and posted a postgame reaction video on social media.

The Steelers gutted out a win over the Ravens, 39-38, clinching the AFC North Title. Who's going to bet against this team winning the Super Bowl?

Ohio Against the World

Last week, I prematurely declared this fantasy season over.

Folks, I forgot about the consolation playoffs – and so did my opponent.

Week 14

All he had to do to beat me was start Jonathan Stewart, but instead he got 0 points from five different positions and I got a 25-point win.

I'm not actually going to claim this as a win, for obvious reasons, but let's just appreciate how ridiculous it is that about my receivers are injured, my best player is suspended and I'm taking an automatic zero at the quarterback position but I still managed to put up almost 100 points.

Who would have thought Rod Smith would account for 33 points to propel me to a fantasy win?

Buckeyes in the NFL: Week 14
Player Position Team Stats
Alex Boone OL Arizona Cardinals  
Adolphus Washington DL Buffalo Bills 5 total tackles
Kurt Coleman S Carolina Panthers 5 total tackles, 1 pass defense
Andrew Norwell OL Carolina Panthers  
Curtis Samuel WR Carolina Panthers Injured Reserve
Mike Nugent K Chicago Bears 2 for 2 field goals, 3 for 4 extra points
Noah Brown WR Dallas Cowboys 2 targets
Ezekiel Elliott RB Dallas Cowboys Suspended
Rod Smith RB Dallas Cowboys 6 rushes for 47 yards and a touchdown, 5 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown
Jeff Heuerman TE Denver Broncos 1 catch for 5 yards
Bradley Roby CB Denver Broncos 1 total tackle, 1 pass defense
Taylor Decker OL Detroit Lions  
Corey Linsley OL Green Bay Packers  
Braxton Miller WR Houston Texans  
Michael Bennett OL Jacksonville Jaguars Injured Reserve
Jonathan Hankins DL Indianapolis Colts 8 total tackles, 1 tackle for a loss
Malik Hooker S Indianapolis Colts Injured Reserve
Jack Mewhort OL Indianapolis Colts Injured Reserve
John Simon LB Indianapolis Colts  
Joey Bosa DE Los Angeles Chargers 3 total tackles
Cardale Jones QB Los Angeles Chargers  
Jake McQuaide LS Los Angeles Rams  
Raekwon McMillan LB Miami Dolphins Injured Reserve
Pat Elflein OL Minnesota Vikings  
Nate Ebner DB New England Patriots Injured Reserve
Vonn Bell S New Orleans Saints 2 total tackles
Ted Ginn Jr. WR New Orleans Saints 2 catches for 10 yards
Marshon Lattimore CB New Orleans Saints 1 interception returned for 33 yards, 3 total tackles, 1 pass defense
Michael Thomas WR New Orleans Saints 10 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown
Eli Apple CB New York Giants  
Curtis Grant LB New York Giants Injured Reserve
Darron Lee LB New York Jets 5 total tackles
Devin Smith WR New York Jets Injured Reserve
Gareon Conley CB Oakland Raiders Injured Reserve
Malcolm Jenkins S Philadelphia Eagles 3 total tackles
Cameron Heyward DE Pittsburgh Steelers 1 total tackle
Ryan Shazier LB Pittsburgh Steelers Injured Reserve
Carlos Hyde RB San Francisco 49ers 14 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown
Nick Vannett TE Seattle Seahawks 1 target
Terrelle Pryor WR Washington Redskins Injured Reserve
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