Across The Shield: Ezekiel Elliott Scores Two Touchdowns, Chase Young and Jordan Fuller Return from Injuries, Jerome Baker and Cameron Heyward Notch Sacks

Sunday’s divisional game against the New York Giants got off to a rough start for the home team as the Giants took a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter. Elliott helped start the Cowboys’ comeback, though, by scoring a 1-yard touchdown on their next possession.

After taking the lead late in the first half, the Cowboys suffered true adversity in the third quarter, when star quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a compound fracture in his right ankle. Just three plays after Prescott’s devastating injury, though, Elliott scampered into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown run, then paid tribute to his teammate by raising four fingers in the air (in reference to Prescott’s jersey number).

The man just finds the endzone @EzekielElliott

: #NYGvsDAL on FOX pic.twitter.com/a7OpKN1ZEy

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 11, 2020

4's up for @dak @EzekielElliott | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/9NAvzBI57I

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 11, 2020

Both of those touchdowns proved pivotal in a game the Cowboys ultimately won in the game’s final seconds when Greg Zuerlein hit a game-winning 34-yard field goal to put Dallas ahead 37-34 as time expired.

Elliott has now scored six touchdowns, including five rushing touchdowns, in five games this season. He finished Sunday’s game with 91 rushing yards on 19 carries as well as one catch for 14 yards.

Young, Fuller return to action

After missing their respective teams’ games last week due to injuries, Chase Young and Jordan Fuller were back on the field and playing each other on Sunday as the Washington Football Team hosted the Los Angeles Rams, and both of them made plays in their returns.

Young, who missed Washington’s Week 4 game with a groin injury, had two tackles including a tackle for loss against Rams running back Darrell Henderson in his return to action on Sunday.

Chase Young is BACK. @youngchase907 #WashingtonFootball

: #LARvsWAS on FOX
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/BGCKhfX8uY pic.twitter.com/wYJUmJlP9X

— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2020

Fuller, who teamed with Young on Ohio State’s defense from 2017-19 and is now a starting strong safety for the Rams, had four tackles and two pass breakups in his first game back from a shoulder injury, including a leveling hit to break up a pass intended for Washington running back J.D. McKissic.

Fuller’s Rams earned a 30-10 win over Young and the Washington Football Team, whose quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Alex Smith combined to throw for just 111 yards. Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who had already been demoted to third-string despite throwing for a career-high 314 yards last week, was inactive and not at FedEx Field on Sunday due to a stomach virus.

Baker, Heyward record sacks

Two former Ohio State players recorded sacks on Sunday, as Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward each recorded their second quarterback takedowns of the season.

Baker took down 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard with an explosive blitz into the backfield as part of an eight-tackle performance on Sunday as the Dolphins rolled to a 43-17 win in San Francisco.

Jerome Baker got there in a FLASH @Lastname_Baker @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/o82Z3wpVIr

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 11, 2020

With bragging rights for the state of Pennsylvania on the line, Heyward took down Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz for a sack on a day when he had two tackles and also had a pass deflection as the Steelers improved to 4-0 for the season with a 38-29 win over their cross-state rivals.

Still got it @CamHeyward with another sack in Year

: #PHIvsPIT on FOX
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/aMg1Lpp39T pic.twitter.com/HV18C0Cfam

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 11, 2020

Dobbins makes most of one carry

J.K. Dobbins hasn’t been getting a lot of touches so far in his rookie season as the Baltimore Ravens’ third-string running back behind Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards, but there’s certainly a case to be made that he deserves more carries based on what he’s done when he has gotten the ball in his hands.

In the Ravens’ second game of the season, Dobbins had just two rushing attempts but took one of them for 44 yards. On Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Dobbins had just one rushing attempt and it took it 34 yards.

Breaking tackles is what the rook does @Jkdobbins22 @Ravens pic.twitter.com/13c8AQOeri

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 11, 2020

For the season as a whole, Dobbins has now gained 126 yards on just 16 carries, an average of 7.875 yards per carry. Among players with at least that many rushing attempts this season, no one has averaged more yards per carry.

Dobbins also had three catches for 21 yards in Sunday’s 27-3 win over the Bengals. He now has nine catches for 73 yards for the season. 

Hubbard injures elbow

To make a bad day worse for the Bengals, they lost multiple defensive linemen to injuries during Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, including former Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard, who was knocked out of the game with an elbow injury.

As of Sunday night, the severity of his injury was unclear, as Bengals coach Zac Taylor did not provide an update on his health after the game. To date, Hubbard has missed just one game in his NFL career.

Thomas won’t return Monday night

After missing the New Orleans Saints’ last three games with a high ankle sprain, Michael Thomas was expected to return for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. That won’t happen, however, after Thomas got into an altercation with Saints teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson over the weekend.

The Saints announced Sunday that Thomas is out for Monday’s game due to what they described as “not injury-related team discipline.” According to multiple reports, the All-Pro wide receiver has been suspended for Monday’s game because he punched Gardner-Johnson, a safety for the Saints, during a fight in practice on Saturday.

Both guys are VERY competitive and stuff happens. But those there thought Thomas was in the wrong, and he didn't immediately apologize, which may have contributed to the punishment.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 11, 2020

While Thomas will miss his fourth straight game as a result, fellow Ohio State product Marshon Lattimore could make his return for the Saints after missing their last game against the Detroit Lions with a hamstring injury. He is listed as questionable on the Saints’ injury report.

Other Buckeyes who are expected to play in Monday night’s game in New Orleans (8:15 p.m., ESPN) are Malcolm Jenkins for the Saints (who are already making their second Monday Night Football appearance of the year) and Joey Bosa and K.J. Hill for the Chargers.