Across The Shield: Michael Thomas is Back, Justin Fields Leads Bears to Week 1 Win, Buckeye Receivers and Defensive Linemen Shine

By Dan Hope on September 13, 2022 at 10:10 am
Mike Thomas
Brett Davis – USA TODAY Sports
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There were no shortage of highlight plays from former Buckeyes during the first week of the NFL season.

Justin Fields led the Chicago Bears to a Week 1 win, while Ohio State alumni across the league made the Buckeyes’ case for being WRU and DLU.

As we begin a new season of Across The Shield, we start out by introducing our new award for the week’s top NFL performer from Ohio State – Pro Buck of the Week – before taking a look at the rest of the Buckeye highlights from a wild Week 1 and the stats from every former Ohio State player who took the field during the first weekend of games.

Pro Buck of the Week: Michael Thomas

After missing the entire 2021 season with an ankle injury, Thomas entered the 2022 season motivated to reestablish himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. He made a big statement in his first game back.

While Thomas’ overall Week 1 statistics don’t jump off the page – five catches for 57 yards – two of those catches were touchdowns that reminded everyone of his ability to adjust to the ball, make contested catches against tight coverage and be a dynamic red zone weapon.

Both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, leading the way for the New Orleans Saints to storm back from a 26-10 deficit and earn a 27-26 win over the rival Atlanta Falcons.

A big New Orleans Buckeye effort

While Thomas’ two-touchdown return earns him the top honor among NFL Buckeyes this week, he wasn’t the only former Ohio State player who came up big for the Saints in Week 1.

Defensively, the Saints were led by Pete Werner, who recorded a team-high 13 tackles with one tackle for loss. Werner also teamed up with another former Buckeye for a takeaway when he forced an Olamide Zaccheaus fumble that Bradley Roby recovered.

Chris Olave made his NFL debut on Sunday and scored his first points by catching a two-point conversion – on a route that might look familiar to Ohio State fans – after Thomas’ first touchdown.

Olave – one of seven Buckeyes who currently plays for the Saints, a group that includes Marshon Lattimore, Nick Vannett and Wyatt Davis – finished his first game as a pro with three catches for 41 yards.

More Buckeye receivers making plays

Thomas and Olave weren’t the only Buckeye receivers to score on the NFL’s opening Sunday. In fact, they weren’t even the only pair of Buckeye receivers to score for the same team.

Curtis Samuel scored the first Buckeye touchdown of the 2022 season when he caught a 3-yard pass in the first quarter of the Washington Commanders’ season-opening win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Terry McLaurin sparked the Commanders’ fourth-quarter comeback when he caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz.

Noah Brown led the Cowboys in receiving with five catches for 68 yards in their season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And Garrett Wilson flashed his potential in his NFL debut by catching four passes for 52 yards, most notably on a 9-yard gain on which he juked out multiple Baltimore Ravens defenders.

Fields leads Bears to victory

The first game of Justin Fields’ sophomore season got off to an inauspicious start. The former Ohio State quarterback completed only three of nine passing attempts for 19 yards in the first half and fell victim to some first-quarter Buckeye-on-Buckeye crime when Nick Bosa sacked him.

In the second half, Fields reminded everyone of the playmaking ability that made him a star in Columbus and did what the Chicago Bears needed him to do to earn a season-opening victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Fields’ first big highlight of the day came late in the first half when he juked out 49ers defensive end Samson Ebukam and ran for a 12-yard gain.

His most spectacular play of the day came in the third quarter when he ran away from multiple pass-rushers before throwing back across his body to connect with an open Dante Pettis, who ran the rest of the way to the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown.

He gave the Bears their first lead of the day – a lead they would not relinquish – when he threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Equanimeous St. Brown.

For the game as a whole, Fields completed eight of his 17 passing attempts for 121 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and had 28 rushing yards on 11 attempts. 

After the win, Fields and his teammates joyously celebrated their victory by turning the rain-soaked Soldier Field into a slip-and-slide.

Fields’ emergence as a team leader in just his second NFL season was also evident during the postgame locker room celebration, where he took on the responsibility of handing out game balls to new Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.

Disruptive D-linemen

Nick Bosa wasn’t the only former Ohio State defensive lineman to sack a former Ohio State quarterback on Sunday. Cameron Heyward got both his first sack and his first takeaway of the season against Joe Burrow – who, of course, finished his college career against LSU but started it at Ohio State – in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ overtime win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The takeaway initially appeared to be Heyward’s third career interception but was instead ruled to be his seventh career fumble recovery, as Heyward caught the ball in midair, but the ball was knocked out of Burrow’s hand by Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith before Burrow made a forward throwing motion.

Heyward was credited with two tackles in the Steelers’ 23-20 win but disrupted many more plays than that on a day where he was often matched up with Bengals rookie left guard Cordell Volson.

Bosa’s older brother Joey also had a productive start to the season, blowing up two plays behind the line of scrimmage. He was credited with a sack when he took down Davante Adams for a 10-yard loss on an ill-fated trick play by the Las Vegas Raiders, while he also combined with teammate Morgan Fox for a fourth-quarter strip sack on which he knocked the ball out of Derek Carr’s hands.

Multiple former Buckeye defenders made notable plays up front for the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Baron Browning – who’s now an edge rusher for the Broncos after playing primarily as an off-ball linebacker at Ohio State – made an eight-yard tackle for loss against Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. In contrast, Dre’Mont Jones made a 4th-and-1 run stuff against Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith to force a turnover on downs.

Tommy Togiai combined with Cleveland Browns teammate Jadeveon Clowney for a sack of former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in their win over the Carolina Panthers.

Rookie report

Four of the six Ohio State players selected in the 2022 NFL draft saw playing time in Week 1.

Nicholas Petit-Frere started at right tackle in the Tennessee Titans’ season-opening loss to the New York Giants. Thayer Munford, who paid tribute to his former Ohio State teammate Dwayne Haskins before the game, came in off the bench to play 18 snaps at right tackle in the Raiders’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tyreke Smith will not play at all as a rookie after the Seahawks placed him on injured reserve with a hip injury, while Jeremy Ruckert was inactive for his first game as a New York Jet.

Full stats

The statistics for every Buckeye who played during the NFL’s opening weekend can be found below, as compiled by Eleven Warriors’ Matt Gutridge. (Note: The table only includes players who are currently on 53-man rosters, so players on reserve lists – such as Chase Young – are not included.)

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 1 STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 2 tackles
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 6 tackles
VONN BELL S BENGALS 3 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
JOEY BOSA DE CHARGERS 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks (12.5 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 FF
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 5 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS 5 catches, 68 yards
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 1 tackle, 1 TFL
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS 3 catches, 37 yards
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 1 tackle
WYATT DAVIS OG SAINTS Inactive
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Inactive
PAT ELFLEIN C PANTHERS Started at C
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 10 rushes, 52 yards; 1 catch, -3 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Played at TE
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS 8/17 passing, 121 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 11 rushes, 28 yards,
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS 1 tackle
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 2 tackles, 1 TFL
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT RAIDERS 2 tackles
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS 5 tackles
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 2 tackles, 1 sack (5 yards), 1 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 3 tackles
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 4 tackles, 1 QB hit
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Started at RG
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 7 punts, 45.4 avg, 3 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 1 tackle
JAMARCO JONES OG TITANS Inactive
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PANTHERS Played on special teams
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS 3 tackles
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 1 tackle, 1 PBU
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Started at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 2 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS 5 tackles
JAKE McQUAIDE LS COWBOYS Played at LS
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Played at RT
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Started at LG
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS 10 tackles, 1 PBU
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 3 catches, 41 yards; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS 5 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Inactive
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 8 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD; 4 rushes, 17 yards
TREY SERMON RB EAGLES Inactive
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS 5 catches, 57 yards, 2 TD
TOMMY TOGIAI DT BROWNS 1 tackle, 0.5 sack (4.5 yards), 1 QB hit
NICK VANNETT TE SAINTS Inactive
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS Inactive
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 1 tackle, 1 PBU
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 13 tackles, 1 TFL
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 4 catches, 52 yards
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