Across The Shield: Nick Bosa Records Three Sacks, Malik Hooker and Denzel Ward Return Fumbles for Touchdowns and Garrett Wilson Has A 162-Yard Game

By Dan Hope on December 6, 2022 at 10:10 am
Nick Bosa
Kelley L Cox – USA TODAY Sports
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Week 13 of the NFL season was a spectacular season around the league for former Ohio State players.

Two former Buckeye defensive backs returned fumbles for touchdowns, two former Buckeye wide receivers went over 100 yards and Justin Fields had one of the best games of his young NFL career in his first game back from a shoulder injury. That made this the toughest week of the year yet to decide which Buckeye should lead off this week’s edition of Across The Shield, but that honor goes to Nick Bosa, who had his biggest game of the season yet to emerge as the NFL’s sack leader.

Pro Buck of the Week: Nick Bosa records three sacks

Fresh off of earning NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for recording three sacks in three games in November, Bosa recorded that many sacks in just one game on Sunday.

The former Ohio State defensive end made himself a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year honors with a dominant performance against the Miami Dolphins in which he recorded three sacks, including a strip sack on which he forced a fumble that was recovered by his San Francisco 49ers teammate Dre Greenlaw for a game-sealing touchdown in the 49ers’ 33-17 win.

The second three-sack game of Bosa’s Ohio State career brought him to 14.5 sacks for the season, the most among all NFL players in 2022. He’s recorded at least one sack in all but one of the 11 games he’s played in this season, including all of the 49ers’ last six games. Bosa also leads the NFL with 34 quarterback hits this season, 10 more than any other player has accumulated.

Pro Bucks Of The Week
Week Player Stats
WEEK 1 Saints WR Michael Thomas 5 catches, 57 yards, 2 TD
WEEK 2 Jets WR Garrett Wilson 8 catches, 102 yards, 2 TD
WEEK 3 Saints WR Chris Olave 9 catches, 147 yards
WEEK 4 Bengals S Vonn Bell 4 tackles, 2 INT
WEEK 5 Broncos LB Baron Browning 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks (13.5 yards), 2 TFL, 6 QB hits
WEEK 6 Broncos LB Baron Browning 3 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 2 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR
WEEK 7 Bears QB Justin Fields 13/21 passing, 179 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 14 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
WEEK 8 Commanders WR Terry McLaurin 6 catches, 113 yards
WEEK 9 Bears QB Justin Fields 17/28 passing, 123 yards, 3 TD; 15 carries, 178 yards, 1 TD
WEEK 10 Bears QB Justin Fields 12/20 passing, 167 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 13 carries, 147 yards, 2 TD
WEEK 11 Saints WR Chris Olave 5 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD
WEEK 12 Jets WR Garrett Wilson 5 catches, 95 yards, 2 TD
WEEK 13 49ers DE Nick Bosa 3 sacks (20 yards), 1 FF, 4 QB hits

Hooker has career day against former team

Ohio State fans who watched Malik Hooker’s All-American season for the Buckeyes in 2016 may have felt nostalgia while watching Sunday Night Football this week.

A turnover-creating machine who recorded seven interceptions and returned three of them for touchdowns during his final season as a Buckeye, Hooker showed he could still be that kind of playmaker on Sunday night when he recorded two takeaways in a game for the first time in his NFL career and returned one of them for a touchdown.

First, Hooker made a diving grab off of a deflection for his first interception of the year and returned it 26 yards before stepping out of bounds.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Hooker scooped up a fumble forced by his Dallas Cowboys teammate Damone Clark and returned it 38 yards for the first touchdown of his NFL career.

Hooker’s career night came against the team who drafted him, the Indianapolis Colts, and certainly proved to be a successful revenge game as the Cowboys outscored the Colts 33-0 in the fourth quarter en route to a 54-19 win.

Another lucky touchdown for Ward

Denzel Ward has had two fumble recovery touchdowns this season, and both have resulted from being in the right place at the right time.

Earlier this year, Ward scored the first fumble recovery touchdown of his career when he fell on a loose ball in the end zone on the final play of the Cleveland Browns’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Sunday, Ward got another one when a fumble by Houston Texans quarterback Kyle Allen rolled right to him just four yards out of the Texans’ own end zone, allowing Ward to scoop the ball up and stroll in the end zone for six points.

That wasn’t the only big play Ward helped make for the Browns on Sunday, as he recorded a quarterback hit on the very first play of the game that led to an interception by Cleveland safety John Johnson III.

Those two takeaways helped lead the Browns to a 27-14 win in Houston on Sunday.

Garrett Wilson goes off

One week after recording the second two-touchdown game of his NFL career, Garrett Wilson continued his excellent rookie season with his biggest game yet in Week 13.

Wilson caught eight passes for a whopping 162 yards, the second-most yards of any NFL receiver this week, in the New York Jets’ 27-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. His day was highlighted by a 60-yard catch-and-run – the longest of his young NFL career and his third reception of at least 54 yards in the Jets’ last five games.

Wilson also put his sideline catch ability on display with a challenging catch in the final minute of the first half that helped set up a field goal for the Jets before halftime.

Wilson, who broke a Jets record for the most 100-yard receiving games by a rookie with his third of the season on Sunday, has now caught 57 passes for 790 yards – both the second-most among all rookies behind only his former Ohio State teammate Chris Olave – and four touchdowns in his first 12 games as a pro.

Fields totals 325 yards in return

After missing one week with a shoulder injury, Justin Fields returned to action for the Chicago Bears on Sunday and appeared to be as healthy as ever.

Fields had his best game of the year as a passer as he completed 20 of his 25 passing attempts for a season-high 254 yards, while he also ran for 71 yards. As he has in most of his recent games, he made big plays both through the air and on the ground, as he had both a 55-yard pass and a 56-yard touchdown run.

Even though he threw two interceptions and the Bears lost 28-19, Fields received a Pro Football Focus grade of 90.4, the highest of any quarterback in Week 13 of the NFL season and his best of the season so far.

Zeke in the box

For the first time in his NFL career, Ezekiel Elliott did not get the start in a game he played, which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said was a decision made for disciplinary reasons. But that didn’t stop Elliott from having a moment to remember on Sunday night.

With the Cowboys already ahead by 21 points, Cowboys fans expressed their support for Elliott as loud “ZEKE” chants rang through AT&T Stadium, which reminded Elliott of the cheers he heard from Ohio State fans as he led the Buckeyes to a win over Oregon in the 2015 national championship game.

Elliott, who had 17 carries for 77 yards against the Colts despite his initial benching, gave the fans what they wanted by running for a 4-yard touchdown. Then, he delivered one of the NFL’s celebrations of the year as he jumped in the Cowboys’ Salvation Army kettle and had Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott wind the kettle like a jack-in-the-box, prompting him to pop up and make his signature “Feed Me” hand motion.

Milestone day for McLaurin

How good has Terry McLaurin been in his first four NFL seasons? On Sunday, he became just the sixth player in league history to have both 50 catches and 900 receiving yards in all of his first four NFL seasons, joining an esteemed list of pass-catchers that includes two fellow former Ohio State receivers – Joey Galloway and Michael Thomas – as well as Randy Moss, A.J. Green and Mike Evans.

He reached the milestone amid the fourth 100-yard game of his fourth NFL season as he caught eight passes for 105 yards, highlighted by a 19-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of a game in which the Washington Commanders would ultimately settle for a 20-20 tie with the New York Giants.

In an interview after the game, McLaurin shared his excitement about Ohio State qualifying for the College Football Playoff, saying the Buckeyes are “going to be a dangerous team.”

Sack party

Bosa was far from the only Buckeye who had success getting after the quarterback in Week 13, as four other former Ohio State players also recorded at least a half-sack during Sunday’s NFL action.

Cameron Heyward recorded his fifth sack of the season on a special day for his family as his younger brother Connor scored his first NFL touchdown and the Pittsburgh Steelers earned a 19-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons – a team their late father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, once starred for.

The Heywards became the first-ever pair of brothers to record a sack and a touchdown for the same team in the same game since sacks became an official NFL statistics in 1982, and the elder Heyward – who wore his father’s jersey to his postgame press conference – said he couldn’t hold back his emotions when his younger brother scored.

In Baltimore, a pair of second-year Buckeyes both recorded sacks for the Denver Broncos as Jonathon Cooper recorded his first sack of the season while Baron Browning notched his first quarterback takedown since his return from a hip injury that sidelined him for a month.

Sam Hubbard is now up to 5.5 sacks on the year as he sacked Patrick Mahomes in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 27-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jerome Baker also recorded a half-sack on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as part of a 12-tackle day in the Dolphins’ loss in San Francisco.

Quick hits

  • With four catches for 65 yards in the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, Chris Olave joined fellow former Ohio State receiver and current Saints teammate Michael Thomas as the only players since 1970 who have had at least 40 receiving yards in all of their first 12 NFL games.
  • Hubbard and Heyward were both named Tuesday as nominees for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
  • The Giants signed Nick Vannett to their active roster on Saturday. He started at tight end against the Commanders on Sunday but did not record any catches, though he had one 4-yard reception wiped out by a holding penalty.
  • The Baltimore Ravens signed Binjimen Victor to their 53-man roster on Saturday but waived him on Monday. Victor played one snap on offense and three snaps on special teams in the Ravens’ 10-9 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
  • J.K. Dobbins returned to practice for the Ravens last week, beginning his 21-day window to return from injured reserve. Dobbins has missed the Ravens’ last six games after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
  • The Bengals officially opted to stick with Drue Chrisman as their punter as they waived 14-year veteran Kevin Huber on Monday. Chrisman’s lone punt against the Chiefs was a 40-yard boot fair caught at the 19-yard line.

Complete statistics for every Buckeye in the NFL from Week 13 and the season as a whole can be found in the table below compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge.

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 13 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 3 tackles 32 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 12 tackles, 0.5 sack (5 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit 72 tackles, 3.0 sacks (18.5 yards), 4 TFL, 4 QB hits, 3 PBU, 1 FF
VONN BELL S BENGALS 5 tackles, 1 PBU 58 tackles, 0.5 sack (5 yards), 4 TFL, 2 QB hits, 4 INT, 6 PBU, 1 FF
JOEY BOSA DE CHARGERS Injured reserve (groin) 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks (12.5 yards), 2 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 FF
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 3 tackles, 3 sacks (20 yards), 2 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 FF 36 tackles, 14.5 sacks (98 yards), 15 TFL, 34 QB hits, 1 FF
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS 2 catches, 15 yards 30 catches, 399 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit 18 tackles, 3.5 sacks (26.5 yards), 7 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR, 8 QB hits
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS 4 catches, 43 yards; 1 carry, 2 yards 50 catches, 497 yards, 3 TD; 2 carries, 30 yards
DRUE CHRISMAN P BENGALS 1 punt, 40.0 average, 1 inside 20 9 punts, 51.2 average, 5 inside 20
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 6 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits 27 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards), 2 TFL, 5 QB hits
WYATT DAVIS OG CARDINALS Bye 2 games played
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 12 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Injured reserve (knee) 35 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD
PAT ELFLEIN C PANTHERS Bye, Injured reserve (hip)  6 starts at C
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 17 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 14 yards 157 carries, 654 yards, 7 TD; 11 catches, 54 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS 1 catch, 3 yards 3 catches, 29 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS 20/25 passing, 254 yards, 2 INT; 6 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD 156/253 passing, 1,896 yards, 13 TD, 10 INT; 128 carries, 905 yards, 8 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS Injured reserve (hamstring) 10 tackles, 1 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 5 tackles, 0.5 sack (1 yard), 1 QB hit 38 tackles, 1.5 sack (2 yards), 4 TFL, 5 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS 5 tackles, 1 TFL 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Played at LB 25 tackles, 1 TFL
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 4 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU 48 tackles, 5 sacks (25 yards), 8 TFL, 10 QB hits, 3 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 2 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD 42 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 3 tackles, 1 sack (8 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit 51 tackles, 5.5 sacks (31.5 yards), 11 TFL, 1 FF, 17 QB hits, 3 PBU
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Started at LG 8 starts at G
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 7 punts, 50.6 average, 2 inside 20 64 punts, 49.0 average, 24 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 1 tackle 41 tackles, 5.5 sacks (44 yards), 8 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 FF
JAMARCO JONES OG TITANS Injured reserve (triceps) Has not played
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PANTHERS Bye 12 games played
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS Inactive 15 tackles, 2 PBU
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS Injured reserve (knee) 14 tackles, 1 sack (8 yards), 1 TFL, 4 QB hits, 2 PBU, 1 FF
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Inactive 9 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 13 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 8 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD 62 catches, 945 yards, 3 TD; 6 carries, 17 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS Played at LB 22 tackles, 1 sack (9 yards), 5 TFL, 1 QB hit
JAKE McQUAIDE LS COWBOYS Injured reserve (triceps) 4 games played
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Started at T 4 starts, 11 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 13 starts at C
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Started at LG 13 starts at LG
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS 2 tackles 55 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD, 5 PBU, 1 FF
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 4 catches, 65 yards 60 catches, 887 yards, 3 TD; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT 12 starts at RT
BILLY PRICE OL CARDINALS Bye 6 starts at C
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS 8 tackles, 1 PBU 30 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Inactive 7 games played
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 6 catches, 63 yards; 3 carries, 23 yards 54 catches, 556 yards, 3 TD; 28 carries, 175 yards, 1 TD
TREY SERMON RB EAGLES Inactive 2 carries, 19 yards
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS Injured reserve (toe) 16 catches, 171 yards, 3 TD
TOMMY TOGIAI DT BROWNS Inactive 10 tackles, 0.5 sack (4.5 yards), 1 FR, 1 PBU, 2 QB hits
NICK VANNETT TE GIANTS Started at TE 2 catches, 13 yards
BINJIMEN VICTOR WR RAVENS Played at WR 1 tackle
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS Inactive 1 tackle
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 6 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU, 1 TD 43 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 6 PBU, 2 FR, 2 TD
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS Inactive 75 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 PBU, 2 FF
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 8 catches, 162 yards 57 catches, 788 yards, 4 TD; 3 carries, -3 yards
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