Across the Shield: Cardale Jones Makes NFL Debut, Michael Thomas Makes Saints History & Joey Bosa Goes Out Strong

Happy Dolo-Day!

It finally happened.

Exactly two years after Cardale Jones was unleashed on an unsuspecting Alabama team, the Calmer of Times saw his first NFL action.

Dolodale got the nod midway through the fourth quarter, replacing a struggling E.J. Manuel.

He completed his first pass attempt, but following that he didn't exactly light it up. Jones completed just 6 of 11 passes for 96 yards and throw an interception to Darrelle Revis.

Performance aside, Cardale Jones is officially an NFL quarterback, and that's pretty cool. His family must be so proud.

Get em son! https://t.co/9qsiUogtUa

— Tyvis Powell (@1Tyvis) January 1, 2017

Still Can't Guard Mike

Michael Thomas made a lot of teams regret passing on him this season, establishing himself as the top rookie receiver by quite a large margin.

Sunday, he capped off his monster rookie season with a monster game in the season finale. Thomas gouged the Atlanta secondary for 156 yards on 10 catches, including a 14-yard touchdown.

The touchdown gave Thomas the Saints rookie touchdown record. He also leads all 2016 rookies in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions, each by a wide margin.

But sure, Jourdan Lewis. He's not a super star.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Once upon a time, an unsmall portion of NFL fans sincerely thought Joey Bosa would be a bust. The Chargers even considered allowing him to sit out the entire season instead of resolving the contract dispute.

A few months later, that all seems ridiculous. Bosa is already one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Though he played just 12 games this season, he tied for 13th in the league with 10.5 sacks while averaging the third-most sacks per game.

However, the sack numbers don't tell the whole story. Bosa made an impact on plays even when he didn't actually bring the quarterback down. He has more quarterback pressures than any player through their first 12 games in the past 11 years

Joey Bosa had a sack and 5 hurries today. He has more pressures than any defender in the last 11 years through their first 12 games. pic.twitter.com/CcFLR7MVOS

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) January 2, 2017

With Ezekiel Elliott's domination offensively and Bosa's monster year on the defensive end, it's entirely possible former Buckeyes (and former roommates) make a clean sweep of this year's rookie of the year awards.

Play of the Week

When the NFL preseason began, undrafted free agent Jalin Marshall was a long shot to even make an NFL roster. But with an impressive preseason, he earned a roster spot as the Jets' return specialist.

Eventually, after a few injuries and setbacks, Marshall found his way into the regular receiver rotation as well and is now making plays like this:

On a weekend where Ohio State scores were few and far between, it's refreshing to see a former Buckeye find the end zone.

Ohio Against the World

Today, I got what I spent all year waiting for – points from the quarterback position. Unfortunately, the Bills decided to ride with Cardale on a week where I had no running backs and no kicker.

It did not include the scoring breakdown because I did not save it until too late. But I lost. I promise I did.

0-14. There's always next year.

***Player listed as "Injured/Physically Unable to Perform"