Across The Shield: Denzel Ward Makes Game-Sealing Interception, Dwayne Haskins Has First 300-Yard Game and Joe Burrow Gets First NFL Win

The Browns scored 49 points on Sunday, but they also allowed the Dallas Cowboys to score 38 points – including 24 points in the fourth quarter – which meant the hay wasn’t completely in the barn as the Cowboys drove inside the Browns’ 10-yard line with less than two minutes to play. But Ward finally allowed the Browns and their fans to exhale a sigh of relief, run out the clock and begin celebrating a 3-1 start to the season when he broke in front of a Dak Prescott pass intended for Amari Cooper and intercepted it to seal an 11-point win for Cleveland.

.@denzelward with the takeaway

: @foxsports pic.twitter.com/LtAwf146xo

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 4, 2020

The interception was Ward’s first of the season and sixth of his NFL career, and it secured the Browns’ third straight victory, marking the first time they have started the season 3-1 since 2001.

In defeat, Noah Brown had four catches for 43 yards – both NFL career-highs for him – while Ezekiel Elliott had 12 carries for 54 yards and eight catches for 71 yards.

Haskins, McLaurin set career-highs

While the Washington Football Team suffered its third straight loss on Sunday, Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin both achieved milestones in defeat.

Haskins completed 32 of his 45 passing attempts for 314 yards, all career-highs, in Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to Sunday, Haskins had never completed more than 21 passes or thrown for more than 261 yards in an NFL game.

On the receiving end of Haskins’ passes, McLaurin led Washington in receiving for a fourth straight game to start the year by catching 10 passes for 118 yards. That wasn’t his career-high in receiving yards – he had 125 yards on seven catches against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 – but it was the first time he has had more than seven catches in an NFL game.

Death. Taxes. Terry McLaurin.

What a throw by @dh_simba7, what a grab by @TheTerry_25

: #BALvsWAS on CBS pic.twitter.com/dPOtJ6HWGM

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 4, 2020

Haskins didn’t throw any touchdown passes in Sunday’s game, but he did score the first rushing touchdown of his career on Washington’s final drive of the day.

7 with the TD

: #BALvsWAS CBS pic.twitter.com/Eg0P9i2CRY

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) October 4, 2020

Burrow gets first win

I’ve gone back-and-forth on how much Joe Burrow should be included in Across the Shield, given that LSU was where he finished his college career and where he emerged as a future NFL starting quarterback, but he is still a former Ohio State football player who remains very popular among Buckeye fans – especially those who are also Cincinnati Bengals fans – so it seems only right to recognize his noteworthy accomplishments here.

One of those certainly came on Sunday, when he won his first game as an NFL quarterback as the Bengals defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 33-25, to get their first win of the year.

In the process, Burrow threw for exactly 300 yards, becoming the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 yards in three straight games.

Despite the milestones achieved, Burrow won’t be keeping the game ball from Sunday’s win, and he recognizes the Bengals still have a long way to go to get to where they want to be after a 1-2-1 start to the season.

Joe Burrow said the game ball from his first win is going back in the team's ball bag.

— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 4, 2020

Joe Burrow on the locker room in his first NFL win: "It was a lot of fun. But it's one. It's one game."

— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 4, 2020

Injured list grows longer

Five former Ohio State players were inactive for their first games this season on Sunday due to injuries, including three members of the Buckeyes’ NFL rookie class.

Chase Young missed Washington’s loss to Baltimore with a groin injury he suffered last week, while Jordan Fuller missed the Los Angeles Rams’ win over the New York Giants with a shoulder injury he suffered last week. Young’s status is considered “week-to-week,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and the Rams will hope to have Fuller back next week, too.

Damon Arnette, however, will miss at least three games after being placed on injured reserve by the Las Vegas Raiders this past week. Per Rapoport, he’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing thumb surgery last week.

Marshon Lattimore missed the New Orleans Saints’ game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday with a hamstring injury, joining Michael Thomas on the sidelines. Thomas has missed the Saints’ last three games due to a high ankle sprain, though he did return to practice last week, potentially setting him up for a Week 5 return.

Carlos Hyde was inactive for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday due to a shoulder injury.

Other Buckeyes who are currently sidelined by injuries include 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and Colts safety Malik Hooker, who are both out for the season, and Dre’Mont Jones, Parris Campbell, Gareon Conley and Pat Elflein, who are currently on their teams’ injured reserve lists.

The Carolina Panthers activated Eli Apple this past week after he was on injured reserve for their first three games of the season with an ankle/foot injury. He only played briefly on special teams in their win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, however, before he suffered a hamstring injury that knocked him out for the rest of the game.

No debut yet for Mack

When the Giants elevated Austin Mack from their practice squad on Saturday, it looked like he could be in line to make his NFL debut on Sunday. That didn’t end up coming to fruition for the former Ohio State wide receiver, however, as he was one of six inactive players for the Giants – who are now 0-4 for the season – on Sunday.

Per NFL rules that were implemented for this season due to COVID-19, teams are allowed to promote players from the practice squad to their active roster up to twice without having to sign them to their 53-man roster, so Mack could get another shot as the season progresses for the Giants, who could certainly use any spark they could get as they are now 0-4 for the year.

It had to be disappointing for Mack, though, to get called up to the roster on Saturday – which, in most cases, has signaled that player actually playing that week – only to be a gameday inactive on Sunday, especially now that he’ll revert back to the practice squad for at least the time being.

Three Buckeyes play Monday

Because the New England Patriots’ game against the Kansas City was pushed back one day after Patriots quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19, John Simon will be playing in an unexpected Monday night game this week. That game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. kickoff and will be televised on CBS.

RELATED Ryan Day, Ohio State Preparing for Possible Challenges of Player and Coach Absences Due to COVID-19

In the regularly scheduled Monday night game on ESPN, Kendall Sheffield is expected to make his season debut for the Atlanta Falcons after missing their first three games with a foot injury. Their game against Corey Linsley and the Green Bay Packers is now scheduled to kick off at 8:50 p.m., 35 minutes later than originally scheduled, which means the Patriots and Chiefs should be in the second half when that game begins.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Tennessee Titans originally scheduled for Sunday was also postponed, but that game will not be played this week after 10 players and 10 staffers from the Titans tested positive for COVID-19. The Titans don’t have any former Ohio State players – though they are coached by Mike Vrabel – but Cam Heyward and the Steelers, like the Titans, will now be scheduled to play in 13 straight weeks for the rest of the regular season, with the Steelers/Titans game now scheduled for Oct. 25.