Across The Shield: Garrett Wilson, Noah Brown Score First NFL Touchdowns on A Big Weekend for Buckeye Wide Receivers

By Dan Hope on September 20, 2022 at 10:10 am
Garrett Wilson
Ken Blaze – USA TODAY Sports
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Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season was an infomercial for Ohio State’s wide receiver room.

Six former Ohio State wide receivers around the league – Noah Brown, Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, Curtis Samuel, Michael Thomas and Garrett Wilson – combined to catch 35 passes for 491 yards and five touchdowns.

Two of those Buckeyes caught the first touchdown passes of their careers to help lead their teams to wins against opponents from the Buckeye State, and that’s where we start this week’s edition of Across The Shield, beginning with our Pro Buck of the Week.

Pro Buck of the Week: Garrett Wilson beats the Browns

In just his second regular-season game as an NFL player, Garrett Wilson showed why he was just the fifth Ohio State wide receiver ever to be a top-10 overall draft pick.

He scored the first touchdown of his NFL career early in the second quarter of the New York Jets’ road game against the Cleveland Browns. After making a spinning two-yard catch in the end zone, Wilson saluted the home crowd with a celebratory O-H.

Wilson suffered a scare in the third quarter when he landed hard on his back and had to leave the game briefly, but proved upon returning to the field that he was more than fine.

On the Jets’ subsequent possession, Wilson made catches of 31 and 14 yards. And he came through in the clutch when the Jets needed him to make a big play to win the game.

With just 25 seconds remaining on the clock and the Jets facing 3rd-and-10, Wilson got open over the middle of the field and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to put New York ahead 31-30, a score that would ultimately hold for the Jets to get their first win of the season.

On a day where Wilson caught eight passes for 102 yards, it was the last of those catches that made all the difference for the Gang Green.

Brown finally finds the end zone in career day

Going into this past weekend, Noah Brown had played in 51 NFL games without ever scoring a touchdown. In the 52nd game of his NFL career, the former Ohio State wide receiver finally broke through.

On the Dallas Cowboys’ opening drive against the Cincinnati Bengals, Brown made a leaping grab for a 9-yard score.

Brown, who also led the Cowboys in receiving in Week 1, finished the game with five catches for a career-high 91 yards, including a 12-yard catch in the game’s final minute that helped set up Brett Maher’s game-winning field goal in the Cowboys’ 20-17 victory.

Touchdown and a toe-tap for Thomas

After catching two touchdown passes in Week 1, Michael Thomas continued to make highlight-reel plays for the New Orleans Saints in Week 2.

The former Ohio State wide receiver made one of the weekend’s most spectacular catches when he somehow kept both of his feet in bounds while stretching out over the sideline to haul in an 11-yard reception.

He also made a 7-yard catch between two defenders late in the fourth quarter for his third touchdown of the season.

Thomas had a team-high six receptions for 65 yards in the Saints’ 20-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fellow Buckeye alumnus Chris Olave had five catches for a team-high 80 yards for the Saints, including a 51-yard catch, though that catch came with a fumble that ended the Saints’ hopes of a late-game comeback.

Samuel scores in second straight game

Thomas’ former teammate Curtis Samuel also scored for a second week in a row to begin the NFL season, hanging on through a big hit to make a 15-yard touchdown catch against the Detroit Lions this Sunday.

Samuel led the Washington Commanders with seven catches for 78 yards and also had a 21-yard run in Detroit.

Terry McLaurin also had a productive game for Washington on Sunday, catching four passes for 75 yards, highlighted by a sliding 35-yard grab.

The Commanders ultimately lost Sunday’s game, 36-27, but that didn’t stop McLaurin, Samuel and Chase Young – who’s still on the Physically Unable to Perform list recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last season – from sharing a moment after the game with former Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah, who allowed just three catches for 31 yards on 46 coverage snaps against the Commanders, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bell, Hubbard keep Bengals in it

While the Bengals fell to 0-2 with their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort from a pair of Buckeyes on their defense.

Vonn Bell made a big play that helped keep the Bengals in the game late in the third quarter when he stripped the ball out of Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz’s hands, forcing a fumble that Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader recovered.

Sam Hubbard made several big plays for the Bengals in the fourth quarter. He forced a punt singlehandedly on the Cowboys’ opening drive of the quarter when he broke up a pass and then sacked Cooper Rush on back-to-back plays.


On the Cowboys’ next possession, Hubbard blew up a rushing attempt by former Ohio State teammate Ezekiel Elliott for a 4-yard loss. He forced an incomplete pass with a quarterback hit on the next play, which led to another Cowboys punt. 

Bell led the Bengals with seven total tackles (including one for loss) while Hubbard had four total tackles with a team-high two tackles for loss and their only sack of the day, but that wasn’t enough to keep the reigning AFC champions from losing their second consecutive game to start the year.

Jones, Bosa record two sacks each

Hubbard wasn’t the only former Ohio State defensive lineman who had a productive performance for his NFL team in Week 2.

Dre’Mont Jones came up big in the Denver Broncos’ win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, recording six total tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble.

Nick Bosa also had a two-sack day, taking down Geno Smith twice and recording five total quarterback hits and four total tackles in the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Joey Bosa wasn’t able to lead the Chargers to a win on Thursday Night Football against the Chiefs, but he did make a nice third-down tackle for loss in the first game of the week.

Fields runs for one touchdown, nearly gets another

The sixth and final touchdown scored by a Buckeye during Week 2 of the NFL season came on Sunday Night Football when Justin Fields ran for a 3-yard touchdown on the Chicago Bears’ opening drive against the Green Bay Packers.

Fields appeared to score a second touchdown on a 4th-and-goal quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter, but officials ultimately decided there was inconclusive evidence to overturn the initial call that he was stopped short of the goal line even though there were visuals that suggested he broke the plane.

Fields finished the game with 20 rushing yards on eight carries but completed only seven passes for 70 yards on 11 attempts with zero passing touchdowns and one interception in the Bears’ 27-10 loss.

Lattimore brawls with Evans

Marshon Lattimore and Mike Evans have had a personal rivalry with each other since the former Ohio State cornerback’s rookie season with the Saints in 2017, and their beef turned into a brawl in the Saints’ loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

The altercation started when Lattimore began arguing with Tom Brady on the field. After Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette came over to intervene and Fournette and Lattimore laid hands on each other, Evans ran in from the sideline and decked Lattimore with a two-hand shove.

Evans and Lattimore were both ejected from the game following the fracas, and the NFL announced Monday that Evans would be suspended for another game. It’s not the first time Lattimore and Evans have come to blows on the field over the past six years, and considering the Saints and Buccaneers play each other twice a year, there’s a good chance it won’t be the last.

Quick hits

  • Pete Werner has recorded 18 solo tackles in the first two weeks of the season, tying him for the NFL lead in that category.
  • Cameron Johnston had three punts of more than 60 yards in the Texans’ loss to the Broncos, finishing the game with an average of 53.6 yards per punt.
  • Corey Linsley left the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs with a knee injury, but Chargers coach Brandon Staley told reporters that Linsley should be able to return to practice this week.
  • The Las Vegas Raiders signed Billy Price, who went unsigned throughout the offseason, to their practice squad last week. If he is elevated to the Raiders’ 53-man roster, he’d become the second former Buckeye on their offensive line, joining Thayer Munford.

Statistics for every Buckeye who was on a 53-man roster for Week 2 of the NFL season can be found below, courtesy of Eleven Warriors’ Matt Gutridge.

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 2 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 4 tackles 6 tackles
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 2 tackles 8 tackles
VONN BELL S BENGALS 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU, 1 FF
JOEY BOSA DE CHARGERS 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks (12.5 yards), 2 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 FF
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 4 tackles, 2 sacks (17 yards), 2 TFL, 5 QB hits 9 tackles, 3 sacks (23 yards), 3 TFL, 7 QB hits
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS 5 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD 10 catches, 159 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS Played at LB 1 tackle, 1 TFL
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS Started at WR 3 catches, 37 yards
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS Played at LB 1 tackle
WYATT DAVIS OG SAINTS Inactive Has not played
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 2 starts
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Inactive Has not played
PAT ELFLEIN C PANTHERS Started at C 2 starts
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 15 rushes, 53 yards; 1 catch, -4 yards 25 rushes, 105 yards; 2 catches, -7 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Played at TE 2 games played
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS 7/11 passing, 70 yards, 1 INT; 8 rushes, 20 yards, 1 TD 15/28 passing, 191 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 19 rushes, 48 yards, 1 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS 8 tackles 9 tackles
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 1 tackle 3 tackles, 1 TFL
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT RAIDERS 2 tackles, 1 PBU 4 tackles, 1 PBU
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS 1 tackle 6 tackles
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 5 tackles, 1 PBU 7 tackles, 1 sack (5 yards), 1 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 PBU, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 5 tackles 8 tackles
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 4 tackles, 1 sack (5 yards), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 PBU 8 tackles, 1 sack (5 yards), 2 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 PBU
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Inactive 1 start at RG
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 5 punts, 53.6 avg, 2 inside 20 12 punts, 48.8 avg, 5 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 6 tackles, 2 sacks (14 yards), 1 TFL, 1 FF 7 tackles, 2 sacks (14 yards), 1 TFL, 1 FF
JAMARCO JONES OG TITANS Inactive Has not played
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PANTHERS Played on special teams 2 games played
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS 2 tackles, 1 PBU 5 tackles, 1 PBU
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 2 tackles, 1 QB hit 3 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Started at C 2 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 2 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 4 catches, 75 yards; 1 rush, 7 yards 6 catches, 133 yards, 1 TD; 1 rush, 7 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS Played at LB 5 tackles
JAKE McQUAIDE LS COWBOYS Played at LS 2 games played
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Played at RT 2 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 2 games started
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Started at LG 2 games started
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS 5 tackles 15 tackles, 1 PBU
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 5 catches, 80 yards 8 catches, 121 yards; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT 2 games started
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS 5 tackles 10 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Played at TE 1 game played
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 7 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD; 1 rush, 21 yards 15 catches, 133 yards, 2 TD; 5 rushes, 38 yards
TREY SERMON RB EAGLES Inactive Has not played
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS 6 catches, 65 yards, 1 TD 11 catches, 122 yards, 3 TD
TOMMY TOGIAI DT BROWNS 1 tackle 2 tackles, 0.5 sack (4.5 yards), 1 QB hit
NICK VANNETT TE SAINTS Inactive Has not played
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS Did not play 1 DNP, 1 inactive
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 2 tackles 3 tackles, 1 PBU
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 8 tackles, 1 PBU 21 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 8 catches, 102 yards, 2 TD; 1 rush -2 yards 12 catches, 154 yards, 2 TD; 1 rush, -2 yards
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