Across The Shield: Baron Browning Has Another Big Game, Parris Campbell Makes Career-High Seven Catches and Ezekiel Elliott Achieves A Career Milestone

By Dan Hope on October 18, 2022 at 10:10 am
Baron Browning sacks Justin Herbert
Gary A. Vazquez – USA TODAY Sports
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Baron Browning went back-to-back.

Fresh off of earning last week’s Pro Buck of the Week honor for recording 1.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and 10 quarterback pressures on Thursday Night Football, Browning followed it up with another standout performance on Monday Night Football in which he recorded his first career interception and continued to be highly disruptive as a pass rusher.

As a result, Browning leads off Across The Shield for the second week in a row as the top NFL performer from Ohio State in a week where Parris Campbell and Ezekiel Elliott were among the other Buckeyes who had notable games.

Pro Buck of the Week: Browning has another big game

A five-star recruit out of high school who never quite lived up to the hype at Ohio State, Browning is finally starting to look like a full-fledged star after making a position change in his second NFL season.

The former Ohio State linebacker turned NFL edge rusher put his wide variety of skills on display on Monday night as he recorded three total tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a batted pass and an interception in the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The interception was the first of Browning’s career, and he also recorded his first career fumble recovery on the same play, as he had the ball knocked out of his hand while attempting to return it but recovered his own fumble (also the first of his NFL career) to secure a takeaway for the Broncos.

All three Buckeyes on the Broncos’ defense had productive games against the Chargers, who beat the Broncos 19-16 in overtime. Dre’Mont Jones recorded five tackles with a quarterback hit and forced a third-down incomplete pass with a quarterback pressure in overtime. Jonathon Cooper recorded two tackles with two quarterback hits. But it was Browning who shined brightest in primetime once again as his breakout second season in the NFL continues.

Parris Campbell scores, sets career-high for receptions

After catching only 11 passes for 112 yards in the first five weeks of the season, Parris Campbell had his most productive game of the season as he caught seven passes for 57 yards, including his first touchdown catch of the year, in the Indianapolis Colts’ 34-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Campbell’s seven catches were a career-high while the 57 receiving yards were the second-most he’s had in an NFL game, and that performance could give him momentum going forward as he looks to prove his worth in the final year of his rookie contract with the Colts.

Campbell wasn’t the only Buckeye to have a season-best day for the Colts on Sunday. Tyquan Lewis recorded his first sack of the season among a season-high four total tackles.

Brown, Zeke and Hooker make plays on Sunday night

One of the most impressive highlights of the week among NFL Buckeyes came on a play that didn’t actually count.

Noah Brown made what would have been one of the catches of the year when he tipped a pass to himself and then caught it with both hands as he was hitting the ground for a 12-yard touchdown. The catch was overturned upon replay review, however, as he was out of bounds before securing possession of the ball.

Later in the game, Brown helped spring his former Ohio State teammate Ezekiel Elliott to a touchdown that did count, sticking a block that opened a hole for Elliott to run for a 13-yard touchdown.

Elliott ended up rushing for a season-high 81 yards on 13 attempts and became just the third player in Cowboys history, along with legendary running backs Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett, to top 10,000 career yards from scrimmage.

Malik Hooker tied a career-high with 12 tackles while Brown finished the Sunday night game with one actual catch for 10 yards.

The Buckeyes’ efforts weren’t enough for the Cowboys, who suffered a 26-17 loss to the still-unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles.

Fields flashes arm and legs but frustrated after loss

Although Justin Fields accounted for a season-high 278 yards of total offense (190 passing, 88 rushing) against the Washington Commanders on Thursday, that wasn’t enough for the Chicago Bears to avoid their third straight loss.

Fields flashed both his arm and legs with a couple of spectacular plays. He threw a beautiful deep ball under pressure to Dante Pettis for a 40-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and had an explosive 39-yard run that gave the Bears a chance to win the game in the final minute of regulation.

He came close to throwing what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney on 4th-and-goal, but Mooney was unable to secure the catch while in front of the goal line, resulting in a turnover on downs and a 12-7 win for the Commanders.

The Bears fell to 2-4 with the loss, and Fields expressed frustration with the team’s continued struggles after the game.

“We always get told that, ‘We're almost there, we're almost there,’” said Fields, who completed only 14 of his 27 passing attempts in the loss. “Me personally, I'm tired of being almost there. I'm tired of being just this close. I feel like I've been hearing it for so long now. But at the end of the day, all you can do is get back to work. That's the only reaction you have. You live and you learn. Just get back next week and keep going, keep getting better.”

Buckeyes sidelined by injuries

If this edition of Across The Shield feels a bit lean on standout performances compared to previous editions this season, a big reason for that is many of the top Buckeyes in the NFL were sidelined by injuries in Week 6.

Chris Olave (concussion), Michael Thomas (foot) and Marshon Lattimore (abdomen) were all inactive for the New Orleans Saints. Nick Bosa (groin) did not play for the San Francisco 49ers while Denzel Ward (concussion) was out for the Cleveland Browns. Corey Linsley was inactive for the Los Angeles Chargers due to illness, while Joey Bosa (groin) remains on their injured reserve list. Chase Young is still on the Commanders’ Physically Unable to Perform list as he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered last season.

J.K. Dobbins was able to play for the Baltimore Ravens, but was limited to only seven carries for 15 yards in their loss to the New York Giants due to knee tightness.

Week 6 was also the first week of byes during the 2022 NFL season, and eight of Ohio State’s active NFL players are on teams who had the week off: The Detroit Lions (Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson and Jeff Okudah), Las Vegas Raiders (Johnathan Hankins and Thayer Munford), Houston Texans (Cameron Johnston) and Tennessee Titans (Jamarco Jones and Nicholas Petit-Frere).

Quick hits

  • Sam Hubbard, Eli Apple and Vonn Bell combined for 16 tackles in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 30-26 win over the Saints. Hubbard recorded a season-high seven tackles, including a sack. Apple recorded a season-high six tackles and planted Saints quarterback Taysom Hill into the turf for his first tackle for loss of the year.
  • Pete Werner still leads the NFL in solo tackles (42) after recording six in the Saints’ loss to the Bengals.
  • Cameron Heyward was graded by Pro Football Focus as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ best defender (88.5) in their 20-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he recorded three total tackles and two quarterback hits with a sack against Tom Brady.
  • Luke Farrell made an 11-yard catch in the Jaguars’ loss to the Colts for his first reception of the season.
  • Shaun Wade played in his first game of the season and recorded his first tackle of the year in the New England Patriots’ win over the Browns.
  • The Jaguars added Rashod Berry to their practice squad last week, while the Texans waived Kendall Sheffield from their injured reserve list.

Statistics for every Buckeye who played in Week 6 and/or has been on an active roster for at least one NFL game this season can be found in the following table compiled by Eleven Warriors’ Matt Gutridge.

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 6 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 6 tackles, 1 TFL 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 1 tackle 33 tackles, 1.5 sack (6.5 yards), 2 TFL, 2 QB hit, 2 PBU
VONN BELL S BENGALS 3 tackles 32 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 QB hit, 3 INT, 4 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 Inactive 15 tackles, 6 sacks (41 yards), 6 TFL, 16 QB hits
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS 1 catch, 10 yards 20 catches, 289 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 3 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 2 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks (20.5 yards), 5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR, 7 QB hits
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS 7 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD 18 catches, 169 yards, 1 TD
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles, 2 QB hits 3 tackles, 2 QB hits
WYATT DAVIS OG SAINTS Did not play 1 game played
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Bye 5 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS 7 carries, 15 yards 35 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD
PAT ELFLEIN C PANTHERS Started at C 6 starts at C
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 13 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 5 yards 94 carries, 386 yards; 6 catches, 32 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS 1 catch, 11 yards 1 catch, 11 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS 14/27 passing, 190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 12 carries, 39 88 yards 63/115 passing, 869 yards, 4 TD, 5 INT; 54 carries, 233 yards, 1 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS Injured reserve (hamstring) 10 tackles, 1 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 6 tackles, 1 QB hit 16 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QB hit
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT RAIDERS Bye 8 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS 5 tackles, 1 TFL 17 tackles, 1 TFL
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 3 tackles, 1 sack (5 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits 25 tackles, 2 sacks (10 yards), 3 TFL, 5 QB hits, 2 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 12 tackles 34 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 7 tackles, 0.5 sack (3.5 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks (8.5 yards), 5 TFL, 9 QB hits, 2 PBU
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Bye 2 starts at G
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS Bye 26 punts, 49.1 average, 14 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 5 tackles, 1 QB hit 19 tackles, 2.5 sacks (23 yards), 3 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 FF
JAMARCO JONES OG TITANS Injured reserve (triceps) Has not played
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PANTHERS Played on special teams 6 games played
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS Inactive 15 tackles, 2 PBU
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 4 tackles, 1 sack (8 yards), 1 QB hit, 1 FF 10 tackles, 1 sack (8 yards), 2 QB hits, 1 PBU, 1 FF
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Inactive 4 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 6 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 3 catches, 41 yards; 2 carries, 11 yards 22 catches, 367 yards, 1 TD; 3 carries, 18 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS 2 tackles 10 tackles, 1 TFL
JAKE McQUAIDE LS COWBOYS Injured reserve (triceps) 4 games played
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Bye 2 starts, 5 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 6 starts at C
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Started at LG 6 starts at LG
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS Bye 24 tackles, 3 PBU
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS Inactive 25 catches, 389 yards, 2 TD; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Bye 5 starts at RT
BILLY PRICE OL CARDINALS Did not play Has not played
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS 2 tackles 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Inactive 4 games played
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 2 catches, 6 yards 34 catches, 287 yards, 2 TD; 5 carries, 38 yards
TREY SERMON RB EAGLES Inactive 2 carries, 19 yards
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS Inactive 16 catches, 171 yards, 3 TD
TOMMY TOGIAI DT BROWNS 1 QB hit 3 tackles, 0.5 sack (4.5 yards), 2 QB hits
NICK VANNETT TE SAINTS Inactive 1 catch, 5 yards
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS 1 tackle 1 tackle
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS Inactive 20 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 5 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 6 tackles 54 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 PBU, 2 FF
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 1 catch, 6 yards 24 catches, 288 yards, 2 TD; 1 rush, -2 yards
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