Across The Shield: Garrett Wilson Has Second Two-Touchdown Game, Ezekiel Elliott Feasts on Thanksgiving and Former Buckeye Defenders Make Plays Throughout the NFL

By Dan Hope on November 29, 2022 at 9:20 am
Garrett Wilson
Vincent Carchietta – USA TODAY Sports
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Garrett Wilson has scored four touchdowns in his first season in the NFL. All of them have come in just two games.

Wilson had the first big game of his pro career in Week 2 when he caught eight passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Cleveland Browns. After scoring zero touchdowns in each of the New York Jets’ past eight games, Wilson got back to the end zone twice in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears.

His first touchdown came on the game’s opening drive, when he shook off a hold from Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor to get wide open in the end zone for an 8-yard score.

Later in the game, Wilson scored his longest touchdown so far as a pro, juking past a defender after the catch before running all the way to the end zone for a 54-yard score.

In the process, Wilson became the first rookie in Jets history with multiple two-touchdown games. He finished the game with five catches for 95 yards and earns our Pro Buck of the Week honor as the top NFL performer from Ohio State for the second time this season.

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

Zeke, McMillan shine on Thanksgiving

As an NFL regular-season record 42 million people watched the Dallas Cowboys play the New York Giants on Thanksgiving afternoon, they were treated to watching Ezekiel Elliott have his productive game of the 2022 season to date.

Elliott ran for a season-high 92 yards on 16 rushing attempts in the Cowboys’ 28-20 win over the Giants. In his second game back from a knee injury that sidelined him for three weeks, Elliott ran as explosively and authoritatively as he has all year as he averaged 5.8 yards per carry – his second-highest average of the season – and ran for his seventh touchdown of the year.

Another Buckeye who had a standout performance on Thanksgiving was Raekwon McMillan. The former Ohio State linebacker recorded two tackles for loss in the same game for just the second time in his career as the New England Patriots played the Minnesota Vikings in Thursday’s nightcap.

Buckeye defenders make plays for Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals played in one of Week 12’s most pivotal games for playoff position as they faced the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon, and the Bengals got the victory they needed to keep themselves in playoff position by beating the Titans 20-16 on the road.

Several former Ohio State players had a hand in making that win happen, including Sam Hubbard, who had six total tackles with two tackles for loss, highlighted a big third-down sack on the Titans’ opening drive of the second half.

Eli Apple also had what might have been his best game of the year as he recorded a pair of pass breakups and four tackles while allowing just three catches for 14 yards on eight targets, per Pro Football Focus.

Vonn Bell also recorded six tackles for the Bengals defense. Drue Chrisman, in his second game as the Bengals’ punter, averaged 51.8 yards per punt with two punts inside the 20-yard line.

More defensive playmakers

It was a productive day for former Ohio State defenders all over the NFL as Jerome Baker, DaVon Hamilton, Nick Bosa and Dre’Mont Jones were among the other Buckeyes who made big plays for their respective teams.

Baker had a strip sack in the Miami Dolphins’ win over the Houston Texans for his first forced fumble of the season.

Hamilton forced a fumble (and recovered it himself) on a 4th-and-1 run attempt by Lamar Jackson and also had a 3rd-and-goal sack on Jackson later in the game as the Jacksonville Jaguars earned a 28-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Those were the first sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery of the season for the former Ohio State defensive tackle.

Bosa continues his assault on opposing quarterbacks with a sack on Andy Dalton in the San Francisco 49ers’ shutout win over the New Orleans Saints, bringing Bosa to 11.5 sacks on the season (third-most in the NFL this year).

Jones tied his season-high with seven tackles and recorded a quarterback hit in the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Quick hits

  • Parris Campbell paid tribute to his late former Ohio State teammate Dwayne Haskins during warmups for the Indianapolis Colts‘ Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he caught two passes for 14 yards.
  • The Bengals re-signed former Ohio State offensive tackle Isaiah Prince to their practice squad Wednesday after waiving him last Tuesday, which came after Prince spent the first 11 weeks of the season on injured reserve.
  • The Steelers added former Ohio State running back Master Teague to their practice squad last week. Teague was previously with the Steelers during preseason before being waived with an injury destination due to an ankle injury.
  • Los Angeles Chargers center Corey Linsley and Saints cornerback Bradley Roby both exited their teams’ games early on Sunday due to concussions. Roby was in his first game back from injured reserve after missing four games with an ankle injury.
  • J.K. Dobbins is set to be activated off injured reserve and return to practice for the Ravens this week after missing their last five games following knee surgery.
  • With the Bengals’ win over the Titans and the Cleveland Browns’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this weekend was the first time since 2001 that both of the NFL’s Ohio teams won in the same weekend as an Ohio State loss.

Full statistics for every Buckeye in the NFL from Week 12 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 12 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 4 tackles, 2 PBU 29 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 4 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 1 QB hit, 1 FF 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks (13.5 yards), 3 TFL, 3 QB hits, 3 PBU, 1 FF
VONN BELL S BENGALS 6 tackles 53 tackles, 0.5 sack (5 yards), 4 TFL, 2 QB hits, 4 INT, 5 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, 1 sack (7 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits 33 tackles, 11.5 sacks (78 yards), 13 TFL, 29 QB hits
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS Started at WR 28 catches, 384 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 1 tackle 16 tackles, 2.5 sacks (20.5 yards), 6 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR, 7 QB hits
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS 2 catches, 14 yards 46 catches, 454 yards, 3 TD; 1 carry, 28 yards
DRUE CHRISMAN P BENGALS 5 punts, 51.8 average, 2 inside 20 8 punts, 52.6 average, 4 inside 20
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles 21 tackles, 3 QB hits, 1 TFL
WYATT DAVIS OG CARDINALS Inactive 2 games played
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 11 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 Injured reserve (hip) 6 starts at C
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 16 carries, 92 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, 3 yards 140 carries, 577 yards, 6 TD; 8 catches, 40 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Played at TE 2 catches, 26 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS Inactive 136/228 passing, 1,642 yards, 13 TD, 8 INT; 122 carries, 834 yards, 7 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS Injured reserve (hamstring) 10 tackles, 1 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 3 tackles, 1 sack (1 yard), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 FF, 1 FR 33 tackles, 1 sack (1 yard), 4 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS Inactive 14 tackles, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS 1 tackle 25 tackles, 1 TFL
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 1 tackle, 3 QB hits 44 tackles, 4 sacks (18 yards), 7 TFL, 9 QB hits, 2 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 1 tackle 40 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 6 tackles, 1 sack (10 yards), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits 48 tackles, 4.5 sacks (31.5 yards), 10 TFL, 1 FF, 16 QB hits, 3 PBU
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Inactive 7 starts at G
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 7 punts, 50.0 average, 2 inside 20 57 punts, 48.8 average, 24 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 7 tackles, 1 QB hit 40 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 Played on special teams 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 Started at C 9 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 12 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 4 catches, 48 yards; 1 carry, 5 yards 54 catches, 840 yards, 2 TD; 6 carries, 17 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS 3 tackles, 2 TFL 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 Played at OT 3 starts, 10 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 12 starts at C
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Started at LG 12 starts at LG
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS Inactive 53 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD, 5 PBU, 1 FF
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 5 catches, 62 yards 56 catches, 822 yards, 3 TD; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT 11 starts at RT
BILLY PRICE OL CARDINALS Started at C 6 starts at C
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS 2 tackles 22 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Played at TE 7 games played
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 4 carries, 13 yards 48 catches, 493 yards, 3 TD; 25 carries, 152 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 Practice squad 2 catches, 13 yards
BINJIMEN VICTOR WR RAVENS Practice squad 1 tackle
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS Inactive 1 tackle
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 6 tackles 37 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 6 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS Inactive 75 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 PBU, 2 FF
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 5 catches, 95 yards, 2 TD; 1 carry, -1 yard 49 catches, 626 yards, 4 TD; 3 carries, -3 yards
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