Across The Shield: J.K. Dobbins Runs for 120 Yards in Return, Raekwon McMillan Scores His First NFL Touchdown and Noah Brown and Ezekiel Elliott Make Clutch Plays for Cowboys

By Dan Hope on December 13, 2022 at 10:10 am
J.K. Dobbins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Charles LeClaire – USA TODAY Sports
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In his first game back from arthroscopic knee surgery, J.K. Dobbins reminded the NFL how good he is when he’s healthy.

After rushing for only 123 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries in his first four games of the 2022 NFL season after initially coming back from a torn ACL, Dobbins nearly matched those numbers in just one game on Sunday, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in the Baltimore Ravens’ 16-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dobbins’ return to action after seven weeks off was highlighted by a two-play sequence late in the first quarter on which he had a 44-yard run – the longest play of the game for either team – and followed that up with a 4-yard touchdown carry one play later.

It was the third 100-yard game of Dobbins’ NFL career and his first since his rookie year in 2020, as he missed the entire 2021 season. He said after Sunday’s game that his knee feels “way better” after getting the follow-up surgery than it did when he first returned to action in September, though he said he’s still not 100% yet and thinks he’s capable of even more than he showed on Sunday, which was nevertheless enough to earn him our Pro Buck of the Week honor for Week 14.

“Still not me all the way yet, and I’m going to continue to get better, and hopefully those 100-yard games will start turning into 200-yard games,” Dobbins said. “Maybe, because I’m just gonna keep getting healthier.”

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
WEEK 13 49ers DE Nick Bosa 3 sacks (20 yards), 1 FF, 4 QB hits
WEEK 14 Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins 15 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD

McMillan scores first NFL touchdown

Raekwon McMillan arrived in style for the New England Patriots’ Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, showing up at State Farm Stadium wearing an Eddie George throwback jersey from his Ohio State days.

During the game itself, McMillan did for the first time in his NFL career what Eddie George did 78 times in his NFL career (and 45 times as a Buckeye): score a touchdown.

With the score tied 13-all in the third quarter, McMillan swung the game in the Patriots’ favor when he scooped up a fumble by Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and returned it 23 yards for six points.

The touchdown was McMillan’s first since his freshman year at Ohio State in 2014, when he returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown in a 52-24 win over Maryland. Monday night’s touchdown gave the Patriots a lead they would not relinquish as they went on to win 27-13.

Brown, Zeke lead game-winning touchdown drive

Noah Brown made the longest catch of his NFL career on Sunday, but that was only his second-biggest play of the day in the Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Houston Texans.

The career-long catch came in the opening seconds of the second quarter, when Brown adjusted back to a slightly underthrown deep ball by Dak Prescott to make a diving grab for a 51-yard reception, which helped set up the Cowboys’ second touchdown of the game.

With the Cowboys trailing late in the fourth quarter, Brown made an even better grab when he laid out for an 18-yard catch near the sideline, holding on through a hit by Texans safety Jalen Pitre to get the Cowboys to the 22-yard line.

Four plays later, Ezekiel Elliott would run for a game-winning 2-yard touchdown that put the Cowboys ahead 27-23, which would hold for the game’s final score, with only 41 seconds remaining.

Brown finished the game with four catches for 85 yards, his second-highest total of both the season and his NFL career. Elliott led the Cowboys with 62 rushing yards on 15 carries, led by a 25-yard run on the game’s opening drive, and added three catches for 19 more yards.

After incurring a fine from the NFL last week for celebrating inside the Cowboys’ Salvation Army kettle, Elliott opted to simply touch the kettle during his touchdown celebration this week rather than make any mandated donation to the league.

Wilson breaks Jets rookie record

No rookie has ever had more receiving yards for the New York Jets than Garrett Wilson has this season.

With six catches for 78 yards in the Jets’ loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Wilson has now caught 63 passes for 868 yards this year, surpassing the previous record of 844 yards by Keyshawn Johnson after the Jets took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft.

Wilson has now topped 75 receiving yards six times in his NFL rookie season and in all of the Jets’ last three games.

He said after the game, however, that he would have enjoyed a team win more than breaking an individual record.

Wilson was also unhappy he didn’t draw a penalty against the Bills after taking a big hit from Jordan Poyer on the sideline.

Quick hits

  • Sam Hubbard recorded his third sack in as many weeks and his fifth sack in the Cincinnati Bengals’ last seven games as he recorded five total tackles and three quarterback hits in their 23-10 win over the Cleveland Browns – the Bengals’ first win in the Battle of Ohio since 2019.
  • Jonathon Cooper and Dre’Mont Jones both sacked Patrick Mahomes in the Denver Broncos’ 34-28 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Cooper has now recorded his first two sacks of the season in back-to-back weeks. Cumulatively, the Broncos’ trio of pass-rushers from Ohio State – Cooper, Jones and Baron Browning – combined for eight tackles and four quarterback hits on Sunday.
  • Jerome Baker recorded 11 total tackles for the second week in a row, including two tackles for loss and a sack, in the Miami Dolphins’ Sunday night loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
  • Denzel Ward brought back memories of his famous hit against Maryland – and Gus Johnson’s famous call of that hit – with a thundering tackle of Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
  • Former Ohio State wide receiver Jameson Williams, who finished his college career at Alabama, scored a 41-yard touchdown on the first catch of his NFL career as he helped lead the Detroit Lions to a 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
  • Johnathan Hankins will miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a pectoral strain in the Cowboys’ win over the Texans.
  • Drue Chrisman was officially signed to the Bengals’ 53-man roster last week after they waived longtime punter Kevin Huber. He had five punts for 205 yards and drew a roughing the punter penalty in his fourth game as the Bengals’ punter on Sunday.
  • Binjimen Victor was re-signed to the Ravens’ practice squad after they waived him from their 53-man roster.
  • Master Teague was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers after a two-week stint on their practice squad.

Full statistics from Week 14 of the NFL season and the year as a whole for every Buckeye who has played in at least one game this year can be found in the table below compiled by Eleven Warriors data analyst Matt Gutridge.

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 13 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB BENGALS 4 tackles 36 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBU
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 11 tackles, 1 sack (1 yard), 2 TFL, 1 QB hit 83 tackles, 4.0 sacks (19.5 yards), 6 TFL, 5 QB hits, 3 PBU, 1 FF
VONN BELL S BENGALS 7 tackles, 0.5 sack (1.5 yards), 1 QB hit 65 tackles, 1.0. sack (6.5 yards), 4 TFL, 3 QB hits, 4 INT, 6 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 QB hit 39 tackles, 14.5 sacks (98 yards), 15 TFL, 35 QB hits, 1 FF
NOAH BROWN WR COWBOYS 4 catches, 85 yards 34 catches, 484 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 1 tackle, 2 QB hits 19 tackles, 3.5 sacks (26.5 yards), 7 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FR, 10 QB hits
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR COLTS Bye 50 catches, 497 yards, 3 TD; 2 carries, 30 yards
DRUE CHRISMAN P BENGALS 5 punts, 41.0 average, 2 inside 20 14 punts, 47.6 average, 7 inside 20
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit 29 tackles, 2 sacks (13 yards), 3 TFL, 6 QB hits
WYATT DAVIS OG CARDINALS Did not play 2 games played
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 13 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS 15 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD 50 carries, 243 yards, 2 TD; 6 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD
PAT ELFLEIN C PANTHERS Bye, Injured reserve (hip)  6 starts at C
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 15 carries, 62 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 19 yards 172 carries, 716 yards, 8 TD; 14 catches, 73 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Played at TE 3 catches, 29 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS Bye 156/253 passing, 1,896 yards, 13 TD, 10 INT; 128 carries, 905 yards, 8 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS Injured reserve (hamstring) 10 tackles, 1 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 1 tackle 39 tackles, 1.5 sack (2 yards), 4 TFL, 5 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS 1 tackle 20 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PBU
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Played on special teams 25 tackles, 1 TFL
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 6 tackles, 1 QB hit 54 tackles, 5 sacks (25 yards), 8 TFL, 11 QB hits, 3 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 2 tackles 44 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FR, 1 TD
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 5 tackles, 1 sack (0 yards), 3 QB hits 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks (31.5 yards), 11 TFL, 1 FF, 20 QB hits, 3 PBU
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Started at LG 9 starts at G
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 4 punts, 49.3 average, 2 inside 20 68 punts, 49.0 average, 26 inside 20
DRE’MONT JONES DE BRONCOS 5 tackles, 1 sack (3 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit 46 tackles, 6.5 sacks (44 yards), 9 TFL, 9 QB hits, 1 FF
JAMARCO JONES OG TITANS Injured reserve (triceps) Has not played
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PANTHERS Played at OG 13 games played
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS Bye 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 10 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Bye 13 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS Bye 62 catches, 945 yards, 3 TD; 6 carries, 17 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS 3 tackles, 1 FR, 1 TD 25 tackles, 1 sack (9 yards), 5 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 FR, 1 TD
JAKE McQUAIDE LS COWBOYS Injured reserve (triceps) 4 games played
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Played at OT 4 starts, 12 games played
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Bye 13 starts at C
ANDREW NORWELL OG COMMANDERS Bye 13 starts at LG
JEFF OKUDAH CB LIONS 5 tackles 60 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD, 5 PBU, 1 FF
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS Bye 60 catches, 887 yards, 3 TD; 2-point conversion
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT 13 starts at RT
BILLY PRICE OL CARDINALS Started at C 7 starts at C
BRADLEY ROBY CB SAINTS Bye 30 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FR
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Played on special teams 8 games played
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS Bye 54 catches, 556 yards, 3 TD; 28 carries, 175 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 1 catch, 9 yards 3 catches, 22 yards
BINJIMEN VICTOR WR RAVENS Practice squad 1 tackle
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS 1 tackle 2 tackles
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 3 tackles, 2 PBU 46 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 8 PBU, 2 FR, 2 TD
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS Bye 75 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 PBU, 2 FF
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 6 catches, 78 yards 63 catches, 866 yards, 4 TD; 3 carries, -3 yards
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