Across The Shield: C.J. Stroud Breaks NFL Rookie Passing Record with Help from Noah Brown, Joey Bosa Dominates on Monday Night Football

By Dan Hope on November 7, 2023 at 10:10 am
C.J. Stroud
Troy Taormina – USA TODAY Sports
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No NFL rookie quarterback has ever had a more prolific game than C.J. Stroud did in just his eighth game as an NFL QB.

In what can be considered without hyperbole both the best game an NFL rookie quarterback has ever had and the best game a former Ohio State quarterback has ever had in the NFL, Stroud completed 30 of 42 passing attempts for 470 yards and five touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, breaking the NFL record for single-game passing yards by a rookie and tying the league record for single-game passing touchdowns by a rookie.

Stroud was at his best with the game on the line. There were only 46 seconds left on the clock when the Texans got the ball back down 37-33, but Stroud led Houston to victory by completing five consecutive passes for 75 combined yards, culminating with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell.

Stroud’s leading receiver for the day was former Ohio State receiver Noah Brown, who had a career day of his own as he caught six passes for a career-high 153 yards, highlighted by a career-long 75-yard touchdown on a play-action deep ball from Stroud.

Stroud’s historic day also included a 14-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins, a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dell and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz.

Stroud also made some plays with his legs against the Buccaneers, running the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion and gaining 10 yards off of a lateral from Texans running back Devin Singletary.

Stroud’s record-setting day cemented his standing as the frontrunner to win this year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, as he has now thrown for 2,270 yards and 14 touchdowns with only one interception in eight games, good for the league’s fourth-best quarterback rating (102.9) halfway through the season.

The historic performance will almost certainly earn Stroud this week’s AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. It gave us our easiest choice of the season for Pro Buck of the Week honors, making him the first Buckeye this year to earn that recognition twice.

Pro Bucks of the Week
Week Player Stats
Week 1 Saints CB Marshon Lattimore 1 INT, 3 PBU, 2 tackles
Week 2 Texans QB C.J. Stroud 30-47 passing, 384 yards, 2 TD
Week 3 Saints WR Chris Olave 8 catches, 104 yards
Week 4 Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 35-yard fumble return TD
Week 5 Bears QB Justin Fields 15-29 passing, 282 yards, 4 TD; 11 carries, 57 yards
Week 6 Bengals DE Sam Hubbard 7 tackles, 1 sack, 5 QB hits
Week 7 Dolphins LB Jerome Baker 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 22-yard interception return TD
Week 8 Broncos OLB Baron Browning 4 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 1 FF
Week 9 Texans QB C.J. Stroud 30-42 passing, 470 yards, 5 TD; 10 rushing yards

Bosa dominates on Monday Night Football

If not for Stroud’s record-breaking performance, Joey Bosa would have been a well-deserving recipient of Pro Buck of the Week honors himself thanks to his dominant performance in the Los Angeles Chargers’ Monday night win over the New York Jets.

Bosa delivered one of the highlights of the night early in the game when he worked his way through the blocking efforts of New York Jets right tackle Billy Turner to swat the ball out of the grip of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, then dove on his own forced fumble for a fumble recovery.

That was Bosa’s first of 2.5 sacks on the night, and his other solo sack was equally impressive as he maintained a firm grasp on Wilson through the quarterback’s attempt to spin free and pulled Wilson down to the ground while still being blocked by Jets left guard Laken Tomlinson.

Bosa recorded a season-high six total tackles against the Jets and has now recorded 6.5 sacks this season despite battling toe and hamstring injuries.

A week full of Buckeye takeaways

Bosa was just one of several Buckeyes who made big plays on the defensive side of the ball in Week 9 as three other former Ohio State players also made takeaways for their respective NFL teams this week.

Denzel Ward made his second interception of the season with an impressive snag on an errant throw by Arizona Cardinals first-time starting quarterback Clayton Tune. That interception helped propel the Cleveland Browns to a 27-0 shutout win on a day where they held the Cardinals to just 58 yards of offense.

Pete Werner made a game-sealing fumble recovery for the New Orleans Saints, chasing down a loose ball that remained on the ground for several seconds before Werner instinctively ran in to scoop it up and secure a 24-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Jordan Fuller forced his third fumble of the season, leading to a recovery for his Los Angeles Rams teammate Duke Shelley, on one of his eight tackles in the Rams’ loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Malik Hooker also forced a fumble by Eagles running back D’Andre Swift in the Dallas Cowboys’ 28-23 loss in Philadelphia, though his forced fumble did not result in a takeaway as it was recovered by Swift. Hooker also tied his season-high with six tackles against the Eagles.

Olave returns to the end zone

Chris Olave scored his second touchdown of the season when he made an eight-yard grab at the goal line in the first quarter of the Saints’ win over the Bears.

The touchdown highlighted a six-catch, 46-yard day for Olave and marked his first trip to the end zone in four weeks. It gave Olave reason to feel like things are moving in the right direction after a rough stretch over the past few weeks in which he drew criticism for his effort on the field while he was also arrested for reckless driving off the field.

With his four catches against the Bears, Olave has now caught exactly 50 passes this season for 563 yards and two scores.

Quick Hits

  • Nick Vannett was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers and started at tight end in his first game with the team on Monday night.
  • Cameron Heyward was productive in his first game back from a Week 1 groin injury, recording six total tackles with a tackle for loss in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans.
  • Jaxon Smith-Njigba set a new career-high with six catches and matched his career-high with exactly 63 receiving yards for the second time in three weeks in the Seattle Seahawks’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
  • Jeff Okudah matched his season-high with six tackles, including a 3rd-and-goal stop at the 1-yard line to force a field goal, in the Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He also recorded his third pass breakup of the season.
  • Chase Young, now wearing No. 92, participated in his first practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday after they acquired him in a trade from the Washington Commanders during their bye week.
  • The “Voice of the Buckeyes,” Paul Keels, filled in as the Browns’ radio play-by-play broadcaster for their win over the Cardinals just one day after calling Ohio State’s win at Rutgers on 97.1 The Fan.
  • Two former Ohio State linebackers were nominated for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award, which recognizes NFL players, coaches, staff and alumni with proven commitment to honoring and supporting military and veteran communities. Werner is the New Orleans Saints’ nominee while soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar is the nominee for the Denver Broncos, who he played all 10 of his NFL seasons with.

Statistics for every former Ohio State player from Week 9 and for the 2023 NFL season as a whole can be found in the table below compiled by Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge. (Note: The table only includes players who finished their college careers at Ohio State.)

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 9 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB DOLPHINS Did not play 31 tackles, 1 QB hit, 6 PD
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS 2 tackles 51 tackles, 1.5 sacks (0 yards), 1 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD
VONN BELL S PANTHERS Inactive 33 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PD
JOEY BOSA OLB CHARGERS 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks (21 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR 19 tackles, 6.5 sacks (59 yards), 5 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS Bye 21 tackles, 3.0 sacks (23.5 yards), 5 TFL, 19 QB hits, 1 PD
NOAH BROWN WR TEXANS 6 catches, 153 yards, 1 TD 14 catches, 267 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS Bye 5 tackles, 2 sacks (21 yards), 3 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR GIANTS 2 catches, 15 yards; 5 KR, 110 yards 18 catches, 100 yards; 7 KR, 155 yards
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS Bye 39 tackles, 4.5 sacks (31.5 yards), 1 FF, 3 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 PD, 2 FR, 1 TD
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Bye 6 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Injured reserve (Achilles) 8 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB PATRIOTS 6 carries, 17 yards; 3 catches, 15 yards 73 carries, 277 yards, 2 TD; 16 catches, 74 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Bye 5 catches, 35 yards
JUSTIN FIELDS QB BEARS Inactive 100/152 passing, 1,201 yards, 11 TD, 6 INT; 47 carries, 237 yards, 1 TD
JORDAN FULLER S RAMS 8 tackles, 1 FF 58 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 3 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS Injured reserve (back) Has not played
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS 2 tackles 15 tackles, 2 PD
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Started at LB 16 tackles, 1 QB hit
ZACH HARRISON DE FALCONS 3 tackles 18 tackles
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 6 tackles, 1 TFL 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit
RONNIE HICKMAN S BROWNS Played at S 2 games played at S
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF 28 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FF
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 1 QB hit 38 tackles, 4 sacks (24 yards), 4 TFL, 13 QB hits, 1 FR
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Bye 5 starts at LG
PARIS JOHNSON JR. OL CARDINALS Started at RT 9 starts at RT
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 3 punts, 58.0 average 17 punts, 46.6 average, 9 inside 20
DAWAND JONES OT BROWNS Started at RT 7 starts at RT, 8 games played
DRE'MONT JONES DE SEAHAWKS 3 tackles 20 tackles, 2 sacks (10 yards), 4 TFL, 7 QB hits
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS 3 tackles 44 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 8 PD
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 2 tackles, 1 PD 12 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards) 3 TFL, 5 QB hits, 2 PD
COREY LINSLEY C CHARGERS Non-football illness (heart) 3 starts at C
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 1 tackle, 8 games played at LS
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 5 catches, 73 yards 47 receptions, 568 yards, 2 TD, 1 FR TD
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Inactive 4 starts, 8 games played at OT
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 8 games started at C
JEFF OKUDAH CB FALCONS 6 tackles, 1 PD 27 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 PD
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 6 catches, 46 yards, 1 TD 50 catches, 563 yards, 2 TD
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Started at RT 2 starts at OT, 3 games played
ISAIAH PRINCE OT FALCONS Released 2 games played
BRADLEY ROBY CB EAGLES Inactive 2 tackles
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS 1 catch, 7 yards 5 catches, 43 yards
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS Inactive 35 catches, 332 yards, 2 TD; 4 carries, 20 yards, 1 TD
TREY SERMON RB COLTS Played at RB 8 carries, 24 yards
KENDALL SHEFFIELD CB 49ERS Bye 4 tackles, 1 TFL
TYREKE SMITH LB SEAHAWKS Practice squad 1 tackle
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA WR SEAHAWKS 6 catches, 63 yards 29 catches, 272 yards, 2 TD
C.J. STROUD QB TEXANS 30/42 passing, 470 yards, 5 TD; 10 yards rushing 173/279 passing, 2,270 yards, 14 TD, 1 INT; 20 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS Started at WR 38 catches, 439 yards, 1 TD
NICK VANNETT TE CHARGERS Started at TE 1 start at TE
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS 1 tackle 13 tackles, 1 PD
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 3 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PD 25 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 9 PD, 1 FF
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 3 tackles, 1 FR 54 tackles, 0.5 sacks (4 yards), 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 FR
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 7 catches, 80 yards 46 catches, 549 yards, 2 TD; 1 carry, 6 yards
LUKE WYPLER C BROWNS Special teams 2 games played
CHASE YOUNG DE 49ERS Bye 16 tackles, 5 sacks (35 yards), 6 TFL, 9 QB hits, 1 PD
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