Across The Shield: Noah Brown Has Second Straight Career Day with C.J. Stroud, Chris Olave Makes the Catch of the Week, Nick Bosa and Chase Young Combine for Strip Sack

By Dan Hope on November 14, 2023 at 10:10 am
Noah Brown
Katie Stratman – USA TODAY Sports
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Noah Brown had never had a 100-yard receiving game in the NFL until he caught six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown in the Houston Texans’ Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, he’s topped 150 receiving yards in back-to-back weeks.

Brown set a new career-high in receiving yards for the second week in a row as he caught seven passes – also a career-high – for 172 yards in the Texans’ 30-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He set up the Texans’ game-winning 38-yard field goal by muscling his way through a pair of Bengals defenders for a 22-yard gain on a catch-and-run in the game’s final seconds.

All but one of Brown’s seven catches in Sunday’s game went for at least 20 yards. He was responsible for the Texans’ four longest plays from scrimmage of the game.

In recognition of his career day, Brown earns our Pro Buck of the Week award as Ohio State’s top NFL performer for Week 10.

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
Week 10 Texans WR Noah Brown 7 catches, 172 yards

Brown’s impressive surge in his seventh NFL season has come with plenty of help from fellow Ohio State product C.J. Stroud, who made history by leading the Texans on a game-winning drive for the second week in a row. Stroud is the only NFL rookie quarterback in the last 40 years to lead game-winning drives that started in the final two minutes of regulation in consecutive games.

Stroud completed 23 of 39 passing attempts against the Bengals for 356 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. Stroud also ran for an 8-yard touchdown, after which he celebrated by giving an O-H to the Cincinnati crowd.

Stroud had eight passes go for 20 yards or more against the Bengals – the six to Brown and two to Dalton Schultz – and his best throw of the day was arguably one that didn’t count, as Stroud threw a perfectly placed pass on the run to Robert Woods for what would have been a 3-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone had Woods not been ruled to step out of bounds.

With his fourth 300-yard game of the season, Stroud now leads the NFL with 291.8 passing yards per game. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 15/2 is also the league’s best among starting quarterbacks, while his 101.0 quarterback rating ranks sixth in the NFL.

Stroud has been the clear frontrunner to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award all season long, but his last two performances – which also included a rookie record-breaking 470-yard, five-touchdown game against Tampa Bay – have thrust Stroud into the MVP conversation as well. At 5-4, Stroud has already led the Texans to more wins this year than they had in any of the last three seasons.

Olave makes the catch of the week

Chris Olave has caught 42 touchdown passes dating back to his career at Ohio State. His 14-yard touchdown catch against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday may have been his best yet.

In a catch you’ll see on any countdown of the NFL’s top plays from Week 10, Olave made one of the best grabs of the entire season as he outleaped Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and got both feet down in a minimal amount of space in the back right corner of the end zone to haul in the throw from Jameis Winston for six points.

That touchdown highlighted a six-reception, 94-yard day for Olave in the New Orleans Saints’ 27-19 loss to the Vikings.

Two of the Saints’ other Buckeyes, Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore, left the game early with injuries that Saints coach Dennis Allen described Monday as “fairly significant.” Lattimore suffered a high ankle sprain and is considered “week-to-week,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Thomas suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Bosa, Young combined for strip-sack

It didn’t take long for Nick Bosa and Chase Young to start wreaking havoc again in their first game back together.

In Young’s first game since the San Francisco 49ers traded for him two weeks ago, the former Ohio State teammates combined for a strip sack against Trevor Lawrence with Bosa recovering the fumble himself.

That strip sack highlighted Bosa’s first multi-sack game of the season as he recorded 1.5 sacks in the 49ers’ 34-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Playing on the same team for the first time since 2018, there were plenty of laughs and smiles to go around for Young and Bosa as they contributed to a blowout win for their squad.

Quick Hits

  • Garrett Wilson caught nine passes, tying his career-high, for 93 yards in the New York Jets’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. His night was highlighted by a 41-yard catch-and-run on the Jets’ opening drive; he nearly caught a game-winning Hail Mary touchdown on the game’s final play, but the long heave from Jets quarterback Zach Wilson was knocked down by his own teammate Tyler Conklin.
  • Terry McLaurin kept a late game-tying drive for the Washington Commanders alive with a clutch 8-yard catch on 4th-and-1, though the Seattle Seahawks would go on to win the game 29-26. McLaurin had four catches for 33 yards on the day.
  • Denzel Ward left the Cleveland Browns’ win over the Baltimore Ravens in the first quarter after suffering a neck strain on a shot to the head from Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
  • Jake McQuaide was elevated from the Detroit Lions’ practice squad and made his season debut as their long snapper in their 41-38 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. McQuaide has now played in at least one game in 13 NFL seasons, tied with Cameron Heyward for the most among active NFL players from Ohio State.
  • DaVon Hamilton made his season debut in the Jaguars’ loss to the 49ers, playing 16 snaps off the bench and recording one tackle after missing Jacksonville’s first eight games of the season with a back injury.

Statistics for every former Ohio State player from Week 10 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 10 STATS SEASON STATS
ELI APPLE CB DOLPHINS Bye 31 tackles, 1 QB hit, 6 PD
JEROME BAKER LB DOLPHINS Bye 51 tackles, 1.5 sacks (0 yards), 1 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD
VONN BELL S PANTHERS 4 tackles, 1 QB hit 37 tackles, 1 QB hit 1 INT, 2 PD
JOEY BOSA OLB CHARGERS 1 tackle, 1 TFL 20 tackles, 6.5 sacks (59 yards), 6 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks (10.5 yards), 2 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR 24 tackles, 4.5 sacks (34.0 yards), 6 TFL, 21 QB hits, 2 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
NOAH BROWN WR TEXANS 7 catches, 172 yards 21 catches, 439 yards, 1 TD
BARON BROWNING OLB BRONCOS 3 tackles 8 tackles, 2 sacks (21 yards), 3 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 PD, 1 FF
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR GIANTS 1 catch, 6 yards; 1 KR, 36 yards 19 catches, 106 yards; 8 KR, 191 yards
JONATHON COOPER OLB BRONCOS 2 tackles 41 tackles, 4.5 sacks (31.5 yards), 1 FF, 3 TFL, 8 QB hits, 1 PD, 2 FR, 1 TD
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Started at LT 7 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB RAVENS Injured reserve (Achilles) 8 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB PATRIOTS 13 carries, 54 yards; 2 catches, 34 yards 86 carries, 331 yards, 2 TD; 18 catches, 108 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS Started at TE 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 Bye 58 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 3 FF
DaVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 1 tackle 1 tackle
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT COWBOYS 2 tackles 17 tackles, 2 PD
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Played at LB 16 tackles, 1 QB hit
ZACH HARRISON DE FALCONS 1 tackle 19 tackles
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 3 tackles, 1 TFL 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB hit
RONNIE HICKMAN S BROWNS Inactive 2 games played at S
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 3 tackles 31 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PD, 1 FF
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS Inactive 38 tackles, 4 sacks (24 yards), 4 TFL, 13 QB hits, 1 FR
JONAH JACKSON OG LIONS Started at LG 6 starts at LG
PARIS JOHNSON JR. OL CARDINALS Started at RT 10 starts at RT
CAMERON JOHNSTON P TEXANS 4 punts, 42.3 average, 2 inside 20 24 punts, 45.9 average, 11 inside 20
DAWAND JONES OT BROWNS Inactive 7 starts at RT, 8 games played
DRE'MONT JONES DE SEAHAWKS 2 tackles, 0.5 sack (3 yards), 2 QB hits 22 tackles, 2.5 sacks (13 yards), 4 TFL, 9 QB hits
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS 4 tackles 48 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 8 PD
TYQUAN LEWIS DE COLTS 2 tackles, 1 sack (7 yards), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits 14 tackles, 2 sacks (13 yards) 4 TFL, 7 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, 9 games played at LS
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 4 catches, 33 yards 51 receptions, 601 yards, 2 TD, 1 FR TD
JAKE McQUAIDE LS LIONS Played at LS 1 game played at LS
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Started at RT 5 starts, 9 games played at OT
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 9 games started at C
JEFF OKUDAH CB FALCONS 1 tackle 28 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 PD
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 6 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD 59 catches, 657 yards, 3 TD
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OT TITANS Injured reserve (shoulder) 2 starts at OT, 3 games played
ISAIAH PRINCE OT FALCONS Released 2 games played
BRADLEY ROBY CB EAGLES Bye 2 tackles
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Played at TE 5 catches, 43 yards
CURTIS SAMUEL WR COMMANDERS 2 catches, 6 yards 37 catches, 338 yards, 2 TD; 4 carries, 20 yards, 1 TD
TREY SERMON RB COLTS Played at RB 8 carries, 24 yards
KENDALL SHEFFIELD CB 49ERS Released 4 tackles, 1 TFL
TYREKE SMITH LB SEAHAWKS Practice squad 1 tackle
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA WR SEAHAWKS 4 catches, 53 yards 33 catches, 325 yards, 2 TD
C.J. STROUD QB TEXANS 23/39 passing, 356 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries, 8 yards, 1 TD 196/318 passing, 2,626 yards, 15 TD, 2 INT; 22 carries, 86 yards, 2 TD
MICHAEL THOMAS WR SAINTS 1 catch, 9 yards 39 catches, 448 yards, 1 TD
NICK VANNETT TE CHARGERS Played at TE 1 start at TE, 2 games played
SHAUN WADE CB PATRIOTS 3 tackles, 1 TFL 16 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 1 tackle 26 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 9 PD, 1 FF
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS 6 tackles, 1 TFL 60 tackles, 0.5 sacks (4 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 FR
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 9 catches, 93 yards; 0/1 passing 55 catches, 642 yards, 2 TD; 1 carry, 6 yards; 0/1 passing
LUKE WYPLER C BROWNS Special teams 3 games played
CHASE YOUNG DE 49ERS 1 tackle, 0.5 sack (1.5 yards), 2 QB hits 17 tackles, 5.5 sacks (36.5 yards), 6 TFL, 11 QB hits, 1 PD
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