Across The Shield: Garrett Wilson Makes A Career-High 13 Catches, Jerome Baker Makes A Career-High 14 Tackles, Terry McLaurin Beats Denzel Ward Deep

By Dan Hope on October 8, 2024 at 10:10 am
Terry McLaurin makes a deep catch on Denzel Ward
Geoff Burke – Imagn Images
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Across The Shield is Eleven Warriors’ weekly recap of the best and most notable performances from former Ohio State players throughout the NFL.

A multitude of Buckeyes filled up the stat sheet in Week 5 as Garrett Wilson, Jerome Baker, Sam Hubbard, Terry McLaurin, Nick Bosa and C.J. Stroud are among the Buckeyes highlighted in this week’s recap.

Garrett grabs 13 passes

Going into the New York Jets’ game against the Minnesota Vikings, Garrett Wilson had never caught more than nine passes in an NFL game. He set a new career-high by four receptions on Sunday morning across the pond in London.

On a whopping 22 targets – the most for any player in an NFL game since 2015 – Wilson caught 13 passes for 101 yards, his first 100-yard game of the season. The former Ohio State star also scored his second touchdown of the season on a 1-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

Wilson also made a pair of crucial second-down catches for 16 and nine yards in the game’s final three minutes as the Jets attempted to put together a game-winning drive, but the Vikings won 23-17 after Stephon Gilmore picked off Aaron Rodgers with less than a minute to play.

Wilson’s 13 catches are the most he’s had in any game since his senior year of high school. His Ohio State career-high for receptions was 11 catches for 111 yards against Penn State in 2020.

Baker makes 14 tackles

After missing two weeks with a hamstring injury, Jerome Baker came back in a big way in Week 5.

Playing in his third game as a Seattle Seahawk after signing with the Pacific Northwest team this offseason, Baker made a whopping 14 tackles, the third-most of any player in the NFL this week. Eight of those tackles came within two yards of the line of scrimmage, including a sack of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

Baker also forced a fumble on a 4th-and-goal run at the 1-yard line – as part of a sequence in which he made three straight tackles in front of the goal line – that was recovered by his Seahawks teammate Rayshawn Jenkins and returned for a 102-yard touchdown.

While his highly productive day wasn’t enough to lead the Seahawks to a victory, it was enough to earn our Pro Buck of the Week award as the top NFL player from Ohio State in Week 5.

Pro Bucks of the Week
Week Player Stats
1 Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins 10 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 4 yards
2 Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. 4 catches, 130 yards, 2 TD
3 Commanders WR Terry McLaurin 4 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD
4 49ers DE Nick Bosa 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 FR, 9 QB pressures
5 Seahawks LB Jerome Baker 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF

Baker’s 14 tackles were the most he’s recorded in any game since the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game, when he tallied 16 tackles in Ohio State’s 27-21 win over Wisconsin. His previous NFL career-high was 13 tackles for the Miami Dolphins against the Buffalo Bills in 2022.

Sam gets a sack and a safety

Another former Buckeye defender who had a highly productive game in Week 5 was Sam Hubbard, who recorded nine tackles in a game for the first time in nearly two years in the Cincinnati Bengals’ overtime battle with the Baltimore Ravens.

Hubbard’s nine tackles included two tackles for loss – one for his first sack of the season and another for the first safety of his NFL career as he tackled Ravens running back Derrick Henry before the former Alabama star could get out of the end zone.

Unfortunately for Hubbard, he was also on the wrong end of another highlight-reel play when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stiff-armed him into the ground before throwing a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely. That touchdown was one of five allowed by the Bengals’ defense on Sunday in a game they ultimately lost 41-38 to fall to 1-4 on the season.

McLaurin beats Ward on long bomb

Terry McLaurin beat one of his former Ohio State teammates for his longest catch of the season to date as he hauled in a deep ball from Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels for a 66-yard catch against coverage from cornerback Denzel Ward.

Ward did not allow any other catches in the game, and had a pair of pass breakups on throws intended for McLaurin, bringing Ward to nine pass breakups for the season – the most of any NFL player. Ward left the game in the second quarter, however, after suffering a hamstring injury.

McLaurin finished the game with four catches for 112 yards, his second 100-yard game in three weeks and the 17th triple-digit game of his career. He also had one rushing attempt for two yards, though that play resulted in a fumble which the Cleveland Browns recovered.

Nevertheless, McLaurin’s efforts helped the Commanders continue their outstanding start to the season as they improved to 4-1 with a 34-13 victory over the Browns, who fell to 1-4 like their in-state NFL counterparts.

Bosa snags an interception

Fresh off one of the most dominant performances by an NFL pass-rusher all season last week, Nick Bosa continued to shine in Week 5 as he recorded four total tackles with two tackles for loss and picked off a screen pass from Kyler Murray for the second interception of his NFL career.

Bosa’s efforts weren’t quite enough for the San Francisco 49ers to beat the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals put together a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter with the help of Marvin Harrison Jr., who made a clutch 14-yard catch on 4th-and-5 – one of two catches he had on the day for 36 combined yards – to keep the drive alive before Chad Ryland kicked the Cardinals to a 24-23 victory with a 35-yard field goal.

Stroud tops 300 again

C.J. Stroud threw for more than 300 yards for the second week in a row as he completed 28 of 38 passing attempts for 331 yards in the Houston Texans’ 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills, highlighted by a perfectly thrown first-quarter deep ball to Nico Collins for a 67-yard touchdown.

Stroud started the game 10-for-10 for 177 yards, including that touchdown. He made the highlight reel twice more in the second half with a pair of tremendous touch passes on intermediate throws.

Stroud also ran the ball three times for 27 combined yards, his second-highest rushing total in an NFL game so far.

He didn’t have the best finish to the game, throwing an interception and losing a fumble on a strip sack on back-to-back series to start the fourth quarter. After the Bills tied the game at 20-all, Stroud was penalized for intentional grounding on 3rd-and-5, forcing Houston to punt with less than a minute to play in regulation. But after a baffling decision by the Bills to throw three deep balls out of their own end zone that all fell incomplete, the Texans got the ball back and Stroud did what he needed to do on his final play of the game, completing a 5-yard pass to Dare Ogunbowale to set up a 59-yard game-winning field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn.

The Texans improved to 4-1 in the process, taking a two-game lead in the AFC South.

JSN fakes out the defense

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught four passes for 31 yards in the Seahawks’ loss to the Giants, including what might be the easiest touchdown he’ll ever score for his first touchdown of the season.

Smith-Njigba’s craftiest play of the game, however, came when he pretended a ball was being thrown his way. By looking up and waving his hand in the air to signal as though Geno Smith should throw the ball to him, the former Ohio State wide receiver duped two Giants defensive backs into thinking Smith was going to throw deep, helping clear a path for Smith to run for a 32-yard gain.

Smith-Njigba was unable to haul in a pass near the sideline on 3rd-and-4 with just over a minute to play in the game, forcing the Seahawks to settle for a game-tying field goal attempt which the Giants blocked and returned for a game-sealing touchdown, prompting Smith-Njigba to blame himself for the loss after the game. He drew praise from Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, however, for the football intelligence he showed on the deep-route fakeout.

“It's a great play by JSN and understanding what coverage they're in and where their eyes should be,” Macdonald said Monday. “So that was a bright spot in the game.”

Quick Hits

  • Trey Sermon made his first start of the season for the Indianapolis Colts. He ran for 38 yards on 10 carries, including a 1-yard run into the end zone for his second touchdown of the season, and had six receptions – twice as many as he had ever had previously in an NFL season – for 25 yards.
  • An excellent motion block by Cade Stover (No. 87) led Cam Akers to a 15-yard touchdown run in the Texans’ win over the Bills. The rookie tight end from Ohio State also had his multi-catch NFL game as he made two receptions for six yards.
  • Chase Young took down Patrick Mahomes for his first solo sack of the season in the New Orleans Saints’ Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
  • Jonathon Cooper recorded his fourth sack of the season in the Denver Broncos’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
  • Mike Hall Jr. served the final game of his five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct penalty. The Browns received a one-week roster exemption for Hall, allowing them to wait until Week 7 to add him to their 53-man roster if they feel as though he needs another week of practice before being ready to play, but he is eligible to join the Browns’ active roster for their Week 6 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Week 5 Stats

The following table, compiled by Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge, includes statistics for this week and the entire 2024 season for every Buckeye who has played in at least one game this season. (Note: The table only includes players who finished their college careers at Ohio State.)

Buckeyes Around the NFL
PLAYER POSITION TEAM WEEK 5 STATS SEASON STATS
JEROME BAKER LB SEAHAWKS 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF 23 tackles, 1 sack (0 yards), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
VONN BELL S BENGALS 3 tackles 32 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD
JOEY BOSA DE CHARGERS Bye 9 tackles, 2 sacks (14 yards), 2 TFL, 3 QB hits
NICK BOSA DE 49ERS 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PD 18 tackles, 3 sacks (12 yards), 6 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR
NOAH BROWN WR COMMANDERS Inactive 9 catches, 111 yards
BARON BROWNING LB BRONCOS Injured reserve (foot) 5 tackles, 1 TFL
PARRIS CAMPBELL WR EAGLES Bye 6 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD
JONATHON COOPER LB BRONCOS 2 tackles, 1 sack (3 yards), 2 QB hits 19 tackles, 4 sacks (21 yards), 4 TFL, 9 QB hits
TAYLOR DECKER OT LIONS Bye 4 starts at LT
J.K. DOBBINS RB CHARGERS Bye 56 carries, 342 yards, 2 TD; 9 catches, 44 yards
TOMMY EICHENBERG LB RAIDERS 1 tackle 6 tackles
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT RB COWBOYS 6 carries, 17 yards 30 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 11 yards
LUKE FARRELL TE JAGUARS 2 catches, 17 yards 5 catches, 31 yards; 1 tackle
JUSTIN FIELDS QB STEELERS 15/27, 131 yards, 2 TD; 6 carries, 27 yards 92/136, 961 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 44 carries, 172 yards, 3 TD
NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE OL TITANS Bye 4 starts at RT
JORDAN FULLER S PANTHERS Injured reserve (hamstring) 15 tackles
MIKE HALL JR. DT BROWNS   Commissioner’s exempt list
DAVON HAMILTON DT JAGUARS 2 tackles 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit
JOHNATHAN HANKINS DT SEAHAWKS 1 tackle 11 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB hit
MALIK HARRISON LB RAVENS Played at LB 9 tackles
ZACH HARRISON DL FALCONS 1 tackle 8 tackles
MARVIN HARRISON JR. WR CARDINALS 2 catches, 36 yards 17 catches, 279 yards, 4 TD
CAMERON HEYWARD DT STEELERS 4 tackles, 1 QB hit 21 tackles, 2 sacks (17 yards), 3 TFL, 8 QB hits
RONNIE HICKMAN S BROWNS 3 tackles, 1 TFL 17 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD, 1 FR
JALYN HOLMES DE JETS Played at DE 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit
MALIK HOOKER S COWBOYS 5 tackles, 1 PD 21 tackles, 2 PD
SAM HUBBARD DE BENGALS 9 tackles, 1 sack (3 yards), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits 21 tackles, 1 sack (3 yards), 2 TFL, 3 QB hits
JONAH JACKSON OG RAMS Injured reserve (shoulder) 1 start at C, 1 start at LG
PARIS JOHNSON JR. OL CARDINALS Started at LT 5 starts at LT
CAMERON JOHNSTON P STEELERS Injured reserve (knee) 2 punts, 51.5 average, 1 inside 20
DAWAND JONES OT BROWNS Started at RT 5 starts at RT
DRE'MONT JONES DE SEAHAWKS 5 tackles 14 tackles, 2 sacks (18 yards), 3 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 FF
MICHAEL JORDAN OG PATRIOTS Started at LG 4 starts at LG, 1 FR
MARSHON LATTIMORE CB SAINTS 5 tackles 14 tackles, 1 PD
TYQUAN LEWIS DT COLTS Injured reserve (elbow) 17 tackles, 1.5 sack (9.5 yards), 2 TFL, 3 QB hits
TANNER McCALISTER S BRONCOS Practice squad 1 tackle
LIAM McCULLOUGH LS FALCONS Played at LS 5 games played
TERRY McLAURIN WR COMMANDERS 4 catches, 112 yards; 1 carry, 2 yards 23 catches, 303 yards, 2 TD; 1 carry, 2 yards
RAEKWON McMILLAN LB PATRIOTS 8 tackles 32 tackles, 1 QB hit
THAYER MUNFORD OT RAIDERS Inactive 3 starts at RT
JOSH MYERS C PACKERS Started at C 5 starts at C
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA WR SEAHAWKS 4 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD 29 catches, 257 yards, 1 TD
JEFF OKUDAH CB TEXANS Injured reserve (hip) Played on special teams
CHRIS OLAVE WR SAINTS 2 catches, 10 yards 22 catches, 275 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 7 yards; 2 tackles
JEREMY RUCKERT TE JETS Started at TE 4 catches, 25 yards
CURTIS SAMUEL WR BILLS 1 catch, 0 yards; 1 carry, -1 yards 9 catches, 48 yards; 3 carries, 6 yards
TREY SERMON RB COLTS 10 carries, 38 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 25 yards 19 carries, 62 yards, 2 TD; 7 catches, 32 yards
CADE STOVER TE TEXANS 2 catches, 6 yards 4 catches, 51 yards
C.J. STROUD QB TEXANS 28/38, 331 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 3 carries, 27 yards 122/177, 1,385 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT; 14 carries, 68 yards
NICK VANNETT TE TITANS Bye 4 catches, 20 yards, 1 TD
DENZEL WARD CB BROWNS 1 tackle, 2 PD 8 tackles, 1 QB hit, 9 PD
PETE WERNER LB SAINTS Inactive 21 tackles
GARRETT WILSON WR JETS 13 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD 33 catches, 292 yards, 2 TD
LUKE WYPLER C BROWNS   Injured reserve (ankle)
CHASE YOUNG DE SAINTS 3 tackles, 1 sack (6 yards), 2 QB hits 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks (9 yards), 2 TFL, 9 QB hits
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