Even though Week 15 featured some big games and even bigger performances, it was a relatively quiet week for the former Buckeyes in the The League.
Brian Hartline had five catches on eight targets for 70 yards in the Dolphins stunning 24-20 victory against the Patriots. Nate Ebner was tackle-less on the Patriots defense, but did recover a botched field-goal attempt when long snapper John Denney snapped the ball before holder Brandon Fields was ready, hitting Fields square in the face mask in a play that has hit social media heights parallel to that of Mark Sanchez's "butt fumble."
Keeping up with the former Buckeye receivers, and as per usual, DeVier Posey and Brian Robiskie both failed to get a target in their games on Sunday, struggling to find their spot in the NFL. The Jets and Panthers squared off in the afternoon, pitting former Scarlet and Gray teammates Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. against each other. Holmes had two catches on eight targets for 14 yards while Ginn Jr. had just one catch for 10 yards.
The Packers came back from a 23-point deficit to beat the Cowboys, despite a weak game from A.J. Hawk. Hawk, who usually is amongst the team-lead for tackles, only had three tackles in the contest. Ryan Pickett added two tackles of his own.
The struggling Rams upset the Saints in St. Louis on Sunday, holding the high-powered Saints offense to just one touchdown in the fourth quarter. James Laurinaitis had five tackles on the Rams defense, and on the flip side; Malcolm Jenkins had four for the Saints.
Terrelle Pryor once again had a limited role in the Raiders' offense, completing 1-of-4 attempts for 12 yards and rushing for 19 yards on three carries. Chidmi Chekwa didn't have a tackle for the Raider defense, but did have a reception in the game. The Raiders ran a fake-punt-pass, where FB Marcel Reece completed the first down pass to Chekwa for a 22 yard gain.
The Sunday Night game was chalk-full of former Buckeyes, as the Steelers held off a late push from the Bengals, winning 30-20. Will Allen had five tackles for former Buckeye Dick LeBeau's defense, while Cameron Heyward added three of his own. Bengals Mike Nugent had his work cut out for him Sunday night when Punter Kevin Huber fractured his jaw after getting leveled on a punt return. Nuge didn't attempt any field goals, but converted on both of his extra point attempts. Nuge punted twice for 80 yards, holding his own in Huber's absence (though looking a bit un-punter in doing so).
Other Buckeyes in action on Sunday were Johnathan Hankins (three tackles), Kurt Coleman (two tackles) and Donte Whitner (one tackle, two pass deflections). If the season ended today, 14 former Buckeyes would be in the playoffs (eight in the NFC, six in the AFC). Tune back in next week for the Week 16 recap!