Ohio State Buckeyes in the NFL: Keeping Up, Week 16

With playoff implications on the line, Week 16 in The League rose up to the occasion. From a Tony Romo comeback (yes, that happened) to a Seattle loss at home, plenty of former Buckeyes were involved along the way, especially Sunday afternoon in Green Bay.

Under snowy conditions at Lambeau Field, the Packers and Steelers were both fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and they didn't disappoint. Cameron Heyward had six tackles with Will Allen adding two of his own for Dick LeBeau great's defense. Former OSU linebacker A.J. Hawk had six tackles in the game, with an interception late in the second half that gave the Packers a chance at a comeback that was ultimately snuffed out.

The Bengals clinched the AFC North Sunday after their 42-14 mauling of the Vikings, where former Groza Award winner Mike Nugent connected on all six of his extra-point attempts. 2006-2008 first-team All-Big Ten-er James Laurinaitis had a big game in the Rams' 23-13 victory against the Buccaneers, recording 6 tackles and a season-high 1.5 sacks.

Two catches seemed to be the trend of the afternoon for former Buckeye receivers. Carolina's Ted Ginn Jr. had two for 66 yards, the Miami Dolphins' Brian Hartline had two for 53 yards and the New York Jets' Santonio Holmes had two for 20 yards.

Malcolm Jenkins and Chimdi Chekwa had big days on defense on the respective games. Jenkins had three tackles and an interception in the New Orleans Saints' loss to Ginn's Panthers, while Chekwa had eight tackles in a losing effort as the Oakland Raiders fell to the San Diego Chargers. Bringing up the rear were Johnathan Hankins had one tackle in limited action in the Giants' overtime victory against the Lions, while John Simon had one tackle of his own in the Ravens uber-defeat at the hands of the Patriots.

Through 16 weeks of play, and if the playoffs started next week, seven former Buckeyes would be playing in the NFC Playoffs, while six would be in the AFC Playoffs.

Check back next week for the final review of player's and their 2013-2014 seasons.