Joey Bosa already added to Pro Football Hall of Fame, adds 20th sack in Week 10 of the NFL

Saturday’s Ohio State win over Michigan State was fun, and it was followed up by some big days from Buckeyes in Week 10 of the NFL.

Buckeye alumni have captured headlines throughout the week leading up to the weekend’s matchups, with Joey Bosa sending some gear to Canton and Ezekiel Elliott serving the first game of his six-game suspension. Then on Sunday, two Buckeye powerhouses claimed over 100 yards of total offense each (Michael Thomas and Carlos Hyde) — although, neither made it into the endzone.

Here’s how former Buckeyes fared this week at the next level:

Bosa now part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Last week, Buckeye bad ass Joey Bosa made his 19th career sack (appropriately) against Michigan alumnus Tom Brady, setting a new NFL record in the process for most sacks in his first 20 games. It was no surprise that Bosa would be a beast when he left Ohio State to play in the pros, but he’s been an immediate contributor, and in just his second season has sent some hardware to Canton for display at Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“It’s pretty awesome to be in there already; I thought I’d have to wait a little bit longer!” Bosa said. “I think it’s further motivation to just keep it going. Ten games from now hopefully we’re talking about how I have the most in 30 games.”

The Buckeye also added another sack to his stat line in Week 10 against the Jaguars, making him the second-youngest player in NFL history to notch 20 total sacks — just 83 days older than NFL legend Terrell Suggs.

It’s also nice to see Bosa keeping his signature shrug alive at the next level.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cowboys without Zeke

There was some good news and bad news for Buckeyes down in Dallas this week, with the announcement that running back Ezekiel Elliott would at least be forced to serve the first of his six-game suspension handed down at the onset of the season. After enough back-and-forths to make your head spin, the former Buckeye phenom ran out of time and was forced to sit out in Week 10.

It looks like Zeke expects to serve the entirety of his suspension, with news early on Sunday that the running back was leaving the country to get his mind right and train. (Why the need to travel across an ocean to do that? Your guess is as good as mine.)

One of his teammates, and another former Buckeye, who will benefit from Zeke’s suspension, is rusher Rod Smith. Buried on the depth chart, Smith hasn’t seen a ton of game time this season, but he’s had a few clutch plays to extend drives, and is having a career year. He saw considerable more game time in Week 10, finished with three carries for 14 yards and four receptions for another 15 yards.

Kicking legend Mike Nugent had a career revival following the injury to Dan Bailey, but with a missed kick on Sunday against the Falcons, he brought back memories of his not so great 2016 season. Nugent finished the day 0-for-1 in field goal tries, but went 1-for-1 in point after attempts.

Rookie receiver Noah Brown has yet to carve out significant playing time for the Cowboys this season, but with Dez Bryant aging, he could be the next in line after another offseason under his belt.

Browns made a move for Pryor

The Terrelle Pryor Sr. saga continues to be head-scratching. It was reported on Saturday that Pryor’s former team, the Cleveland Browns, had reached out to Washington about a possible trade for the receiver ahead of the league’s trade deadline last week. Despite having all but phased the Buckeye out of their offense over the past few weeks, Washington surprisingly wasn’t interested in sending him back to Ohio. (On Sunday against the Vikings, Pryor saw exactly zero targets.)

Oh, the irony. After having his only 1,000-plus yard season as a receiver with the Browns in 2016, Pryor wouldn’t accept their contract offer and instead tried his hand at free agency. The former quarterback finally settled on a one-year deal with Washington, in hopes of proving his value, and securing a big money, long-term deal in 2018. That’s far from the case at this point, and it’s a little surprising Cleveland was still in the market to get Pryor back -- although at this point, it’s very a “Browns” thing to do.

Plays of the Week

Ryan Shazier

One of the former Silver Bullets keeping Ohio State’s LBU reputation safe is Steelers’ LB Ryan Shazier. On his way to a career-high season in tackles and interceptions, the Buckeye had another big game in Week 10 against the Colts, claiming five total tackles, two pass breakups and and another pick.

Michael Thomas

Saints’ wideout Michael Thomas had his first 100-plus receiving game of 2017 with 117 yards -- his third highest career game — on Sunday, but hasn’t seen the endzone in the past five games. He may not be a big part of New Orleans’ red-zone package, but Thomas has been a huge factor in extending drives with big plays.

Other Notes

• Several Buckeyes will be featured in Week 10’s edition of Monday Night Football when the Carolina Panthers (Kurt Coleman, Andrew Norwell, Curtis Samuel) take on the Miami Dolphins.
• Niners running back Carlos Hyde claimed over 100 total yards of offense in San Francisco’s first win of the season — albeit against the Giants — but didn’t find the endzone in the 31-21 victory
• Former Ohio State DT Adolphus Washington was benched just a few weeks ago by the Buffalo Bills, but it was just the motivation he needed to step up his game. Reinvigorated, the Buckeye has earned back his spot in the starting lineup — though, he only claimed one tackle in the team’s 47-10 loss to the Saints on Sunday.
• Seahawks TE Nick Vannett had a season-high 22 yards in this week’s Thursday Night Football game against the Cardinals.
• We already know that Saints CB Marshon Lattimore is setting himself up for a nice NFL career, but he’s already earned several Rookie of the Week awards and is one of the top candidates for Defensive Rookie of the Year — won last year by Buckeye Joey Bosa. Lattimore is also really fun to watch, and isn’t afraid to get a little vocal with some of his opponents. (Heh.)

Injury Report and Inactives

• After being placed on the Detroit Lions’ IR before the start of the regular season, and undergoing knee surgery, second-year OT Taylor Decker was activated from the PUP (physically unable to perform) list ahead of Week 10’s slate of games.
• The Colts continue to miss their Buckeye players on the grid iron. Linebacker John Simon is still sidelined with a neck injury, and a week after being placed on IR, rookie Malik Hooker underwent surgery on his torn ACL on Friday.
• Quarterback Cardale Jones remained a healthy scratch for the Chargers this week.

Which Buckeyes are on Bye?

• Four teams have a bye this week, including the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders (Gareon Conley) and Philadelphia Eagles (Malcolm Jenkins).