Buckeye Clips: NFL Week 5 highlights

It won’t be too much longer until we can watch the current crop of Buckeyes in action, but in the meantime the Ohio State alum in the NFL have provided some much-needed entertainment as they continue to put on a show every Sunday. Let’s get you up to speed on how all your favorite former Buckeyes performed on the gridiron this past weekend.

Injuries

Luckily, this section is a bit shorter than it has been the past few weeks. The injury bug has run rampant throughout the NFL, and former Ohio State players have not been any exception.

There was, however, one injury to make note of on Sunday. Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard was one of a few players in the position group to get hurt this weekend, leaving the game with an elbow injury in the fourth quarter. He would not return to the contest. The severity of Hubbard’s injury is unclear at this time.

Outside of Hubbard, there was some good news for former Buckeyes this weekend, as a number of guys returned from previous ailments. Jordan Fuller, Marshon Lattimore and Chase Young all played for their respective teams this week after all missing some time. Still, there are a bunch of Ohio State alum who will remain out for a significant amount of time, including season-ending injuries to Nick Bosa and Malik Hooker, and seemingly long-term injuries to Damon Arnette, Parris Campbell, Dre’Mont Jones, and a few others that will force them to miss at least the next few weeks.

With the crappy news out of the way, let’s get to the highlights.

Rookies

As previously mentioned, Chase Young returned to action this week for the Washington Football Team after missing one game with a groin injury. Taking on the Los Angeles Rams, Young registered two tackles, including this tackle for loss on RB Darrell Henderson.

J.K. Dobbins continues to be criminally underused by the Baltimore Ravens — despite averaging the most yards per carry of any player in the NFL with his amount of touches. The rookie got the ball just one time on Sunday, but he certainly made the most of it on this impressive 34-yard run. He also hauled in three catches for 21 yards.

Other miscellaneous news and notes for Buckeye rookies:

• Jordan Fuller played opposite Young, recording four tackles and two pass breakups in his return from a shoulder injury that had forced him to miss some time.
• Malik Harrison had three tackles in the Ravens’ 27-3 win over the Bengals.
• Jonah Jackson and Jeff Okudah were off with the Detroit Lions on bye.

Veterans

While he certainly wasn’t the main storyline in this game, Ezekiel Elliott put on a show in Dallas against the New York Giants. Zeke had 19 carries for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a game where his team trailed 17-3 early. He was one of the driving forces in getting the Cowboys a 37-34 victory, especially after a gruesome injury to Dak Prescott.

Jerome Baker had a monster day in San Francisco. The Miami Dolphins linebacker put up a team-high eight tackles to go along with two QB pressures and this impressive sack in his team’s 43-17 blowout of the 49ers. He also dominated in coverage, allowing only 19 receiving yards on five targets according to PFF.

Cam Heyward continues to get it done for the Pittsburgh Steelers in year 10. The veteran defensive lineman registered two tackles with a sack and a pass deflection as Pittsburgh moved to 4-0 on the season with a 38-29 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Denzel Ward was his usual self, compiling five tackles and a pass breakup as he came incredibly close to yet another interception this season.

The Washington Football Team benched Dwayne Haskins this weekend, electing instead to start Kyle Allen. Haskins was fully inactive and not at the stadium on Sunday, as he was apparently dealing with a stomach bug. With Allen getting injured early in the game, Ron Rivera then had to turn to Alex Smith, returning for the first time from a brutal leg injury suffered back in 2018. So, how did things go for the two QBs in Haskins’ absence?

The team lost 30-10 to the Rams, putting up a total of 108 yards on offense. Nether QB threw a touchdown pass, and they were sacked a combined eight times. Allen and Smith combined to average 3.7 yards per pass, and finished with a combined QBR of 67.5. They did not pick up a single first down in the entire second half. As it turns out, maybe it isn’t Haskins’ fault that the team stinks out loud. Bosa shrug.

I know a guy who has great chemistry with Terry McLaurin — who registered a season low three catches for 26 yards — that probably completes this pass.

In an unrelated benching of a former Ohio State player, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was expected to return from an ankle injury on Monday after missing the last three games, but that was not the case. While it appears his injury has healed, he was held out of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers after getting into a fight in practice with defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

However, the Buckeyes that did play in Monday night’s matchup between the Saints and Los Angeles Chargers had a major impact, beginning with Joey Bosa’s fourth sack of the young season.

It was Lattimore who came out on top though, as his clutch fourth down tackle sealed the victory for the Saints in overtime. It was a rough night overall for the corner, but he came up big when it mattered most.

In terms of absurd stats from that game, Malcolm Jenkins is an iron man.

Other miscellaneous news and notes for Buckeye veterans:

• Vonn Bell registered six total tackles for the Bengals
• Kendall Sheffield had five tackles and a pass breakup for the Atlanta Falcons.
• Curtis Samuel caught five passes for 36 yards and ran it four times for 28 yards for the Carolina Panthers.
• Bradley Roby had five tackles for the Houston Texans.
• Andrew Norwell and Michael Jordan both started on their respective offensive lines.