Conference championship weekend has arrived in the NFL. Four teams from the AFC and NFC will battle for a spot in Super Bowl LX. Which former Dawg will be the latest to win a ring this reason?
The first divisional round game last Saturday saw James Cook and the Buffalo Bills visit the Denver Broncos. After giving up a field goal in the first quarter, the Bills got on the board late when Josh Allen connected with former Bulldog Mecole Hardman for a four yard touchdown. This was Mecole’s first and only catch of the season.
The Bills ultimately found themselves trailing 23-10 in the third quarter before Josh Allen helped the team score 17 unanswered points with a pair of touchdown passes from the former MVP and a fourth quarter field goal.
Former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix would lead the Broncos to a game tying field goal to send the game into overtime. In OT, we saw the most controversial call of the season as Broncos safety Ja’Quan McMillan wrestled a Josh Allen pass away from Bills’ receiver Brandin Cooks. I’m not going to get into the ““catch or interception” debate, but this play changed the trajectory of this game. Denver would go on to kick the game winning field goal in OT for a 33-30 victory.
Shortly after the victory however, the Broncos announced that Bo Nix suffered a season ending ankle injury and would miss the AFC Championship game. Replacing the former Auburn quarterback is another War Tiger QB, Jarret Stidham, who has yet to complete a pass this season. As for the Bills, they fired their head coach Sean McDermott on Monday after the game after another disappointing postseason loss.
The second game on Saturday was not as drama-filled. The Seattle Seahawks handled the San Francisco 49ers with a 41-6 route at home. The only Georgia player listed on the Seahawks’ roster is Kenny McIntosh. McIntosh suffered a torn ACL last summer and has not played this season.
On Sunday, the New England Patriots took down the Houston Texans 28-16 in a game that featured eight turnovers. Former Georgia center Jared Wilson played 65 snaps on the offensive line for the Patriots. He will look to be the next great Georgia offensive lineman to anchor a Patriots’ line in a Super Bowl like former Dawg David Andrews did in New England for 10 seasons.
Our favorite MVP candidate Matthew Stafford and his Los Angeles Rams visited D’Andre Swift and the Chicago Bears at snowy Soldier Field. Though it was a low scoring affair, it wasn’t without drama and late game heroics. On 4th and goal with less than 20 seconds left, Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams threw a prayer to the end zone that was caught by a wide open Cole Kmet, sending the game into overtime (I wonder if the Pope had anything to do with that one).
In overtime though, Stafford and the Rams would make the plays needed. After intercepting Williams for the third time, Stafford led a 10 play, 54 yard drive that culminated with a 42 yard Harrison Mevis field goal for a 20-17 win. During the drive, Stafford threw one of the best passes of his career to Davante Adams, giving the presumptive MVP another highlight reel moment in a season full of them.
This Sunday will determine the two teams we will see in Santa Clara, CA on February 8th. Best of luck to each of them, especially all our former Dawgs.
