Former Rutgers football players prepare for NFL Conference Championships, potential trip to Super Bowl LVIII
The 2023 NFL Playoffs have been coated in scarlet and will continue to feature former Rutgers football players heading into the NFC and AFC Conference Championships this upcoming weekend.
Four Scarlet Knights have an opportunity to play for the right to compete in Super Bowl LVIII following last weekend's Divisional Round victories for the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs.
On Saturday, Gus Edwards and the Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 34-10. Edwards, who played a year of football on the Banks in 2017, rushed for 40 yards on 10 carries in the victory.
In the following game on Saturday, Logan Ryan, Sebastian Joseph-Day and the 49ers defeated Bo Melton and the Green Bay Packers in a 24-21 thriller. Ryan and Joseph-Day played for three seasons and five seasons, respectively, on the Banks. The pair combined for five total tackles in the San Francisco victory.
After Saturday's games, three former Rutgers football players had advanced in the postseason, and it would not stop there.
In the first game of Sunday's back-to-back slate, the Lions defeated Christian Izien and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23. Jonah Jackson — who played in multiple seasons with the Knights before transferring to Ohio State as a graduate student — started at offensive guard for Detroit. Jackson was taken out of the game after suffering a minor meniscus tear that would eventually require surgery to repair. While Jackson will likely miss the NFC Championship game, he could return to the field if his team can make it to the Super Bowl.
Finally, in the last game of the Divisional Round, defending Super Bowl champion and four-year Rutgers running back Isiah Pacheco and the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-24.
Pacheco impressed, which has become common for the former Knight in his young professional career. The running back rushed for a game-high 97 yards while scoring his third career playoff touchdown, which ultimately helped bury the Bills.
Edwards and Baltimore are now set to face off against Pacheco and Kansas City in the AFC Championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday, while Ryan and Joseph-Day's 49ers will face off against Jackson's Lions in the NFC Title game at 6:30 p.m. The winner of those two games will play in the 58th Super Bowl on February 11th.
Two things are for certain: At least two former Rutgers Scarlet Knights will advance to the championship game, and for the second straight year, a Knight will win the Super Bowl.
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