
The Steelers, Rams and ::gags:: Cowboys all have multiple Badgers on their roster as we head into the opening round of the NFL Playoffs.
The NFL Playoffs start on Saturday and, per usual, there are a number of former Wisconsin Badgers who will be competing for a Super Bowl title. Since the Green Bay Packers, presumably the favorite team of many readers here, aren’t playing here are some players to cheer for while you’re watching the games this weekend.
P̶r̶o̶ ̶B̶a̶d̶g̶e̶r̶s̶
PLAYOFF BADGERS
Good luck fellas pic.twitter.com/lAlHh1K7uM
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) January 10, 2022
There are two games on Saturday, but neither feature a Badger, so I don’t know who you should root for. Probably not the Patriots, though. Maybe watch college basketball? Business picks up on Sunday however.
(7) Eagles at (2) Buccaneers: Sunday, 12 p.m. CT (FOX)
The scrappy, dare I say heroic, underdogs in this game, the Philadelphia Eagles, feature former Wisconsin tackling machine T.J. Edwards on their defense. Edwards had 130 tackles, two sacks, a pick, five passes defended and a fumble recovery for the Birds this season. Also, Tom Brady sucks. This one seems pretty cut and dry, go Birds.
(6) 49ers at (3) Cowboys: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. CT (CBS and Nickelodeon)
Dallas features Tyler Biadasz starting in the middle of their offensive line at center and star special teamer and backup running back Corey Clement in the mix as well.
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Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Clement has had 169 total yards from scrimmage with one touchdown on 39 total touches. Biadasz has started all 17 games for Dallas and should be a building block for the team for years to come. This game has the Nickelodeon alternate feed which features players getting pretend slimed and stuff, it’ll rule.
(7) Steelers at (2) Chiefs: Sunday, 7:15 p.m. CT (NBC)
The Steelers are basically Wisconsin East at this point. They have two Watt brothers, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Joe Schobert on their roster. This will be a massively more likable team once Ben Roethlisberger retires, but with all of the Badgers out there on the field it’s hard not to pull for an upset of Kansas City.
T.J. Watt is the favorite for defensive player of the year, having racked up a mind-boggling 22.5 sacks on the season. Derek is a valuable special teams contributor who has recorded 14 tackles on various coverage units. Rookie Loudermilk has 23 tackles, one sack and three passes defended while appearing in 15 games and starting two. For the fifth straight season, Schobert has recorded over 100 tackles (112 this year) and is another mainstay on Pittsburgh’s defense, having started 15 games this year.
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Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images
(5) Cardinals at (4) Rams: Monday, 7:15 p.m. CT (ABC/ESPN)
The offensive line in Los Angeles is heavily influenced by Wisconsin. David Edwards started all 17 games this year while Rob Havenstein started 15. Had he not suffered a season-ending injury, the two former Badgers would have been tasked with blocking former Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt, but Watt will be taking this game in from the sidelines.
As noted in the tweet from @BadgerFootball, Cole Van Lanen is playing with the Packers but he won’t see any action in the playoffs unless there are a number of injuries.