Louisville, KY: After the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL Playoffs, teams are now one victory away from moving on to the Conference Championships, while Super Bowl LVIII awaits them.
There are just three former Louisville football players left on the rosters of the four remaining teams, out of the eleven who were on the rosters of the 14 teams that secured playoff spots.
The top-seeded Baltimore Ravens, led by quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Malik Cunningham, defeated the Houston Texans, ranked No. 4, 34-10, on Saturday to secure the franchise’s first AFC Championship since 2012.
The No. 3 Detroit Lions, led by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, continue their incredible run in the NFC. They defeated the No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 to earn a trip to their first NFC championship since 1991.
Jackson needed to have a fantastic playoff performance because his team only had a 1-3 playoff record. And he did just that. In addition to rushing 11 times for 100 yards and two additional touchdowns, he completed 16 of his 22 pass attempts for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
After joining the Ravens a little over a month ago, Cunningham did not see action during Baltimore’s victory over Houston. Bridgewater did not participate in Detroit’s victory over Tampa Bay, just as he did not during the regular season.
Jackson is the overwhelming favourite to earn MVP this season, his second after taking home the trophy in 2019. Jackson had an incredible 2023 campaign. He set career highs with 3,678 passing yards and a 67.2% completion rate. He also had a 24 touchdown pass ratio to just seven interceptions. He gained 821 yards and five touchdowns on the run.
Before being signed by the Ravens last month, Cunningham began the 2023 season with the New England Patriots, spending time on both their practice squad and active roster. Only once this season has the rookie signal caller seen action, taking six snaps in the Patriots’ Week 6 loss to the Raiders.
Bridgewater has been out virtually the entire season. Having only appeared in one game this season as Jared Goff’s primary backup, he ran twice for minus two yards in Detroit’s Week 5 matchup with the Panthers. Bridgewater made his retirement from the game known earlier in the year.
For the AFC Championship, the Ravens will host the No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, January 28 at 3:00 p.m. EST on CBS. The NFC Championship game between the Lions and the top-ranked San Francisco 49ers will take place later that day at 6:30 p.m. EST on FOX.
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