Georgia Bulldogs in the NFL: Dawgs' Top Conference Championship Moments
Obviously the Georgia Bulldogs’ conference championship didn’t work out for them this past season.
In case you forgot after the National Championship rematch with Alabama, the Dawgs haven’t won a SEC football championship since 2017. Just one more thing to panic about while you wipe your transfer portal tears with red and black confetti.
That doesn’t mean the Bulldogs are lacking for notable moments in the storied history of *NFL* conference championship games.
As phenomenal human and former Georgia head football coach Mark Richt pointed out, you’ll see more Georgia Bulldogs in the NFL playoffs with a chance to make the Super Bowl:
(Side note: it’s so cool to see Coach Richt still embrace this program, while also fulfilling his duties as an entertaining analyst on the ACC Network. He’ll always be a DGD.)
With all those Dawgs vying for a piece of the Lombardi Trophy, one of them is bound to make a memorable play, or have a legendary game, in this weekend’s conference championship action.
Play this NFL Films playlist on Spotify, and soak in all the glory of the Dawgs who came before them in huge conference championship spots.
Sony Michel – 2019 AFC Championship
Sony Michel is the only Dawg in this year’s conference championship crew that will appear on this list.
After feeling Michel’s presence as a Patriots rookie in Super Bowl LIII, the Rams have to feel good about an experienced option in the backfield not named Cam ‘Fumble in Crucial Situations’ Akers.
Michel turned his first-round NFL draft opportunity into one of the most remarkable postseasons for a running back in league history. In the AFC Championship game at Kansas City (an overtime game in which the Chiefs didn’t get a chance to score, by the way. Not sure if that helps or hurts, Bills fans), Sony popped off.
Kansas City had no answers as Sony went for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries – part of a NFL-record postseason for a rookie.
Michel broke the rookie record for most postseason rushing touchdowns, with six. The other Georgia running back in this piece is the only player that ever had more, with eight.
Michel’s been banged up a bit since then. The Rams will take all of the production they can get from him against a lethal 49ers defense giving up just four yards per carry.
Fran Tarkenton: 1974 NFC Championship
Fran Tarkenton found a way to lead the Vikings to a 14-10 NFC Championship over Michel’s current franchise, the Rams, in the 1974 NFC Championship.
I say ‘found a way,’ because watching the highlights of this game show just what a back-alley ice-pick fight this game was.
No dome environment. Just Metropolitan Stadium and a 30-degree Bloomington, Minnesota afternoon.
Fran can’t throw worth a damn early on. He fumbles the ball on a carry, unprovoked. The Rams can’t catch anything. It’s an utter disaster.
So was it a banner highlight for Tarkenton amid these other Georgia Bulldogs in the NFL spotlights? No. Not particularly.
But the win did put Minnesota back into its second straight Super Bowl. Which the Vikings lost. At least the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer has this highlight to commemorate that season:
Hines Ward: 2005 AFC Championship
Hines was a Super Bowl MVP, but not this season. The Patriots ruined the Steelers’ run in the AFC Championship despite a standout night from Ward.
He finished the game with five catches for 109 yards and a score, but the Patriots went on to win the game and the Super Bowl over the Eagles in Jacksonville*.
(*A Super Bowl? In Jacksonville? It still seems absolutely wild to even consider that this actually transpired, but I do remember watching it, so I know it happened. Insane.)
Hines was as dependable as it got in the postseason. That dependability eventually paid off with his first Lombardi Trophy and a Super Bowl MVP award the following year.
Now it’s just a matter of time before he finally gets that call to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after being a semi-finalist for way too long.
Terrell Davis: 1998 AFC Championship
Before Hines Ward became a beloved Steelers player that Bill Cowher spit upon, Pittsburgh faced another Dawg spitting fire and vinegar through a painful, yet rewarding Super Bowl run.
Denver’s Terrell Davis had bruised ribs before the Broncos’ AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh. He would go on to score the go-ahead touchdown in Denver’s Super Bowl win over Green Bay while playing with a blinding migraine.
I can’t see or string words together in English when I get migraines. The appropriately-initialed TD won a Super Bowl MVP with his. Of all the moments I’ve seen from Georgia Bulldogs in the NFL, this effort will always blow me away.
Not only did Davis stay in to face the Steelers with his tender ribs, he dominated Cowher’s team after he reportedly planned to “remind Terrell Davis that his ribs hurt.”
They’re both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame now. Davis can remind Cowher about the time he rushed 26 times for 139 yards and a score the next time they’re hanging out in their gold jackets.
Jake Scott: 1972 AFC Championship
The coolest Georgia Bulldog to ever walk (and ride a motorcycle on) the earth, Jake Scott laid a memorable lick on Terry Bradshaw in the 1972 AFC Championship.
Scott knocked Bradshaw out of the game with an injury on a forced fumble, and the Steelers quarterback didn’t return until the fourth quarter. It was an absolutely bonkers game, as it seems like all NFL games were in the 70’s. At least that’s what I gleaned from watching the Fran Tarkenton video from earlier.
A fake punt that never should have happened, a blocked kick, and hundreds of turnovers all combined for a football game that must have been right up Scott’s alley. He did ride his motorcycle over Stegeman Coliseum, after all.
Scott also won the MVP award in the Super Bowl that capped off the Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season. You’d think that might be enough to earn someone a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but people overthink things like that sometimes.
Once again, we’re guaranteed to see at least a couple of Georgia Bulldogs in the NFL playoffs make this year’s Super Bowl rosters. Who knows – maybe one of them will join Scott, Davis and Ward as Super Bowl MVP Dawgs.
My favorite to be the fourth Super Dawg:
Matthew Stafford
Underdog:
Trey Hill
Dark horse:
Mecole Hardman
Are you subscribed?
Ready to get all your latest Georgia athletics news in one place? Become a member of DawgsHQ today. With your DawgsHQ membership, you’ll not only have access to the goings on in Athens, but you’ll be able to peruse other fan sites within the On3 network to hear just how rivals are feeling about the Dawgs, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter (@DawgsHQ), on Facebook and on YouTube for all the Dawg news you need now! And listen to the DawgsHQ crew on our podcast Dawg Walk Talk on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
