BBNFL Wild Card Weekend: Mike Edwards gets third career postseason interception
19 former Kentucky players saw the field during the 2023 NFL season, but only four made it to the playoffs. Za’Darius Smith, Carrington Valentine, Josh Paschal, and Mike Edwards represented Big Blue Nation during Wild Card Weekend. Out of the four, Mike Edwards looked the most like he had been there before, probably because he had.
Edwards’ teams have made the playoffs in four of his five years in the league, and he won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.
On Saturday, Edwards picked up this third interception in just eight postseason games, snagging a pass from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the first quarter to thwart any would-be momentum. This play helped the Chiefs keep the Dolphins at arms’ length all day and now, your girl’s new favorite football team will play at least one more game.
Edwards played every single snap on defense for the Chiefs, pressured the quarterback twice on safety blitzes, and when targeted, only gave up one pass for 14 yards. He also had a pass breakup on what could have very well been another interception.
Free agency is around the corner for Edwards this offseason, but he’s not thinking about that now. The Chiefs will take on the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round this coming weekend.
Josh Paschal became part of Detroit Lions history
Josh Paschal wasn’t alive the last time the Detroit Lions won a playoff game. In fact, his parents probably hadn’t even met yet. However, on Sunday, the 24-year-old helped a franchise that had known nothing but a lifetime of misery punt the proverbial monkey off their back. In a phrase that reverberated around Detroit Rock City all weekend, the Lions beat the Rams 24-23 to win the first playoff game in 32 years.
The story of the game surrounded the quarterbacks. The two teams swapped signal callers just two years ago and long-time Lion, Matt Stafford, immediately won a Super Bowl with the Rams. Jarred Goff, on the other hand, hadn’t done much at all, until now.
As for Josh Paschal, the former Wildcat and second-year defensive lineman got the start in his first career playoff game and saw the field for 43 snaps. He finished the game with two quarterback pressures and a tackle, as the pass rusher has earned the trust of head coach Dan Campbell.
Paschal also made Big Blue Nation proud. One Kentucky family built a Josh Paschal snowman in honor of his win, turning a snowy day in the Bluegrass into a proper BBNFL celebration. As cold as the forecast projects, that Paschal snowman doesn’t look like it will melt any time soon.
The Lions will now host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round.
Carrington Valentine leads Packers in snaps and tackles in massive upset win over the Cowboys
In the 1990s, many Americans rejoiced when the Cowboys won. Now, many sports fans relish their defeat, especially in the playoffs. Dallas looked dominant all season long, especially at home, but the Green Bay Packers traveled to Texas and shocked the world (well, at least Jerry’s World) with a blowout victory over the squad formerly known as America’s Team.
Rookie and former Wildcat, Carrington Valentine, played all 90 snaps on defense, more than any other Packer, and finished with six tackles, good for second-best on the team. Dak Prescott had the audacity to throw Valentine’s direction nine times, but he only gave up four catches for 33 yards. On the four plays where the Dallas receiver did make the reception, Valentine only allowed a total of three yards after the catch.
After the game, he celebrated by taking a meme-quality photo.
Most folks around the program were a little surprised when Valentine declared for the NFL draft, feeling a return to Kentucky for his senior season or even a transfer was in order. However, those same folks are glad he has proven them wrong.
Valentine will look to keep proving everyone wrong into the Divisional round when the Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Za’Darius Smith and the Cleveland Browns are headed home
Similar to Mike Edwards, Za’Darius Smith has played in eight postseason games, but out of the four former Kentucky players whose teams made the playoffs this season, only three of them are advancing. The odd man out is the original Big Z. The Houston Texans upset the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, ending what turned into a surprisingly impressive season considering they lost their starting running back and quarterback due to injury.
In the end, though, the Browns are the Browns.
Most Kentucky fans felt jaded that Will Levis was the fourth quarterback taken in the draft, however, many would agree that maybe the Texans did pretty well with CJ Stroud. The former Ohio State Buckeye has been on a tear during his rookie season and now has a playoff win under his belt to boot.
Za’Darius Smith recorded one QB hit on Stroud, but that was about it as the Texans’ offensive line kept Smith and his pass-rushing comrades at bay. Smith finished with 23 snaps (half of the total defensive plays) and recorded just one tackle.
Though he did not finish with a ton of sacks this year (5.5 to be exact), according to PFF, he had the fifth-highest quick pressure rate (2.5 seconds or less) among edge rushers.
The nine-year veteran is on his third team in just three years and will now hit the free agency market yet again this offseason. At 31 years old, Big Z still looks to have plenty of football left in him, and will most certainly find a new home by the fall.
Until then, he’ll have to cheer on the former Kentucky alumni remaining in the playoffs from the couch like the rest of us.
BBNFL Statistics and PFF Grades for Wild Card Weekend
| Player | Stats | PFF Grade |
| Za’Darius Smith (CLE) | 23 snaps, 1 QB hit, 1 tackle | 72.4 |
| Mike Edwards (KC) | 61 snaps, 2 pressures, 1 tackle, 1 Interception | 63.8 |
| Carrington Valentine (GB) | 90 snaps, 6 tackles, 1 assist | 59.5 |
| Josh Paschal (DET) | 2 pressures, 1 tackle | 59.5 |
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard