Mississippi State teammates squaring off in NFC Championship game
A trip to the Super Bowl is on the line for two former Mississippi State teammates on Sunday evening.
When the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams kickoff on Sunday night (5:30 p.m., FOX), two native Mississippians will go head-to-head with Charles Cross and Emmanuel Forbes playing for a trip to the big game. The two played together with the Bulldogs in 2020 and ’21.
Cross and the Seahawks enter the home NFC Championship game as, arguably, the best team remaining. The Seahawks are 15-3 on the season with 12 wins in the last 13 games and they’re on an eight-game winning streak.
Last week, the Seahawks came off their first-round bye in the playoffs and dismantled the San Francisco 49ers 41-6. Cross made his return to the field after missing three games with an injury. Cross played in 36 of the team’s offensive snaps and is expected to start and be fully healthy for the game on Sunday evening.
It’s good news for the Seahawks to have their star tackle healthy at the right time. Cross just recently signed the largest contract in franchise history for a player that isn’t a quarterback. His $104.4 million contract signed in early January will be for four years and has $75 million guaranteed.
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Forbes and the Rams (14-5) are also in the middle of a great season led by veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. The team has won two tough playoff games on the road at Carolina and Chicago and now will face its toughest task of all at Seattle.
The standout cornerback appears to be available to start for the Rams after leaving last week’s game with a shoulder injury. Forbes is in the middle of his best season of his career after spending two seasons with the Washington Commanders before being cut in 2024.
This year, Forbes started in 14 of the 17 games and posted career highs in tafckles (45), interceptions (3) and passes defended (18).
The winner of this matchup will take on the AFC Champion on February 8 in San Francisco. The AFC Championship takes place at 2 p.m. on CBS as the New England Patriots travel to face the Denver Broncos.
