Ahead of conference championship weekend, a Longhorn is guaranteed a spot in Super Bowl LVIII
Eight players who played at the University of Texas were on NFL rosters of four of the league’s eight teams still alive for Divisional playoff week. Four players were lucky enough to move on: Devin Duvernay, Justin Tucker, Keaontay Ingram, and Charles Omenihu.
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Duvernay and Tucker represent the Baltimore Ravens while Ingram and Omenihu battle for the Kansas City Chiefs. Because those two teams will battle in the AFC Championship, a Longhorn is guaranteed an appearance in Super Bowl LVIII. Texas will have at least one player participating in the NFL’s championship game for the 18th time in the last 19 years.
Texas could also have influence on the NFC side. Though no player represents the San Francisco 49ers nor the Detroit Lions, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan caught 14 passes for 127 yards during his career as a Longhorn football player during Mack Brown‘s tenure as head coach.
Here’s a breakdown of how Texas players fared during the divisional round.
Below are a list of the players listed alphabetically by teams:
Baltimore
Devin Duvernay, WR
Duvernay played and had a punt return for 11 yards in the Ravens’ 34-10 win over Houston on Saturday. He’s played in 14 games for Baltimore this year, amassing four catches for a total of 18 yards and four carries for 15 yards.
Justin Tucker, PK
Tucker converted both of his field goal attempts, including a 53-yarder, and was good on all four of his PAT kicks in the Ravens’ victory. Tucker, who was named to his seventh Pro Bowl earlier this month, is 34 of 39 on FGs this season.
Buffalo
Poona Ford, DT
Ford was active and played for the Bills but had no stats in their 27-24 loss at home to Kansas City on Sunday night. He played in eight games this year and had nine combined tackles, two solo stops and a sack for Buffalo.
Houston
Andrew Beck, TE
Beck played but had no stats for the Texans’ in their 34-10 playoff loss at Baltimore on Saturday. He had five carries for three yards, 11 catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns and an unlikely kickoff return for a score in 17 games on the season.
Kris Boyd, CB
Boyd played but had no stats for the Texans in their loss on Saturday. Boyd was signed by Houston in late-October after being released earlier this year by Arizona. He’s played in five games with three combined tackles and a solo stop while with the Cardinals and Texans.
Hassan Ridgeway, DT
Ridgeway suffered a torn Achilles in the Texans’ win over Tampa Bay in week 9. He missed the rest of the season after producing six assisted tackles and a solo stop in the three games he played in this year.
Kansas City
Keaontay Ingram, RB
Ingram is on the Chiefs’ practice squad. He amassed 74 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries and 26 yards receiving via four catches in eight games with Arizona this season before being signed by Kansas City.
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Charles Omenihu, DE
Omenihu had one combined tackle for the Chiefs in their 27-24 win at Buffalo on Sunday night. He has 30 combined tackles, 16 solo stops, seven sacks, two pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles in 13 games this year.
