Four Terps Seek Super Bowl LII Bids
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – NFL Terps had their fingerprints all over crucial plays during the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs and this Sunday, four former Maryland football standouts will seek bids to Super Bowl LII.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots
Sunday, Jan. 21 – 3:05 p.m. – CBS
Thanks in large part to the play of Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville pulled off the biggest upset of the playoffs when the Jaguars went into Pittsburgh and dominated the Steelers en route to their first AFC title game appearance since 1999.
Ngakoue made one of the biggest plays of the game when his strip sack on Ben Roethlisberger led to a 50-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown that gave the Jags a 28-7 lead. Incredibly, the second-year defensive end has been part of five of Jacksonville’s eight defensive touchdowns this season. He has four sack-fumbles that were recovered and returned for TD’s and one recovery for a TD of his own in Week 17 at Tennessee (67 yards).
CBS Sports recently sat down with Ngakoue for a cool feature on why you should know his name!
KNOW this name!
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) January 17, 2018
Yannick. Ngakoue. (@YannGetSacks91)
(Via @CBSSports) pic.twitter.com/0YvHirCzJb
Ngakoue finished the win over the Steelers with a sack, two tackles for loss and two hits on the quarterback. The Bowie native has had a breakout year for Jags, leading the NFL with six forced fumbles and ranking tied for eighth in the league with 12.0 sacks during the regular season.
Ngakoue and former Terp teammate Darius Kilgo, who is on the Jags practice squad, will travel to Foxborough to face the Patriots in the first game of Sunday’s Conference Championship Round.
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, Jan. 21 – 6:40 p.m. – FOX
In one of the wildest endings in NFL post-season history, Stefon Diggs hauled in a 61-yard walk-off touchdown as time expired to propel to Vikings past the Saints and into the NFC Championship game. Diggs posted six catches for 137 yards in the win, but none bigger than the play that’s now being touted as the “Minneapolis Miracle”.
For Terp fans, Diggs’ incredible awareness, balance and speed is nothing new.
Sunday, @stefondiggs shocked the country... but #TerpNation has seen this before! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LmIUz5GhdN
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) January 16, 2018
Diggs, who has now caught a touchdown in four straight games dating back to the regular season, is quickly being talked about as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. The third-year pro ranked Top 10 in the NFL in touchdowns (8) and Top 25 in receiving yards (849) during the regular season.
Another all-time Maryland great at the wide out spot will be opposing Diggs on Sunday as Torrey Smith hopes to guide the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2005.
Although it didn’t have the game-ending impact like Diggs’ catch, Smith was part of another memorable play from the Divisional Round.
The 🏈 bounces off the DB's knee...
— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2018
And right into @TorreySmithWR's hands. 😱 #FlyEaglesFly #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/a1ahJIqfQ9
Smith ended the game with three receptions for 39 yards to lead Philadelphia past Atlanta, 15-10. Smith, now in his seventh season in the NFL, has posted 39 receptions for 469 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season.
Smith isn’t the only former Terp great affiliated with the Eagles. Frank Reich (’84) has served as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator since 2016. Reich, who was a part of four Super Bowls as a player, last coached in the Super Bowl in 2009 when he was the quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts.
-MARYLAND-
