One of the greatest weekends in the NFL season is half over. The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is a great two days of football with four games and eight teams fighting to get to Conference Championship Weekend. For some former Virginia Tech players, it was a memorable Saturday afternoon and night on the gridiron.
In the case of one former Hokie, it's another year advancing to the AFC Championship Game. Cornerback Chamarri Conner and the Kansas City Chiefs survived the Houston Texans, 23-14, to advance back to the AFC Championship Game next weekend at home on Sunday night at 6:30. The defending Super Bowl champs will host the winner of tonight's other AFC Divisional Round game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills.
Conner finished the game against the Texans tied for third on the team in tackles with five and he collected one of the eight Kansas City sacks. He was also on the field late in the fourth quarter when Houston attempted a field goal to cut an 11-point deficit to eight, but the Chiefs blocked the kick, sealing the win.
For Houston, former Virginia Tech defensive lineman Tim Settle, Jr. had two tackles for a defense that kept Patrick Mahomes and the Cheifs offense in check for a good part of the game, but they fell victim to some questionable calls by the referees which kept key Kansas City drives alive.
In the NFC Divisional Round game on Saturday night, the Washington Commanders pulled off a major upset, stunning the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions at Ford Field, 45-31, to advance to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday at 3 o'clock at the winner of this afternoon's game between the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.
Former Virginia Tech standout Darryl Tapp, is the defensive line coach for Washington under first-year coach Dan Quinn. What a story the Commanders are turning into this postseason.