A Charlotte 49ers fan’s rooting guide to the NFL playoffs
The conclusion of the regular season was chaotic.
While Carolina Panthers fans don’t have much to be excited about for the next month, Charlotte’s other football team is being represented in the NFL playoffs.
Three of the five 49ers’ alumnus in the NFL are playoff-bound, two of whom celebrated division championships and one is the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
This past Sunday’s 14-game slate featured three overtime games, each with playoff hopes hanging in the balance, one of which nearly ended in a tie. The Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Los Angeles Chargers in the nightcap, serving as a de facto playoff game with the winner advancing and the loser going home.
Unless there was a tie. Then, somehow, both teams would advance to the playoffs.
That matchup played a major role in the professional Niners’ playoff hopes.
Earlier in that afternoon, former 49ers’ defensive end and current Pittsburgh Steeler Alex Highsmith recorded four tackles and a QB hit as the Steelers won their ninth game of the season, 16-13, in overtime against the Ravens.
Highsmith completed his second NFL season totaling career-highs with 74 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, six sacks and a forced fumble.
Ahead of Sunday’s games, ESPN’s playoff projector gave the Steelers just an 8% chance of making the postseason, needing a win over Baltimore, the 2-14 Jaguars to defeat the Colts and the Chargers and Raiders to not end in a tie.
All three happened and Pittsburgh will travel to Kansas City to take on the reigning AFC champion Chiefs in the wild-card round.
Larry Ogunjobi, the first Charlotte player to be selected in the NFL Draft back in 2017, recorded a career-high 16 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks in his first season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati won three of their last four games to lock up the AFC North and will host the Raiders in the wild-card round on Saturday.
The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990, hosted a playoff game since 2013 or appeared in the playoffs in six years. Ogunjobi is expected to return from the COVID-19 list and be available for the first round.
Former Niner and current Tennessee offensive linemen Nate Davis was 12 years old the last time the Titans held the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Davis played 951 offensive snaps this season, allowing four penalties and five sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
History hasn’t been kind to the Titans when owning the No. 1 seed, losing in the divisional round in both instances. But Davis and the Titans are expecting the return of Derrick Henry following their first-round bye, making the Titans the team to beat in the AFC.
No former Charlotte player has competed for or won a Super Bowl.
NFL Wild Card Weekend schedule
(Games featuring former Charlotte 49ers are in bold)
- Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 4:30 p.m. Saturday
- New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. Saturday
- Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. Sunday
- San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. Sunday
- Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. Monday
- Tennessee Titans: Playoff bye
- Green Bay Packers: Playoff bye
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 1:46 PM.