Welcome back, Wayniacs! There’s only eight teams left in the NFL season, but plenty of DFS lineups and locks of the week to be had. And it’s all on this week’s Wayniac Nation fantasy football podcast.
Continue reading NFL Playoffs: 3 DFS lineups you must start and locks for every divisional game(From NCAA.com, please see the full article HERE.)
The 2019 NFL playoffs kick off on Saturday, Jan. 5 when the Houston Texans battle the Indianapolis Colts in the first Wild Card game of the postseason. Five former DII football players will hit the field for that game.
In fact, all eight teams playing on Wild Card weekend will feature former Division II football players. The numbers are up from last season when 22 former DII ballers were spread out across 11 teams in the NFL playoffs. One year later, 26 players from 10 different rosters* enter the postseason. Only the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints are not represented on their active rosters by any former DII football players.
MORE: An incredibly early look at the 2019 preseason top 10
Here are some interesting numbers from the 2019 NFL playoffs:
2 — Players from Grand Valley State and California (Pa) in the postseason, the only two schools with multiple players in the playoffs.
3 — DII players returning to the playoffs from last season. Ethan Westbrooks returns for the Rams while both Tyreek Hill and Ron Parker return for the Chiefs. Morgan Fox (Colorado State-Pueblo) played for the Rams last season but is currently on injured reserve.
5 — Former DII players on the Baltimore Ravens roster, more than any other team in the NFL playoffs. The Los Angeles Rams are right behind with four.
NFL✔@NFL
.@BCarr39 intercepts Rivers on the first play! #RavensFlock
9 — Defensive backs, including safeties, from DII schools in the NFL playoffs, the most from any position. Wide receivers were the second most represented with five.
11 — DII players on NFC rosters, up one from last season.
15 — DII players on AFC rosters, up three from last year.
MORE: 11 record-breaking numbers from the 2018 DII football championsip
| NAME | POSITION | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | ||
| John Brown | WR | Pittsburg State |
| Brandon Carr | CB | Grand Valley State |
| Matthew Judon | LB | Grand Valley State |
| Zach Sieler | DT | Ferris State |
| Brandon Williams | DT | Missouri Southern |
| Chicago Bears | ||
| Eric Kush | OG | California (Pa) |
| Adam Shaheen | TE | Ashland |
| Dallas Cowboys | ||
| C.J. Goodwin | CB | California (Pa) |
| Jeff Heath | S | Saginaw Valley State |
| Chris Jones | P | Carson-Newman |
| Houston Texans | ||
| Tyrell Adams | LB | West Georgia |
| Vyncint Smith | WR | Limestone |
| Indianapolis Colts | ||
| Pierre Desir | CB | Lindenwood |
| Kenny Moore II | CB | Valdosta State |
| Grover Stewart | DT | Albany State |
| Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| Tyreek Hill | WR | West Alabama |
| Ron Parker | DB | Newberry |
| Los Angeles Chargers | ||
| Austin Ekeler | RB | Western State |
| Jeff Richards | CB | Emporia State |
| Tyrell Williams | WR | Western Oregon |
| Los Angeles Rams | ||
| Marqui Christian | S | MSU Texas |
| Matt Longacre | LB | Northwest Missouri |
| Ethan Westbrooks | DE | West Texas A&M |
| Greg Zuerlein | K | Missouri Western |
| Philadelphia Eagles | ||
| Tre Sullivan | S | Shepherd |
| Seattle Seahawks | ||
| David Moore | WR | East Central |
* — Active rosters per NFL.com team sites only. Practice squad, future contracts, and injured reserve players are not included.
The final four teams are left standing in the NFL. Four great quarterbacks — and three MVP candidates — will provide for an exciting Championship Weekend.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
There was some great football played this weekend. And then there was the performance by Brock Osweiler.
Let’s look at some of the biggest takeaways we learned this past weekend.
Keep reading for more on my thoughts from this weekend’s NFL playoff games.
When we looked at the finalists last season for the NFL Hall of Fame I said I was not envious of the voters. This year, it doesn’t get any easier.
The 15 finalists have been announced and the 46 members of the selection committee are anxiously awaiting until Super Bowl Eve to vote on their next class to enter the hallowed walls in Canton. That, of course, is the tricky part.
It takes 80 percent to earn enshrinement. No less than four people will be inducted per season, while no more than eight will ever be in a new class. When you add on sure-fire bets Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue as contributors, and Seattle Seahawks safety Kenny Easley as the senior finalist, you are looking at five former players possibly getting their chance this season.
Five of these 15 finalists:
LaDainian Tomlinson, Terrell Davis, Alan Faneca, Joe Jacoby, John Lynch, Terrell Owens, Kurt Warner, Morten Anderson, Tony Boselli, Kevin Mawae, Isaac Bruce, Jason Taylor, Brian Dawkins, Ty Law, and Don Coryell.
Good luck with that.
And then there were eight.
Despite the world over complaining about the Brock Osweiler and Connor Cook matchup in the first game of this year’s NFL Playoffs, none of the three remaining games on the weekend were all that competitive. There were no upsets as all four home teams advanced, setting up this coming weekend’s Divisional Round.
For four teams, the season came to an end. They are locked in slots nine through twelve as we inch closer to our final Power Rankings of the season.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
We’ll conclude “The Search For My Home Team” Saga in next Sunday’s exam results from the Divisional Round. For now let’s breakdown the first part of your Sportsbook 102 Final, with the results from this Wildcard Weekend.
Yesterday’s intriguing battle between two third-string quarterbacks ended in the Houston Texans favor. For the second consecutive week, Brock Osweiler looked good (that’s not a typo) en route to the Texans third playoff victory in the history of the franchise.
What can we, as Texans fans, walk away with from this victory?
Click here for the 3 biggest takeaways from the Wild Card win.
Well, here we are. It’s hard to believe but the NFL Playoffs are upon us. Twelve teams are left playing, all with the same goal. Which teams have the best shot?
The beauty of the playoffs is that anything can happen. Although with some of the quarterbacks in this postseason, it seems like some teams face an impossible challenge.
Remember, we switch formats this week moving forward. The past five weeks we have given you each conference’s Power 5 and one Honorable Mention. This week, and for the rest of the season, we give you the Top 12, playoff teams only.
So, how did they fall?
I can’t decide on this one, folks. I think Sunday evening’s game between the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals could go either way. It’s not so easy to find an advantage on either side of the ball, so I wonder just who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season.
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