Crimson Tide in the NFL Spotlight: Postseason Edition
1/20/2022 11:15:00 AM | Football
Several former Alabama players continued their NFL season into Wild Card Weekend
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – This past weekend marked the beginning of the NFL postseason. Alabama entered Wild Card Weekend with a total of 23 former Crimson Tide players active in this year's playoffs.
The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots met in round one for a game that featured five former Alabama standouts. Defensive back Levi Wallace highlighted the group, collecting five tackles and an interception in Buffalo's win. Wallace squared off with New England's offensive duo of running back Damien Harris and rookie quarterback Mac Jones along with Christian Barmore and Dont'a Hightower on the defensive side.
An impressive defensive performance by the Los Angeles Rams was aided in a big way by tackle A'Shawn Robinson. In the Monday night game, Robinson led the Rams in total tackles with seven. Thanks to his standout effort, L.A. was able to limit the Arizona Cardinals' high-powered offense to just one touchdown in a dominant 34-11 win.
Alabama will be represented in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs by eight active players. The Los Angeles Rams, featuring Robinson and Terrell Lewis, will travel to Tampa Bay to take on O.J. Howard and the Buccaneers. Wallace and the Bills will take on the Kansas City Chiefs and former UA defensive tackle Jarran Reed. The group of eight is rounded out by Jonah Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals squaring off in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans, led by linebacker Rashaan Evans, wide receiver Julio Jones and potentially former Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry.
As the regular season wrapped up, the NFL released the six finalists for the 2021 Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year award. The list is highlighted by three former Alabama players, including quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Jones finished his season in New England as one of the winningest rookie quarterbacks of all time, joining a list of eight guys who won 10-or-more games in their first season. The Patriots' quarterback also became the first rookie in NFL history to complete at least 80 percent of his passes in back-to-back games across Week 10 (19-of-23, 82.6 percent) and Week 11 (22-of-26, 84.6 percent) of the regular season.
Harris totaled 1,200 rushing yards on 307 carries in his first season with the Steelers to break Hall of Famer Franco Harris' franchise rookie rushing record of 1,055 yards set in 1972. The tailback added 467 receiving yards on 74 receptions for Pittsburgh to lead the league with 381 total touches. Additionally, Harris did not fumble once during his rookie campaign to finish with the second-most touches in NFL single-season history without a fumble.
Waddle quickly transformed himself into the Dolphins' WR1 in his first season with Miami. The rookie wideout eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark with 1,015 yards on 104 catches. His 104 receptions set the NFL's rookie record for catches, surpassing Hall of Fame Semifinalist Anquan Boldin's total previous high of 101 set in 2003.
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