Penn State NFL Roundup: Two Nittany Lions are Super Bowl-bound
The NFL Playoffs came through with another thrilling weekend, and Penn State alumni were once again front and center.
After the Bengals came back to beat the Chiefs, 27-24, and the Rams got the best of the 49ers, 20-17, a pair of Nittany Lions are Super Bowl-bound.
Here’s how the Penn Staters got in during conference championship weekend.
49ers vs Rams (4 Penn State players)
The Rams rode an excellent defensive performance to the NFC title, outscoring the 49ers 13-0 in the fourth quarter. Matt Gay’s 30-yard field goal with 1:46 remaining in the game proved to be the difference.
Former Penn State safety Nick Scott played his part in that defensive performance.
A reserve player for most of the season, Scott has started all three of Los Angeles’s playoff games, and has come up big in each one. Playing all 51 of the Rams’ defensive snaps, Scott made six total tackles — including five solo tackles — to help send his team to Super Bowl Sunday.
Scott broke up a pass with a huge hit on star 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel, too. The officials threw a flag initially, but picked it up after some discussion.
The other former Penn State player partaking in Super Bowl LVI will be another defensive back — Grant Haley.
The Rams added Haley before Week 14 of the NFL season, and he’s played mostly on special teams since his arrival, including 10 snaps in the NFC title game.
Haley, who lost his father in the summer, posted an emotional Tweet following the game.
A pair of Nittany Lions found themselves on the losing side of that game.
Former Penn State kicker Robbie Gould extended his streak of playoff perfection, connecting on his only field-goal attempt of the game, then let star Rams corner Jalen Ramsey know about it.
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After that connection, Gould is now 21-for-21 on field-goal attempts in the postseason, which is an NFL record.
Defensive tackle Kevin Givens also played a significant role for the 49ers in this game.
Givens, who returned from an early-season injury to contribute valuable snaps to the San Francisco defense, made a pair of tackles in this game, playing 19 snaps.
He also registered a QB hit — just his fourth of the season. Two of those came in the playoffs.
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Chiefs vs Bengals (0 Nittany Lions)
There were no active Penn State players in this AFC Championship Game thriller, meaning the Rams will have to win the Super Bowl for a Nittany Lion to get a ring.
For the second consecutive week, the Chiefs went to overtime after leading a game-tying drive late. But this proved a step too far.
Patrick Mahomes threw an interception, giving the Bengals excellent field position, and Cincinnati kicked a game-winning field goal after Joe Burrow led them to an 18-point comeback.
