Many fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars were glued to their televisions this weekend like much of America for the NFL’s divisional playoff games, which had some great moments. Ultimately, it ended up being both the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Bucs who advanced to the conference playoffs Sunday and both will take on the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers, respectively, who punched their tickets Saturday.
When looking at this weekend’s games, many fans couldn’t help but notice several former Jags on the field, but there were three in particular who were huge for their teams making it to the next round. Those players were Packers receivers Allen Lazard, Leonard Fournette, and Chad Henne.
Lazard was the first to play of the three, as the Packers took the field Saturday afternoon. Despite the Packers being stacked at receiver, it was the second-year star who led the team in receiving, catching four balls for 96 yards and a touchdown.
With Jalen Ramsey coming into town, it was expected that their No. 1 target Davante Adams would have his hands full. However, quarterback Aaron Rodgers did what he does best and relied on his other options when Adams was covered. That opened up ample opportunities for Lazard to have himself a day, including the Packers’ last touchdown, which was a 58-yard bomb that occurred in the last quarter.
https://youtu.be/zsU4l3VW-Zk
Henne, who is in his 13th season, had to be inserted into the Chiefs divisional matchup against the Cleveland Browns after former league MVP Patrick Mahomes sustained a concussion in the second half. His performance wasn’t perfect by any means as he threw a terrible pick to Carl Joseph with Kansas City in range for a long field goal around the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
https://youtu.be/VpghUCKcjVU
Ultimately, the pick wasn’t back-breaking as Henne got a chance to redeem himself on the Chiefs’ last drive. After the two-minute warning, the Chiefs found themselves in a third and 14 situation. With the team looking to avoid punting the ball and giving the Browns a chance for a game-winning touchdown, one more first-down was needed to bleed out the clock.
Henne, who isn’t known for his speed, got over 13 of the yards in the most unlikely of ways: with his feet. He then put the Chiefs in a fourth and inches situation where Andy Reid made a gutsy call to hit Tyreek Hill on a short out pattern, ending the game and making Henne a hero.
The last of the three aforementioned players, Leonard Fournette, was in the zone and channeled what many have deemed as “#playoffLenny.” In a game where the Bucs and Saints were neck-and-neck, Fournette was a key source of Tampa’s offense. He ran the ball well in the early part of the game and also made some key contributions in the passing game.
While Fournette ultimately finished with just 17 carries for 67 yards on the ground, he garnered 107 yards of total offense. The former Jags first-round pick also had a touchdown reception, which came in the third quarter and tied the game at 20-20.
https://youtu.be/hp95uiLUQ2M
With the divisional rounds set for Sunday, it’s going to be interesting to see which former Jags advance to the Super Bowl. Right now, the Chiefs and the Packers are favored by BetMGM, and if that were to happen, Lazard and former Jags tight end Marcedes Lewis would be among the notable former Jags participating in the Super Bowl.