Which cities and states produce the best football talent? It’s an age-old debate, and Touchdown Wire asks you to help determine the answer.
We’ve imagined NFL rosters for the ages composed of the greatest players who grew up in the areas of the 32 current franchises. Our selection methodology is explained in detail in this article.
Touchdown Wire columnist Doug Farrar revealed his power rankings for our 32 Homegrown Legends rosters, providing the seedings for an epic virtual tournament.
Here’s where you come in. Cast your votes below in the conference semifinals of our Homegrown Legends tournament, and check back on Friday, Oct. 2, at approximately noon ET for results and the opening of voting in the conference championships.
Second-round results:
AFC: 8. Los Angeles Chargers def. 1. Houston, 67-33%; 12. Kansas City def. 13. Tennessee, 66-34%; 6. Pittsburgh def. 3. Cleveland, 61-39%; 2. Miami def. 10. Las Vegas, 74-26%.
NFC: 1. Dallas def. 8. Washington, 79-21%; 5. Atlanta def. 4. San Francisco, 52-48%; 3. Los Angeles Rams def. 6. Carolina, 73-27%; 2. New Orleans def. 10. Detroit, 67-33%.
AFC third-round matchups
8. Los Angeles Chargers vs. 12. Kansas City
How Los Angeles can win: Going up against a questionable Chiefs defense, the Chargers should be able to get on the scoreboard early and often — whether through the air with QB John Elway distributing the wealth to WRs Michael Thomas and JuJu Smith-Schuster or TE Tony Gonzalez, or on the ground with the dynamic duo of RBs Terrell Davis and Marcus Allen. Kansas City will look to win offensively with their best playmakers, RBs Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers, but they will face stiff resistance from LBs Junior Seau and Anthony Barr, along with the hard-hitting safety tandem of Ronnie Lott and John Lynch. — Gavino Borquez, Chargers Wire
How Kansas City can win: On paper this looks like a tough matchup for the Chiefs. The Chargers have John Elway at QB, who tortured this franchise for over a decade. We’re also very familiar with the football prowess of Marcus Allen, Tony Gonzalez and Donnie Edwards. But no matter how many legendary players Los Angeles fields, look for the Chargers to choke, as that franchise has so many times before in big games. The Chiefs will look to dominate time of possession with elusive RBs Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers. Expect a big special teams play from Darren Sproles to put the game on ice for Kansas City. — Charles Goldman, Chiefs Wire
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Other matchups: