Stevens, Rankin make season debuts to close out the year’s week 17
There are 19 former Mississippi State Bulldogs headed to the National Football League Playoffs this weekend.
Nine of those will have a first-round bye as members of the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.
Week 17 saw a pair of Bulldog debuts as Martinas Rankin played his first game of the season and first in more than a year after being sidelined with an injury in 2019. Carolina’s Tommy Stevens made his NFL debut, running four times for 24 yards on five snaps.
Opposite Stevens, J.T. Gray was New Orleans’ second-highest graded defender, posting career highs in overall grade (89.9) and coverage grade (83.1) according to Pro Football Focus. Gray’s grades both ranked inside the top 20 in the NFL this week.
Elgton Jenkins registered an 80.4 pass blocking grade from PFF, his sixth mark above 80 this season. He is one of just 23 offensive linemen to play at least 50% of snaps this year with fewer than 15 allowed pressures.
State’s defensive line products landed among the regular-season league leaders. Chris Jones finished fourth in the league with 28 quarterback hits and ranked seventh in overall defensive grade (90.3) and pass rush grade (93.1) according to PFF. Montez Sweat finished seventh in the league in sack yardage (83.0).
Sweat made two key plays on Sunday night with Washington needing a win to advance to the postseason. He picked up a sack for a loss of 13 yards to go along with his three quarterback hits and dove to bat a lost snap away from the quarterback in the fourth quarter. That fumble was recovered by Washington, which then kicked a field goal to extend its lead to six points.
Veterans K.J. Wright and Fletcher Cox continue to climb the career record books for their respective franchises. Despite being inactive in week 17, Cox finished 2020 tied for fifth in Eagles history with 54.5 career sacks. His 140 games played ranks fourth among Philadelphia defensive linemen.
Wright finished the year at 934 career regular-season tackles. That ranks third in Seahawks history, and is just 50 tackles behind the No. 2 mark for the franchise. Wright also led all NFL linebackers with 10 pass defenses this season.
Wild Card Weekend will pit Jeffery Simmons against Pernell Mcphee and Tyre Phillips when the Titans and Ravens meet. Denico Autry’s Colts will face the Buffalo Bills. Gray and the Saints take on the Chicago Bears and Wright’s Seahawks meet the Rams. Washington and Sweat claimed the final playoff spot and will meet Tampa Bay in the first round.