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Nittany Lions In The NFL: Conference Championship Roundup

Now that the stage for the Super Bowl is officially set, at least one Nittany Lion will bring home a ring no matter the outcome.

The penultimate week of the NFL’s season featured plenty of highlight reel-worthy plays, and Penn Staters got in on their fair share of the action. Chris Godwin, Donovan Smith, and Stefen Wisniewski all had an impact on helping their respective teams advance to the Super Bowl, while Adrian Amos put together a great outing in the Packers’ heartbreaking loss.

Here’s a look at how some former Penn State stars performed on one of football’s biggest days of the year.

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After a bit of a quiet and controversial divisional round performance, Godwin bounced back against the Packers. The Nittany Lion caught five of Tom Brady’s nine passes, good for an impressive 110 yards.

The highlight of his day was an incredible 52-yard circus catch on third down to set up a Tampa Bay score.

Sunday’s performance means Godwin now has 223 total receiving yards in the 2020 playoffs, which is more than any Buccaneer in a single postseason campaign.

Godwin also, unfortunately, broke a different sort of record by logging his sixth drop of the postseason, more than any player since at least 2006, according to ESPN. The wideout, who dropped only one pass the entire regular season, is usually lauded for his great hands and ball skills.

The Penn Stater also picked up six yards and a first down on a game-icing end-around play, which left just seconds on the clock. Brady promptly took a knee on the ensuing play, and the game was over.

Godwin is now set to make his first Super Bowl appearance with the Bucs when they play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 7.

Adrian Amos, Green Bay Packers

Although Amos’ defensive squad let Chris Godwin, Tom Brady, and the Buccaneers put up 31 points, the Nittany Lion had a sound game. Amos recorded three tackles, a pass defense, and one incredible interception.

Picking off Tom Brady is usually no small task, but Amos made the acrobatic play look easy. The safety was even guarding Chris Godwin at times during the game, which was surely tough to watch for Penn State football fans everywhere.

The Packers’ season is done after losing to Tampa Bay, so Amos will need to watch from home and root on his former teammates.

Other Notables

Right guard Stefen Wisniewski got some snaps for the Chiefs after Andrew Wylie came out with an injury. The Nittany Lion is now hoping for his third Super Bowl victory after already securing rings with the Eagles and Chiefs.

Offensive lineman Donovan Smith held the Packers to just one sack on Tom Brady throughout Sunday’s matchup. He played 100% of the team’s offensive snaps.

Penn Staters On Active Playoff Rosters

  • OL Stefen Wisniewski, Kansas City Chiefs
  • WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • OT Donovan Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Super Bowl Schedule

Sunday, February 7
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs — 6:30 p.m. on CBS

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About the Author

Ryan Parsons

Ryan is a redshirt senior majoring in business and journalism from "Philadelphia" and mostly writes about football nowadays. You can follow him on Twitter @rjparsons9 or say hi via email at [email protected].

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