This year’s Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs made a solid case for being the most exciting weekend in pro football history, with all four teams moving on to their respective conference championships doing so on walk-off scores. However, for the winning teams, it took plenty of contributions from their Pack Pros to get them in the position to win their games, including an impressive performance from an unlikely Wolfpack alumni.
Dontae Johnson, cornerback, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Dontae Johnson’s name hasn’t been called upon much this season, with the eight-year veteran only starting in three games in the regular season. The starting role for the 49ers has been occupied by rookie corner Ambry Thomas for the majority of the season, but a deep knee bruise would force him out of the matchup against the Green Bay Packers. It was Johnson’s time to shine, and shine he did as the 2014 fourth-round pick aided massively in San Francisco’s defensive dominance over Green Bay across the final 50 minutes of Saturday’s ball game.
It wasn’t all pretty, however, with Johnson conceding some large plays early on; including a pair of catches for 10-plus yards to Packer’s wide receiver and perennial superstar Davante Adams and whiffing on a tackle against Green Bay running back Aaron Jones on a play that went for another 19. Johnson kept his head high and put the first drive of the game behind him, helping San Francisco lockdown MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers’ favorite targets for the remainder of the matchup.
Johnson totaled only six tackles in the game, where he played all but two snaps, but his contributions off the stat sheet are immeasurable. It took every member of the 49ers to slay the so-called giant that this first-seeded Green Bay team was made out to be, and Johnson’s contributions will certainly not be overlooked. With Thomas’ injury status remaining up in the air, Johnson has yet another chance to go out and prove himself in what would be one of the biggest games of his career, playing for a chance to send his team to the Super Bowl.
Germaine Pratt, linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals
After winning its first playoff game in 31 years a week ago during the Super Wild Card Weekend, the Cincinnati Bengals broke through another barrier; overcoming the NFL’s longest conference championship drought. Along with winning their first road playoff win in team history, the Bengals will now appear in the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1988. While his contributions to the team’s success aren’t as likely to jump off the page as they were a week ago, Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt continued to be a deciding factor in this storied playoff run.
Pratt only accumulated four solo tackles in the Divisional Round matchup against the Tennessee Titans in what was truly a messy game of football. From offensive miscues to blunders on all sides of the ball, positive contributions were few and far between. That being said, Pratt and the rest of the run-stopping unit did well to limit one of the league’s most dangerous rushing attacks to only 140 combined yards as well as limiting one of the greatest running backs in league history, Derrick Henry, to only 62 yards and 3.1 yards per carry.
B.J. Hill, defensive tackle, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill is another individual whose stats certainly don’t jump off the page, but when his number is called he delivers time and time again. With three solo tackles in the Divisional Round, he played an equally important role in elevating his squad to an AFC Championship appearance as his teammate Pratt. Hill and the Cincinnati defensive line played an important role in putting Tennessee Titan’s quarterback Ryan Tannehill in uncomfortable situations all night, which would eventually lead to the veteran lobbing up three crucial interceptions that helped put the Bengals in the position to win the game on a last-second field goal.
