The NFL’s Conference Championship Games are set for Sunday, with the Cincinnati Bengals traveling to face the Kansas City Chiefs at 3 p.m. and the San Francisco 49ers heading on the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams at 6:30 p.m.
These two games will feature a number of former Ohio State players, including key contributors on each side of the ball for a number of teams.
Bengals @ Chiefs
The Bengals bring with them the most talent from former Ohio State players, including Eli Apple, Vonn Bell, Sam Hubbard and Isaiah Prince. If you’re so inclined, count Joe Burrows among those former Buckeyes.
Apple, Bell and Hubbard, all starters for the Bengals’ defense, have helped to lead Cincinnati to its first AFC Championship Game appearance since 1988. Cincinnati’s defense is only allowing 20.6 points per game this season.
On the other side of the ball, with Burrow under center and Prince at right tackle, Cincinnati is averaging 25.3 points per game, with Burrow passing for 289.1 yards per game across 18 games (16 regular season, two postseason) this season.
49ers @ Rams
With the Rams’ Jordan Fuller out for the season, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa is the only Ohio State player who will appear in this game.
This season, Bosa has racked up 18.0 sacks to go with 58.0 combined tackles and 21.0 tackles for loss. In the 49ers divisional-round win over the Green Bay Packers, Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers twice to help secure San Francisco’s first trip to the NFC Championship Game since 2019.
With neither the Chiefs nor Rams having any Ohio State players, it could be a Buckeye-heavy Super Bowl in the case of a Bengals-49ers matchup or one that features no Ohio State players for the second consecutive season if the Chiefs and Rams move on.
Prior to no Ohio State players in last year’s Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs, you have to go back to 2014 for the last Super Bowl with no Buckeye representation.
