Why Two Former Alabama Cornerbacks Could Key Super Bowl Matchup: Bama in the NFL Tracker

If you're looking for former Alabama Crimson Tide players to focus on, who might make the difference in either the AFC or NFL Championship Game on Sunday, zero in on the cornerbacks as there will be a key starter in both games.

Patrick Surtain II obviously stands out for Denver. The 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year was was the second player in Broncos history to receive the honor (Randy Gradishar 1978), and many experts consider him the best corner in the league. He was again among the NFL leaders this season for fewest yards allowed per coverage snap during the regular season, so we'd be surprised if New England went after him much in the passing game.

Meanwhile, Josh Jobe is one of the best stories in the NFL Championship Games after going from being undrafted to a starter on Seattle's elite defense. Statistically, he had just one interception, but tallied 54 tackles (39 solo) and 12 passes defensed during the regular season.

Seattle's last loss was Game 11, Nov. 16, 21-19 at the Rams, when Los Angeles made four interceptions and benefitted from a very unusual punt bounce, still had to sweat out a 61-yard attempted field goal that would have won the game for the Seahawks. Matthew Stafford passed for a season-low 130 yards (15 of 28), with Puka Nacua have seven catches for 75 yards, while the Rams managed just 249 total yards.

On the rematch, which Seattle won at home in overtime 38-37, Stafford was 29 of 49 for 457 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Nacua had 12 catches for 225 yards and touchdowns as the Rams accumulated 581 total yards of offense.

Nacua's big day was mostly due to three big plays when the Rams worked him over the middle and attacked the safeties. The guess here is that Seattle will put cornerback Devon Witherspoon on him as much as possible, while Los Angeles will do everything it can to work the mismatches like last time, but with different disguises.

That'll be the game within the game, with Jobe in the middle of it.

AFC Championship Game

No. 2 New England Patriots (16-3) at No. 1 Denver Broncos (15-3)

AFC Championship Game (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, CBS)

Former Alabama Players on Broncos: #51 Que Robinson, OLB; #2 Pat Surtain II, CB

Former Crimson Tide Players on Patriots: #90 Christian Barmore, DT; #33 Anfernee Jennings, LB; #82 CJ Dippre, TE

Championship history: The Patriots are 11-5 (.688) in conference championship games, tied with the Green Bay Packers (11) for the most in NFL history. The Broncos are 8-2 (.800) in their previous 10 Conference Championship appearances, the highest winning percentage in Championship games all-time.

Postseason history: Denver is 4-1 against New England in the postseason, including home Conference Championship wins in 2013 (Denver 26, New England 16 on Jan. 19, 2014) and 2015 (Denver 20, New England 18 on Jan. 24, 2016).

NFL Notes:

The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 16-3, on Wild Card Weekend and the Houston Texans, 28-16, in the Divisional playoffs. New England has appeared in 11 Super Bowls (6-5), the most in NFL history.
The Broncos defeated the Buffalo Bills, 33-30, in overtime in the Divisional playoffs. Denver has eight Super Bowl appearances (3-5), tied for the second-most among all teams.
This season, New England can become the fifth team since 2003 to go from “worst to first” and make the Super Bowl in the same season, joining the 2021 Bengals, 2017 Eagles, 2009 Saints and 2003 Panthers. The 2017 Jaguars and 2006 Saints also followed a last-place finish with an appearance in the Championship Game.
New England’s Mike Vrabel is the third head coach to win 16 games, including the playoffs, in his first season with a club in NFL history, joining George Seifert (17 wins with San Francisco in 1989) and Jim Caldwell (16 with Indianapolis in 2009).
Vrabel can become the eighth coach in NFL history and first since 2015 (Gary Kubiak with Denver) to lead his team to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season with a club.
Denver’s Sean Payton, who led New Orleans to the Super Bowl XLIV title following the 2009 season, can become the eighth coach ever to lead multiple franchises to a Super Bowl appearance, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Bill Parcells (the New York Giants and New England), Don Shula (the Baltimore Colts and Miami) and Dick Vermeil (Philadelphia and the St. Louis Rams) as well as John Fox (Carolina and Denver), Mike Holmgren (Green Bay and Seattle), Dan Reeves (Denver and Atlanta) and Andy Reid (Philadelphia and Kansas City).
Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who has started four career games, can become the first quarterback ever to start a Conference Championship game with fewer than five career starts. He can also become the seventh quarterback in the Super Bowl era to make his first start of the season in the playoffs and first since 2020 (Taylor Heinicke with Washington).
Stidham, selected by New England in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, can become the fourth quarterback to start a Conference Championship or Super Bowl against the team that drafted him, joining Daryle Lamonica (Super Bowl II with the Oakland Raiders against Green Bay), Craig Morton (Super Bowl XII with Denver against Dallas) and Joe Theismann (Super Bowl XVII with Washington against Miami).

NFC Championship Game

NFC Championship Game (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (14-5) at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks (15-3)

Former Alabama Players on Rams: None

Former Crimson Tide Players on Seahawks: #29 Josh Jobe, CB; #6 Jalen Milroe, QB; #40 Robbie Ouzts TE; #90 Jarran Reed, DT

Championship history: The Rams are 7-9 all-time in conference championship games but have won four consecutive championship appearances since 1999. The Seahawks are 3-1 in conference championship appearances (3-0 in the NFC, 0-1 in the AFC).

Postseason history: The Rams are 2-0 against the Seahawks in the postseason, with both victories coming in the Wild Card round on the road (2004 and 2020).

2025 regular season: The NFC West rivals split their regular season meetings this season, with each team winning at home. The Rams earned a 21-19 win in Week 11 as their defense recorded four interceptions. In Week 16, the Seahawks recorded a 38-37 overtime victory, overcoming a 16-point fourth quarter deficit, including a game-tying two-point conversion in the fourth quarter and game-winning two-point conversion in overtime.

NFL Notes:

The Los Angeles Rams defeated Carolina, 34-31, on Wild Card Weekend and earned a 20-17 overtime win at Chicago in the Divisional playoffs. The Rams have five Super Bowl appearances (2-3), most recently winning Super Bowl LVI following the 2021 season.
Seattle defeated San Francisco, 41-6, in the Divisional playoffs for its first postseason win since the 2019 Wild Card round (at Philadelphia). The Seahawks have played in three Super Bowls (1-2), including consecutive appearances following the 2013 (won Super Bowl XLVIII against Denver) and 2014 season (lost Super Bowl XLIX to New England).
The Seahawks will become the sixth team since 1970 to face multiple division opponents in the same postseason, joining the 2021 Los Angeles Rams, 1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1985 New England Patriots, 1983 Seattle Seahawks and 1982 Miami Dolphins.
The Rams can become the fifth Wild Card team since realignment in 2002 to advance to the Super Bowl, joining the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2010 Green Bay Packers, 2007 New York Giants and 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Rams – who led the NFL in scoring offense (30.5 points per game) – and the Seahawks – who led the NFL in scoring defense (17.2 points per game allowed) – during the 2025 regular season will mark the third Championship Game since 1970 to feature the No. 1 scoring offense against No. 1 scoring defense from the regular season, joining 2014 NFC Championship Game (Green Bay vs. Seattle) and 1980 NFC Championship Game (Dallas vs. Philadelphia).
With head coaches Mike Macdonald (age 38) and Sean McVay (turns 40 years old on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026), it will mark the second Championship game ever to feature two head coaches age 40-or-younger, joining the 2019 NFC Championship game between San Francisco and Green Bay (Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur, both age 40).
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who was named Super Bowl LVI Most Valuable Player while with the Rams, will become the fifth player ever to face the team he won Super Bowl MVP with in the postseason, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Richard Dent (1994 with San Francisco against Chicago) and Peyton Manning (2014 with Denver against Indianapolis) as well as Santonio Holmes (2010 with the New York Jets against Pittsburgh) and Von Miller (2024 with Buffalo against Denver).
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold can become the eighth quarterback ever to lead his team to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season with a team and first since Matthew Stafford in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams.

Bama in the NFL Championship Round racker

For the full set of statistics on how the former Crimson Tide players did this week, check out our elaborate Bama in the NFL Championship Round Tracker. It will be updated throughout the weekend until every game is concluded:

Bama in the NFL Tracker: Defense | Kristi L. Patrick

The Ultimate Bama in the NFL Database

Contract Info, Status of Former Alabama Crimson Tide Players
Active Crimson Tide Players by Team, Position
All-Time Alabama Crimson Tide Players in the NFL
All-Time Crimson Tide Draft Selections

Bama In The NFL: Championship Round Notes

• Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. is the only former Crimson Tide player up for an NFL Honors award, Defensive Player of the Year. The other finalists are joining Broncos' linebacker Nik Bonitto, Browns' edge rusher Myles Garrett, Lions' edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, and Packers’ edge rusher Micah Parsons. Anderson was in on 54 tackles, including 20 for loss, with 12 sacks and three forced fumbles. he also had 3.5 playoff sacks, which don't count toward his regular-season numbers. However, Garrett is a clear frontrunner for the award as he had a league record with 23 sacks.

• Surtain's final numbers this season were 47 tackles, 12 passes defended and one interception. He's one of just five players since 2010 with 45-plus tackles and at least 10 passes defended in each of his first five seasons in the NFL. The 25-year-old was recently named to his fourth Pro Bowl, which was one more than his father during his illustrious 11-year NFL career.

• Even though he's 32, which is past the age when most running backs start to lose a step, Derrick Henry says he's not ready to retire yet. In an interview with The Escapist, Henry said: “I’m motivated more than ever,” he said. “I really appreciated this year and how it all went down, because it motivated me to be ready to get back when next year comes, and work as hard as I can in the offseason to be better. I don’t have no timeline. I’m just ready to go.” With 307 carries for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns, Henry just missed winning another rushing title. Although the Ravens have a new head coach, Henry is signed through the 2027 season.

Kristi Patrick at Travelmation | Call today!