Seven Former Cards Reach Divisional Round of 2025 NFL Playoffs

All four games during the Divisional Round feature at least one former Louisville player on either team's roster.

Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell (5) runs for a touchdown on an 88 yard pass play in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Wild Card Weekend for the 2025 NFL Playoffs is now in the books, and with it, we now move onto the Divisional Round, where teams are just two wins away from reaching Super Bowl LX. This round of playoff games will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17 and Sunday, Jan. 18.

As you can imagine, a few former Louisville football players remain in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. Out of the 10 former Cardinals on rosters for the 14 teams that clinched playoff berths, seven of them remain out of the eight teams in the Divisional Round.

• WR Tutu Atwell - Los Angeles Rams
• OT Geron Christian - Denver Broncos
• RB Isaac Guerendo - San Francisco 49ers
• RB Jawhar Jordan - Houston Texans
• DT Sheldon Rankins - Houston Texans
• TE Mark Redman - Los Angeles Rams
• WR Jordan Watkins - San Francisco 49ers

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Yasir Abdullah, Los Angles Chargers offensive lineman Mekhi Becton and Carolina Panthers cornerback Corey Thornton were the trio of former Cards to get eliminated during Wild Card Weekend.

Out of the seven remaining former Louisville players in the playoffs, one will be seeing his first playoff action of this postseason this weekend. Geron Christian had Wild Card Weekend off, as his Denver Broncos clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC as well as a first round bye.

Geron and the Broncos will kick off the Divisional Round, getting their postseason run started against the No. 6 Buffalo Bills, who upset the third seeded Jaguars, 27-24, in Jacksonville. The two teams will fight for the right to go to the AFC Championship in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4:30 p.m. EST on CBS.

Capping off the first day of the Divisional Round, Guerendo, Watkins and sixth-seeded San Francisco 49ers will head to Seattle to take on the top-ranked Seahawks. The first berth for the NFC Championship will be decided on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 8:00 p.m. EST on FOX

The 49ers opened up their playoff run with a 23-19 upset victory against the third-seeded and defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Philadelphia. However, both Guerendo and Watkins were inactive for the contest.

Sunday's playoff action gets underway when Jordan and Rankins' fifth-seeded Texans head to Foxborough to take on the second-seeded New England Patriots. Kickoff to decide the latter spot in the AFC Championship is slated for 3:00 p.m. EST on ESPN/ABC.

Jordan was inactive for the Texans' 30-6 win over the fourth-seeded Steelers in Pittsburgh, but Rankins was a crucial piece of Houston's first ever road playoff win. He collected two tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and recovered fumble for a fourth quarter touchdown.

Capping off the Divisional Round will be Atwell, Redman and the fourth-seeded Rams, as they will head to Chicago for a meeting with the second-seeded Bears. The second and final spot in the NFC Championship will decided on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. EST on NBC.

Los Angeles escaped Charlotte with a 34-31 victory over the fourth-seeded Carolina Panthers to get their playoff run started. Atwell did not log any stats in his 15 offensive snaps played, and Redman, who is on the Rams' practice squad, did not play.

(Photo of Tutu Atwell: Jayne Kamin - Oncea-Imagn Images)

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