Three Pitt Alums Win Super Bowl With Eagles

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers saw three former football players win the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, and had quarterback Kenny Pickett (2017-21) and cornerbacks in Avonte Maddox (2014-17) and A.J. Woods (2019-23) on their roster, all of whom played for Pitt.

They are the first players from Pitt to win the Super Bowl since legendary defensive tackle Aaron Donald (2010-13) won Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022.

Pickett came in late in the fourth quarter, and would throw an incompletion on fourth down out of the two minute timeout, giving possession back to the Chiefs.

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Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion on the second drive of their 36-33 road loss to NFC East divisional rival in the Washington Commanders in Week 16, forcing Pickett into the game.

Pickett had only come in three games for the Eagles prior to the matcup against Washington, completing one of three passes for five yards.

He did deal with a ribs injury during the game against the Commanders, but stayed in and perservered. This was the same ribs injury that plagued him vs. the Cowboys and that he is still going through.

Pickett completed 14-of-24 passes, 58.3%, for 143 yards and one touchdown and one interception against the Commanders. He almost sealed the win on the Eagles' final drive, but wide receiver Devonta Smith dropped a pass on third down, that would've given them the first down at the two-minute warning.

The Commanders then went down the field and secured the victory, scoring a touchdown with six seconds left.

Pickett started his first game for the Eagles in their Week 17 matchup, a 41-7 victory over their rival in the Dallas Cowboys that clinched the NFC East division title.

He had a solid game for the Eagles, completing 10-of-15 passes for a touchdown and also ran for a touchdown, as the Eagles had a 24-7 lead at halftime.

Pickett then found Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown for a touchdown pass in the third quarter, that the referees called back for a holding call, and suffered a big hit from Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.

Pickett would leave the game and not return, with McKee coming in place of him the rest of the game.

Pro Football Talk reported that Pickett played with broken ribs vs. the Cowboys and received two injections, one before the game and the other at halftime to ease the pain.

He has been a full participant in postseason practices and is the backup, ready to go in for Hurts if he suffers an injury.

Pickett served as one of the best ever Pitt quarterbacks, with his 2021 season featuring as one of the finest by a signal caller in program history.

He completed 334-of-497 passes, 67.2%, for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns to seven interceptions, as he led the Panthers to their first 10-win regular season in more than 40 years and their first ACC Championship. His passing yards and passing touchdowns are program records for a season.

Pickett finished his Pitt career with 12,303 passing yards and 81 passing touchdowns, both also program records and would earn himself that First Round NFL Draft selection in 2022, with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking him at No. 20.

Maddox made a contirbution in the Super Bowl for the Eagles, helping them win it all.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked to convert a fourth-and-5 late in the third quarter. He threw a pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but Maddox stepped in front a broke up the pass, forcing a turnover on downs.

Turnover on downs. Eagles take over!

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He also landed on an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, keeping possession with Philadelphia.

Maddox just completed his seventh season with the Eagles and played all 17 games for the first time in his career, starting three games. He made 20 tackles (nine solo) this season and one tackle in the postseason.

He played four seasons for Pitt from 2014-17, totaling 183 tackles, 136 solo, 13.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, eight interceptions, 42 passes defended, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also earned Third Team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2017, as he had a team-high 11 passes defended and three forced fumbles, second best in the ACC.

Woods spent five seasons with the Panthers from 2019-23, playing in 59 games and starting in 14 contests. He made 102 tackles (69 solo), 7.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, 25 passes defended and one forced fumble in his collegiate career.

He signed with the Commanders as undrafted free agent (UDFA), before they cut him before the season. He signed with Eagles back on Sept. 10 and has spent his time there on the practice squad.

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