How to watch former Wisconsin Badgers who play on NFL Wild Card Weekend

A Wisconsin Badger has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for 11 consecutive seasons. Nine former Badgers have the chance to continue that streak this season.

Seven NFL franchises with at least one former Wisconsin standout begin the quest for Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, California, today with the kickoff to the NFL playoffs and Wild Card Weekend.

A former UW player has played in 38 of the 59 Super Bowls, including 15 of the last 16, with 24 UW players have been a part of a championship team.

Of the six games today, tomorrow, and Monday, a former Badger player will be featured in five of them. Here's who is playing and how to watch.

Carolina Linebacker Maema Njongmeta

(5) Los Angeles Rams at (4) Carolina Panthers

Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Claimed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad in mid-September, Ngongmeta was added to the active roster in week three. He briefly saw action on defense in week 11 against Atlanta, playing five snaps, but has been a contributior on all four special teams units. He's logged 274 snaps since week three and registered eight tackles.

Njongmeta started 24 games for the Badgers over his 2022 junior season and 2023 senior season. He led the Badgers with 95 tackles in 2022, while adding 12.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception.

WHAT A START 🔥

📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/2rIlBk7Yrh
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 29, 2025

Chicago Linebacker T.J. Edwards

(7) Green Bay Packers at (2) Chicago Bears

Saturday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

After not missing a game for three consecutive seasons, Edwards was bitten by the injury bug in 2025. A hamstring issue forced him to miss games earlier in the year and a broken hand in week nine caused him to miss a month. After playing 1,054 snaps in 2025, Edwards has limited him to 568 snaps entering the playoffs.

While injuries have his coverage skills, Edwards has still shown productivity. He registered a season-high 10 combined tackles in the week 16 overtime win against the Packers and had a pick-six the following week at the San Francisco 49ers.

Edwards was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection in his four seasons, including an All-American in 2017. He played in 53 games with 52 starts at inside linebacker and left school ninth on the school’s tackle list (367). He logged 37.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and his 10 interceptions were the most in school history by a linebacker. His play helped UW go 42-12 (.778) during his tenure, including 27-8 (.771) in Big Ten play and 4-0 in bowl games.

Cole Van Lanen has allowed nine pressures and ZERO sacks on 166 Pass-Block snaps at LT this season per @PFF. pic.twitter.com/6Tg6oPOpCd
— Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) January 3, 2026

Jacksonville offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen and Buffalo offensive lineman David Edwards

(6) Buffalo Bills at (3) Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Re-signing with the Jaguars on a one-year, $3.4 million contract, Van Lanen started 10 games this season, including the last five at left tackle for the Jaguars. He also has starts at left guard (one), right guard (one) and right tackle (two) and one as an extra offensive lineman.

His presence coincided with the Jaguars clinching their first AFC South title since 2022 and quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing for 4,007 yards and a career-high 29 touchdowns.

Van Lanen outplayed his contract, which was why the Jaguars signed him to a three-year, $51 million contract extension earlier this month.

Van Lanen played in 45 games with 19 starts at left tackle in his four seasons with the Badgers, with 18 of those starts coming over his final two seasons in 2019-20.

Edwards has been a steady fixture for the Bills at left guard since coming from the Rams in 2023. He's started 47 games over the last three seasons. This season, Edwards was part of a line that helped running back James Cook finished with the rushing title at 1,621 yards and lead the league in rushing yards per game (159.6) and rushing touchdowns (30). The Bills led the league in yards before contact per rush (3.1) and run block win rate (74.7%), with Edwards giving a 71.4 PFF grade.

The Bills have lost eight straight road playoff games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL.

Edwards started at Wisconsin as a tight end during his redshirt season in 2015 before moving to tackle in preseason camp in 2016. He started 31 games at Wisconsin (2016-18), earning first-team All-American honors from the AFCA in 2017 and first-team all-conference honors from the media in 2018, before declaring for the draft after his junior season. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2022.

From special teamer to all-pro LB and @Eagles Super Bowl champ.

How Philly's missing piece Zack Baun found his spot on the Birds. 🦅#NFLFilmsPresents pic.twitter.com/QxPWdYSfyB
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) December 26, 2025

Philadelphia linebacker Zack Baun

(6) San Francisco 49ers at (3) Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, Jan. 11 at 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Baun finished the regular season as the only NFL player to finish the regular season with at least 120 tackles, three sacks, and three takeaways, building off a 2024 season in which he was named an AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist, a first-team All-Pro, selected to the Pro Bowl, and made a key interception during the Super Bowl to help the Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Baun is the fifth-highest graded linebacker in football, per PFF, at 83.9 among the 87 qualified linebackers.

A Milwaukee native who played quarterback at Brown Deer High school, Baun was the first Wisconsin linebacker to be named a consensus All-American, Baun led the Badgers and ranked second in Big Ten with 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks (ranking second among Power Five conference linebackers in both categories) in 2019.

Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale, Pittsburgh defensive tackle Keeanu Benton and linebackers Nick Herbig and T.J. Watt

(5) Houston Texans at (4) Pittsburgh Steelers

Monday, Jan. 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC)

The final game of the NFL weekend will feature the most former UW stars.

Ogunbowale has been a Swiss Army knife for the Texans, contributing as a tailback (129 snaps in 16 games, 11 carries, 25 yards, one touchdown) and all four special teams units (9 tackles in 280 snaps).

Benton had his best season as a pro, as the third-year Steeler started all 17 games and finished 51 tackles (25 solo), a career-high 5.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He was responsible for 19 pressures, second-most of Pittsburgh's interior linemen.

Outside All-Pro Cameron Heyward, Herbig had the highest defensive grade on the Steelers at 85.7, per PFF, and graded out as the team's best pass rusher (87.1). The third-year pro maximized his 21 tackles on the season, as he registered 7.5 sacks. Herbig registered three forced fumbles, an interception, and three pass breakups.

In just 13 snaps against Baltimore, Herbig registered a sack and a third-down pressure that forced an incompletion in the last-second victory to clinch the AFC North.

One of the league's top defensive players, Watt's combined tackles (55) and sacks (7.0) were his lowest since 2022. it didn't help that Watt missed three games last in the season with a partially collapsed lung, only to return for the pivotal week 18 victory against Baltimore. He played just 43 snaps against the Ravens, but 81.0 overall grade was his fourth-best of the year.

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