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Lincoln -- Nebraska is guarenteed at last one player in the Super Bowl, as NFC and AFC Divisional action took place last weekend. Next week's matchups will feature the Carolina Panthers and Philadephia Eagles in the NFC, while the New England Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC.
Carolina pulled the biggest upset of last weekend, snapping St. Louis' 14-game home winning streak with a 29-23 victory in double overtime. The Panthers, who won their first road playoff game in franchise history, is used to the close contests, winning four of their five overtime games this season. Mike Minter and Mike Rucker helped keep the potent Rams offense in check, as Minter finished with seven solo tackles, a pass breakup and an interception, while Rucker added two tackles in holding the high-powered Rams offense to 64 yards on the ground. Grant Wistrom had three tackles for the Rams in the loss and finished the year with 70 tackles, including seven sacks. He was the NFC's Defensive Player of the Month for December and is one of three former Huskers who are finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award (also Mike Rucker, Carolina and Will Shields, Kansas City).
In a matchup that featured a pair of former Husker running backs, Ahman Green won the battle, but the Philadephia Eagles advanced to the NFC title game with a 20-17 overtime win. Green, who rushed for over 2,000 yards this season including the Packers two playoff games, set a franchise playoff record with 156 yards on 25 carries, while also catching three passes for 16 yards. Green, who will start for the NFC in next month's Pro Bowl, was second in the NFL with 1,883 rushing yards, establishing another Packer record en route to his third straight Pro Bowl appearance. Buckhalter, whose team will host Carolina at 5:45 p.m. (CST) next Sunday, finished with 12 yards on nine carries and caught a pass for five yards.
In the AFC Playoffs, the only Husker remaining entering the conference championship game is New England reserve offensive linemen Russ Hochstein. He saw action in New England's 17-14 overtime win over Tennessee after playing in 14 regular season games, including his first career start against Washington. The Patriots will host Indianapolis this Sunday afternoon.
A trio of former Huskers saw their season end in Sunday's 38-31 loss to Indianapolis. Pro Bowl offensive guard Will Shields helped the Chiefs gain 408 yards of total offense, including 196 on the ground, in the loss. Shields, who will be making his ninth Pro Bowl appearance next month, has started 175 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak in the NFL. Eric Warfield had two solo tackles and a pair of breakups from his cornerback position. Warfield finished the regular season with career high totals in tackles (77) and interceptions (4) and up nine passes during the year to help Kansas City to a 13-3 regular season record and an AFC West title. Clint Finley, who was elevated from the practice squad on Dec. 12, had a tackle on special teams and finished the year with three special teams tackles
Offense
Rushing ReceivingPlayer, Team Opp. ATT YDS AVG LNG TD Rec Yards AVG LNG TDBuckhalter, Correll Philadelphia Green Bay 9 12 1.3 6 0 1 5 5.0 5 0Green, Ahman, Green Bay Philadelphia 25 156 6.2 33 0 3 16 5.3 8 0Diedrick, Dahrran, Green Bay Philadelphia - DNPLinemen Shields, Will, Kansas City Indianapolis - startHochstein, Russ, New England Tennessee
Defense
Defensive Stats Special TeamsPlayer, Team Opp. TKL AST CMB SK YDS IN YDS PD FF FR TKL AST CMB FF Bl FRMinter, Mike, Carolina St. Louis 7 0 7 - - 1 -1 1 - 1 - - - - - -Rucker, Mike, Carolina St. Louis 2 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - -Swiney, Erwin Green Bay Philadelphia - DNPWarfield, Eric, Kansas City Indianapolis 2 - 2 - - - - 2 - - - - - - - -Finley, Clint, Kansas City Indianapolis - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1 - - -Groce, DeJuan, St. Louis Carolina - DNPGrant Wistrom, St. Louis Carolina 2 1 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Special Teams
. Returns Field Goals Ex. Pts PuntsPlayer, Team Opp. KR YDS PR YDS TD ATT Made YDS ATT Made No. YDS AVG TB i20 LNGGroce, DeJuan, St. Louis Carolina - DNP
() missed field goal DNP - Did Not Play; INJ - Injured, did not play; IR - Injured Reserve