20 Iowa Football Players Have A Shot To Win A World Championship

If you're like me, you were really disappointed last weekend when your team didn't make it to the 2023 NFL playoffs. As a Green Bay Packers fan, I'm really not happy but as a Hawkeye fan and an Iowa native, I'm really excited and happy for former Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa players who have a solid chance at winning a World Championship in a month. 20 active players are either former Hawkeyes, Cyclones, or Panthers and most of them will be playing this weekend to advance closer to Super Bowl LVII.

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When Is Super Bowl LVII?

• Where & When: Super Bowl LVII will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday, February 12th, 2023.

• Who: Super Bowl LVII will feature the winners of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC)

• How: Super Bowl LVII will be televised by Fox and will be called by Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen.

• Halftime Show: Rihanna will be performing during the Apple Music Halftime Show.

Iowa's Biggest Names In The Playoffs

The 2023 NFL playoffs take place this weekend with two games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday night. The 14 teams remaining include:

*= team with an Iowa player

**= 1st round bye

• Kansas City Chiefs **
• Buffalo Bills *
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Jacksonville Jaguars *
• Los Angeles Chargers *
• Baltimore Ravens *
• Miami Dolphins *
• Philadelphia Eagles **
• San Francisco 49ers *
• Minnesota Vikings *
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers *
• Dallas Cowboys *
• New York Giants *
• Seattle Seahawks *

Among the 14 teams left in the playoffs, only 11 teams have former Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa football players on them and those don't include the two top-seeded teams in Kansas City and Philadelphia.

Brock Purdy

Some of the big names you'll see playing this weekend include Brock Purdy for the 49ers. As the 256th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, a.k.a. Mr. Irrelevant, the former Iowa State quarterback took over as the starting quarterback when Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt in week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.

George Kittle

Brock will be throwing to four-time Pro Bowler and former tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes, George Kittle. Kittle was drafted by the 49ers in 2017 and has been confirming that Iowa is in fact "tight end U." Kittle has 11 receiving touchdowns, 7 of those coming from Purdy.

The 49ers will play the Seahawks at home in the first Wild Card game of the week this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

T.J. Hockenson

Speaking of tight ends, former Hawkeye, T.J. Hockenson will be a go-to for Minnesota Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Drafted in 2019 by the Detroit Lions, Hockenson was traded mid-season in 2022 from the Lions to their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. Even though he only has 3 touchdowns since the trade in week 8, Hockenson still is a force to be reckoned with at the tight end position.

The Vikings will play at home this Sunday against the New York Giants, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m.

Look Out For These Iowa Players

Whether you're an Iowa Hawkeye or Iowa State Cyclone fan, it's pretty cool to see players in the NFL who came out of an Iowa college and are playing in the big league. But it's cooler to know that statistically, there should be a former player from an Iowa university that will play in the big game.

This list below shows all active players on 11 of 14 teams heading into the 2023 NFL playoffs this weekend. Players like Micah Hyde, former Hawkeye who plays safety for the Bills, will not be on this list since he is on IR.

The team with the most players from Iowa are the Buffalo Bills carrying 4 active players from the 3 state Iowa colleges and all 3 universities are represented.

We've listed each player's name, the team they play for, their position, and their alma mater so you can look for them this week as the playoffs begin.

Good luck and go Hawks, Panthers, and Clones!