THREE FORMER TIGERS IN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

And then there were four. In Saturday's NFL games, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 13-10 and the Arizona Cardinals put the smackdown on the Carolina Panthers, 33-13. In Sunday's action, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the San Diego Chargers 35-24 and the Philadelphia Eagles got the victory over the the New York Giants by a score of 23-11.

Three of the four remaining teams each have a former Tiger player on the roster: Baltimore has DE Trevor Pryce, already a two-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowl player. The Pittsburgh Steelers have DE Nick Eason, who has been in the league six years. The Philadelphia Eagles have S Brian Dawkins, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who was the leading tackler in the Eagles' win over the Giants on Sunday with ten. Dawkins has been in the league for thirteen years and is widely respected as one of the game's greatest defensive players.

So, there is at least a 50% chance that one of these three players will be wearing a Super Bowl ring because the NFC Championship game matches the Philadelphia Eagles against the Arizona Cardinals (the only team without a former Tiger on the roster) on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The AFC Championship game matches the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens, who both have former Tigers. So, unless the Cardinals defeat both the Eagles and the winner of the AFC Championship game in the Super Bowl, a former Tiger will be a Super Bowl Champion. In the event that the Ravens win it all, Trevor Pryce will have this third Championship ring- one with the Broncos, and his second with the Ravens.