Divisional Pro Hogs: Ragnow helps power Lions to NFC Championship
The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs featured a pair of former Razorbacks shining for the two teams that will be meeting in the NFC Championship game next weekend.
On Saturday evening, former Arkansas linebacker and current San Francisco 49er Dre Greenlaw intercepted two passes from Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, and the second was a game-sealing pick that he jumped up from and returned to the Packers' 40-yard line in dramatic fashion.
Greenlaw's first interception came late in the third quarter of San Francisco's 24-21 win over the Packers. After entering the game as questionable to play, Greenlaw clarified with reporters afterwards that he was playing no matter what.
"I wasn't going to sit out this game for anything," Greenlaw said. "It definitely felt great just knowing that you battle from all this, barely practice all week and got the chance to go out there and make some plays. I'm just doing it for my teammates. I know they wanted me to play and I know I wanted to play, so I was going to make sure I did everything to get in this game."
A product of Fayetteville High School, Greenlaw was with the Razorbacks from 2015-18 before the 49ers selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He not only had the two picks, but he added a team-high eight total tackles and two pass deflections in the contest.
Also part of the San Francisco win was former Razorback quarterback Brandon Allen, who signed with the 49ers prior to this season but has not played with starter Brock Purdy and backup Sam Darnold ahead of him.
Another former Razorback who played three years with Greenlaw at Arkansas is center Frank Ragnow (2014-17), who became a headline story of the Detroit Lions' 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.
A first round selection by the Lions in 2018, Ragnow has been around for plenty of losing football, which made Sunday that much sweeter. He was visibly in pain all game long, but continued playing like he's paid — as one of the best centers in the NFL.
"The guy is a warrior and there was never a doubt that when he got banged up today that he was going to keep playing and keep fighting," Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said. "It seems like he's always just fighting through pain all the time. I don't want to speak for him, but I feel like a little bit of him is paranoid to not be out there with us.
"We've been through so much together, so if he can be out there, we know he's going to be out there. And not only that, but he's the best center in football. So he's huge for us."
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell, who Ragnow called the best leader he's ever been around, also had plenty of high praise for his star center out of Arkansas.
"Frank's a stud," Campbell said. "That's what he does. He's willing to all it on the line. We talk about it all the time, but you may not be 100% but if you feel like you can produce and you can win at 80% of yourself...And that's what Frank does. He believes he can and he trusts himself and he trusts those guys next to him. Not everybody can do it, and that's okay. But he can."
Ragnow went toe-to-toe with Tampa Bay defensive tackle Vita Vea (6'4", 374 lbs.) all game and helped block for a Lions team that rushed for 114 yards and two scores while adding 277 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air.
Also on the Lions' roster is former Arkansas offensive lineman Dan Skipper and former cornerback Jerry Jacobs. While Jacobs was placed on the injured reserve list on Jan. 11, Skipper did see some action Sunday.
The tallest active NFL player at 6-foot-10, Skipper has been a journeyman his whole career, but this is his fourth time to be back in Detroit.
With the Lions and 49ers now set to meet in the NFC Championship game Sunday, the Razorbacks are guaranteed to be represented in the Super Bowl LVIII. Detroit and San Francisco are set for a 5:30 p.m. CT kickoff on FOX.