For 15 players with football roots in the state of Alabama, their dreams of reaching the Super Bowl to cap the 2015 NFL season ended with losses in the Wild-Card Weekend of the playoffs. Eleven other players from Alabama high schools and colleges were on winning teams on Saturday or Sunday, though.
They'll join 20 players from the state in the Divisional Round. Those players had the weekend off after their teams earned first-round byes.
What's been dubbed "The Meltdown at Paul Brown" was particularly hard on the state's postseason roster. The Cincinnati Bengals' 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night ended the season of seven state players.