Two former BYU players made appearances in the Divisional Round of the 2017 NFL Playoffs. How did they fair?
BYU Football saw two alums play in NFL divisional games this past weekend – Kyle Van Noy with the New England Patriots and Daniel Sorensen with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kyle Van Noy
Van Noy made his presence known – especially on third down – in the Patriots 34-16 win over the Houston Texans. Van Noy finished the game with two tackles, including a key third down play in the red zone early in the first quarter stopping Houston from picking up a crucial first down and forcing them to attempt a field goal.
Van Noy also recorded a pass deflection on third and four on Houston’s first possession of the second half when they trailed just 17-13.
He also recorded a quarterback hurry, disrupting the timing of Brock Osweiler – also on third down.
The Patriots will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game on Sunday.
Daniel Sorensen
Sorensen and the Chiefs fell short in a tough loss – amidst some late calls that created controversy among players and fans – to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 18-16.
Kansas City scored with 2:43 remaining in the game and attempted a two-point conversion to tie the game at 18 each. Alex Smith connected with Demetrius Harris but the play was called back due to a holding call against Chiefs left tackle, Eric Fisher. The next attempt fell incomplete as Smith targeted Jeremy Maclin.
The Chiefs defense took the field with one time out and the two minute warning to give their offense one last shot at the win. On third down – after the Chiefs had used their final timeout – Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown on a crossing route to pick up the first down and seal the game.
Sorensen saw time on defense at both nickel LB in passing situations and at safety for the Chiefs and finished the game with two tackles.
The Chiefs defense kept the Steelers out of the end zone, despite strong performances from Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.
With the loss, the Chiefs are eliminated from the playoffs.
