Chippewas In The NFL

Five former Central Michigan Chippewas are headed to the NFL playoffs as the league's regular season wrapped up on Sunday.

Tackle Eric Fisher and the defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 1 seed in the AFC and will receive a first-round playoff bye. CMU's other four playoff representatives are with NFC teams: Antonio Brown and Sean Murphy-Bunting of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Nick Bellore of the Seattle Seahawks; and Xavier Crawford of the Chicago Bears.

Five other former Chippewas played their final game of the 2020 season on Sunday. They are Kavon Frazier (Miami), Jonathan Ward (Arizona), Tyler Conklin (Minnesota), Jaleel Addae (Los Angeles Chargers) and Joe Ostman (Philadelphia).

Cooper Rush finished the season, his fourth in the NFL, on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.

• Brown had 11 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in the Buccaneers' 44-27 home victory over the Atlanta Falcons. All three totals were season highs for Brown, who is in his 11^th NFL season.

Murphy-Bunting, who is in his second year, made six tackles, forced and recovered a fumble and defended one pass.

• Fisher, an eight-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler, did not play in the Chiefs' 38-21 home loss to the Chargers. The outcome of the game had no effect on Kansas City's playoff standing.

Addae, also an eight-year veteran, was inactive for the game. He appeared in 14 games on the season, and was credited with 13 tackles and one interception.

• Bellore made two tackles, both on special teams, in the Seahawks' 26-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Glendale, Ariz.

• Crawford played seven plays, all on special teams, in the Bears' 35-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Chicago.

• Ward wrapped up his rookie season by scoring his first career touchdown, on an 11-yard reception, for the Cardinals in their 18-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, Calif. He also had one tackle, on special teams, and finished the season with six tackles in 14 games.

• Frazier logged 24 plays, all on special teams, in the Dolphins' 56-26 loss to the Bills in Buffalo. Frazier finished the season, his fifth in the league, with six tackles while appearing in 15 games.

• Conklin wrapped up his third season with the Vikings by making three catches for 40 yards in a 37-35 victory over the Lions in Detroit. Conklin finished the season with 19 receptions for 194 yards and one touchdown. He made 15 of his catches in the final four games of the season.

• Ostman logged 30 plays, 11 on defense, 19 on special teams, in the Eagles' 20-14 loss to the Washington Football Team in Philadelphia. It was the third NFL game for Ostman, who spent most of the season on the Eagles' practice squad.

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