Hawks in the NFL: Championship Sunday

At least one Hawkeye will become a Super Bowl champion in a couple of weeks.

Right guard Austin Blythe will represent the Rams after knocking off New Orleans on Sunday, while Adrian Clayborn and James Ferentz will look to capture championship rings with the Patriots.

It would already be the second for Ferentz, who was on Denver’s Super Bowl 50-winning team.

Likely not suiting up will be Henry Krieger-Coble, who is on Los Angeles’s practice squad, as well as Cole Croston (practice squad) and Riley McCarron (reserve) for the Patriots.

New England has moved to a slight favorite based on early betting action after the game’s line opened as a pick ‘em.

Blythe and the Rams had a tough time getting their ground game going, but he helped set Jared Goff up for 297 passing yards in the 26-23 overtime win. He also played a crucial role anchoring the offense in the hostile Superdome, relaying the team’s shotgun snap signal to the center in a unique spin on the silent count.

Clayborn didn’t register a tackle but got to Pat Mahomes for one quarterback hit in New England’s 37-31 victory in overtime.

Anthony Hitchens and the Chiefs came up short, though Hitchens tied a season-high with 14 tackles, including seven solo tackles.

He also absolutely leveled Julian Edelman on this block after Daniel Sorensen’s fourth-quarter interception of Tom Brady:

Fellow linebacker Ben Niemann also recorded two tackles in the defeat.

Earlier in the week, Casey Kreiter became the first long snapper in Broncos history to be named to the Pro Bowl. He was chosen as a “need” player by Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, who is at the helm of the AFC squad for Sunday’s exhibition.

Kreiter joins George Kittle as the only other Hawkeye to make the Pro Bowl this season.