Tennessee football: How former Vols played in NFC, AFC championships

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 20: Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

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Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images /

player. 124. . Safety. Kansas City Chiefs. Eric Berry. 4

He had six tackles in the game, and Eric Berry is probably the most beloved former Tennessee football player in the NFL today. But the fact of the matter is he played horrible in the AFC Championship game Sunday and was clearly not ready to return after almost all of two years off due to injury.

Berry was matched up one-on-one with Rob Gronkowski for the entire day. And All he did was allow Gronk to catch six passes for 79 yards. A few years ago, that wouldn’t have been bad considering his stat line.

However, Gronk has been a complete shell of his former self in recent years. And him turning into a big-time player again was a huge knock against Berry. Add in the fact that he dropped an interception, and he just had too many issues in this game, many of which helped Tom Brady throw for 348 yards and have a late touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and game-winning touchdown drive in overtime.

Simply put, Berry had a bad day. It doesn’t mean he’s done. He probably just needs an offseason to get fully healthy, and considering all the other mistakes the Kansas City Chiefs made in their 37-31 overtime loss to the New England Patriots, it’s not his fault they aren’t going to the Super Bowl.

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