Cowboys in the NFL: Week 18

LARAMIE -- Remember when it used to be a challenge finding an NFL game on television that featured a former Wyoming football player?

Those days are long gone.

The regular season wrapped up last weekend, spelling the end of the 2022 campaign for Tyler Hall (Raiders), Carl Granderson (Saints) and Mike Purcell (Broncos).

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Eight other former Pokes, however, will take part in the playoffs, beginning Saturday when Tashaun Gipson's 49ers host Jacob Hollister and the Seahawks on the NFL side of the bracket. Chad Muma, Andrew Wingard and the upstart Jaguars will also host the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday.

Josh Allen, Tanner Gentry and the Buffalo Bills will kickoff the Sunday slate hosting Miami and Logan Wilson's Bengals will entertain Baltimore in the Queen City.

But first, let's see how all these former UW standouts performed last weekend and this season overall:

Tashaun Gipson -- Safety - San Francisco 49ers

All this guy does is pick off passes. Tashaun Gipson, the longest-tenured former Cowboy in the NFL, snagged a pair of interceptions off David Blough in Sunday's 38-13 victory over the Cardinals. That was the Niners' 10th straight win and they will take the No. 2 seed into the NFL playoffs. The 11th-year veteran now has 32-career picks and five to his credit this season. He also finished the campaign with 61 tackles and eight pass breakups from the safety spot.

Chad Muma- Linebacker - Jacksonville Jaguars

The rookie linebacker tallied seven tackles, including one for loss in Jacksonville's 20-16 AFC-South clinching win over Tennessee. Chad Muma racked up 47 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup while finally sliding into a starting role late in the season.

Andrew Wingard - Safety - Jacksonville Jaguars

Former Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard finished with a single solo tackle in the Jaguars' must-win meeting Sunday at home against the Titans. Wingard, who is in his fourth year with the Jags, capped his regular season with 37 tackles, three for loss, a forced fumble and an interception.

Mike Purcell - Defensive tackle - Denver Broncos

There wasn't much to cheer about this fall in the Mile High City, but that certainly wasn't Mike Purcell's fault. The Broncos' 6-foot-3, 328-pound defensive tackle chalked up 45 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. In Sunday's 31-28 victory over the Chargers, Purcell didn't record any stats but did help hold the visitors to just 59 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

Carl Granderson - Defensive end - New Orleans Saints

This former Wyoming edge rusher wrapped up the regular season with 53 tackles to go along with 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Carl Granderson also recovered a fumble. In the season finale, a 10-7 loss to the Panthers, the Sacramento, Calif., product finished with four tackles, including one for loss.

Marcus Epps - Safety - Philadelphia Eagles

Marcus Epps and the Eagles cemented the No. 1 seed in the NFC Sunday with a 22-16 home win over their division rival New York Giants. Epps registered three solo tackles and a pass breakup in the victory, Philly's 14th of the 2022 campaign. Epps capped his season with 94 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. He also forced a fumble and battled down five passes.

Tyler Hall - Defensive back - Las Vegas Raiders

What an impact Tyler Hall made for the Raiders over the final seven weeks of the season. Claimed off waivers and called up from the practice squad, the former Wyoming cornerback tallied 20 tackles and a sack to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up four passes. In Saturday's 31-13 loss to the rival Chiefs, Hall finished with two stops.

Josh Allen - Quarterback - Buffalo Bills

Vintage Josh Allen was on full display Sunday in Orchard Park. The former Wyoming gunslinger connected on 19-of-31 throws for 254 yards and three touchdowns, including firing a pair of long-distance strikes to Stefon Diggs (49 yards) and John Brown (42 yards) in a 35-23 victory over the Patriots. Allen threw for 4,283 yards this fall. He added 35 touchdowns through the air and seven more on the ground.

Logan Wilson - Linebacker - Cincinnati Bengals

This former four-year starter in Laramie racked up eight tackles and broke up a pass in Sunday's 27-16 win over the visiting Raves. Wilson tallied a team-high 123 tackles this fall for the defending AFC Champion Bengals. He also tacked on 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, a forced fumble, an interception and four pass breakups.

* Chase Roullier - Center - Washington Commanders: Injured in Week 2 and missed the rest of the season.

* Tanner Gentry - Wide receiver - Buffalo Bills: Currently on the team's practice squad.

* Jacob Hollister - Tight end - Seattle Seahawks: Currently on the team's practice squad.

University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players