Former NC State All-American Offensive Lineman Joe Thuney started his 50th consecutive game for New England yesterday, in the Patriots’ 37-31 victory over the Chiefs. Thuney has started every single regular season and postseason game since entering the league as a rookie.

The Pat’s and Thuney are on their way to their 3rd consecutive Super Bowl.

Thuney’s NFL young NFL career: 3 seasons…3 Super Bowls.

The three Super Bowl appearances is the 2nd most ever by a former NC State football player.

Jim Ritcher – 4
Joe Thuney – 3
Mike Cofer – 2
Perry Williams – 2
Mike Jones – 2
Torry Holt – 2
Russell Wilson – 2
J.R. Sweezy – 2
Steven Hauschka – 2
(Bill Cowher – 2 – as a head coach)

Former NC State consensus All-American Bradley Chubb didn’t take long to establish himself in the NFL, officially being named to the PFWA (Pro Football Writers of America) 2018 All-Rookie Team.

2018 PFWA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Offense
QB – Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
RB – Saquon Barkley, New York Giants; Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos
WR – Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons; DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers
TE – Chris Herndon, New York Jets
C – Billy Price, Cincinnati Bengals
G – Will Hernandez, New York Giants; Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
T – Mike McGlinchey, San Francisco 49ers; Braden Smith, Indianapolis Colts
Defense
DL – Bradley Chubb, Denver Broncos; Marcus Davenport, New Orleans Saints; Da’Shawn Hand, Detroit Lions; Daron Payne, Washington Redskins
LB – Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts; Roquan Smith, Chicago Bears; Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas Cowboys
CB – Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers, Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
S – Jessie Bates, Cincinnati Bengals; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Special Teams
PK – Jason Sanders, Miami Dolphins
P – Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
KR – Tremon Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
PR – Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals
ST – Zeke Turner, Arizona Cardinals (PFWA)

Chubb finished his rookie campaign with 12 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 60 total tackles. His 12 sacks broke Von Miller’s Bronco’s rookie sack record of 11.5 set back in 2011. Chubb earned Rookie of the Month honors in October, when he tallied 5.5 sacks over a three week span.

Former NC State Consensus All-American Bradley Chubb finished with 12 sacks in his first season in the NFL, breaking the Broncos’ Rookie Sack Record, and tying for the 7th most in NFL history by a rookie.

ProFootballFocus released their 2018 All-Rookie Team today, and Chubb made the cut, and it was because of more than his ability to sack the quarterback. Here’s what they had to saw about the former Nagurski Award winner.

EDGE DEFENDER

Bradley Chubb, Denver Broncos

Chubb takes the headlines from the rookie defensive linemen class based on sack totals alone, but as we’ve proven, sack totals aren’t predictive of future sack totals, so a better indicator of potential future play for the former NC State standout is his rookie-leading 58 total pressures, something that correlates over much better from year to year.  That’s something that should excite Broncos fans for some time. (PFF)

PFF 2018 All-Rookie Team

QB – Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
RB – Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
WR – D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers
WR – Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons
Flex Offense – Robert Foster, Buffalo Bills
TE – Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
OT – Mike McGlinchey, San Francisco 49ers
Interior OL – Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
Interior OL – James Daniels, Chicago Bears
Interior OL – Will Hernandez, New York Giants
OT – Braden Smith, Indianapolis Colts

Edge Defender – Marcus Davenport, New Orleans Saints
Edge Defender – Bradley Chubb, Denver Broncos
Interior DL – Da’Shawn Hand, Detroit Lions
Interior DL – Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LB – Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas Cowboys
LB – Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
CB – Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers
CB – Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
S – Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
S – Jessie Bates, Cincinnati Bengals
Flex Defense – Justin Reid, Houston Texans

K – Jason Sanders, Miami Dolphins
P – Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
R – Tremon Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Special Teamer – Zeke Turner, Arizona Cardinals (PFF)

Former NC State quarterback Philip Rivers led the Chargers to a 23-17 victory over the Ravens yesterday in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, setting up a matchup against the Patriots in the Divisional Round next weekend.

Rivers had a quiet performance, completing 22 of his 32 passes for 160 yards (0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions).

His 9-yard run and celebration thereafter were probably my favorite moments of the game.

Philip Rivers… ATHLETE pic.twitter.com/ccAY27JgkE

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 6, 2019

Philip Rivers is a national treasure 😂

📺: CBS #LACvsBAL pic.twitter.com/4a1dhroTWB

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 6, 2019

You gotta love this guy.

Rivers’ record in the playoffs is now 5-5, but he will have to go up to New England, and beat Tom Brady and Patriots to bump that to a winning record.

This will be the 8th time Rivers has faced Brady, and he’s yet to walk away with a victory.