GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three Gators move on to Conference Championship Weekend, all looking for their first Super Bowl Ring.

Each week of the 2025-26 season, FloridaGators.com will cover all of the best moments from the NFL stars who made a name for themselves in Gainesville.

Defense

C.J. Gardner-Johnson – Safety – Chicago Bears

Gardner-Johnson is no stranger to the NFL Playoffs. The Sunday marked the seven-year NFL vet’s 14th playoff game for his fourth team. The ball-hawking safety allowed just a 65.8 NFL passer rating when targeted, finishing with four solo tackles and a pass breakup.

PASSE DESVIADO E OS RAMS VÃO CHUTAR O FIELD GOAL!

📺: #LARvsCHI ao vivo no @sportv e NFL Game Pass | #NFLnoSporTV pic.twitter.com/j37TDnMdOj

— NFL Brasil (@NFLBrasil) January 19, 2026

Special Teams
Eddy Piñeiro – Kicker – San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers didn’t have much to show for Saturday’s division contest, but the six points they did score all came off the leg of Eddy Piñeiro, the former Gators, who has been lights out for San Francisco since signing with the Niners in September. Saturday, Piñeiro knocked down a 40-yard field goal and a 56-yard field goal to give San Francisco some life in the second quarter.
 

Tommy Townsend – Punter – Houston Texans

Townsend went to work this weekend, hearing his number called five times on Sunday. The former Gator racked up 294 yards on five punts for an average of 58.8 yards. His 69-yard punt marked the longest of the postseason up to this point.

 

Absolute ROCKET of a punt from Tommy Townsend and a big-time play on special-teams 🚀 pic.twitter.com/bb5fMsFzQv

— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) January 18, 2026

Gators Still in the Hunt

Player	Team	Position
Jeremy Crawshaw	Denver Broncos	P
DJ Humphries	Los Angeles Rams	OL
Ja’Markis Weston*	Seattle Seahawks	LB

* Denotes a member of the practice squad
 
For a complete list of Gators in the NFL, see below.

Buffalo Bills (BUF 30-33 DEN)

64 – O’Cyrus Torrence – G – 3 years

 

Chicago Bears (CHI 17-20 LAR)

35 – C.J. Gardner-Johnson – S – 7 years (4 TOT, 4 Solo, 1 PBU)

99 – Gervon Dexter Sr. – DL – 3 years (3 TOT, 1 Solo)

 

Denver Broncos (DEN 33-30 BUF)

16 – Jeremy Crawshaw – P – Rookie (4 Punts, 188 Yards, 1 IN20, Long of 65)

 

Houston Texans (HOU 16-28 NE)

6 – Tommy Townsend – P – 6 years (5 Punts, 294 Yards, 1 IN20, Long of 72)

18 – Graham Mertz – QB – Rookie

77 – Trent Brown – OT – 11 years

 

Los Angeles Rams (LAR 20-17 CHI)

72 – DJ Humphries – OL – 11 years

 

San Francisco 49ers (SAN 6-41 SEA)

1 – Ricky Pearsall – WR – 1 year

5 – Demarcus Robinson – WR – 10 years (1 Catch, 1 Yard)

18 – Eddy Piñeiro – K – 5 years (2/2 FG, Long of 56)

 

Seattle Seahawks (SEA 41-6 SAN)

46 – Ja’Markis Weston* – LB – Rookie (Practice Squad)

 

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