Sternberger grabs 1st NFL TD in NFC title game
JACE STERNBERGER after making his first NFL catch. [Photo property of Green Bay Packers/NFL]
Kingfisher’s Jace Sternberger won’t have the opportunity this year to play in the Super Bowl, but he did have a monumental moment in the NFC Championship Game.
Sternberger caught his fi rst career touchdown pass in the NFL during the Green Bay Packers’ 37-20 loss to San Francisco last Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
The touchdown came with 8:13 to play when quarterback Aaron Rodgers was forced to scramble.
Sternberger, a tight end who also played a number of snaps at fullback, broke off his route, found an open spot in the end zone and caught Rodgers’ pass.
The score pulled the Packers, who trailed 34-7 at one point, within 34-20.
San Francisco was able to put the game away with its next drive and the ‘Niners advanced to the Super Bowl where they’ll play the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sternberger was credited with a start in the game and caught two passes for 13 yards.
It was a strong finish to Sternberg-er’s rookie season after being drafted in the third round by the Packers last April.
Sternberger suffered a concussion and jaw injury early in preseason camp and then an ankle injury in his team’s final preseason game.
The latter kept him out of uniform for Green Bay’s first eight games.
Sternberger played the most snaps of any game this season in Green Bay’s 28-23 NFC divisional playoff home win over the Seattle Seahawks the previous week.
It was there he caught his fi rst NFL pass, a two-yard reception near the sideline. The play resulted in a fi rst down as Seattle’s Jadeveon Clowney was flagged for using Sternberger’s helmet to complete the tackle.
After the loss to San Francisco, Sternberger posted the following message on Facebook accompanied by a video of his TD reception: “Learned so much about myself this season. So blessed to come out healthy. Year 1…√.”
Sternberger was a key fi gure in Kingfisher’s 2013 Class 3A football state championship as a junior and had another standout season as a senior.
After signing with - and spending two years - at Kansas, Sternberger transferred to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami.
After one season there, Sternberg-er signed with Texas A&M and was a consensus All-American tight end for the Aggies in 2018 before declaring for the NFL Draft.