The Washington Commanders face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth matchup of the opening round. A star season for Pro Football Focus (PFF) Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels put the Commanders back in the postseason for the first time since 2021.

Former Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott is among those traveling to Tampa Bay, hoping for an opportunity to shine bright on the NFL’s brightest stage.

Sinnott played three seasons in Manhattan, KS, compiling 82 receptions for 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns. Washington selected him in the second round with the 53rd overall pick.

Sinnott didn’t see much action this season, recording just five receptions for 28 yards and one touchdown.

But the uncertainty of the NFL could lead to an unpredictable result. Four years ago, quarterback Taylor Heinicke took the Buccaneers down to the wire in just his second game in Washington. It was a remarkable performance that gave the eventual Super Bowl champions the most trouble that postseason.

Tampa Bay hosts the Commanders Sunday night, opening up as 3-point favorites. Commanders coach Dan Quinn spoke about the week of preparation leading up to Wild Card weekend.

“It was a good week of prep for us. Tampa provides a hell of a challenge in all three phases, a lot of winning time moments for us to prepare for,” Quinn said Friday. “We’ll play our best complimentary football this weekend, this opponent and this game calls for that. So our guys are ready for that, a lot of matchups. We’re ready to get rocking.”

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

Kansas State coach Jerome Tang has noticed a trend this season.

It’s pretty simple: when the Wildcats are able to string long scoring runs, they win. When they are on the opposite end, they usually lose.

The Wildcats hope the ratio improves, beginning with Saturday’s game against Houston in Manhattan.

“We’ve talked about this,” Tang said. “We’ve had five, what they call kill shots, where you go on a 10-0 run. We’ve had five of those and we’ve won all five of those games. We’ve had five against us and we’ve lost four of five of those. There’s one game we’ve had a kill shot and they had kill shot.”

The Wildcats fell victim to a “kill” shot in a loss to Oklahoma State earlier this week. The Cowboys went on 20-2 run just before halftime that turned a one-point game into a 43-24 lead.

“For this team, it’s not just a kill shot,” Tang said. “It’s probably like 8-0 runs. We’ve charted those. We’ve been on the wrong end of 8-0 runs. We’ve had less 8-0 runs than our opponents than our opponents have, especially in the losses. You look at the personnel that was in [the game], you look at what you were running. For us, if it’s a 4 or 5-0 run, we need a time out. I might need to call a timeout earlier than I would on the normal just because of the makeup of this team where we’re at right now.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There’s a new inmate in the cell block; Zoie Lee is playing Go-To-Hell Kitty in the ‘Chicago’ musical.

“My character is an heiress she has gone off the deep end and ends up murdering a few people in the show and so she ends up in the cell block that way,” Lee explained.

The national show is making its stop in Kansas City, a special place for Lee, this weekend.

“I’ve got lots of old mentors and teachers and peers and people I grew up with and used to perform with who have come to see the show and many family members and to do this for them is just a dream,” she said.

Lee is from Lee’s Summit. She graduated from Lee’s Summit High School and is a proud former student of the Heart of America Dance Centre.

“They’ve given me this gift and I get to show the world now and do it for them and it’s just really cool,” she continued.

Lee has shared that gift with many people performing around the country and world, but being away from the people she loves most was difficult.

“My dad was recently diagnosed with cancer and he’s now cancer-free free and that’s just the biggest blessing in the world,” Lee said.

While she says her greatest joy is being on stage, Lee’s heart will always be with her family.

“My parents have given up and sacrificed a lot for me to be able to train and have opportunities.”

That’s what makes this homecoming even more special, celebrating with the people who’ve been able to watch her dreams come true; dreams that started in Kansas City.

Tickets to ‘Chicago’ can be purchased here.