K-State’s Skylar Thompson to start playoff game for Miami. If he wins ... Mahomes is up next

Skylar Thompson is about to do something only two other former Kansas State quarterbacks have done before.

He is poised to start a NFL playoff game.

The Miami Dolphins plan to once again let Thompson command their offense when they head to Buffalo for a wild-card game against the Bills on Sunday. Not bad for a rookie who was leading K-State to a blowout victory over LSU at the Texas Bowl almost exactly one year ago.

Thompson gave himself this opportunity after he started for Miami last week and helped the Dolphins slip by the New York Jets 11-6 while normal starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and backup Teddy Bridgewater were both out. They are each expected to also miss this weekend’s game, which will keep Thompson under center.

He will join Steve Grogan and Lynn Dickey as the third K-State quarterback to start a playoff game in the NFL. Perhaps more notably, he will become the first K-State QB to start a playoff game since 1982.

Thompson has looked far from spectacular as a NFL quarterback, throwing for 534 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in seven games this season. But he did lead the Dolphins on a touchdown drive against the New England Patriots and then completed 20 of 31 passes for 152 yards without making a costly mistake against the Jets.

Miami coach Mike McDaniel has praised Thompson for the way he has played under difficult circumstances.

“I’m not sure if anyone really understands the gravity of what he was able to accomplish,” McDaniel told reporters this week. “He’s banking on reps that he’s doing individually after practice every single day, some scout-team reps and then everything he did in the preseason. To jump into a fully operating machine and then to do it — I’m very aware of the score, but we’re talking about no turnovers, one sack. ... It was no easy test. Those who are weak would be exposed immediately.

“The way Skylar thinks, he hopes it’s the worst game he ever plays.”

Thompson was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft after he threw for 7,124 yards and 42 touchdowns during five seasons with the Wildcats. Before that, he starred at Fort Osage High School in Independence.

Interesting coincidence: Thompson isn’t the only rookie QB from a Big 12 school who is scheduled to start for a NFL team this season. Former Iowa State passer Brock Purdy has helped the San Francisco 49ers to the No. 2 seed in the NFC in place of Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.

For now, fans can dream about a rematch between the Farmageddon rivals in the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins can start their march toward that dream on Sunday. Buffalo is favored by nearly two touchdowns over Miami, so Thompson will try to lead his team to an upset in the playoffs.

If he does so, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs — the AFC’s No. 1 seed — are up next.