Irish In The NFL Playoffs
Dallas Cowboys (first-round bye): WR Chris Brown, OL Zack Martin and LB Jaylon Smith
Martin, a fourth-year pro, is again among the best at his position in the NFL. He was voted to the Pro Bowl and Pro Football Focus named him a first-team All-Pro right guard. He blocked for league-leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott and allowed a total of only 16 quarterback pressures over the season.
Brown (foot) and Smith (knee) have been on injured reserve all season.
Dallas (13-3) has the NFC’s top seed, meaning a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Detroit Lions (at Seattle, 8:15 p.m. Saturday, NBC): RB Theo Riddick, WR Golden Tate and WR TJ Jones
Tate is perhaps the most important weapon for the Lions (9-7), who captured one of the NFC’s two wild card spots. Tate finished the regular season with 91 catches for 1,077 yards and four touchdowns.
Jones appeared in three games for the Lions, making five catches for 93 yards.
Riddick had 92 rushes for 357 yards and a touchdown, plus 53 catches for 371 yards and five scores, before a wrist injured landed him on injured reserve.
Houston Texans (vs. Oakland, 4:35 p.m. Saturday, ESPN/ABC): WR Will Fuller and OL Nick Martin
The Texans (9-7) won the AFC South with the help of the rookie Fuller, who had 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games played. He also returned a punt for a touchdown.
Martin, also a rookie, was on injured reserve all season after preseason ankle surgery.
New England Patriots (first-round bye): WR Michael Floyd
Floyd made his first major impact with the Patriots this past week after being cut by the Cardinals due to a Dec. 12 DUI arrest. He caught three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins, and overall this season he has 37 catches for 488 yards and five touchdowns.
New England (14-2) is the AFC’s top seed and has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
New York Giants (at Green Bay, 4:40 p.m. Sunday, FOX): DE Romeo Okwara and LB Ishaq Williams
With star pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul sidelined with a sports hernia injury, Okwara surged into the rotation and made an impact for New York (11-5). Okwara, an undrafted rookie, had 25 tackles, one sack, two passes broken and a punt block in the regular season.
Williams has been inactive for the Giants since being promoted to the active roster on Dec. 19.
Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Miami, 1:05 p.m. Sunday, CBS): OT Ryan Harris and DE Stephon Tuitt
Tuitt is dealing with a knee injury that made him inactive for the final two weeks of the regular season for the Steelers (11-5). He had 37 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and three passes defended in the regular season.
Harris was put on injured reserve in week four with a leg injury.
Seattle Seahawks (vs. Detroit, 8:15 p.m. Saturday, NBC): RB C.J. Prosise
Has been inactive for six straight weeks with a shoulder injury. Seattle (10-5-1) has not put the rookie on injured reserve, holding out hope Prosise could return during the playoffs. Prosise had 30 rushes for 172 yards and and a touchdown, plus 17 catches for 208 yards, in six games played.
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