Illini in the NFL | Wildcard Weekend
January 10, 2017 | Football
Allen, Allison, Mercilus join Karras in Divisional round.
Three former Illini helped their teams to victory during Wildcard Weekend and will join New England's Ted Karras, who had a first-round bye, in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Jeff Allen and Whitney Mercilus of the Texans and Geronimo Allison of the Packers will battling for a spot in the Conference Championship games this weekend.
WILDCARD WEEKEND
» Jeff Allen, OL, Houston Texans – Started at right guard and played every offensive snap (74 plays) plus five special teams plays as the Texans defeated the Raiders 27-14 to advance to the Divisional round. The Houston offensive line did not allow a sack in the victory. The Texans travel to New England on Saturday night with a trip to the conference final on the line (7:15 pm CT on CBS).
» Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers – Was targeted twice by Aaron Rodgers and made 1 catch for 8 yards in Green Bay's 38-13 win over the Giants. The rookie was in on 41 snaps for the red-hot Packers, who will travel to Dallas to face the top-seeded Cowboys on Sunday afternoon (3:40 pm CT on FOX).
.@813Geronimo ready for his first playoff game. #NYGvsGB #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/KS11Q0Gm78
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 8, 2017
» Ted Karras, OG, New England Patriots – The Patriots had a first round bye as the top seed in the AFC. New England will host the Houston Texans on Saturday night (7:15 pm CT on CBS).
» Whitney Mercilus, LB, Houston Texans – Had a monster game in the Texans victory of the Raiders. Started at SAM linebacker and posted 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFLs and 2 QB hits to lead a defense that held Oakland to just 203 total yards of offense. Mercilus now has 5 sacks in his last two playoff games and is tied for the Houston franchise record for most postseason sacks (5). The Texans travel to New England on Saturday night with a trip to the conference final on the line (7:15 pm CT on CBS).
Welcome to Houston, Connor Cook. ??
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 7, 2017
The @HoustonTexans defence showing no mercy! ??#OAKvsHOU #NFLPlayoffs https://t.co/TL97w6xTd6
.@Merci380 with the sack! #NoMerci https://t.co/gTwR3Blevv
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 7, 2017
Texans LB Whitney Mercilus talks about how youth sports impacted his childhood and why he's giving back to the community today: pic.twitter.com/mRDxC9ltFI
— ESPN (@espn) January 7, 2017
» Jihad Ward, DE, Oakland Raiders – Was not active for the Raiders' wildcard round loss to the Texans.
» Tavon Wilson, SS, Detroit Lions – Started at strong safety and made 7 tackles in Detroit's 26-6 loss at Seattle.
DIVISIONAL WEEKEND (games involving Illini)
Saturday, Jan. 14
Houston (Allen, Mercilus) at New England (Karras) » 7:15 pm CT (CBS)
Sunday, Jan. 15
Green Bay (Allison) at Dallas » 3:40 pm CT (FOX)
