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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Former NC State Players Impacting NFL Playoffs


Stephen Tulloch - Daniel Mears/Detroit News

With the excitement of the NFL playoffs getting started this weekend let us take a look at several former WolfPack players who will be participating in some of the games.

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints: Stephen Tulloch and Willie Young playing for the Detroit Lions will face the New Orleans Saints in a wild card game in New Orleans.  Tulloch finished 110 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a fumble return for a touchdown while starting all 16 games at middle linebacker for the 10-6 Lions.  Willie Young had 14 tackles and 3 sacks in 14 games in as a reserve defensive end. 

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos: In this game it features wide receiver Jericho Cotchery who finished the season with 16 receptions for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns in 13 games for the Steelers and rookie linebacker Nate Irving for the Broncos who appeared in all 16 games with 4 tackles.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans: This matchup has former player Manny Lawson with the Cincinnati Bengals and Mario Williams for the Huston Texans. Lawson completed this season with 52 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 16 games helping the Bengals to a 9-7 record. Mario Williams finished the season on injured reserve after tearing his pectoral muscle in October.
One more player to mention is running back Andre Brown who spent the entire season on the practice squad with the NFC East champions New York Giants. Brown and the Giants will have to wait and see who they will face next week in the second round of the playoffs.