Mercilus had a sack, three quarterback hits, two tackles and a pass defensed in Houston's 34-16 loss to New England in Saturday's AFC division-round playoff game.

EDGE Analysis

Mercilus, who had two sacks in last week's win over Oakland, now has six sacks in three postseason games. He and Jadeveon Clowney were quite active Saturday, harassing New England quarterback Tom Brady all night as the Texans defense made this game tight until mid-way through the fourth quarter. Mercilus returns next season after leading Houston with 7.5 sacks over 15 regular-season games. With a healthy J.J. Watt (back) occupying blockers next season, Mercilus will be in a good position to generate a greater amount of sacks. He had 12 in 2015 when Watt was healthy.