The career resurgence of defensive lineman Leonard Williams continued in Week 13 as he recorded 2.5 sacks and five QB hits in the New York Giants’ upset of the Seattle Seahawks.
Williams’ 2.5 sacks gives him a career-high 8.5 on the season and was enough to win the Giants Wire Player of the Game.
But the recognition didn’t end there for Williams. On Wednesday morning, the NFL named him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his remarkable performance.
“That guy is a man, man,” head coach Joe Judge said of Williams after the game. “That dude is a man. There are things about Leo that you may not know by not being in the locker room with him. First off, this guy is a pleasure to be around. This guy smiles all the time. He’s a great teammate, he’s very coachable. You give him something to work on, he’s going to work as hard as he can to master it. He gives us a lot of versatility on the defense because of his skillset.
“And this dude is just a guy that when you see him in your locker room before the game, he makes you feel a little bit better. Obviously, there’s statistics on the field that you see, what you don’t see is what kind of guy he is to coach, what kind of teammate he is away from it. That’s as important if not more important than all the statistics you see on the sheets. This guy helps everyone else raise their level of preparation and play.”
Williams is the first Giants defender to win NFC Defensive Player of the Week since cornerback Janoris Jenkins did it in Week 4 of the 2019 season. He is also the first Giants defensive lineman to earn the honor since Jason Pierre-Paul did it in Week 12 of the 2016 season.
Kicker Graham Gano is the only other Giant to receive a Player of the Week honor this season, winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week following a Week 9 contest against the Washington Football Team.
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