New England Patriots safety Adrian Phillips won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week from his Week 8 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In Phillips’ revenge game, with the safety spending six years with the Chargers, he logged two interceptions (with one pick-six), three tackles and a quarterback hit while playing 92% of defensive snaps. He has been a standout in New England since joining the team in free agency in 2020, one of the Patriots’ best low-budget signings over the last few years.
The NFL wasn’t the only one to recognize Phillips’ contributions on Sunday. Bill Belichick gave the safety a game ball along with fellow former-Charger Hunter Henry, who scored the offense’s only touchdown.
Players of the Week
AFC
Offense: QB Mike “F-ing” White, NYJ
Defense: DB Adrian Phillips, NE
ST: K Randy Bullock, TENNFC
Offense: WR Deebo Samuel, SF
Defense: LB Micah Parsons, DAL
ST: K Zane Gonzalez, CAR— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 3, 2021
“I love it out here, and every time that we get to play them, you kind of… Everybody always wants to kind of stick it to their former team,” he told reporters after the game on Sunday. “This is a great organization that we played against today, and just to be able to go out there and play against them and end up having the game that I had, it was sweet. I loved it. Yeah, it was sweet.”
On the season, Phillips has 37 tackles, three interceptions, three pass breakups and two tackles for a loss.
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