Tag: AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. Named AFC Defensive Player Of The Week

Will Anderson’s performance in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots has earned him the league’s highest defensive honor in Week 6.

 

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he sensed that Will Anderson Jr. was about to pop off Sunday against the New England Patriots.

“I felt his mindset in pregame warmups,” Ryans said following a 41-21 victory at Gillette Stadium. “So, knew it was going to be a really good day for him.”

Ryans was right. Now, the NFL is taking notice.

Anderson was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 6, the league office announced Wednesday. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year earned his first career Player of the Week honor after racking up three sacks against rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

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“Massive game for him, to be able to get after the quarterback the way he did,” Ryans said. “Just a reall productive day by him, and he stayed after it. I loved his energy from start to finish.”

Sacks were the headline of Anderson’s performance in Foxborough, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The former No. 3 overall pick finished with eight tackles, including four tackles for loss and added one pass breakup, which led to an Eric Murray interception.

His sacks and tackles for loss both ranked first across the NFL last week, while his tackles led the team and tied for the most among defensive linemen league-wide. Entering Week 7, Anderson leads the NFL with nine tackles for loss and ranks fifth in sacks with seven.

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Anderson’s honor marks the second time this season and the ninth occurrence in franchise history a Texan has been named Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. The accolade stands as the 60th time a Texan has been named Player of the Week and the 21st time a defensive player has garnered the honor.

Houston has now claimed Player of the Week honors in four of its first six weeks, the most in the NFL and most in team history through Week 6.

Patrick Surtain has Raiders QB’s to thank for his AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award

Raiders quarterbacks all but gift wrapped the AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award to Patrick Surtain Jr.

The Players of the Week are out. And as you might expect, Patrick Surtain Jr took home the Defensive Player of the Week Award for the AFC.

Surtain earned his award for sure. But he had a lot of help from Raiders QBs Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.

After the Raiders had scored on their first two drives against the Broncos on Sunday, they were in first and goal at the five-yard-line, looking to go up 17-3. Then Minshew rolled out left with an open Brock Bowers at points blank range and…threw it over his head.

Right there on the other side, guarding Jakobi Meyers in the end zone was the lucky recipient of that horrible pass — Pat Surtain. The opportunistic Surtain intercepted it at the goal line and had nothing but open field in front of him to go 100 yards the other way. Well, technically, Minshew was there, but he was blocked out of the way easily so Surtain didn’t have to worry about him.

Minshew was benehed in the third quarter after throwing his second interception. That brought in Aidan O’Connell and on his third pass of the game, he threw a ball over the middle for Brock Bowers who wasn’t ready for and who else was nearby ready for to catch it off the deflection but Surtain.

Surtain had a pretty good shot at the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award after the 100-yard pick six, but getting his second of the day made him a lock for it.

Surtain earned his flowers, no doubt, but maybe a thank you card to the Raiders would be nice for their generosity. Just a thought.

Broncos CB Pat Surtain named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Congrats to Broncos CB Pat Surtain for being named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week!

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week following the team’s 34-18 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

Surtain totaled three tackles, two pass breakups and two interceptions (including a 100-yard pick-six) during Sunday’s win.

Surtain has now recorded 14 tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions through five games this fall.

“He made a good play,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Surtain’s pick-six. “He made a real good play. The significance of the play is it is a 10-point play because they are probably at a minimum going to kick a field goal from where it happened at. That was a huge play for us.

“At that point, all of a sudden now it is 10-7. This game constantly goes back and forth. When you score on defense, you win 80 percent of the time, and then three turnovers to none. Certainly, it was a huge play, at least a 10-point play.”

This marks the second Player of the Week award for Surtain in his career (Week 12 in 2021). It’s also the second time a Broncos player has taken home such honors this season (kicker Wil Lutz in Week 3). Surtain is the fifth defender in franchise history to win multiple Player of the Week awards, joining Aqib Talib (twice), Dre’Mont Jones (twice), Karl Mecklenburg (three times) and Von Miller (four times).

Surtain has earned two Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro selection through his first three seasons in the NFL. Now in his fourth year, PS2 is well on his way to more accolades this fall, and he is an early contender for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

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Raiders DE Maxx Crosby named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

From his first snap to his last, Maxx Crosby was nightmare for the Ravens. The very first play of the game, he stuffed a run at the line. With 12 seconds left in the game, he got a pressure on Lamar Jackson to help force an incompletion.

And everything in between was more of the same. His heroics were a key factor in the Raiders pulling out a shocking 26-23 win over the Ravens in Baltimore. And for his efforts, he’s been awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

His final numbers were two sacks, six tackles, four tackles for loss, two QB hits, and a batted pass. Just an across-the-board dominating day.

His first sack was on the fourth play of the game. His second sack came after the Raiders tied it up at 23-23 in the fourth. On that sack he came up the middle on a stunt and right into Lamar Jackson’s face to put him on his back and help get the Raiders the ball back with enough time to drive for the win.

Dolphins LB Bradley Chubb named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Incredibly the fifth Dolphin to be awarded Player of the Week this season.

The Miami Dolphins earned a shutout win over the New York Jets on Sunday, and they wouldn’t have been able to do so without the incredible performance by linebacker Bradley Chubb.

In the contest, Chubb recorded a team-high seven total tackles (two for a loss) along with three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

For his efforts, Chubb was awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

This is the first time in Chubb’s career that he’s received this award. However, he’s incredibly been the fifth Dolphin to win it this year, following Tua Tagovailoa, De’Von Achane, Raheem Mostert and Jalen Ramsey.

Miami gambled at last year’s trade deadline when they sent a first-round pick, a fourth-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds for Chubb a fifth-round selection before giving the linebacker a massive extension.

Just over a year later, it looks like the Dolphins made another wise decision.

Josh Allen named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12

Josh Allen’s destruction of the Texans’ Laremy Tunsil earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 2.5 sacks against the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Allen, 26, has now earned the honor three times in his career. He first received it in 2021 when he recorded a sack and interception against the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen. He got it again last season when he got a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery for a touchdown in the de facto AFC South championship game against the Tennessee Titans.

The performance Sunday against the Texans is especially impressive because most of the damage came when Allen was lined up across from three-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. Eight of Allen’s career-high 12 pressures came against Tunsil, who previously hadn’t allowed a single player to record more than four pressures in the last six seasons.

Allen now has 12 sacks on the year, fifth most in the NFL.

Earlier this season, kicker Brandon McManus received AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors and Trevor Lawrence was AFC Offensive Player of the Week. McManus also earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October.

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Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey campaigns for Jevon Holland to win Defensive Player of the Week

The CB wants the Snowman to get some hardware.

With the Miami Dolphins playing their game against the New York Jets on Friday, the players had the weekend off and were able to spend it however they saw fit.

For cornerback Jalen Ramsey, that meant watching the rest of the league. And, in the middle of the Sunday night game between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, the cornerback took to social media to make a statement regarding his teammate, safety Jevon Holland.

In Friday’s win, Holland recorded five tackles, a pass defensed and a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown on the final play of the first half.

The pick-6 was much more important than just the result, however, as it came after Tua Tagovailoa had thrown his second interception in as many drives, and the Jets were shifting the momentum before the Hail Mary attempt.

Instead, Holland found the end zone, made it 17-6 and kept New York really ever getting close again.

Ramsey may be right. That type of impact may be deserving of some recognition from the league.

Raiders LB Robert Spillane named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Robert Spillane named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

By any measure, Robert Spillane had a monster game Sunday night against the Jets. He had made the biggest play of the game when he intercepted Zach Wilson late in the fourth quarter to all but clinch the win for the Raiders. And that was after being the main factor in stalling three previous Jets drives in the game.

For his efforts, the veteran linebacker has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Just how good was Spillane’s game? Well, he was named my Top Baller and, as I noted, even if you had removed his clutch interception from the equation, he *still* would’ve been Top Baller.

The Raiders defense would keep the Jets out of the end zone in the game and win 16-12.

After taking a 9-3 lead in the second quarter, the Jets were stopped on five straight drives, with Spillane making the key play on the first three of those drives — a run stuff for no gain, a sack, forcing a hold, and then another run stop.

Colts’ Kenny Moore II named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

An obvious choice for the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after putting together a historic game in the win over the Carolina Panthers.

Moore was the obvious choice from the Week 9 slate after he returned two interceptions for touchdowns, becoming the first player in Colts history to achieve the feat.

In total, Moore recorded eight tackles (seven solo) and two interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed four receptions on six targets for 21 receiving yards and just 12 yards after the catch.

It was the first time in his career that Moore recorded multiple interceptions in a single game, and it was the first time since 2021 that he recorded a pick-six.

Moore now joins kicker Matt Gay (Week 3) as the team’s only players to secure a weekly award from the league.

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Broncos DB Justin Simmons named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Congrats to Broncos safety Justin Simmons for being named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week!

Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week following his impressive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8.

Simmons totaled two tackles, one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and one interception in Denver’s 24-9 upset win over Kansas City on Sunday. His fourth-quarter interception helped seal a win that snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Chiefs that dated back to the 2015 season.

Simmons is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions (29) since he entered the league in 2016. He ranks fourth overall among active players.

Simmons has picked off Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes five times in his career, more often than any other player in the NFL (the next-closest defender has two interceptions off Mahomes).

This marks the second time in his career that Simmons has earned a Player of the Week award. He previously won Special Teams Player of the Week honors as a rookie in 2016 after he blocked extra point attempt and helped the Broncos beat the New Orleans Saints in a 25-23 thriller.

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