Tag: AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Texans CB Tavierre Thomas named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Houston Texans CB Tavierre Thomas was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 16 after the 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

For the first time since Weeks 2-3 of 2019, the Houston Texans have had players win consecutive AFC player of the week awards.

Cornerback Tavierre Thomas was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 16 following the Texans’ 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

Thomas collected a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped the seal the victory for Houston in the fourth quarter. Thomas also tallied eight tackles, six of them solo, with one pass breakup.

For the week, Thomas, was the only AFC player with at least eight tackles and a pick. Next Gen Stats recorded Thomas as allowing a 37.5 passer rating on five targets, the third-best in the conference for the week.

Thomas winning the award is the 51st time in team history that a player has been named player of the week, and the 18th time in team history a player has garnered defensive player of the week. Last week, cornerback Tremon Smith earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week following his kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Chiefs CB Mike Hughes named Week 14 AFC Defensive Player of the Week

#Chiefs CB Mike Hughes earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his Week 14 performance vs. the #Raiders.

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 38-9 in Week 14, and now one of the key contributors in that defense-fueled smackdown is being recognized by the league.

Chiefs CB Mike Hughes earned his first career Defensive Player of the Week Award, in his first season representing the AFC. He is the second Chiefs player to win the award this season following Chris Jones, who earned the award after the team’s victory over the Cowboys in Week 11.

Hughes is also the first cornerback on the team to earn the honor since Marcus Peters in Week 15 of the 2017 NFL season. He’s also the first player from UCF to win Defensive Player of the Week honors since A.J. Bouye did so back in Week 10 of the 2017 NFL season.

Hughes kicked off the dominant performance for Kansas City in Week 14, with a 23-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage. But the fun didn’t stop there for Hughes, he’d force two fumbles of his own and lead the team in tackles with nine on the night. Hughes also became the first player in the league to register two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in a single game this season.

The Chiefs acquired Hughes in trade with the Vikings prior to the start of the season. He’s played the majority of his snaps on special teams this year, but stepping in for L’Jarius Sneed in Week 14, he has proven a valuable asset in the secondary. He’s in a contract year, so this performance could pave the way for a second contract with Kansas City or elsewhere.

Joining Hughes this week on the AFC side of things is Chargers QB Justin Herbert, who earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Both Herbert and Hughes will face off on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 14.

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Broncos CB Pat Surtain named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

We have a feeling Pat Surtain’s going to win many more awards in his career.

Following his two-interception performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12, Denver Broncos rookie cornerback has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday.

Surtain also totaled five tackles in Denver’s 28-13 win.

Surtain is the first Broncos rookie to record multiple interceptions — including a pick-six — in the same game.

This might not be the only award Surtain wins this year. Surtain has been nominated for the Rookie of the Week award and he’ll likely be a strong candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the season, and perhaps even the overall Rookie of the Year award.

“He played really well yesterday,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Monday. “Obviously, the two interceptions everybody knows about, but he’s [broken] up some passes too that were critical. They don’t quite get the same pizzazz that the picks do, but they’re just as critical. He’s been playing good football for us all year.”

It’s safe to say Denver has no regrets over using its first-round pick in April’s draft to select the Alabama cornerback.

“We’re thrilled to have him,” Fangio said. “I don’t want to speak for George [Paton], but I think I am. If we had to redo the draft right now and it was the same players available at No. 9 — it’d be the same pick.”

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Jags DE/OLB Josh Allen named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

A dominant and historic Week 9 performance has earned the #Jaguars’ Josh Allen the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

After a stellar performance against the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Jacksonville Jaguars pass-rusher Josh Allen has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9.

Allen had already been playing great as of the last few weeks, but turned it up a notch Sunday with an MVP front-runner, also named Josh Allen, lining up at quarterback  on the opposite side of the field. In the process, the Jags’ Allen made history by being the first to sack, intercept, and recover a fumble from a player with the same first and last name.

Allen also had a busy day as a tackler, garnering a career-high of eight. That figure was good for a team-high Week 9.

Allen joins placekicker Matthew Wright as one of two Jags to win a conference Player of the Week award in 2021. Wright was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 6 after he hit a walk-off game-winning field goal to give the Jags their first win of 2021 against Miami.

Raiders DE Yannick Ngakoue wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Raiders DE Yannick Ngakoue wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Sunday against the Eagles, Yannick Ngakoue had his best game as a Raider. His numbers jump off the stat sheet with two sacks, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and two pass breakups. Quite a complete game for the veteran pass rusher. And today that effort has earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Ngakoue joins teammate Maxx Crosby who took home the award for his effort in the team’s season opening win over the Ravens.

It’s befitting considering after the win over the Eagles, Ngakoue spoke of how he and Crosby are always competing with each other.

“We always compete with each other,” Ngakoue said of he and Crosby. “From our get-offs to how clean we eat, all the way to how much extra work we put in after practice. If you watch the practice, we’re the last two guys to leave. Always notice him looking at me and trying to figure out how he can compete and I’m always looking at him to figure out how I can compete. That’s what I love about him. He’s a guy that busts his ass every day, I see a lot of myself in him, and that’s why he’s having tremendous success.”

It was just last week, in the Raiders’ win over the Broncos in Denver, that Crosby got to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater five times for three official sacks. Certainly sending the message to Ngakoue that he was up. Yan answered the call, putting up his second multi-sack game of the season and moving to second on the team in sacks (4.0) behind Crosby (5.0).

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Myles Garrett wins AFC defensive player of the week for Week 3

Browns DE Myles Garrett wins AFC defensive player of the week for Week 3 for his outstanding performance against the Chicago Bears

As if there was any doubt…

Myles Garrett and his monstrous performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 3 earned the Browns defensive end the AFC defensive player of the week honors. The NFL revealed the honor on Wednesday.

Garrett sacked Bears rookie QB Justin Fields 4.5 times, setting a Browns team record for an individual game in the process. No. 95 finished with seven total tackles. It was part of the Browns’ incredible defensive effort that sacked Fields nine times and allowed just one net passing yard to Chicago.

It’s the second time Garrett has captured the weekly award. He also won it in Week 4 of the 2020 season against the Dallas Cowboys.

Reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week Maxx Crosby already ‘flushed the game’ and moved on

Reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week Maxx Crosby already ‘flushed the game’ and moved on

The fans are probably not ready to stop celebrating the Raiders’ big win over the Ravens in the opener. It hasn’t even been 48 hours since the insane overtime thriller.

Just this morning Maxx Crosby was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant pass rushing performance Monday Night. That’s great and all, but the Raiders are on a short week to face the Steelers and Crosby has already moved on.

“The rollercoaster ride Derek’s talks about, everybody talks about, not getting too high, not getting too low, so for me I already flushed the game,” Crosby said of Monday night’s win over the Ravens. “I’m already worried, I watched the Steelers first game against Buffalo yesterday, been locked in on that because it’s a week-by-week basis, and a week-by-week league. You never know how things are going to turn out, so you really have to stay locked in. There’s always going to be ups and downs, but you try to stay even keeled and just take it day-by-day and one day at a time. That’s really all you can do.”

Normal weeks in which teams play on Sunday offer the players at least a day to take a breath to think about the previous game and a couple days off before the next practice. Playing Monday Night means one less day, especially when the next week’s game is on the road, which means a travel day must be built in as well.

Crosby had a monster game and the Raiders pulled out a miraculous win in their first Las Vegas home game in front of fans. But the season continues quickly and Pittsburgh awaits. The celebration for Monday night’s win seems to have ended Monday night.

Colts’ DeForest Buckner named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

DeForest Buckner gets some recognition.

Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the 27-20 win over the Houston Texans.

Despite being limited to a season-low 51% of snaps, Buckner found several ways to ruin the day for the Texans. He finished with 3.0 sacks, four quarterback hits and two tackles for loss while leading the defense with five total pressures.

Buckner’s presence has been incredible this season, and he’s been the biggest reason the entire defense has taken a leap into the elite category. Despite this, he was snubbed for a Pro Bowl selection.

Bucker is currently second among all interior defenders with 7.5 sacks and 24 quarterback hits while he’s eighth in pressures.

Buckner has been enjoying a monster season, one that could consider him for an All-Pro spot at the end of the season given both his direct and indirect impact on the Colts this season.

Buckner is the fifth Colts player to earn a weekly award this season. Cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes (Week 3) and Kenny Moore (Week 14) were the Defensive Players of the Week while linebacker E.J. Speed (Week 10) and kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (Week 11) earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Buckner is finally getting some of the national recognition he deserves during this incredible season, and it’s starting in thanks to his big performance against a divisional foe in Week 15.

Ravens Calais Campbell wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week after 3-sack performance vs. Eagles

The Baltimore Ravens clearly got what they were hoping for when they traded for Calais Campbell this offseason, seeing him earn the DPOW

The Baltimore Ravens traded for Calais Campbell this offseason in the hopes he’d help transform the run defense and offer some pass rush from the interior. While Campbell has been good through the first five weeks, he showed up in a big way in Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Campbell finished the game with three sacks of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, in addition to posting five total tackles, four tackles for a loss, and four quarterback hits. That dominant performance earned Campbell the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award.

Campbell’s four sacks lead everyone on the Ravens’ roster by at least 1.5 sacks, while his 10 quarterback hits come in second behind outside linebacker Matthew Judon’s 11. In an interesting turn of events, Campbell is actually second on the team with five passes defended, falling just behind Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey’s six.

Baltimore currently boasts the top defense in total points allowed and 10th in total yards allowed.

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T.J. Watt named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Watt was recognized by the league as DPOTW for his Week 2 performance versus the Denver Broncos.

T.J. Watt had himself a game on Sunday versus the Denver Broncos. And, for that, he was recognized by the NFL as AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Watt was harassing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel all day. He registered 2.5 sacks, four tackles (two for loss) and a QB hurry. He currently leads the league with a 32 percent pass-rush win rate.

The fourth-year linebacker is automatically in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation every season because he flat-out dominates.

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