Tag: AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce earns first career AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award

Travis Kelce earned his first career AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award, also becoming the first #Chiefs tight end to ever earn the honor.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is earning some recognition for his electrifying performance in Week 16 on “Thursday Night Football.” In doing so, he also managed to make franchise history.

Kelce has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 16. It’s the first time in his career that he has earned this award, which is hard to believe given he’s going on his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl selection and his sixth consecutive 1000-yard receiving season. It’s also hard to believe that this is the first time any Chiefs tight end has earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

The position group has seldom been recognized in the NFL’s weekly honors. This was actually the first time that a tight end has won the award for the AFC since Rob Gronkowski did so in Week 15 of the 2017 NFL season. Kelce’s performance was certainly deserving of this recognition, though.

Facing the Los Angeles Chargers in a pivotal AFC West matchup, Kelce recorded a whopping 10 receptions for a career-high 191 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It marked a league-high in receiving yards by a tight end in a single game this season. His overtime score helped the Chiefs to a 34-28 victory over the Chargers, catapulting his team to a two-game lead over the division.

This performance was also Kelce’s third game of his career with at least 150 yards and a touchdown reception. That’s good for the second-most such games all-time by a tight end in NFL history.

It also wouldn’t be right if we didn’t mention Kelce’s alma mater, whom he’s been vigorously rooting for ahead of the college football playoffs. Kelce is the first former Cincinnati Bearcat to win the AFC Offensive Player of the Week since the 1990 season. Maybe it’s a sign that they’ll be able to best Alabama in the Cotton Bowl?

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Colts’ Jonathan Taylor named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor earned the Week 11 AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his historic outing against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.

Taylor took 32 carries for 185 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns while adding three receptions for 19 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. It was the first time in Colts history a player has scored five total touchdowns in a game.

Taylor has taken the league by storm over the last two months. He currently leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,122), rushing touchdowns (13), runs of 20 or more yards (10) and yards from scrimmage (1,444).

His most recent game, the one that got him this award, put him on the map for the MVP conversation. Whether he actually has a chance to win the award is another argument, but Taylor’s teammates are demanding he be included in the discussion.

The Colts will have another strong test against a stout run defense in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, but that won’t stop them from featuring the game’s best running back.

This was also the first time Taylor earned the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes named Week 10 AFC Offensive Player of the Week

After a dominant performance against the #Raiders in Week 10, #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

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Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has done it again, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season and the seventh time during his career.

The veteran gunslinger posted a dominant performance during the Chiefs’ 41-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10, coming off the back of one of his worst career performances the week prior. Mahomes completed 35-of-50 passes for 406 yards with five touchdowns with no interceptions. He managed a 127.6 passer rating and completed 70% of his passes, leading all quarterbacks in passing yards and passing touchdowns in Week 10.

With this game in his pocket, Mahomes became the first player in NFL history with three career games with at least 400 passing yards and five touchdown passes in his first five NFL seasons. Those three games matched Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Joe Montana for the most such games in NFL history. Reminder: Mahomes is only 26 years old and in his fourth season as a starting NFL quarterback.

Mahomes also became one of only three Chiefs players with at least seven Player of the Week awards, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas (eight) and Dante Hall (seven). Mahomes has averaged two awards per season during his career with 2019 being the lone exception. He needs just two awards to set the franchise record for the most Player of the Week awards.

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Best plays from Chargers QB Justin Herbert’s Offensive Player of the Week performance

Relive some of Chargers QB Justin Herbert’s greatest plays against the Eagles.

After back-to-back poor performances, Justin Herbert bounced back in a big way against the Eagles. Herbert put the team on his back, finishing 32 of 38 for 356 yards with three total touchdowns and no interceptions (123.2 quarterback rating).

Philadelphia’s defense was not of the same caliber as the Ravens or Patriots, but Herbert was much more decisive with his reads and his throws were on the money compared to previous weeks. Furthermore, Joe Lombardi did a fine job of keeping him protected and getting him on the move.

For his efforts, Herbert was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

To relive some of Herbert’s greatest plays from this past weekend, check out the video below.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes named Week 1 AFC Offensive Player of the Week

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has done it again, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for Week 1.

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes continues to be recognized by the league for his greatness, this time notching another weekly award.

Mahomes was named Week 1’s AFC Offensive Player of the Week after a dominant comeback performance against the Cleveland Browns. Mahomes went 27-of-36 for 337 yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and no interceptions on Sunday. He remains perfect in the month of September and helped the Chiefs thwart one of their toughest outs in the AFC conference.

The performance helped Mahomes break two NFL pace records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. He now owns the most passing yards (14,489) and passing touchdowns (117) through players’ first 50 starts, doing so in only 47 starts.

This marks the sixth AFC Offensive Player of the Week win for Mahomes in his career. It’s his second win to come in Week 1 after he won the award in Week 1 of his 2018 MVP-winning season. The other wins came in Week 2 of 2018, Week 2 of 2019, Week 3 of 2020 and Week 8 of 2020.

Mahomes now owns the most-ever Offensive Player of the Week Awards by a Chiefs quarterback, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana who had won the award five times.

If Mahomes can earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors again for his Week 2 performance on “Sunday Night Football” against the Baltimore Ravens, it’ll mark his second time being able to do so in back-to-back weeks during his career.

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Lamar Jackson wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week award for Week 14

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won the weekly award after a stellar performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is no stranger to winning awards, having won more than a handful last season. But in 2020, Jackson hasn’t quite been up to his 2019 standards, making his AFC Offensive Player of the Week award for Week 14 all the sweeter.

Jackson helped the Ravens overcome the Cleveland Browns on Monday night, in what many have been calling the game of the year. The game was filled with big blows back and forth as both teams tried to keep pace with the other on the scoreboard. It was also filled with intrigue and some late-game heroics when Jackson had to go into the locker room to get treatment for cramps, arriving just as backup quarterback Trace McSorley went down with a knee injury. On the first play back in the game, Jackson threw a 44-yard touchdown to Marquise Brown before leading the team for one final drive to win the game.

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Jackson finished the game completing 11-of-17 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown pass for a passer rating of 115.6. But he also added 124 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on nine carries. While some players had better stats in Week 14, no one was as paramount to their team’s success as Jackson.

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Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill awarded AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors

Hill had a monster day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.

After a monster day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill has been named Offensive Player of the Week for the AFC conference.

Hill had a historic day and it all began in the first quarter. He recorded 203 yards and two touchdowns. According to NFL research, he became the first player to record 7 receptions and at least 200 receiving yards in a single quarter since the NFL began tracking play-by-play data back in 1991. He became the eighth player in Chiefs franchise history to record three-straight 100-yard receiving games. He also became the 12th player in franchise history to score three receiving touchdowns in a single game.

At the end of the day, Hill had 13 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Chiefs to another victory.

USA TODAY SMG – Coley Cleary

This marks Hill’s second Offensive Player of the Week honor during his career. It’s his fourth weekly award in total, but his first award earned since 2016. Patrick Mahomes has won two Offensive Player of the Week awards this season, while Byron Pringle and Harrison Butker have both taken home special teams honors. Hill makes five weekly awards for the Chiefs this season.

Hill currently is No. 2 in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,021, but leads the league in receiving touchdowns with 13. He needs just 459 receiving yards to exceed his single-season career-high, set during the 2018 NFL season. With five games left to be played, there’s no reason to believe that Hill isn’t on the way to achieving his best season yet.

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Texans QB Deshaun Watson wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week after beating Patriots

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in beating the New England Patriots in Week 11.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after his efforts in leading the team to a 27-20 win over the New England Patriots in Week 11 at NRG Stadium.

Watson completed 28 passes on 37 attempts for 344 yards, two touchdowns, and posted a 121.9 passer rating. The two-time Pro Bowler also collected 36 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Watson is the first Texans quarterback to lead the team to consecutive wins against the Patriots, and helped Houston become the first team since the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 to win consecutive games against New England.

The former 2017 first-round pick is the fifth quarterback in NFL history to have three games with at least 300 yards passing, two touchdown passes, and a rushing touchdown in his first four seasons. Watson is also the first player in club history and second player in the league in 2020 with at least 225 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in the first half of a game. Sunday’s win over the Patriots was also the seventh game this season Watson had multiple touchdown passes and fifth such game with at least 300 passing yards. Watson now has the most touchdown passes and second-most passing yards by a Texans player through the first 10 games of a season.

The weekly honor is the fifth time in Watson’s career he has garnered the award (Week 4 of 2017, Week 3 of 2019, Week 5 of 2019, Week 13 of 2019). Watson is second to only J.J. Watt (seven) for the most AFC player of the week honors. Watson is also one of four quarterbacks to have at least five such awards since 2017. The other three are Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson.

Week 11 is the 49th time a Texans player has won a player of  the week award. Watson’s award is also the 17th time a Texans player has won the offensive version of the award.

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Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger earns 18th-career OPOW honors

Big Ben’s performance in the Steelers win over the Bengals netted him the 18th OPOW of his career.

No practice? No problem.

Ben Roethlisberger’s 333-yard, four-touchdown, zero-interception performance scored him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. In the Steelers’ 36-10 conquering of the Cincinnati Bengals, Big Ben’s passer rating was 110.1.

In his 17-year career, Roethlisberger is no stranger to the commendation. This is the 18th time he’s achieved OPOW accolades.

Big Ben must like Week 10. The last time he earned the distinction was Week 10 in 2018. In the 52-10 clobbering of the Carolina Panthers, Roethlisberger tossed five touchdowns on 328 yards for a whopping 158.3 passer rating.

The Steelers compiled a reel of Big Ben’s best passes from Week 10 for your viewing pleasure.

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Baker Mayfield wins AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7

It’s the second time Mayfield has won the award

Congratulations are in order for Baker Mayfield. The Browns quarterback won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor for his record-setting performance in the Week 7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a rough start, Mayfield completed a team-record 21 passes in a row, shattering the prior record shared by Bernie Kosar and Kelly Holcomb. HIs only incomplete pass after the first quarter was a clock-killing spike that set up the game-winning TD pass to rookie wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Mayfield finished the game 22-for-28 for 297 yards and five touchdowns after misfiring on his first five attempts. The Browns scored 37 points on just 52 offensive plays in the comeback win in Cincinnati.

This is the second time Mayfield has captured the award.

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