Tag: defensive player of the week

Former Saints draft pick spreading his wings with the Eagles

Zack Baun is spreading his wings with the Eagles. It’s hard to call the NFC Defensive Player of the Week a draft bust when the Saints didn’t know how to use him:

Credit where it’s due: Zack Baun is flying high with the Philadelphia Eagles. The former New Orleans Saints draft pick switched teams in free agency, and that decision has paid off. Baun just won recognition as the NFC Defensiive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

Baun was integral to the Eagles’ dismantling of the NFC East-rival Dallas Cowboys; he totaled 8 tackles (3 solo, with a tackle for loss) plus two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in their 34-6 win. So why wasn’t he putting up those kind of numbers in New Orleans?

For one thing, the Saints didn’t have much of a plan in mind when they traded up to draft Baun back in 2020. To move up from No. 88 to No. 74 (and getting back a seventh rounder in the process), the Saints traded their third rounder in 2021, which wound up falling at No. 91. And once they acquired Baun they didn’t know what to do with him. He weighed in at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, which was too light for Dennis Allen to stomach at defensive end, where Baun lined up in college. The coaching staff and scouting department were not in lockstep.

They spent the next few years trying to teach him to drop back in coverage and work in space, but Allen and his coaching staff never developed much confidence in him. After trading up to draft him the Saints picked another  linebacker in both 2021 (Pete Werner, at No. 60) and 2022 (D’Marco  Jackson, at No. 161). He never got a chance in New Orleans, playing almost twice as many snaps on special teams (1,293) as on defense (660) through his 62-game Saints career.

Now the Saints are scrambling for answers at linebacker. Demario Davis isn’t getting younger and the injury bug bit him earlier this year. Pete Werner signed a contract extension this summer but hasn’t proven he can stay on the field either. The Saints already decided Baun couldn’t be part of their solution, but the Eagles have figured out how to get the most out of him. Now we have to wait and see how New Orleans moves next.

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Chris Jones earns AFC Defensive Player of the Week award after two-sack performance vs. Chargers

#Chiefs DL Chris Jones was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after his two-sack performance against the #Chargers on Sunday.

Chris Jones earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his two-sack performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Jones, who is among the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers, helped keep the Chiefs’ undefeated record intact and made his presence felt against the Chargers’ offensive line.

With Jones’ help, Kansas City’s defense shut out Los Angeles in the second half after giving up 10 points early in the game.

The veteran defensive lineman was the only Chiefs player to register a sack in Week 4, though Kansas City’s defensive effort against the Chargers was a well-rounded team effort.

Though awards like this serve to recognize outstanding individual performances, Jones won’t be able to take his foot off the gas if the Chiefs intend to remain undefeated after their Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

Expect Kansas City’s resident sack-master to put on a show when Kansas City faces the Saints on “Monday Night Football” at Arrowhead Stadium.

49ers superstar LB snubbed for award after monster game vs Vikings

The All-Pro LB forced a pair of turnovers, recorded a sack and led the 49ers in tackles on Sunday against the Vikings.

Despite the San Francisco 49ers’ rough loss to the Minnesota Vikings, All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner put together a memorable performance.

After notching a forced fumble and seven tackles against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, the All-Pro linebacker continued his early Defensive Player of the Year campaign in Week 2 against the Vikings.

With the 49ers stalling offensively, Warner provided multiple sparks on the defensive side of the football. Not only did Warner jump a throw from Sam Darnold for a momentum-switching interception, the former BYU Cougar saved a would-be Vikings touchdown with a heroic forced fumble at the goal line against Aaron Jones.

Warner finished with a team-high nine tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, two pass deflections, a quarterback hit, a forced fumble and an interception in the 49ers’ 23-17 loss to the Vikings.

Despite his impressive performance, Warner was not named Defensive Player of the Week in the NFC. Atlanta Falcons defensive back Jessie Bates earned the award for Week 2.

In a win on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bates notched 12 tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass deflections and a game-sealing interception in the final seconds of the fourth quarter against Jalen Hurts.

Via @AtlantaFalcons on Twitter:

Detroit Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson should also be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Week. The former Michigan Wolverine sacked Baker Mayfield 4.5 times in the Lion’s loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Steelers LB T.J. Watt named Week 18 Defensive Player of the Week

T.J. Watt had another huge game in Week 18 with two more sacks.

Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt was named Defensive Player of the Week for Week 18 of the NFL season. Watt finished with six tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss as the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 to help push the Steelers into the playoffs.

Watt finished the season with a league-leading 19 sacks. That is the third time in four seasons Watt has led the league in sacks. No other player has accomplished since the league started tracking sacks as an official stat.

In a somewhat related story, Watt was snubbed by both Pro Football Focus and the NFLPA for their All-Pro teams. It would be an interesting twist if Watt lands his second Defensive Play of the Year Award in his career but fails to be named an All-Pro.

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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.

Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Miami’s top CB earns some hardware for his performance vs. the Raiders.

The Miami Dolphins earned a win on Sunday over the Las Vegas Raiders, and they wouldn’t have been able to do so without the impressive performance by cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Ramsey was targeted seven times on Sunday, allowing just two receptions for 23 yards. He also recorded a pass breakup and two interceptions, including one that sealed that game for Miami.

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

This is the second time in his career that the cornerback has received this award, with the first time coming back in 2016 when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Cornerback Xavien Howard was the last Dolphin to win the honor back in 2021 when he had five tackles and a forced fumble that he picked up and returned for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

Miami is racking up the Player of the Week award this season, as he’s the fourth Dolphin to do so this season. Tua Tagovailoa, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert all received the offensive version of the same honor earlier in the year.

49ers’ Nick Bosa named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after dominant performance vs. Jaguars

Add reigning Defensive Player of the Week to Nick Bosa’s already decorated list of accolades.

While Brock Purdy bounced back with a three passing touchdown performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10, the San Francisco 49ers snapped their three-game losing streak on the back of their new-look defensive line.

The 49ers’ front seven dominated the game, causing havoc in the trenches around Trevor Lawerence. Nick Bosa led the way with a relentless effort on Sunday. Alongside his former college teammate Chase Young, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year notched three tackes, 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Bosa was the fourth member of the 49ers to record a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and pass deflection in the same game since 2000.

Following his dominant performance on Sunday, Bosa was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Via @NFL on Twitter:

This is the fifth time Bosa was named Defensive Player of the Week in his career.

49ers linebacker Fred Warner has also notched a Defensive Player of the Week award this season for his work in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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What Raiders teammates, coaches said about Maxx Crosby following his DPOW performance

What Raiders teammates, coaches said about Maxx Crosby following his DPOW performance

Monday Night the Raiders stepped on the big stage and no one shined quite as bright as star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

The Pro Bowler was in the Packers’ backfield all day disrupting plays both in the run and the pass which led to him having a sack, a QB hit and four tackles for loss.

His performance earned him the Defensive Player of the Week Honors for Week five.

Robert Spillane and Amik Robertson grabbed some of the spotlight for their interceptions in the game. Spillane in particular had two of them. Here is what he had to say about Crosby after the game.

“That dude lives possessed. Everything he does is at full speed. At practice, walk-thru, games…so, I just admire his work ethic and he shows up every time the lights come on, so I’m just glad to be working behind him.”

“Yeah, teams always got to figure out what they want to do with Maxx Crosby. Do they double him? Do they triple him? And he still finds a way to get pressure on the quarterback, so the more that we could do that with four rushers, the better our pass defense will be.”

Robertson had the game-sealing pick in the end zone which preserved the Raiders 17-13 win and made Crosby’s efforts worth it.

“He gives us an opportunity of being able to get our hands on the ball,” he said of Crosby. “Maxx is making it hard on the quarterbacks week in and week out. We got to do our job as far as covering. We cover well, he’ll get home. If he get home, that’s when we get picks. So, it’s like it kind of goes hand-in-hand.”

Despite having a former offensive coordinator as a head coach, the Raiders have yet to score more than 18 points in a game. Monday they got their second win of the season, both games having scored just 17 points.

Josh McDaniels knows how lucky he is and that without Crosby’s efforts, he would be looking at 1-4 right now.

“Consistency. Maxx [Crosby] does it every day with his effort, his work, how much he cares about every little detail relative to the football team, his teammates, his body, practice,” said McDaliels. “And then he gives it everything he has, every single time he’s out there. And he never comes off the field, as you know. So, tremendous leadership. . . then Maxx just creating problems, tackles for loss, sacks and pressures all game.”

Crosby is having a career year so far, which is saying a lot considering some of his great seasons. But he isn’t satisfied.

“More is required,” Crosby said of his performance. “For me I feel like I’ve started off doing pretty well. But, like I said, I take it personal. I do this all year round, I want to be the best, and it’s an every day process. Next week I gotta be even better. I do it for my guys, I do it for all the people in my circle, I do it for the people I love most. I do it for them, not the people that doubt me. People have been doubting me forever, I do it for the people that believe in me. Every time I go out there I take it personal. Try to stay as level-headed as possible and take it one play at a time. I feel like that’s translated onto the field.”

Raiders last opponent wins NFL Offensive Player of the Week, next opponent won DPOY

Facing the Raiders’ defense was just what Josh Allen needed to rebound and win OPOY. Next the Raiders offense gets to face the reigning DPOY.

By any measure, Josh Allen had a rough opening week to the season. He threw three interceptions and the Bills lost to the Jets in overtime despite losing starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the fourth play of the game.

All that turned around for Allen last Sunday when the Bills welcomed the Raiders to town. Allen then went on a tear, throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing nearly 84% of his passes in a 38-10 route of the Raiders.

That effort has won Allen Offensive Player of the Week honors for Week two.

There was a similar experience with the Steelers, who were flattened by the 49ers in the opener 30-7, but who rebounded in Week two to pull out a 22-9 win over the Browns.

Only the Steelers resurgence came on defense.

This effort was led by linebacker Alex Highsmith who had a pick six and a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

That effort earned Highsmith Defensive Player of the Week honors for Week two.

Highsmith and the Steelers’ next stop is Las Vegas as they are the Raiders’ opponent in their home opener Week 3.

Coming with him is TJ Watt, who leads the NFL in sacks (four) and QB hits (nine) in the first two games of the season.

The offense for the Steelers is an entirely different story. As they have easily the worst offense in the league right now.

So, it will be a battle between the Raiders defense which leads to OPOY winners against the NFL’s worst offense and the Raiders’ so-so offense against the Steelers elite defense.

Nick Bosa wins NFC Defensive Player of the Week

Nick Bosa followed up his Defensive Player of the Month for November with a Defensive Player of the Week for the first week of December.

Nick Bosa is on a roll. A week after being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, he was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first week of December.

The 49ers’ defensive end was the obvious choice for the Week 13 award (truth be told I’m writing this Tuesday night because I’m so certain he’s going to win). He racked up three tackles, seven pressures, 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown in San Francisco’s 33-17 win over the Dolphins.

There simply wasn’t a more dominant defensive performer in the NFL, much less the NFC last week.

For Bosa the 3.0 sacks gave him a league-leading 14.5 for the season. Pro Football Focus has him No. 2 in the NFL in pressures with 62, and one behind Vikings DE Za’Darius Smith for the league lead. Bosa is the only player in the top five in pressures to have played 11 games. The rest of the top five have played in 12. Bosa is also first in QB hits (19) and second in pass rush win rate (24.8 percent).

A Defensive Player of the Month immediately followed by a Defensive Player of the Week should push Bosa firmly to the top of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation with five games to play.

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