Tag: defensive player of the week

Tracy Walker earns NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 18

Lions safety Tracy Walker earns NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 18

Talk about ending the season on a high note…

Lions safety Tracy Walker has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding Week 18 performance in Detroit’s win over the Green Bay Packers. Walker recorded 13 tackles and sealed the Lions’ victory with a late interception to earn his first-ever player of the week nod.

It’s a case of great timing for Walker, who is a pending free agent this offseason. His interception is of particular note because it was his first in two seasons and he had missed a few opportunities earlier in the year.

For the season, Walker finished with a team-high 108 tackles, three TFLs, six PDs, one sack and the season-ending interception.

 

Brian Burns named Defensive Player of the Week after dominant game vs. Detroit

Panthers defensive end Brian Burns is finally starting to get some national recognition for the incredible work he’s been doing during the 2020 season.

Panthers defensive end Brian Burns is finally starting to get some national recognition for the incredible work he’s been doing during the 2020 season.

In Sunday’s 20-0 win over the Lions, Burns got the first multi-sack game of his NFL career. He also posted four quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss. For his efforts, Burns has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Given his relatively high pressure rate, Burns’ breakout game was only a matter of time. In fact, defensive coordinator Phil Snow came pretty close to predicting it last week, claiming Burns was going to have a three-sack game very soon.

Burns now has 16 QB hits and five tackles for a loss on the season, matching his totals from 2019. He’s also up to six sacks compared to 7.5 during his rookie year.

Snow deserves some of the credit for putting Burns in a position to succeed. So far, No. 53 has been on the field for 75% of his team’s defensive snaps, compared with just 43% last season.

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Olivier Vernon wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Browns DE Olivier Vernon wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his 3-sack performance in Week 11

Olivier Vernon stepped up impressively in Week 11, and the Browns defensive end was duly rewarded for his efforts in Cleveland’s 22-17 win over the visiting Philadelphia Eagles.

Vernon was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack effort against the Eagles. One of those sacks of Eagles QB Carson Wentz resulted in a safety that was critical to changing the flow and momentum of the game, giving the Browns a 12-7 lead when the Cleveland offense had been struggling.

He is the second Browns player to win the honor in 2020. Myles Garrett captured the Week 4 nod. Garrett missed the Eagles game after a positive COVID-19 test, making Vernon’s performance all the more impressive.

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Myles Garrett wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Garrett captured the award for his 2-sack effort against the Cowboys

Congrats are in order for Browns defensive end Myles Garett. On Wednesday, Garrett was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Garrett had two sacks of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, including a strip-sack — the third week in a row Garrett forced a turnover with a sack. He also added a TFL in the run game and led all pass rushers with eight total QB pressures in Week 4.

Even in a game where the Cowboys rallied for 38 points, Garrett’s performance was strong enough to earn the prize as the best in the AFC in Week 4.

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Broncos DB Kareem Jackson named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Broncos safety Kareem Jackson has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week by NFL.com.

Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday. Jackson had a standout performance in Denver’s 38-24 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Facing the team he spent the first nine years of his career with, Jackson totaled 11 tackles, one interception and three pass breakouts. He also returned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown. He became the first defender with at least 10 tackles, a fumble returned for a score and an interception in the same game since former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher in 2011.

On the year, Jackson has totaled 69 tackles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions and one forced fumble. His 11 tackles on Sunday tied a career high.

This marks the first time a Broncos defender has taken home a conference award since outside linebacker Von Miller won in Week 11 last season. Jackson is the 34th Denver defender to take home the award since 1984.

Seattle Seahawks’ pass rush is finally coming together

The Seattle Seahawks’ pass rush efforts got off to a slow start this season but things are improving in the second half of the year.

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The Seattle Seahawks got off to a slow start this season as far as the pass rush is concerned despite the offseason additions of Ziggy Ansah and Jadeveon Clowney.

Things changed dramatically against the 49ers in primetime, when Seattle was finally able to make an impact.

Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. isn’t worried about the Seahawks production going forward.

“You just know, any time you play this game for a while, at some point, it’s going to all come together,” Norton told reporters Wednesday. “The guys have been working really hard at it. Hard work pays off. The main thing you’ve got to do is just keep on hitting it. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but all of the sudden, it comes in bunches and they really put it together. The guys, they played well.”

Clowney, in particular, had himself an impressive outing, logging five tackles, five hits on the quarterback, a forced fumble and a defensive touchdown – earning him the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week.

“He was disruptive,” Norton said. “You just want to see that on consistency. You don’t want to be one of those hash in the pan nights. You want to consistently effect the quarterback. Consistently make the guys around you better. Let’s bottle that up and do that every week.”

The Seahawks hit the road this weekend to face off against the Eagles and Carson Wentz – who Norton and the defense will be eyeing closely.

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How Seahawks’ trade for Jadeveon Clowney has panned out so far

The Seattle Seahawks sent a pair of players to Houston in exchange for Jadeveon Clowney and neither one is making huge waves for the Texans.

Much to the excitement of Seattle Seahawks fans and players, star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney finally broke out in Week 10.

He was named the Defensive Player of the Week thanks to his five tackles, five hits on the quarterback, one sack, a forced fumble and a defensive touchdown against the 49ers.

His outing was the first of, hopefully, many great performances for the Seahawks’ big offseason trade acquisition. While Clowney hasn’t been bad, it seemed everyone was waiting for the breakout to happen.

Clowney’s big game begs the question, how are things going for the members of the trade package who went to Houston?

Barkevious Mingo

The Browns selected Mingo sixth overall in 2013. He spent three years in Cleveland before two, year-long stints with the Patriots and Colts. He finally seemed to put things together in 2018 with the Seahawks, starting 14 games with 48 tackles – both career highs.

Since being dealt to the Texans, Mingo has not been a part of their defense. He’s only been on the field for eight defensive snaps through Houston’s first nine games. He didn’t factor into Sunday’s game against the Ravens either, leaving his 2019 tackle total at one.

The story for Mingo in a Texans uniform is as a member of special teams. He’s been on the field for more than 50 percent of special teams snaps each week.

Jacob Martin

Martin was taken by the Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He showed some worth as rookie, recording nine tackles, three sacks, and even caused a pair of fumbles.

During his first year with the Texans, Martin is having a fairly similar year. He has six tackles and forced a fumble so far in 2019, but no sacks. That includes his two-tackle day against the Ravens in Week 11.

Like Mingo, Martin also sees special teams snaps. Where Martin’s snap counts differ is that there has yet to be a game where he hasn’t seen some time on defense. He’s seen as many as 19 defensive snaps in a game.

Conclusion

The only remaining unknown of the Clowney trade deal at this point is the 2020 third-round draft selection Seattle sent to Houston. For now, the Seahawks seem to have done very well for themselves in this trade.

Clowney will look to build on his Defensive Player of the Week performance in Seattle’s Week 12 matchup against the Eagles following their bye week.

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Players of Week 10 awards hit Cowboys with disheartening double-whammy

The Dallas defense has, for the third time in five games, allowed an opponent to collect Offensive Player of the Week honors.

It’s happened again. For the third time in ten weeks of regular season play, an opponent of the Dallas Cowboys has been named their conference’s offensive Player of the Week. This time, it’s Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who compiled 97 ground yards and a rushing touchdown on Sunday night in Arlington, and then added 86 receiving yards for good measure.

Cook was his team’s leading rusher as well as its primary receiver; his 183 scrimmage yards on 33 touches accounted for over half of Minnesota’s total offensive output for the game.

Cook, in his third season after being drafted in the second round out of Florida State, is currently the league’s top runner with 991 ground yards after 10 games. Despite a reputation across his first two pro seasons for being injury-prone, Cook is suddenly on pace for a monster year in 2019 that could net him more than just the rushing title.

Cook is just the latest to have a breakout performance against a Cowboys defense that is proving to be barely a shadow of the unit that fans were promised coming into the regular season. Week 5’s loss to Green Bay resulted in NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for Packers running back Aaron Jones, the first rusher to ever score four touchdowns against a Dallas squad in a single game. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold won AFC honors a week later, returning from mononucleosis to torch the Cowboys’ secondary in Week 6.

Over the Cowboys’ last five games, the defense has allowed the Offensive Player of the Week to emerge out of three of them. Lions stars like wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, Jr. and rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson may be salivating right about now. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is likely lobbying Detroit’s medical staff hard to allow him to return to action after missing last week. But at this rate, even backups Jeff Driskel and J.D. McKissic have to like their chances should they step into a starting role once again.

If the news of Cook’s honor didn’t rub in a sickening loss quite enough for Cowboys fans, the Player of the Week announcements added an extra sucker punch on the AFC side.

Jets safety Jamal Adams, who the Cowboys tried unsuccessfully to acquire before the season’s trade deadline, went on to win the Defensive Player of the Week award for the game he had in Week 10. Adams racked up nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble-return touchdown against the Giants.

A defensive stat line like that sure would have come in handy against Cook. Maybe it would been enough to make someone else the Week 10 NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

For a group that had its sights set on elite-caliber accolades, the Cowboys’ defense has become a clear league leader in letting their opponents shine on offense.

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Seahawks DE Jadeveon Clowney named NFC Defensive Player of Week 10

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has been named the NFC’s Defensive Player of Week 10 for his play against the 49ers.

Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was a huge part of Seattle’s win over the 49ers Monday night. Against San Francisco, Clowney logged five hits on the quarterback, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery that resulted in a defensive touchdown.

Clowney’s performance was exactly what coaches and fans had been waiting for this season.

“It was a breakout game,” coach Pete Carroll said in his postgame press conference. “I thought he was so impressive all night long. I don’t know how, I thought they were tackling him, he was just penetrating so fast and so furiously. And what a fantastic game.”

For his efforts Monday night, Clowney has been named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week. This marks the second time in Clowney’s career he has earned the award, the first time being last year when he was still a member of the Texans.

It’s no surprise Clowney was also named Seahawks Wire’s Player of the Game.

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