NFL Weekly Awards for Week 3
By Mike Dyce
Another week of NFL action has concluded and we’re heading into the bye weeks. The FanSided editorial staff are handing out our weekly awards and have broken it down into some very basic categories: Rookie of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, Offensive Player of the Week and Most Valuable Player.
This week we have Editor-in-Chief Josh Sanchez, Josh Hill and myself naming awards winners. Let us know who you would’ve given the awards to in the comments below, we want to hear from you.
Rookie of the Week
Josh Sanchez- Kelvin Benjamin, Panthers. Benjamin is proving that he can be a No. 1 wide receiver early in his career. Benjamin hauled in 8 of his 11 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown on Sunday night. If he continues to build chemistry with Cam Newton, the Panthers have a scary presence on the outside.
Mike Dyce- Kelvin Benjamin, Panthers. No rookie stood out more than Carolina Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin. He is already emerging as a favorite target for Cam Newton, and against the Pittsburgh Steelers he had eight catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Josh Hill– Kyle Fuller, Bears. For the second straight week he was exactly where he needed to be when he needed to be there, and he helped the Bears get out of New York with a huge win. he’s filling in for Charles Tillman and not making Chicago miss him much which is huge.
Defensive Player of the Week
Josh Sanchez– Detroit Lions. I am taking a cop out here and going with an entire unit. Starting with a 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Don Carey, the Lions were able to shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense which is no easy task. All 12 of the Lions’ first half points were recorded by the defensive or special teams unit and the team limited Rodgers to just 162 passing yards and 7 points.
Mike Dyce– Jelani Jenkins, LB, Miami Dolphins. He had and outstanding individual performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in a loss. He recorded 11 solo tackles, and 15 total, while also adding 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. That is a pretty solid week for any defender here.
Josh Hill– Atlanta Falcons. I’m going with the cop out as well here, and how can you not take the Falcons. Yeah, they padded their stats against the Buccaneers but anytime you can maintain a 42 point point differential on a team it’s huge. Tampa Bay was at least competitive in it’s first two games, but the Falcons tossed them around like rag dolls and it might be a game that really wakes that defense up.
Offensive Player of the Week
Josh Sanchez– Andrew Luck, Colts. Andrew Luck stopped the Colts from sliding to 0-3 to start the season with a masterful 31-of-39 passing performance for 370 yards and four touchdowns. It may have just been the Jaguars, but it was a much needed win for Indianapolis and Luck came up big.
Mike Dyce– Andrew Luck, Colts. Individual offensive performances don’t get much better than what Andrew Luck did in Week 3, albeit against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Luck completed 31-of-39 passes for 370 yards, throwing four touchdowns and putting up a 140.4 passer rating in the process. The Colts needed a big game to avoid an 0-3 start to the season.
Josh Hill– Nick Foles, Eagles. After rough performances in Weeks one and two this season, Foles needed the game he had on Sunday and he got it. Foles went for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns, which is something the Eagles hope they see more of in the next few weeks.
MVP of the Week
Josh Sanchez– Tony Romo, Cowboys. It may sound crazy, but Romo came up big in the second half whenever the Cowboys needed him the most. After falling behind 21-0 to start the game, Romo stayed composed and threw two second half touchdowns — 68 yards to Dez Bryant and 12 yards to Terrance Williams — as the Cowboys tied their biggest comeback in franchise history to defeat the Rams, 34-31.
Mike Dyce– Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles got a close 37-34 win over the Washington Redskins to start the season 3-0. While his completion percentage wasn’t the best, 24-of-41, he did throw for 325 yards, three touchdown passes and more importantly zero interceptions. Foles also took some big hits and kept on playing to lead his team to victory, but was sacked zero times.
Josh Hill– Russell Wilson, Seahawks. If you didn’t think that Wilson was clutch before Sunday’s win over the Broncos then you certainly do now. He led the Seahawks to a win in elite and clutch fashion, as the win will go down as a signature one for Wilson.
More from FanSided.com
NFL Power Rankings Week 3: Seahawks, Broncos flip-flop; Cardinals crack top 5
Seahawks CB DeShawn Shead proposed to girlfriend after win over Broncos
South Park takes on Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder (Video)
Tony Romo finds a wide open Dez Bryant for a touchdown
Ravens player does LeBron James chalk toss to celebrate touchdown, trolls Browns (GIF)