NFL Week 2 awards: Tom Brady is out of his mind
By Brad Rowland
Handing out awards following a wildly entertaining Week 2 in the NFL.
Week 2 of the 2015 NFL season was, frankly, insane. There were crazy results on the scoreboard, wild individual performances and soul-crippling injuries to some of the league’s most interesting teams. There isn’t exactly a shortage of things to discuss before next week.
In this space each week, we will take a snapshot of what took place on the field by handing out some hardware. Season-long awards will be debated throughout the campaign, but the task at hand is to assign honors on a weekly basis, ranging from rookie selections to MVP-level performances.
Below we will take a look at the rookies, and from there, we will move to the rest of the award winners from across the NFL. Let’s do it.
Offensive Rookie of the Week
Matt Jones, RB Washington Redskins
Alfred Morris is still the nominal starter for Washington at the running back position, but third-round pick Matt Jones certainly looked like the better player this week. Jones rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries while adding three catches for 23 yards, and his two touchdowns proved to be the difference for the Redskins in a 24-10 victory over the Rams. Moving forward, it will be incredibly interesting to see who takes the lion’s share of the work in the backfield for Washington. Regardless, Jones appears to be a dynamic piece that could help remove some of the pressure from Kirk Cousins.
Runner-up: Amari Cooper, WR Oakland Raiders
Defensive Rookie of the Week
Marcus Peters, CB Kansas City Chiefs
Peters has been highly impressive in each of his first two games for the Chiefs, but a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown against Peyton Manning is usually enough to land a young player in pole position for this award. The former Washington standout was seen by some as something of a “project” when entering the NFL, but he already looks like one of the better corners in the NFL through two games. Any growing pains have been nicely masked by explosiveness and speed.
Runner-up: Vic Beasley, DE/OLB Atlanta Falcons
Next: Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week