Running back D’Onta Foreman of the Carolina Panthers, defensive lineman Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers and kicker Greg Joseph of the Minnesota Vikings are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played in Week 16.
In the AFC, quarterback Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and kicker Riley Patterson of the Jacksonville Jaguars are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
NFC:
OFFENSE: RB D’Onta Foreman, CAROLINA PANTHERS
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Foreman rushed for a career-high 165 yards on 21 attempts (7.9 average) with a touchdown in the Panthers’ 37-23 win over Detroit. It marked the most rushing yards of any player in Week 16.
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This is the first-career Offensive Player of the Week award for Foreman and he is the first Carolina running back to earn the honor since Jonathan Stewart (Week 14, 2017).
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Foreman is the fifth former Texas Longhorn running back to win an Offensive Player of the Week award.
DEFENSE: DL Nick Bosa, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
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Bosa registered seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in the 49ers’ 37-20 win over Washington in Week 16. He also recorded a sack on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter.
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Bosa leads the NFL with a career-high 17.5 sacks and has 12 games with at least one sack this season, tied for the fourth-most such games in a season since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only DEMARCUS WARE (14 games in 2008), JUSTIN HOUSTON (13 in 2014) and CHANDLER JONES (13 in 2017) have more.
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This is Bosa’s fourth-career Defensive Player of the Week award, the most ever by a 49ers defensive lineman, and second this season:
SPECIAL TEAMS: K Greg Joseph, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
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Joseph converted all five of his kicks (two field goals and three point after attempts), including the game-winning 61-yard field goal as time expired in the Vikings’ 27-24 win over the New York Giants.
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Joseph’s 61-yard game-winning field goal tied JAKE ELLIOTT (61 yards on September 24, 2017) for the fourth-longest game-winning field goal with no time remaining in the fourth quarter or in overtime. Only JUSTIN TUCKER (66 yards on September 26, 2021), TOM DEMPSEY (63 yards on November 8, 1970) and MATT BRYANT (62 yards on October 22, 2006) had longer game-winners.
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This is Joseph’s second-career Special Teams Player of the Week award, having previously earned the honor in Week 4 earlier this season.
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Joseph is the fourth Vikings kicker to win Special Teams Player of the Week multiple times in the same season, joining Gary Anderson (1998), Dan Bailey (2019) and Blair Walsh (2012).
AFC:
OFFENSE: QB Joe Burrow, CINCINNATI BENGALS
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Burrow completed a career-high 40 of 52 pass attempts (76.9 percent) for 375 yards and three touchdowns for a 99.4 passer rating in Cincinnati’s 22-18 victory over New England in Week 16. Burrow is the first player Since Week 14, 2018 (Dak Prescott) with at least 40 completions, a completion percentage of 75-or-higher and three touchdown passes in the same game.
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This is Burrow’s fifth-career Offensive Player of the Week award and third this season:
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Burrow’s five Offensive Player of the Week awards are the most by a former LSU Tiger and the second-most by a Bengals player ever, trailing only Boomer Esiason (nine-time winner).
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DEFENSE: DT Cameron Heyward, PITTSBURGH STEELERS
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Heyward recorded seven tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass defensed in Pittsburgh’s 13-10 win over Las Vegas. He was the only player in the AFC to record multiple sacks with a pass defensed last week.
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This is the third Defensive Player of the Week for Heyward, having previously won the award in Weeks 4 and 12 of the 2017 season. He is the third Steelers defender to win the award this season, joining Minkah Fitzpatrick (Week 1) and Alex Highsmith (Week 10).
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He is the third former Ohio State Buckeye to win Defensive Player of the Week award at least three times, joining Nick Bosa (four times) and Malcolm Jenkins (four).
SPECIAL TEAMS: K Riley Patterson, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
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Patterson connected on a career-high four field goals – from 32, 45, 41 and 37 yards – and totaled 13 points in Jacksonville’s 19-6 win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.
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This is the second-career Special Teams Player of the Week award for Patterson, having previously earned the award as a rookie in Week 15 of the 2021 season with Detroit.
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Patterson becomes the third former Memphis Tiger to win multiple Special Teams Player of the Week awards, joining Stephen Gostkowski (seven) and Jake Elliott (two).
