The National Football League has announced players of the week for Week 11.
Running back Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, defensive tackle Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs and kicker Evan McPherson of the Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week for games played in Week 11 (Nov. 18, 21-22).
OFFENSE: RB JONATHAN TAYLOR, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
●Taylor rushed for 185 yards on 32 attempts (5.8 avg.) and added 19 yards receiving on three receptions for a total of 204 scrimmage yards in addition to scoring five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving). His five touchdowns and 185 rushing yards are both the most by any player this season.
●Taylor is the first player in NFL history to record at least 175 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in a single game.
●This is the first Offensive Player of the Week award for Taylor and he becomes the first Colts running back to receive the honor since Joseph Addai (Week 8, 2007).
●He joins Michael Bennett and Melvin Gordon as the only former Wisconsin running backs to win Offensive Player of the Week.
DEFENSE: DT CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
●Jones recorded five tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed in Kansas City’s 19-9 win over Dallas. His 3.5 sacks are the second-most in a single game by an AFC player this season.
●This is the second Defensive Player of the Week award for Jones (Week 2, 2017).
●Jones joins Neil Smith (Week 16, 1994 and Week 5, 1993) and Art Still (Weeks 3 and 14, 1986) as the only Chiefs defensive linemen to earn the honor multiple times.
SPECIAL TEAMS: K EVAN MCPHERSON, CINCINNATI BENGALS
●McPherson connected on all four field goal attempts – from 54, 53, 51 and 47 yards - and two of his three point after attempts for a total of 14 points in Cincinnati’s 32-13 win at Las Vegas.
●He is the first kicker this season to make three field goals of at least 50 yards in one game.
●This is the second Special Teams Player of the Week award for McPherson this season (Week 1). He joins Doug Pelfrey (1994) as the only Bengals kickers to earn the honor twice in one season.
●McPherson is the ninth rookie kicker to win multiple Special Teams Player of the Week awards and the first since Harrison Butker (2017).
NFC awards
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, linebacker Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals and kicker Jake Elliott of the Philadelphia Eagles are the NFC offensive, defensive and special teams players of the week for games played in Week 11 (Nov. 18, 21-22).
OFFENSE: WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
●Jefferson had eight receptions for a league-leading 169 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 win over Green Bay. It marked his 11th career game with at least 100 receiving yards, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (11 games) and Juju Smith-Schuster (11) for the second-most such games by a player in his first two seasons in the Super Bowl era.
●This is the first Offensive Player of the Week award for Jefferson.
●He is the first Viking to earn the award since quarterback Kirk Cousins (Week 17, 2020).
●Jefferson is the third former LSU player to win Offensive Player of the Week this season, joining quarterback Joe Burrow (Week 4) and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (Week 7).
DEFENSE: LB CHANDLER JONES, ARIZONA CARDINALS
●Jones recorded four tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble in the Cardinals’ 23-13 win at Seattle.
●This is Jones’ sixth Defensive Player of the Week honor and his second this season. His five Defensive Player of the Week awards with Arizona are the most in franchise history: 2014 (with New England) Week 2; 2018 (with Arizona) Week 5; 2019 (with Arizona) weeks 7 and 16; 2021 (with Arizona) weeks 1 and 11.
●Jones is the second former Syracuse player with six Defensive Player of the Week awards, joining Dwight Freeney.
SPECIAL TEAMS: K JAKE ELLIOTT, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
●In Week 11, Elliot converted all four of his field goals – from 50, 37, 33 and 47 yards – and all four of his point after attempts for a total of 16 points in the Eagles’ 40-29 victory over the Saints. It marked the most kicking points by any player in Week 11.
●This is the second Special Teams Player of the Week award for Elliott (Week 3, 2017).
●He joins David Akers (seven) as the only Eagles’ kickers to win the award multiple times.
●Elliot joins Stephen Gostkowski (seven) as the only former Memphis players to win Special Teams Player of the Week awards multiple times.
-NFL-