Robert Mathis named AFC Defensive Player of the Week
By Evan Reller
Robert Mathis picked up the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award after a strong showing against Miami.
Robert Mathis earned his fourth Player of the Week award for his two sack performance in a win against the Miami Dolphins. Mathis’ second sack of the game came on fourth-and-goal and sealed the victory for the Colts. Mathis took home this weekly honor in 2005, 2008, and 2011 (but surprisingly not in 2013 when he led the NFL with 19.5 sacks).
In the NFC, former running mate Dwight Freeney picked up his sixth Defensive Player of the Week award for a three sack and one fumble performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
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The strong showing from both players puts them neck-and-neck on the all-time sack list. Freeny is 19th overall with 118.5 sacks while Mathis is 20th with 118. Not surprising, Mathis is second in Colts history with his four weekly awards trailing Freeny who had five while in Indianapolis.
Mathis finished Sunday’s game with two sacks, two QB hits, and four tackles. He picked up the award despite rookie T.Y. McGill also having two sacks, with one being a safety. The Colts finished with six sacks, the other two coming from Kendall Langford (who also had five tackles).
The Colts opted not to re-sign Freeny after the 2012 season, with GM Ryan Grigson apparently believing he either couldn’t play outside linebacker or didn’t have anything left in the tank. Freeney currently leads Cardinals with seven sacks through his 10 games with the team.
Despite the disappointing season, this isn’t the first Player of the Week award a Colt has picked up. Mike Adams won it in Week 5 and Darius Butler in Week 9 took home the Defensive PoW. Pat McAfee was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 3. Adam Vinatieri was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November.