CHARGERS QB JUSTIN HERBERT, STEELERS LB T.J. WATT AND MIAMI P MICHAEL PALARDY NAMED AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 13
Quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT of the Los Angeles Chargers, linebacker T.J. WATT of the Pittsburgh Steelers and punter MICHAEL PALARDY of the Miami Dolphins are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played in Week 13 (December 2, 5-6).
OFFENSE: QB JUSTIN HERBERT, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
- Herbert completed 26 of 35 pass attempts (74.3 percent) for 317 yards and three touchdowns with a 118.4 rating in the Chargers’ 41-22 win over the Bengals. Herbert led the AFC in passing yards in Week 13 and leads the NFL with seven 300-yard games this season.
- Herbert has 11 games with at least three touchdown passes and 18 games with at least two touchdown passes, both the second-most by a player in his first two seasons all-time.
- This is the second Offensive Player of the Week award for Herbert (Week 9, 2021) and he joins Philip Rivers (2013 and 2017) as the only Chargers quarterbacks to win the award twice in a single season.
- He is the fourth Oregon quarterback to win the award multiple times, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts (three), Marcus Mariota (four) and Chris Miller (three).
DEFENSE: LB T.J. WATT, PITTSBURGH STEELERS
- Watt recorded six tackles with a career-high 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in Pittsburgh’s 20-19 win over Baltimore. He is the only player to post two games with three-or-more sacks in a single game this season.
- Watt leads the NFL with a career-high 16 sacks and he joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White as the only players with 13 sacks in four consecutive seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
- This is the fifth Defensive Player of the Week award for Watt.
- 2018: Weeks 1, 5
- 2020: Week 2
- 2021: Weeks 6, 13
- He joins Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu (seven times) as the only Steelers to earn the honor five-or-more times.
SPECIAL TEAMS: P MICHAEL PALARDY, MIAMI DOLPHINS
- Palardy recorded six punts and pinned three inside the 20-yard line with an average of 48.3 yards (44.7 net) and a long of 65 yards. His three punts inside the 20 were tied for second-most in the conference this week.
- This is the first Special Teams Player of the Week award for Palardy and he is the first Dolphins punter since Matt Haack (Week 9, 2018) to earn the honor.
- Palardy is the second former Tennessee Volunteer punter to earn the award, joining Dustin Colquitt (Week 11, 2015).
2021 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
| Offense | Defense | Special Teams | |
| Wk 1 | QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City | DE Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas | K Evan McPherson, Cincinnati |
| Wk 2 | RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee | LB Odafe Oweh, Baltimore | K Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas |
| Wk 3 | QB Josh Allen, Buffalo | DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland | K Justin Tucker, Baltimore |
| Wk 4 | QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati | LB Tremaine Edmunds, Buffalo | P Rigoberto Sanchez, Indianapolis |
| Wk 5 | QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore | DE Greg Rousseau, Buffalo | K Nick Folk, New England |
| Wk 6 | RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee | LB T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh | K Matthew Wright, Jacksonville |
| Wk 7 | WR Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati | DE Yannick Ngakoue, Las Vegas | P Rigoberto Sanchez, Indianapolis |
| Wk 8 | QB Mike White, N.Y. Jets | DB Adrian Phillips, New England | K Randy Bullock, Tennessee |
| Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13 | QB Justin Herbert, L.A. ChargersQB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas CityRB Jonathan Taylor, IndianapolisRB Joe Mixon, CincinnatiQB Justin Herbert, L.A. Chargers | DE/LB Josh Allen, JacksonvilleCB Xavien Howard, MiamiDT Chris Jones, Kansas CityCB Pat Surtain II, DenverLB T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh | P Tommy Townsend, Kansas CityLB E.J. Speed, IndianapolisK Evan McPherson, CincinnatiK Daniel Carlson, Las VegasP Michael Palardy, Miami |
