Following a week of referee turmoil and controversial finishes, the NFL handed out its weekly awards on Wednesday, rewarding a range of players that performed above and beyond the call of duty.
Each week in the NFL there are many standout performances that deserve recognition, but this week two players blatantly stood out on the offensive side of the ball.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after having a career performance in the team's 27-24 win against the New Orleans Saints.
He rushed for 233 yards on 33 carries and also added six catches for 55 yards. Charles averaged seven yards per rush in the game and became the first player since Jim Brown to rush for 225 yards and also have 50 receiving yards in the same game.
Charles sparked Kansas City's comeback after they were down 24-6 in the third quarter by breaking off a 91-yard touchdown run. He had 196 yards in the second half alone.
We knew coming in that we could run against this defense," Charles said to the Associated Press. "It was an opportunity we had to take advantage of."
His total of 288 yards from scrimmage was the highest in the NFL this season. Charles now leads the NFL in rushing yards after coming into week 3 with only 90 total yards rushing.
In the NFC, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald won the Player of the Week Award after catching nine balls for 114 yards and touchdown. The Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-6 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
In week 2 Fitzgerald was shut down by the Patriots, only registering one catch for four yards. Fitzgerald won a weekly award last season in week 10, also in a game against Philadelphia in which he had seven catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Fitzgerald also became the youngest player to reach 700 career receptions at 29 years, 23 days, beating out Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who was 30 yards old.
On the defensive side of the ball, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson won the AFC Player of the Week award for his performance in the Bengals' 38-31 win against the Washington Redskins.
Johnson registered seven tackles and three sacks and also put continuous pressure on Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first week of the season.
He is second in the AFC with four sacks and has helped to make the Bengals defense one of the top rated units in football. Johnson is the first player from the AFC North to win the weekly award and the first Bengal lineman to win since Antwan Odom in 2009.
In the NFC, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons won the award after registering four sacks on Monday Night Football. Although the 14-12 win against the Packers was controversial, the defense played stellar, especially Clemons.
He had a career-high four sacks, all of which came in the second quarter. The Seattle defense sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers eight times and held the Packers to only 270 yards of offense.
This is the second time Clemons has won the award after earning it last November after getting three sacks and two forced fumbles against the St. Louis Rams. He tied a franchise-record with four sacks in one game.
The Packers zeroed in on Seahawks rookie Bruce Irvin, which allowed Clemons to get loose.
"It actually gave me the opportunity," Clemons said to the Seattle Times. "Because they realized they had to block him, and if they didn't block him, he would have a monster night. So giving me the opportunity to go one-on-one backside, it was a blessing, and actually an opportunity for me to take advantage of it."
Both special teams' players were exceptional this week, particularly in the AFC.
Running back and kick returner Darius Reynaud was huge factor in the Tennessee Titans' 44-41 win against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, returning four kickoffs, including one for a touchdown.
Reynaud had 174 yards of total returns and took a kickoff in the fourth quarter a franchise-record 105 yards to tie the game at 27. It was his first career NFL touchdown.
He also had a hand in one of the most exciting plays of the week, when he passed the ball across the field on a punt return to Tommie Campbell, who returned it for a 65-yard touchdown.
The Titans set a record by scoring five touchdowns of 60 yards or more, including Reynaud's kickoff. Here is a link for a video of the return.
In the NFC, kicker Lawrence Tynes of the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants was named Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in the 36-7 dismantling of the Carolina Panthers.
Tynes was five-for-five on his field goal attempts, becoming the seventh player in team history to kick that many. He was the first since Jay Feely in 2005. Tynes connected on kicks of 47, 49, 30, 36 and 27 yards and also converted three extra-point kicks.
The kicker has yet to miss on 10 attempts this season and bested his career high of four field goals, which he set while playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005.
The win marks the third time that Tynes has won a weekly award, but his first with the Giants. The last time a New York player won the special team's award was Domenik Hixon in week 13 in 2009. The last Giants kicker to win it was John Carney in 2008.
The Giants have won two weekly awards this season, with wide receiver Hakeem Nicks taking the award last week for his 10 catch, 199 yard effort against the Tampa Buccaneers.
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