Falcons running back Jason Snelling, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and Saints kicker Garrett Hartley have been named the NFC players of the week.
Snelling had 129 yards rushing, 57 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the Falcons’ 41-7 blowout over the Cardinals. He’s only the second player in franchise history to have 125 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards and a touchdown both rushing and receiving all in one game, a feat previously achieved by William Andrews in 1983.
Matthews had five tackles, including four for a loss and three sacks, in the Packers’ 34-7 win over the Bills. Matthews also had three sacks in Week One and is the first Packer since 1982, when individual sack statistics were first kept, to record three sacks in back-to-back games. He now has 16 sacks in 18 career games. Matthews was also NFC defensive player of the week in Week Thirteen of 2009. His father, also named Clay Matthews, was also a two-time AFC defensive player of the week winner (Week Twelve 1984 and Week Nine 1991), and they’re the only father-son player of the week award winners.
Hartley went 3-for-3 on field goals on a windy day in San Francisco, and his 37-yarder as time expired clinched the win. This is Hartley’s first player of the week award.