Last week, Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall played so badly against Dallas that he said the Redskins should cut him. This week, Hall has been recognized as the best defensive player in the conference.
Hall is the NFC defensive player of the week for Week 12, the NFL announced today.
In the Redskins’ 23-17 win over the Seahawks on Sunday, Hall had an interception, six passes defensed and five tackles. The interception came in the game’s final minute, ending the Seahawks’ final attempt at a comeback. The Redskins’ secondary held the Seahawks to just 126 net passing yards and 3.9 yards per pass play.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees is the NFC offensive player of the week for his performance against the Giants on Monday night. Brees went 24-of-38 for 363 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions, and also ran for a touchdown. That made him the first player in NFL history to complete at least 60 percent of his passes, throw for 350 yards with four touchdowns with no interceptions and run for a touchdown, all in one game. With Brees leading the way, the Saints had an 88-yard touchdown drive and three 80-yard touchdown drives, making them the first team this season to have four touchdown drives of 80 yards or longer in a game.
Arizona’s Patrick Peterson is the NFC special teams player of the week, thanks to his 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 23-20 win over the Rams. That score made Peterson the first player in NFL history with four punt-return touchdowns of 80 yards or more in a season. (Only six players in NFL history have four 80-yard punt-return touchdowns in their entire careers; Peterson has done it after just 31 returns in 11 games.) Peterson joins Jack Christiansen in 1951, Rick Upchurch in 1976 and Devin Hester in 2007 as the only players ever to have four punt-return touchdowns in a season.