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A dozen weeks are in the books. It’s time to pay tribute to those who made the biggest impact on the game during Week 12.
It’s the weekly PFT Awards. One winner for each of the five categories, with many finalists at least deserving of their names.
All winners and finalists appear below. Feel free to give feedback in the comments.
Offensive Player of the Week: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
On Sunday night against the Packers, Hurts became only the fourth player to complete a very specific performance.
150 yards pass and 150 yards rushing in the same game.
Hurts has become a shortlisted MVP candidate because of his skills and leadership, and has helped propel his team towards 10-1. He’s become a much better passer, but his run combines the raw athletic skills of Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields with Patrick Mahomes’ uncanny ability to understand how his body moves in space relative to the players trying to tackle him emotional.
Hurts helped lift the Eagles to 336 rushing yards against Green Bay, keeping them ahead of the Cowboys for the division title and the Vikings for the No. 1 spot.
Other finalists: Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (303 yards from scrimmage), Jets quarterback Mike White (315 passing yards, three touchdowns), Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (nine catches, 139 yards, touchdown), Jaguars receiver Zay Jones (11 catches , 145 yards, two-point conversion), Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (321 passing yards, three touchdowns), Bengals receiver Tee Higgins (seven catches, 114 yards, one touchdown), Panthers receiver DJ Moore (four catches, 103 yards, touchdown), Browns running back Nick Chubb (116 rushing yards, touchdown).
Defensive Player of the Week: 49ers Defensive End Nick Bosa.
His stat line doesn’t scream dominance — one sack, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits. But the 49ers made a shutout against the Saints on Sunday, and Bosa was the most important part of the defensive effort that delivered it.
Ultimately, Bosa’s sack came with a 13-0 lead for the 49ers and the Saints, who were in fourth place and scored one goal from the four.
Enter Bosa. Leave the saints. And for the fourth straight year, the 49ers didn’t drop a point in the second half. They didn’t drop a point in the first half either.
Other finalists: Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, three quarterback hits), Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (two sacks, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits), Bengals defensive lineman Sam Hubbard ( one sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits), Bill’s defensive tackle Ed Oliver (one sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits), Panthers linebacker Brian Burns (two sacks, one tackle for loss, three quarterback hits), Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, six quarterback hits).
Rookie of the week: Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Kenny Pickett is ready for prime time. And continue to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The numbers weren’t amazing. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 174 yards against the Colts. But he’s good looking, takes shots when they need to be made – and running while running is the only option. He gained 30 yards on the ground against Indy.
His best throw of the evening, combining lateral mobility and needle threading accuracysecured a two-point conversion and a seven-point lead.
Every rep he gets this year will set him up for next year. And while it might be too late to get back into the 2022 playoff race, it’s never too early to get a head start in 2023. The Steelers and Pickett are doing just that.
Other finalists: Jets receiver Garrett Wilson (five catches, 95 yards, two touchdowns), Jets running back Zonovan Knight (103 yards from scrimmage), Titans receiver Treylon Burks, Commanders running back Brian Robinson (125 yards from scrimmage, touchdown ).
Coach of the week: Bengals coach Zac Taylor.
The Bengals had managed to stay under the radar for most of the season. After defeating the Titans in Tennessee, they flash conspicuously at the heart of the screen.
Taylor’s team defeated the Titans in large part by knocking out running back Derrick Henry. Defensive lineman Sam Hubbard (one of the finalists for Defensive Player of the Week) told PFT by phone after the game that the goal was to get to Henry quickly as he leads the league in yards after contact.
“We really made a point of getting down and overpowering them,” Hubbard said. “It will take more than one to bring him down.”
Henry blasted a long win on a screen pass. “We said, ‘That’s it, no more big games,'” Hubbard said. “After that we did a good job in rallying.”
Hubbard also repeated a message Taylor had for the dressing room after the game. Even as other AFC teams get the hype, the Bengals cannot be ignored.
“Everyone has to play us,” Hubbard said. “Whatever other people say about other people, at the end of the day they have to play us. That’s our mentality.”
It’s very similar to their mentality from 2021. And that mentality led her to the Super Bowl.
Other finalists: Jets manager Robert Saleh, Steelers manager Mike Tomlin, 49ers manager Kyle Shanahan, Vikings manager Kevin O’Connell, Jaguars manager Doug Pederson.
Game of the week: Raiders running back Josh Jacobs 86-yard touchdown run in overtime.
Almost 35 years to the day after Raiders, running back Bo Jackson, ran 91 yards for a touchdown in Seattle and disappeared into the tunnel of the long-gone Kingdome, Jacobs had an 86-yard rush in overtime to set a franchise record crown 303 yards from the scrum.
As Jacobs told Peter King of Football Morning in America, Jacobs (who has found much general motivation from a contract year thanks to the new regime not exercising his fifth-year option) drew particular motivation from a Seahawks fan, it had a sign that said “3-7. NOT BAD FOR A TEAM WITHOUT TALENT.”
“He was yelling at us, all that bad stuff,” Jacobs said. “I just looked up at him and said, ‘Thank you for that. I needed that today. You blew my mind.’”
And in one play, Jacobs eclipsed the Seahawks.
Other finalists: Titans receiver Treylon Burks 51-yard catchand be fiddly recovery in the end zone for a touchdown, Jets receiver Garrett Wilson 54-yard touchdown catchCommander’s cornerback Kendall Fuller Game-saving interception, Two point conversion from Jaguars for the win, Two-point conversion by the chargers for the win, Vikings defensive back Kene Nwangwu 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdownBrowns quarterback Jacoby Brissett game-changing touchdown throw at the close end David Njoku in fourth and tenth place.