Tua Tagovailoa, Darius Slay highlight Players of the Week

The second edition of the NFL’s Players of the Week has arrived.

Let’s take a look at who made off with the Week 2 hardware. 

AFC Offensive Player of the Week: QB Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins 

No quarterback was better than Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2. WR Tyreek Hill heaped loads of praise on his signal-caller heading into the season, and Tagovailoa backed up those compliments with a six-TD extravaganza Sunday against Baltimore. Even better: Four of his TD throws came in the fourth quarter, and despite trailing by 21 heading into the final frame, Miami rallied for a 42-38 win thanks to Tagovailoa’s exploits. He finished with 469 yards, on a 36-of-50 clip, and the six TDs.

AFC Defensive Player of the Week: CB Jaylen Watson, Kansas City Chiefs

We’ve likely all heard the Watson story by now. It’s the true epitome of rags-to-riches, and the rookie corner ensured he’ll remain far from restaurant job applications with the pick of his life Thursday night vs. the Chargers. 

Justin Herbert & Co. looked like they were going to waltz right into the end zone to take a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter after going 57 yards in seven plays, but Watson had other plans. He slid in front of a Herbert pass intended for Gerald Everett and then was off to the races toward his own end zone, making Herbert miss en route to a 99-yard TD return. The momentum-turning play cemented Watson’s status as the AFC’s top defensive player.

NFC Offensive Player of the Week: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

There was no remedy for the St. Brown plague that broke out all over Washington’s defense Sunday afternoon. St. Brown was incurable in both the running and passing game, collecting nearly 200 all-purpose yards (68 rushing yards on just two carries; 116 receiving yards) in the matchup. He averaged over 10 yards per reception (12.8), and crossed the pylon twice on assists from Jared Goff, who totaled four TD passes on the day. 

NFC Defensive Player of the Week: CB Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles

Darius Slay was Kirk Cousins’ favorite target during the Eagles’ 24-7 beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. At least, that’s what the Twitterverse gathered from the outing. And if you watched the game yourself, you couldn’t help but notice a number of pass attempts that seemed like they were aimed in Slay’s direction.

“Big Play” Slay had starlet wide receiver Justin Jefferson in a straitjacket all night long, allowing him to haul in just one catch on six targets, and holding Cousins to a 0.0 passer rating when looking his way. Oh, and he siphoned two INTs from Minnesota’s QB in the process, while nearly coming away with two more. Slay admittedly had the Jefferson matchup circled on his calendar, and he proved his reputation as one of the most feared corners in the league with his statement showing.

Special teams: AFC, NFC Special Teams Players of the Week: P Braden Mann (New York Jets) and K Graham Gano (New York Giants)

Mann was an unsung hero in the Jets’ comeback victory over the Cleveland Browns. His successful onside kick returned the ball to his team with just over a minute to play, allowing Joe Flacco and Garrett Wilson to work their magic for the game-winning TD. He also came up huge in the first quarter with a nifty 17-yard pass off a fake punt that kept a New York drive intact.

Gano was responsible for 13 of the Giants’ 19 points in its 19-16 win over Carolina. He went 4-of-4 on FGs during the affair, connecting from 33 and 36 in the first quarter, and hitting a 56-yarder later in the fourth to follow up a conversion from 51. The latter was the second-longest in Giants history.