JETS WR BRANDON MARSHALL, CHIEFS S TYVON BRANCH &STEELERS PR-WR ANTONIO BROWN NAMED AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 13--Wide receiver BRANDON MARSHALL of the New York Jets, safety TYVON BRANCH of the Kansas City Chiefs and punt returner-wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the 13th week of the 2015 season (December 3, December 6-7), the NFL announced today.-OFFENSE: WR BRANDON MARSHALL, NEW YORK JETS-· Marshall had 12 catches for 131 yards and one touchdown in the Jets’ 23-20 overtime win at the New York Giants.· With the Jets trailing 20-13 in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, Marshall secured a nine-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone with 27 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime.· He also posted two catches for 23 yards in overtime on the Jets’ 13-play, 61-yard drive that set up a 31-yard field-goal by RANDY BULLOCK that provided the winning margin.-· Marshall’s 12 receptions tied for the most of any NFL player in Week 13. The performance marked his seventh 100-yard receiving game of 2015, which is tied for the most in the league.-· Marshall, who leads the Jets with 1,062 receiving yards this season, is the first player in NFL history to record a 1,000-yard receiving season with four different teams (Denver, Miami, Chicago and the Jets).
- In his 10th season from Central Florida, this is Marshall’s third career Player of the Week Award and first since 2009 with Denver (Week 14).
- Marshall is the first Jets wide receiver to win an Offensive Player of the Week Award since AL TOON in 1990 (Week 8).
--DEFENSE: S TYVON BRANCH, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS-· Branch had four tackles and a 38-yard interception-return touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 34-20 win at Oakland.· With the Chiefs holding a 26-20 lead late in the fourth quarter, Branch secured his first interception of the year and returned it 38 yards for a score with 3:14 remaining to help clinch the Chiefs’ sixth consecutive victory.-· Branch, who made his first start of the season for Kansas City on Sunday, contributed to a defensive unit that posted an NFL-best three interceptions in Week 13. All three of the Chiefs’ interceptions led to touchdowns and a total of 22 points.-· In his eighth season from Connecticut, this is Branch’s first career Player of the Week Award and first by a Chiefs defensive back since BRANDON FLOWERS in 2011 (Week 7).-· He is the first Chiefs player to be named Defensive Player of the Week since linebacker TAMBA HALI in 2013 (Week 14).-SPECIAL TEAMS: PR-WR ANTONIO BROWN, PITTSBURGH STEELERS-
- Brown returned two punts for 74 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, in the Steelers’ 45-10 win against Indianapolis.
- Brown, who also led the Steelers with eight catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts, is the first Steeler in history with two touchdown catches and a punt-return touchdown in the same game.
- He now has four career punt-return touchdowns and is tied with ANTWAAN RANDLE EL for the most in franchise history.
- In his sixth season from Central Michigan, this is Brown’s third career Special Teams Player of the Week Award, the most in franchise history, and his first since 2014 (Week 17).
- Brown, who was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November, is the second Steeler to win a Special Teams Player of the Week Award this season, joining kicker CHRIS BOSWELL (Week 6).
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2015 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
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- Newton passed for 331 yards and five touchdowns in the Panthers’ 41-38 win at New Orleans, the team’s 16th consecutive regular-season victory. The Panthers improved to 12-0 for the first time in franchise history and clinched the NFC South division title for the third consecutive season.
- His five passing touchdowns tied the single-game club record and it marked his second such game in the past three weeks. Newton is the only player in franchise history to throw five touchdown passes in a game two times.
- Newton threw the game-winning touchdown pass to JERRICHO COTCHERY with 1:05 remaining in the game. It marked only the second time in NFL history in which a team with a 10-0 record or better maintained its perfect season with a touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter (New England, 2007).
- In his fifth season from Auburn, this is Newton’s sixth career Player of the Week Award and third this season (Weeks 9 and 11).
- Newton is the first player to win three Offensive Player of the Week Awards in a five-week span since New England’s TOM BRADY in 2007.
- Newton’s six Offensive Player of the Week Awards are the most in franchise history. He is the only Panthers quarterback to win the award multiple times.
--DEFENSE: S MALCOLM JENKINS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES-
- Jenkins had a 99-yard interception-return touchdown and seven tackles, including two for a loss, in the Eagles’ 35-28 win at New England.
- With the score tied at 14 in the third quarter and the Patriots at the Philadelphia five-yard line, Jenkins intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles the lead.
- The 99-yard interception-return touchdown ties for the third-longest in franchise history. It is the longest interception-return touchdown by an Eagle since 2006 (LITO SHEPPARD, 102 yards, October 8).
- Jenkins has four career interception-return touchdowns, including two with Philadelphia.
- In his seventh year from Ohio State, this is Jenkins’ third career Player of the Week Award and first with the Eagles. He previously won twice as a member of the New Orleans Saints (Weeks 12 and 14, 2010).
- Jenkins joins BRIAN DAWKINS (three) and KURT COLEMAN (one) as the only Eagles safeties to be named Defensive Player of the Week in the past 30 seasons.
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--SPECIAL TEAMS: K DAN BAILEY, DALLAS COWBOYS-· Bailey converted all four field-goal attempts, including the game-winning 54-yarder with 0:09 remaining, in the Cowboys’ 19-16 win at Washington.· Since entering the NFL in 2011, Bailey has made nine game-winning field goals in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or in overtime, the most in the NFL during that span.· He has 10 career game-winning field goals in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime. Since 2011, Bailey is the only player in the NFL with at least 10 such field goals.· Bailey tied for the league lead in Week 13 with 13 kicking points.· In his fifth season from Oklahoma State, this is Bailey’s third career Player of the Week Award. He was previously honored in Week 3, 2011 and Week 11, 2012.· Bailey’s three Special Teams Player of the Week Awards are tied for the most in franchise history with BILLY CUNDIFF andDWAYNE HARRIS.---2015 NFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
- Seattle wide receiver DOUG BALDWIN, who had five catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 38-7 win at Minnesota.
- San Francisco quarterback BLAINE GABBERT, who threw the game-winning 71-yard touchdown pass in overtime and had a 44-yard touchdown run in the 49ers’ 26-20 overtime win over Chicago.
- Arizona quarterback CARSON PALMER, who completed 26 of 40 passes (65 percent) for 356 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 110.0 passer rating in the Cardinals’ 27-3 win at St. Louis.
- Green Bay tight end RICHARD RODGERS, who had eight catches for 146 yards and the game-winning 61-yard touchdown as time expired in the Packers’ 27-23 win at Detroit.
- Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON, who passed for 274 yards, three touchdowns and a 146.0 passer rating and rushed for a touchdown.
- Tampa Bay rookie quarterback JAMEIS WINSTON, who threw a touchdown pass and rushed for a touchdown in the Buccaneers’ 23-19 win over Atlanta.
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-Other nominees for NFC Defensive Player of Week 13 as submitted by NFC clubs:-
- Philadelphia linebacker CONNOR BARWIN, who had two sacks and six tackles.
- Seattle rookie defensive end FRANK CLARK, who had two sacks.
- Tampa Bay linebacker LAVONTE DAVID, who had 11 tackles and an interception.
- Arizona safety RASHAD JOHNSON, who had an interception and three tackles.
- Dallas defensive end DEMARCUS LAWRENCE, who had two sacks, four tackles and a forced fumble.
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-Other nominees for NFC Special Teams Player of Week 13 as submitted by NFC clubs:-
- New Orleans rookie linebacker STEPHONE ANTHONY, who returned a blocked PAT attempt for a two-point score in the Saints’ loss to Carolina. Anthony also had 10 tackles on defense, along with a forced fumble and a 31-yard fumble-return touchdown.
- New York Giants punt returner DWAYNE HARRIS, who had an 80-yard punt-return touchdown in the Giants’ 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Jets.
- Minnesota kick returner CORDARRELLE PATTERSON, who had a 101-yard kick-return touchdown in the Vikings’ loss to Seattle.
- Philadelphia punt returner DARREN SPROLES, who had an 83-yard punt-return touchdown.
