Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald reintroduced himself to the NFL quite loudly last Sunday, putting on a supremely dominant eight-catch, 112-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Chicago Bears -- a vintage afternoon that many thought was behind the 32-year-old.
But Fitzgerald showed that he is warming up to the idea of working in the slot, as evidenced by his budding friendship with former Bruce Arians wideout-turned-slot expert Hines Ward. It wasn't going to be easy and Fitzgerald was going to have to find ways of separating himself against vastly different defenders and on different routes. If Sunday was any indication, though, the rest of the league had better watch out.
Fitzgerald won NFC Offensive Player of the Week by besting a crowded field that included Falcons wideout Julio Jones (13 catches, 135 yards) and Redskins rookie Matt Jones (123 yards, two touchdowns). For anyone that loved watching his unstoppable early years, here's to hoping this is a second act worth sticking around for.
Here are the other big winners this week...
NFC
Dallas Cowboys LB Sean Lee: In a crucial divisional win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Lee registered 14 tackles, a pair of passes defensed and a very timely interception in the end zone to help the Cowboys shut Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray down.
Arizona Cardinals KR/PR David Johnson: Johnson ran away with the special teams award this week after taking a kickoff 108 yards to the house against the Bears. He also added a 13-yard touchdown run.
AFC
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger: Roethlisberger logged a near-perfect 155.8 passer rating in a dominant win over the 49ers. His three touchdowns and 369 passing yards helped ruin some good vibes in San Francisco.
Jets DB Darrelle Revis: Revis proved that the new Jets defense under Todd Bowles won't be an easy one to push around. Against the Colts, he recovered two fumbles, picked off a pass and added four tackles. Andrew Luck had nowhere to go with the football.
Browns KR/PR/WR Travis Benjamin: Benjamin was everywhere last week and made enough noise to deserve consideration for Offensive Player of the Week as well. In a Brownsvictory, he caught three passes for 115 yards and two scores on top of six punt returns for 154 yards -- one of which went 78 yards for a touchdown.
