At 43 years young, Tom Brady looked to be in prime form during the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers' 38-31 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Brady put up five touchdowns (to just one interception) and 369 yards passing in the victory, pushing the Bucs to 3-1 and to the top of the NFC South. For his efforts, Brady's surefire Hall of Fame career now has a first-time honor as he was voted NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time.
Brady, who completed 30 of 46 attempts (65.2%) and tallied a 117.0 rating, won 30 previous Player of the Week accolades, but they were all of course for the New England Patriots in the AFC. TB12 is settling into the NFC.
As for AFC Offensive Player of the Week, for the first time this season, it went to a non-quarterback, as Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon ran to recognition in his squad's 33-25 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. Mixon's big day included three total touchdowns (two rushing), 151 rushing yards and 30 yards receiving on six catches.
Mixon wasn't the only AFC North player to be recognized.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett racked up AFC Defensive Player of the Week with a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and three tackles in the Browns' 49-38 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
The NFC Defensive Player of the Week was bestowed upon Green Bay Packers pass rusher Za'Darius Smith. Smith terrorized the Atlanta Falcons in the Pack's 30-16 Monday night win. Smith tallied three sacks, eight tackles and four tackles for loss as Green Bay stayed perfect on the season.
Another NFC North player and another running back garnered NFC Special Teams Player of the Week as the Minnesota Vikings' Mike Boone had a tackle and a forced fumble on a punt during his team's first win of the season, a 31-23 triumph over the Houston Texans.
A huge day was had by Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus in his team's 37-28 win over the New York Jets. McManus booted a 53-yard fourth-quarter field goal that stood as the game-winner. It was his third field goal of the night and his second from 50-plus. He was also perfect on four point-after attempts as part of a 13-point night.
