Antoine Winfield Jr. did a little bit of everything in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers, and it all added up to a new award for his mantle.
On Wednesday, Winfield was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 13 following a performance that was instrumental in the Buccaneers' much needed intra-division victory. It is Winfield's first Player of the Week award, though he also earned NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month honors in September of 2020.
Winfield filled up his stat line with a team-leading eight tackles plus a sack, an interception, a quarterback hit, two tackles for loss and three passes defensed. He was the first player since Kansas City's L'Jarius Sneed in 2020 to combine a sack, an interception and at least three passes defensed in a single game.
Winfield's exploits were extremely well-timed, including the interception on fourth-and-one that ended Carolina's final drive with just over two minutes left in the game. He also had a third-down sack in the third quarter that killed another drive. On four other occasions he either made a tackle short of the line to gain or broke up a pass on third down, leading to the Buccaneers' offense getting the ball back.
With his big performance against the Panthers, Winfield built on a season that could eventually attract even more awards. He is the first player since Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt in 2019 to combine at least three forced fumbles, at least three fumble recoveries, at least two interceptions and at least two sacks in a single season. He is the first defensive back to do so in more than two decades; it was last accomplished by Brian Dawkins and Roy Williams in 2002.
Winfield is the first Buccaneer to win a Defensive Player of the Week Award since linebacker Devin White in Week 10 of last season. He is the second Tampa Bay player to win a weekly award this season, as punter Jake Camarda was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week Two. Winfield is the first Bucs' safety to take the defensive award since Mike Edwards in Week Two of the 2021 season.
