Kwon Alexander was playing with a heavy heart on Sunday afternoon after the rookie middle linebacker's 17-year-old brother passed away Saturday.
In a game he dedicated to his younger brother, Alexander played the best game of his career. He led the Buccaneers in tackles with 11, recorded the team's only interception and recovered a fumble after chasing down Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones and ripping the ball out of his hands.
His 11 tackles are a career-high and he was awarded this week's game ball for his performance.
"(I was) very determined," Alexander said. "It was the only thing on my mind because the only thing that he wanted was for me to ball. I gave this game to him.
"It's been hard, man, losing my little brother. I know he would want me to be strong for him so I came out here and dedicated this game to him. I'm just ready to be back with my family."
Alexander almost had another interception, too. He picked off Matt Ryan in the first quarter, returning it nearly the length of the field for a touchdown, but the play was called back for a pre-snap penalty.
Alexander said he was thinking about his brother, "every play."
There was a chance that Alexander wouldn't play this weekend, but he said that his brother would have wanted him on the field.
"He would want me to (play)," Alexander said. "He would want me to be strong. I know he's looking up there and he's happy and he's smiling. I just did it all for him.
"He wouldn't ever give up. I'm never going to give up. It was all for him."
