A pair of historic interceptions led to the AFC and NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. And after they combined for four takeaways in Week 5, the league awarded Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain and Packers safety Xavier McKinney – former Alabama college teammates — with the respective awards Wednesday afternoon.
Surtain actually intercepted two passes in Denver’s 34-18 win over the Raiders, including a 100-yard touchdown return. That touchdown came shortly after Seattle’s Rayshawn Jenkins returned a fumble 102 yards for a touchdown against the Giants, making this past week the first in NFL history with multiple 100-yard defensive touchdowns.
Surtain, whose Broncos (3-2) are on a three-game winning streak entering another AFC West home game against the Chargers (2-2) on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS), captured his second career weekly honor.
Teammates at Alabama from 2018-19, Surtain and McKinney combined to help the Crimson Tide to a 25-3 record and a berth in the 2018 College Football Playoff national title game.
McKinney, arguably through five weeks the league’s best unrestricted free agent signing, extended two impressive streaks with his interception in the Packers’ 24-19 road win over the Rams on Sunday. Not only did McKinney intercept a pass in a sixth straight game dating to last season with the Giants, he also became the fourth player since the 1970 league merger with a takeaway in each of his team’s first five games of a season. Plus, against the Rams, McKinney broke up another pass and recovered a fumble in the Green Bay win. Like Surtain, McKinney is also a two-time winner of the award.
Green Bay (3-2) hosts Arizona (2-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
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