Patriots Safety Adrian Phillips Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week
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New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
On Wednesday, New England Patriots defensive back Adrian Phillips was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance during the team’s 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Against the Chargers, his former team, Phillips intercepted two Justin Herbert pass attempts, returning the second 26 yards to the house for his first career touchdown. The points from the second interception came at a pivotal point during the game as the Patriots were trailing 17-16 with 10:40 to go in the fourth quarter.
Following the interception, the Patriots led 24-17 and didn’t look back.
“Everybody always wants to kind of stick it to their former team,” Phillips later said postgame. “This is a great organization that we played against today, and just to be able to go out there and play against them and end up having the game that I had, it was sweet. I loved it. Yeah, it was sweet.”
The weekly honor marks the first of Phillips’ NFL career and the first Patriot to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Week since linebacker Kyle Van Noy earned the honor during Week four in 2019. In 2021, Phillips joins teammate Nick Folk as the Patriots to receive weekly honors for their individual performances.
Through eight games this season, Phillips has logged 24 tackles with three passes defended and three interceptions.
GO ADRIAN!!@Phillips_17 pick-six for the lead!
📺: @NFLonCBS / Patriots app pic.twitter.com/bCYNtoNJbX
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 31, 2021