Chandler Jones named AFC defensive player of Week 13

An abnormally quiet season for the former Arizona Cardinal, Chandler Jones broke out in a big way in Week 13.

Jones was named Week 13’s AFC defensive player of the week Wednesday morning, putting up a monster game for the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. The defensive end totaled six tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss and one pass defended against the Los Angeles Chargers. He also hit quarterback Justin Herbert five times in the contest, reeking havoc for the Chargers’ offensive line.

The former all-pro pass rusher has been unusually quiet this season, only registering half a sack leading up to Week 13. When the Raiders signed him to a lucrative three-year deal in the offseason, they expect the most recent version of Chandler Jones, hoping it can stick around for the long haul.

“I think I’ve mentioned it a number of times, but Chandler has done a lot of good things,” Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels said during his Monday press conference. “And just the number that everybody is focused on is the sack number, and I understand that. And I thought he just played with great effort; he was relentless. I thought they executed a few things in the pass rush that we’ve been working hard on. Again, I think all of that is a complimentary factor, the inside rush, the outside rush, the coverage. If one thing breaks down, then a lot of times you lose an opportunity to create pressure on the quarterback.

“So I think we’re learning how to work together a little bit better as the season has gone on. Like I said, Chandler played his butt off when he was in there, and I thought he had a lot of help up front too. There were a lot of people who were playing hard and trying to create pressure, and Chandler was able to get the quarterback down a few times, obviously.”

Week 13 marked the seventh time Jones has won the DPOW award in his illustrious career in the NFL.

Couldn't be stopped on Sunday 😤 @chanjones55 is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/SvVJAIYV44

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 7, 2022

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