 It didn't take San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson or Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor long to win another NFL weekly award.
Tomlinson and Taylor on Wednesday were selected as AFC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for the second time in three weeks.
Kick returner B.J. Sams of the Baltimore Ravens, running back Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers, defensive end Mike Rucker of the Carolina Panthers and punter Mat McBriar of the Dallas Cowboys were also among the Players of the Week.
ADVERTISEMENT Tomlinson, who won the weekly honor for the eighth time in his career, scored four touchdowns in the Chargers' 35-27 win at Denver on Sunday as San Diego took over the lead in the AFC West.
Tomlinson rushed 20 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns and caught three passes for 75 yards and another score. He now has 102 career TDs in 89 games, becoming the fastest player in league history to reach 100 touchdowns, surpassing the previous best of 93 games set by Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith.
On November 5, Tomlinson rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns to win the award in the Chargers' 32-25 victory over the Cleveland Browns. He followed that performance with four TDs, 104 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving in a 49-41 triumph over Cincinnati on November 12.
Taylor recorded five tackles, an interception return for a touchdown, a sack and two forced fumbles in the Dolphins' 24-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Taylor forced a fumble early in the fourth quarter that teammate Yeremiah Bell recovered, setting up a touchdown that gave Miami a 17-13 lead. Later in the final period, Taylor intercepted a pass from Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson and raced 51 yards for the decisive score. The TD was the seventh of his career, tying him with former New York Giant George Martin for the most by any NFL defensive lineman.
Taylor won his sixth career Player of the Week honor in Week Nine after Miami's 31-13 victory over the Chicago Bears on November 5. He made several pivotal plays in the game, including a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown. He also recorded three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble for the Dolphins, who handed the Bears their first loss of the season.
Sams produced 212 yards in the Ravens' 24-10 triumph over the Atlanta Falcons. He returned three punts for 121 yards and three kickoffs for 91 more. He posted punt returns of 65 and 59 yards and delivered a 59-yard kick return. Two of those three returns led to Baltimore TDs.
Gore registered his sixth 100-yard game of the season with a career-high and franchise-record 212 rushing yards on 24 carries in San Francisco's 20-14 win against Seattle. He became the club's first 1,000-yard rusher since Kevin Barlow in 2003 and is on pace for 1,669 yards, which would be a franchise record. Gore also won after Week Five, when he rushed for 134 yards against Oakland on October 8.
Rucker had four tackles and two sacks, including a safety, in the Panthers' 15-0 win over the St. Louis Rams. His sack of Marc Bulger late in the fourth period capped the scoring and the Rams' first shutout since 1998.
McBriar punted three times for an average of 46.7 yards - placing two inside the 20 - in the Cowboys' 21-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He did not allow any punt returns.
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