He ruled the day and has been rewarded like so as Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard received the AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award today for his performance this past Monday.
Howard (24) blanketed the New England Patriots No.1 receiver Brandin Cooks holding him to a lone reception for 38 yards.
Along with that shutdown performance, he tallied a pair of interceptions against quarterback Tom Brady contributing heavily to the Dolphins’ shutdown performance.
The reigning Super Bowl champions failed to convert on a single third down play for the first time since 1998 and only gained 233 yards through the air.
The season started quiet for Howard as he only tallied one interception until his breakout performance against the Denver Broncos which included a “pick-six.”
Howard used the weak links of his first great performance against the Broncos as a point of reference on how he would be attacked by the Patriots.
“I’m just feeding off the last game, watching film and stuff like that,” Howard said to the Miami Herald. “I knew they were going to try to come at me and the weakness that I showed on film.”
With his ascendance up the ranks of cornerbacks through his play and on the stat sheet, Howard has made the case among fans to be in discussion for a possible Pro Bowl berth.
