New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan has been named the Week 17 NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Jordan, 6 feet 4, 287 pounds, originally selected by New Orleans with the 24th overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft out of the University of California, spearheaded a standout defensive effort in an 18-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, where he recorded eight tackles (six solo), both tying for the team lead, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks, the second-highest single-game total of his career.
By the end of the afternoon where he helped New Orleans improve its record to 8-8 and stay contention for a playoff berth in Week 18, Jordan upped his quarterback takedown total to 11.5 on the season, ranked 10th in the NFL and his career total to 106, tied for the 27th-highest all-time.
In the past three games, Jordan has had 7.5 sacks, the highest total in the league since Dec. 19. With two sacks in Week 15 and Week 16, Jordan is the first player in the league to have three straight multi-takedown games since he accomplished the feat from Nov. 22-Dec. 9, 2018. The performance was the 25th multi-sack game of Jordan's 11-year career, two behind Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson (27) in club record books. Jordan is tied for third in club record books with defensive tackle La'Roi Glover with five games of at least three sacks.
It is the fourth NFC Defensive Player of the Week selection in Jordan's career and the second in three weeks for the seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time Associated Press All-Pro selection. He is the first Saints defender to earn the honor twice in a season since safety Roman Harper in 2011. In 175 career games with 174 starts, he's posted 664 career tackles (418 solo), the 106 career sacks, two interceptions, 56 passes defensed, 13 forced fumbles and ten fumble recoveries. In 15 games started in 2021, Jordan leads the New Orleans defensive line with 56 tackles (37 solo), the 11.5 sacks, and is tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles. In addition to his impressive football production in 2021, Jordan is also the club's nominee for the National Football League Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for the second-time in his 11-year career and one of eight finalists for the league’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
