FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots DB Adrian Phillips was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week by the National Football League for his performance in the Patriots 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. It is the first Player of the Week honor for Phillips and the first Defensive Player of the Week honor for a Patriots player since Kyle Van Noy in Week 4 of the 2019 season. It is the second Player of the Week honor for the Patriots in 2021. Kicker Nick Folk was named Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the win at Houston on Oct. 10.
On Sunday, Phillips intercepted two passes against his former team and returned the second pick 26 yards for a touchdown to help the Patriots rally to a victory. Phillips, who played the first six seasons of his career with the Chargers, came up with the first pick-six of his career with 10:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. He also intercepted a pass in the second quarter with 1:06 left in the first half and returned the ball 12 yards to the Chargers 40-yard line to help get in position for a field goal. It was Phillips' first game with two interceptions.
