FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Patriots WR Gunner Olszewski has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week by the National Football League for his performance in the Patriots 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. It is the first Player of the Week Award for Olszewski and the third Special Teams Player of the Week Award for New England this season. Kicker Nick Folk was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his game-winning performances in the Week 9 win over the New York Jets and the Week 12 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Olszewski scored his first NFL touchdown on a 70-yard punt return in the second quarter of Sunday's win over the Chargers and added a 61-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. He became the first player in Patriots history with two punt returns of at least 60 yards in a single game and his 145 punt return yards were the second-most by a Patriots player in a single game, behind the 156 punt return yards totaled by Mike Haynes vs. Buffalo on Nov. 7, 1976. Olszewski also tallied his first career touchdown reception on Sunday, a 38-yard pass from QB Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter that helped cap New England's largest shutout win since a 59-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 18, 2009.
