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The two interceptions Jalen Ramsey pulled down in the Miami Dolphins' 20-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders got the All-Pro cornerback named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for week 11.
His first interception came in the third quarter when Ramsey, the Dolphins top offseason acquisition this spring, undercut a pass on the opening play of a Raiders third-quarter drive, and got the ball back to the Dolphins offense, which scored a field goal that put Miami up 17-13.
Then, with under 30 seconds to play in a one-score game, the eighth-year veteran who was playing in his third game of the season after spending three months rehabbing serious knee injury, picked off Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell again, this time in the end zone to secure the Dolphins victory.
It’s Ramsey’s second AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor in his career. He last earned the honor for his performance on Dec. 24, 2016 vs. Tennessee when he returned an interception for a touchdown as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ramsey had two interceptions in Miami’s win. His first interception came in the third quarter when he undercut a pass on the opening play of a Raiders drive and got the ball back to the Dolphins offense. Then with under 30 seconds to play in a one-score game, he picked off Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell again, this time in the end zone to preserve the Dolphins victory.
It was the third multi-interception game of Ramsey’s career and his second in his past four games played, dating back to last season. He became the first Dolphins player since Dec. 2, 2018 (Xavien Howard) to have multiple interceptions in a game.
Ramsey now has three interceptions in three games played since returning from injured reserve for the Week 8 contest vs. New England. He has six interceptions in his last six games played, dating back to last season.
This is the fourth Player of the Week award for the Dolphins this season after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 1 at the L.A. Chargers, running back De’Von Achane was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 3 vs. Denver and running back Raheem Mostert was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 6 vs. Carolina. The last time the Dolphins won at least four Player of the Week awards in the same season was 2020, when they had three AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honorees (Jason Sanders – Week 5 at San Francisco, Jakeem Grant – Week 8 vs. L.A. Rams and Jason Sanders – Week 17 at Las Vegas) and one AFC Defensive Player of the Week winner (Kyle Van Noy – Week 13 vs. Cincinnati).
The last Dolphins player to win AFC Defensive Player of the Week was cornerback Xavien Howard, who did so in Week 10 of the 2021 season vs. Baltimore.
Smythe selected for sportsmanship honor
Durham Smythe was the Dolphins nominee for the 2023 Art Rooney sportsmanship award.
Created in 2014, the award honors the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney Sr. The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition.
A panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community — Warrick Dunn, 2014 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award recipient Larry Fitzgerald, Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin and Leonard Wheeler — will select eight finalists (four in the AFC and four in the NFC) from the 32 nominees.
The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when players vote in December.
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