Matt Ryan was brilliant in the Falcons win over the Saints. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
Tight end Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos, defensive end Cameron Wake of the Miami Dolphins and kicker Dan Carpenter of the Buffalo Bills were named the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week on Wednesday for the season-opening games.
For the NFC, quarterback Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, linebacker DeAndre Levy of the Detroit Lions and kicker Matt Bryant of the Falcons took the first-week honors.
Thomas had seven catches for 104 yards (14.9 average) and a career-high three touchdowns in Denver’s season-opening 31-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.
Wake had three tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in Miami’s 33-20 win over the New England Patriots.
Carpenter converted all three field-goal attempts, including the 27-yard game winner, and both PATs in the Bills’ 23-20 overtime victory against the Chicago Bears.
Ryan completed 31 of 43 passes (72.1 percent) for a franchise-record 448 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 128.8 passer rating in the Falcons’ 37-34 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints.
Levy had 10 tackles, including two for a loss, and an interception in the Lions’ 35-14 win over the New York Giants. Four of Levy’s tackles were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Bryant scored an NFC-best 13 points, converting all three field-goal attempts and four PATs in Atlanta’s win.
