orakpo player of the week

[dmek25]

BRIAN ORAKPO NAMED NFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – The National Football League announced today that Washington Redskins linebacker/defensive end Brian Orakpo was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance this past Sunday in the Redskins’ 34-13 win at Oakland.



Orakpo registered four sacks, for 44 yards lost, six tackles, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. The four sacks tied a Redskins franchise record, shared with Ken Harvey, Dexter Manley, Diron Talbert, and Phillip Daniels, who was the last to do it on Dec. 18, 2005 vs. Dallas. Orakpo's 44 yards lost on his four sacks are the most by an individual in any NFL game since the statistic began being tracked in 1994.



Orakpo, the team’s first-round pick (No. 13 overall) in this past May’s draft, became just the third rookie in NFL history to record four sacks in a game and the first since Cornelius Bennett, on Dec. 27, 1987. Leslie O’Neal holds the record with five, which he set in 1986.



Orakpo’s 11 sacks on the season, are a franchise record for a rookie, five better than the previous best of six held by Dean Hamel (1985) and Andre Collins (1990). He is the 13th rookie in the last 15 years to register a double-digit sack season, and the ninth with at least 11.



The award is the first weekly league honor of Orakpo’s career, and the second this season for a Redskins player, joining Hunter Smith who earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week following Week 10. The last Redskin and the last Redskin rookie to earn a weekly award was Chris Horton, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week following Week 2 of last season.
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