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Steelers Troy Polamalu named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Polamalu beats out teammates Will Gay for the award after Polamalu forced two fumbles in Pittsburgh's 27-11 win over the Browns Sunday.

By Neal Coolong
Jason Miller

It's hard to ignore Steelers safety-turned-linebacker Troy Polamalu any time he forces two takeaways in a game. The fact he played the bulk of his snaps at linebacker, and not safety, in Pittsburgh's 27-11 win over Cleveland in Week 12 is another example of how unique of a player he is.

To add to that, Polamalu's efforts landed him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, as the team announced Tuesday.

Polamalu played one of his best games this year in the victory, as the Steelers largely negated any offensive production from Cleveland. Cornerback Will Gay also forced a fumble on a sack of quarterback Jason Campbell, and he got an interception of back-up Brandon Weeden, taking it back for a touchdown.

With all due respect to Polamalu, it's hard to say he had a better game than Gay did. It's speculative, but we suspect the fact it wasn't given to Gay may have something to do with the tape Cleveland reportedly sent to the league in a complaint about Gay's hit on Campbell. It appears Gay hits Campbell in the facemask, and Cleveland argues a penalty should have been called.

If Gay didn't receive the Player of the Week award, he still might yet receive something from the league.

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