Safety Stevie Brown has been selected the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Giants' 29-24 victory Sunday in Dallas.
Brown is the fourth Giants player this season to receive a Player of the Week award. He is the second safety honored in three weeks, joining Antrel Rolle.
Brown intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and tied for the team-lead with six solo tackles in Dallas, where the Giants won their fourth consecutive game to improve their midseason record to 6-2.
Brown's first interception, on Dallas' initial offensive possession, was returned 37 yards and set up a Lawrence Tynes' field goal that increased the Giants' lead to 6-0. In the fourth quarter, Brown recovered Felix Jones' fumble. The Giants' subsequent possession ended with Tynes' fifth and final field goal, which gave the Giants their final five-point lead.
Five-and-a-half minutes later, Brown intercepted Tony Romo for the second time.
Brown's two interceptions increased his season total to a team-high five. That is the NFL's second-highest total and two more than anyone else on the team. His interception total is the highest by a Giants safety since Percy Ellsworth had six in 1999. Brown has at least one interception in four of the last six games. He was the second Giant with two picks in a game this season, joining Rolle, who had two picks in San Francisco on Oct. 14.
In his first two NFL seasons – one each with Oakland and Indianapolis – Brown did not have an interception.
Brown also has two fumble recoveries for an NFL-best seven takeaways.
Brown has 168 interception return yards this season, the highest total by a Giant since Dick Lynch tied the club record with 251 in 1963. Hall of Famer Emlen Tunnell had 251 interception return yards in 1949.
The Giants have had four NFC Player of the Week honorees in the season's first eight weeks.
Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks was cited in Week 2, after his 10-catch, 199-yard performance vs. Tampa Bay, Tynes was the Special Teams Player of the Week the following game (after he kicked five field goals at Carolina), and Rolle was the Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting two passes and contributing six solo tackles at San Francisco in Week 6.
This is the second year in a row the Giants have had two different players honored as Defensive Player of the week. In 2011, Mathias Kiwanuka received the award in Week 9 and Jason Pierre-Paul in Weeks 14 and 16.
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