FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that Julian Edelman has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week by the National Football League for his performance in the Patriots' 34-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. It is the second week in a row that the Patriots have been honored with a Player of the Week award. DE Andre Carter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week last week following the victory over the New York Jets.
Edelman returned a third quarter punt 72 yards for a touchdown against the Chiefs. It is his second punt return for a touchdown of his career. He set the franchise record with a 94-yard return in the 2010 regular season finale vs. Miami on Jan. 2, 2011. He is the fourth Patriots player with two or more punt returns for a touchdown, joining Troy Brown (3), Irving Fryar (3) and Mike Haynes (2). Edelman has returned 44 punts for 603 yards during his Patriots' career and leads the franchise with a 13.7-yard average.
It is the first Player of the Week honor for Edelman and the first Special Teams Player of the Week honor for a Patriots player since OL Dan Connolly was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 15 of the 2010 season when he returned a kickoff 71 yards in a win against Green Bay on Dec. 19, the longest kickoff return by an offensive lineman in NFL history.
It is the fourth Player of the Week honor for the Patriots in 2011 after Tom Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following the first two games of the season and Carter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week following the win against the Jets on Nov. 13.
