If a player scores touchdowns, they have the inside track to get awards, according to how the NFL does business. That might mean the player reaps rewards even if he doesn't do the heavy lifting. Such is the case with the Seattle Seahawks and DeMarcus Lawrence.
To be sure, Lawrence has been tremendous for Seattle this season. He's been excellent against the run and has supplied enough pressure to make quarterbacks nervous. But the NFL giving him the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for Week 10 is wrong.
The honor should have gone to a Seahawks player, but not Lawrence. He was simply the beneficiary of what linebacker Tyrice Knight did.
The NFL should have given the Week 10 Defensive Player of the Week award to linebacker Tyrice Knight
Against the Arizona Cardinals, Lawrence scooped up two fumbles and ran them into the end zone for touchdowns. He was in a position to recover the fumble and was lucky enough to have the ball bounce his way, but he didn't create the situation; Knight did.
Twice, Knight, who had been benched in favor of Drake Thomas and was playing because starter Ernest Jones IV was out with a knee injury, blitzed poor quarterback Jacoby Brissett, got to the QB, knocked the ball out of his hand before Brissett began his throwing motion, and forced a fumble.
Any player might have scooped up the ball, and thank goodness Lawrence did, but Knight was the reason the ball was loose. Lawrence had a great game, too, but not the quality of game Knight had.
While Lawrence had a half-sack, three quarterback hits, one solo tackle, and a tackle for loss, Knight led the team with six solo tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. Yet, because Lawrence scored the touchdowns, the NFL gave him its weekly award.
Maybe some name recognition played a role, too, but had Lawrence done what Knight did and Knight did what Lawrence did, maybe Knight would have won the Player of the Week honor. Either way, Tyrice Knight created the scenario that allowed DeMarcus Lawrence to get an award.
Ultimately, though, Seattle Seahawks fans should be extremely excited that Knight proved head coach Mike Macdonald is a brilliant defensive coach. Macdonald was the one who created the situation that allowed both Lawrence and Knight to succeed at such a high level.