Vikings Rookie Earns Defensive Player of the Week Honors
The Minnesota Vikings heavily relied on their defense to earn a 3-0 victory in Las Vegas this past weekend.
One defender in particular, Vikings rookie LB Ivan Pace, played a truly tremendous game on Sunday, and for his efforts, Pace has been named the NFC’s representative for Defensive Player of the Week.
Vikings Rookie Earns DPOW Honors
The Vikings tweeted to announce his award, writing, “Respecting his game. @ivan_pacejr has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.”
During Minnesota’s Week 14 win, Pace loaded up the stat sheet by putting together 13 total tackles, a sack, and an interception that essentially sealed the game for the Vikings in the fourth quarter.
Pace has come a long way since being signed as an undrafted free agent this spring. Despite being an undersized player, the linebacker came into training camp and proved that he deserved a role in Minnesota’s defense. He was the leader of the second-team throughout camp and even earned reps with the first team.
Especially since Hicks went down with his lower leg injury back in Week 10, Pace has been invaluable to Minnesota’s defense. Over the past three games, the rookie has piled up 31 tackles, 2.0 sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception.
The linebacker is joined by Titans LB Harold Landry as the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week, who piled up 3 sacks in Tennessee’s win over the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, Giants QB Tommy DeVito won NFC Offensive Player of the Week while Jets QB Zach Wilson won AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
This weekend, the Vikings are set to play their second consecutive road game against an AFC opponent as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. We’ll see if Pace can continue his recent success when the game kicks off at 12 PM Central on Saturday, December 16th.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
