LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. –* *The National Football League announced today that Washington Redskins punt returner Jamison Crowder has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the team's Week 5 win against the Baltimore Ravens.
The honor is the first of Crowder's career and the 16th NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor awarded to a member of the Redskins since the award's inception in 1984. Crowder becomes the second member of the Redskins to earn the honor this season, joining kicker Dustin Hopkins, who was selected for his performance in a Week 3 victory against the New York Giants. This year marks the first time two different members of the Redskins have earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the same season since returner Santana Moss and punter Ryan Plackemeier earned the award in Weeks 8 and 16 of the 2008 season, respectively.
Last week, Crowder scored the first punt return touchdown of his career on an 85-yard return. The punt return touchdown was the Redskins' first since Oct. 26, 2008, when Moss returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown at Detroit. The 85-yard return by Crowder was the longest by a member of the Redskins since an 87-yard return for touchdown by Antwaan Randle El at Indianapolis on Oct. 22, 2006.
This season, Crowder has returned seven punts for an average of 27.7 yards. His 27.7-yard punt return average leads all qualified NFL players. With Crowder's selection this week, Redskins players have won 90 NFC Player of the Week awards since the NFL started awarding weekly honors in 1984.
