Because of his effort against the Minnesota Vikings, safety Ifeatu “Iffy” Melifonwu of the Detroit Lions has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
With five tackles, two sacks, two pass deflections, and an interception, Melifonwu had an excellent game.
The Lions won their first division championship in thirty years thanks to the game-winning interception.
In his third season with the Lions, the 24-year-old has made 22 tackles, three sacks, five pass deflections, and one interception so far this year.
In his past two games, the third-year defensive back has played incredibly well. In Detroit’s 30-24 victory over the Vikings, he recorded five tackles, two sacks, two passes defensed, and the game-winning interception in the fourth quarter.
In Week 14, against the Bears, Melifonwu made his first start of the campaign and has since established himself as an important member of Detroit’s defense. His ability to force a forced fumble and three sacks in his last two games has been a benefit as he puts pressure on the quarterback with well-timed blitzes.
“Iffy is quite at ease in his role as a safety, even though he knows exactly what he’s doing now—I’m not saying he didn’t know that before. When I say now, I mean that. Glenn remarked, “Because that shift is difficult for everyone because you go from being a single-focus guy to, man, I’ve got to see the field.” And he’s done an extremely terrific job at it. I’ll tell you what, this player does an incredible job blitzing during practice when we go over some of our blitz looks. You can see why he has been producing so much garbage in the previous few weeks.”
