Cody Barton’s big performance against New Orleans was six days ago now.
It’s never too late to be celebrated, though.
The Broncos inside linebacker on Wednesday was named the AFC’s defensive player of the week for Week 7 after he dominated against the Saints last Thursday.
Barton, signed in March to a one-year deal as a free agent, returned a Spencer Rattler fumble 52 yards for a touchdown in Denver’s 33-10 win. He also forced a fumble early in the game, logged eight tackles and a sack, and nearly had an interception against Rattler, too.
All that, and he nearly had another defensive touchdown except a fumble return for a score was wiped off the board by a D.J. Jones offsides penalty.
“Today it was kind of my day, and some of those bigger splash plays or whatever you want to call them came my way,” Barton said that night. “If this game’s tomorrow, you don’t know who it’s going to be. That’s how this defense is, and it’s a lot of fun.”
It’s the first time in his six-year career that Barton has been named a conference defensive player of the week, but this has become something of a regular happening for the Broncos. It was just two weeks ago that Pat Surtain II was given the same honor for Week 5 after his two-interception game in the Broncos’ win over Las Vegas.
Place kicker Wil Lutz was named the AFC’s special teams player of the week in Week 3 and had a claim at the award this week, too, after he made all four of his field goal tries and all three extra points against the Saints.
It’s the first time the Broncos have had two weekly defensive winners in the same season since 2019 when Dre’Mont Jones and Kareem Jackson were both recognized.
This story will be updated.
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