Former Tide Player Gets NFL Honor

Antwan Odom was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week by the NFL on Wednesday. Odom tied a franchise record at Green Bay this past Sunday with five sacks, helping to lead the Cincinnati Bengals to a 31-24 win at Lambeau Field.

Cincinnati Bengals, who have compiled individual sack records since 1976, had seen such a performance only once previously, when Eddie Edwards logged five sacks vs. Cleveland on Dec. 21, 1980.

Former Alabama defensive lineman Antwan Odom produced 31 yards in losses with his five sacks of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Two of his first three sacks helped push the Packers out of field-goal range, forcing punting situations, and midway through the fourth quarter, he pushed the Packers into a third-and-15 situation at their 28, with a punt the result of that drive.

Odom also recorded two sacks against Denver in the season opener and his seven-sack total leads by three in the NFL sacks race. Odom and Edwards now share the Bengals record for most sacks over any two-game span, as Edwards had seven over the last two games of 1980.

According to Elias Sports Bureau reports this week that since 1982, when individual sacks became an official NFL statistic, no player has matched that total for the first two games of a season. The previous record for Games 1-2 of a season was 6.5 sacks by Detroit defensive end William Gay in 1983 (Gay finished ’83 with 13.5).