Devin White helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mount an incredible second-half rally to win in Atlanta in Week 15 with his own late-game surge of big plays, and he's going to take home some personal hardware because of it.
On Wednesday, White was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 15 after his three-sack performance in the Buccaneers' 31-27 victory over the Falcons. This is the second time White has captured that award in 2020; he was also the NFC Defensive Player of the week after another three-sack outing in a Week Seven 45-20 win at Las Vegas.
White's award in Week 15 is the fifth NFL Player of the Week selection the Buccaneers have had in 2020. Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett won defensive honors in Week Three, quarterback Tom Brady was the offensive choice in Week Four and kicker Ryan Succop took the special teams award in Week Eight. In addition, inside linebacker Lavonte David was the NFC Defensive Player of the Month in September, Brady was the NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October and safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in September.
White recorded all three of his sacks in the fourth quarter of the Bucs' Week 15 victory, and all three were critical plays. The first came on third down at the Bucs' 27 with nine minutes to play in a tie game, forcing the Falcons to settle for a field goal and a three-point lead. The second came on Atlanta's next possession, after the Buccaneers had taken the lead on an Antonio Brown touchdown, and forced a punt with five minutes left on the clock. Finally, with the Falcons down by four and trying to mount a comeback from deep in their own territory with three minutes left, White was credited with a six-yard sack on second down and Atlanta eventually failed on a desperate fourth-and-16 attempt.
That flurry of sacks was only part of the impact White made on the game. He led all players with 12 tackles and added a fourth tackle for loss to go with his three sacks, plus two passes defensed. White and New York Jets safety Marcus Maye are the only two players this season to combine multiple sacks with multiple passes defensed in a game, and White is the only one to do it with three sacks.
