Just one week after his breakout game against the Dallas Cowboys in which he ran for 141 yards on 30 carries and added in three scores, Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman ran for three more touchdowns on 14 carries for 68 yards. Freeman's surprising impact with the Falcons has them heading into week five at 4-0.
After his big back-to-back games, Freeman now finds himself with the 13th most rushing yards in the NFL with 252. He is first among running backs with seven touchdowns this year through just four games. Freeman has been one of the NFL's biggest surprises this year.
Freeman's huge game helped Atlanta to a blowout win against the lowly Houston Texans. Due in large part to Freeman's success, the Falcons now find themselves tied atop the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers, who are also 4-0. The Falcons play against the 2-2 Washington Redskins on Sunday and if Freeman continues to run wild, the Falcons may find themselves sitting at 5-0 by Sunday's end. The Panthers are on their bye week this week so with a win, the Falcons will be in sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
The other nominees for offensive player of the week were New York Jets running back Chris Ivory who had a huge game across the pond as his Jets upended the Miami Dolphins, 27-14, and improved to 3-1 on the year. Ivory finished with 29 carries for 166 yards and also added in a touchdown. The other nominee was San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers who helped the Chargers improve to 2-2 with his monster game against the Cleveland Browns. Rivers finished 23-of-38 for 358 yards and three touchdowns as they beat Cleveland in overtime to help keep their season alive, even though it is still early.