Players of the Week: Mahomes takes home honor after 4-TD performance

AFC

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lived up to the hype straight out the gate, picking apart the Los Angeles Chargers' strong secondary to the tune of four touchdown passes and 256 yards to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The second-year passer had an outstanding yards-per-attempt average of 9.5, thanks in large part to his immediate chemistry with speedster Tyreek Hill.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt was named Defensive Player of the Week in the AFC. The young pass-rusher did a great impression of his older brother, J.J., by almost single-handedly disrupting the Cleveland Browns offense time and time again. Watt finished with an otherworldly stat line of 11 tackles, four sacks, three quarterback hits, and, most importantly, a blocked field goal in overtime to save Pittsburgh from a shock loss.

Miami Dolphins kick returner Jakeem Grant took home the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor. The wide receiver returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, and also added another 23 yards on a second run-back, helping the Dolphins knock off the favored Tennessee Titans.

NFC

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award after shocking the football world by dismantling the New Orleans Saints in Week 1. Starting in place of the suspended Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick had one of the best games of his career, hitting on 75 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns for a near-perfect passer rating of 156.2.

Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith earned the Defensive Player of the Week award for the NFC. Smith was integral as always during the Vikings' strong defensive effort against the San Francisco 49ers, totaling eight tackles, a sack, an interception, and two tackles for loss as Minnesota held the Jimmy Garoppolo-led unit to just 16 points.

Los Angeles Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Zuerlein continued to prove he's one of the league's best long-distance kickers, nailing a 55-yard field goal - one of four he made in the win Monday against the Oakland Raiders.