Beason named NFC player of the week

Jon Beason's season wasn't rewarded with a second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance; he had to settle for being a second alternate.  But his performance against the New York Giants last Sunday was honored when he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.
Beason was honored for recording 13 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, the latter of which was the signature defensive moment of the Panthers' 41-9 win, when he hit New York wide receiver Mario Manningham midway through the first qaurter, forcing loose the football at the Carolina 17-yard-line. James Anderson recovered for the Panthers.

"When a team's driving on you, someone's got to step up and make a play," Beason said. "Then our offense goes all the way down (the field) and gets points out of it. I think that's demoralizing."

It was the first of four Carolina takeaways and deflated the Giants' spirits after they'd converted three consecutive third downs to open the game. They wouldn't convert another until the second half, by which point they trailed 31-0.

Such plays have been the norm for Beason the last five games; he's intercepted two passes, forced a fumble, recovered another and logged a sack while leading the Panthers with 58 total tackles in that span. He has 156 tackles this year, just four away from his personal and franchise record of 160, set in 2007.

Beason becomes the second Panther to earn Defensive Player of the Week plaudits this season, joining defensive end Julius Peppers, who was honored for notching a sack, a forced fumble and an interception return at Arizona in Week 8.

It's Beason's first Defensive Player of the Week award in three seasons as a professional, but he was NFC Defensive Player of the Month in October 2008.

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(carolinapanthers.com)