It should be no surprise that Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week after his 48-yard game-winning touchdown on Sunday night against the Patriots.
This is the second time in his career that Anderson has earned this recognition, having been named player of the week last season in Week 17 against the Raiders.
Besides the winner in overtime, Anderson was responsible for a 15-yard touchdown at the beginning of the 4th quarter that pulled the Broncos within seven of the charging Pats who were up 21-14 at that point.
Anderson, who struggled early in the season with a toe injury, finished the game with 113 yards on the ground and 40 more in the air plus his two touchdowns. He carried the ball 15 times with a 7.5-yard average and caught four passes for a 10-yard average.
Anderson's burst Sunday night was part of a resurging running game that the Broncos first displayed against Green Bay and then picked up again the last two weeks agains the Bears and the Patriots.
"I just think we're just executing better everywhere," Anderson said of himself and fellow running back Ronnie Hillman. "We're executing...making the right cuts and making the right reads. I'm not saying we weren't trying to do that in the beginning of the season, but we're executing up front better. They're creating lanes for us, they're making big holes, they're making little creases, they're giving us enough room to work with and us backs and you don't need everything blocked perfectly."
The Sunday Night Football game represents Anderson's fourth career 100-yard rushing game. His 48-yard touchdown run in overtime was the fourth-longest overtime touchdown run in NFL history.
After quarterback Brock Osweiler earned the honors last week, Anderson's award marks the second consecutive week a Bronco has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
It is the third time a player has represented Denver with the honor in back-to-back weeks since the award was initiated by the NFL in 1984. Running back Mike Anderson earned the award in Weeks 13 and 14 in 2000, and quarterbacks Gary Kubiak and John Elway earned it in Weeks 9 and 10 respectively in 1984.
This is the 59th time a Broncos player has taken home AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.