Washington Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles has officially arrived on the national NFL radar. The league announced on Wednesday that Styles was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his game-wrecking performance in Sunday’s 33-31 upset win over the previously unbeaten Seattle Seahawks.
Curiously, while Styles was recognized by the NFL as the absolute best defensive player in the entire conference in Week 3, he was not among the nominees for the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week award. How a rookie can outplay every veteran linebacker, edge rusher, and corner in the NFC yet not crack a rookie-only ballot is anyone’s guess, but Styles and Commanders fans will gladly take the more prestigious conference recognition.
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And Styles earned every bit of it against Seattle. Tasked with handling green-dot responsibilities following injury to Frankie Luvu, Styles was everywhere. He spearheaded Daronte Jones’ unit with 5 tackles, two passes defended, a forced fumble, a quarterback hit, and a heads-up interception that led to a Commanders touchdown. Thanks to his ability to diagnose plays and shoot interior gaps, the Seahawks’ offense struggled with the run game and turnovers, allowing Washington to score first, and prevent Seattle from ever taking the lead from start to finish.
Sunday’s breakout wasn’t a fluke; it was the payoff of a rock-solid foundation built over the first two weeks. Facing tough divisional challenges in back-to-back games on the road against NFC East rivals Philadelphia and Dallas, Styles stepped right into heavy snap counts and looked like an old hand. In Week 1 against the Eagles, his sideline-to-sideline pursuit helped pace a run defense that surrendered zero rushing touchdowns. Even when things went sideways in Dallas in Week 2, Styles was consistently around the football, diagnosing concepts quickly and tackling with violence in space. The speed and instincts were obvious; Week 3 saw the production match the tape. It seems likely that the rookie will raise his own bar continually as he matures as an NFL player.
With this award, Styles joins some elite recent company in burgundy and gold. He is the first Washington defender to win NFC Defensive Player of the Week since Ryan Kerrigan took home the honor in Week 1 of the 2020 season. On the other side of the football, Jayden Daniels took home NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Monday Night Football ‘coming out party’ against the Bengals in his sensational 2024 rookie run.
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If Styles keeps flying around the field like he did on Sunday, this won’t be the last time he collects league accolades—even if the Pepsi Rookie of the Week nominations committee needs a little more time to catch up.
