Skip to main content
Advertising

Claypool wins top AFC offensive honor

His teammates have been singing his praises since training camp, and while he has shown flashes along the way, on Sunday it was crystal clear as to why rookie Chase Claypool has been getting so much love early on.

Claypool had a day very few in Steelers history have had when he scored four touchdowns in the Steelers 38-29 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field.

And now it's not just his teammates who see what he is capable of, as the team's second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Claypool had seven receptions for 110 yards, three of those seven catches were touchdowns, and also rushed for a two-yard score.

"He's talented," said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "He has got some God-given abilities that not many people in this world have. He's big, fast, and strong, and he's very, very smart. So, we're able to do those things like move him around and do some things with him.

"That last touchdown, a perfect example, changed the play, and he makes it happen. I just have to give him a little bit of a cue on it, and it's awesome. I'm just really proud of the way that he's playing right now.

Take a look at the best photos of the Steelers offense from the Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field

"He works. He works hard. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. I've said this numerous times. If he does make a mistake, he won't make the same one twice, and I think that says a lot about a young guy.

"We were texting on, I think, Friday as I was looking at film and sending him clips and talking about it with him through text, and I forget if he said it or I said it, but we were talking about a specific play, and I just told him, hey, you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to have a big game. I'm glad it came to fruition."

Claypool became the first rookie in team history to score four touchdowns in a game, and only the third player in team history to do so, the last one when Roy Jefferson caught four touchdown passes against Atlanta on Nov. 3, 1968, while also becoming only the third player in team history to score 24 points in a game.

Advertising