Three days after returning a fumble and interception for touchdowns, Bears rookie safety Eddie Jackson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
He is the second Bears rookie safety to win the award; Mark Carrier did it in 1990. He’s the first Bears player to win the award since defensive end Akiem Hicks in Week 13 last year, and the franchise’s first rookie selected since cornerback Kyle Fuller in Week 2 of 2014.
Jackson returned a fumbled option pitch 75 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter Sunday. In the second, he caught a tipped pass and returned it 76 yards for a score. He became the first NFL player ever to record two touchdown returns of 75-yards plus in the same game. Jackson’s feat came on the one-year anniversary of breaking his left leg at Alabama, which sent his draft stock plummeting. The Bears drafted him in the fourth round.
Jackson provided the Bears’ only two touchdowns in Sunday’s 17-3 win against the Panthers at Solider Field.