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New York Giants defensive back Terrell Thomas was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week early Wednesday after a standout effort against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8.
Thomas, who played every single snap last week, finished with 11 tackles, a sack and forced fumble that prevented the Eagles from scoring while deep in Giants' territory. Thomas' 11 tackles are the most he has had in a game since the 2010 regular-season finale against the Washington Redskins.
“We’re very pleased with his progress,” secondary/cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta said yesterday. “We wanted to bring him along very slowly and gradually, we were hoping to get a few plays a game out of him. But to be able to go out and play 58 snaps against Philadelphia was great. He’s been a great bonus for us defensively. He’s getting to the point now where he’s starting to get his timing back and feeling more comfortable. He’s been close, but he just hasn’t made the plays that he had made in the past. He’s made tackles, he’s been close.
“In this game he had a caused fumble, he’s been there to make plays on the ball, he just missed a hand on another one to (Jason) Avant, so the timing and the confidence and everything is starting to come back. You’re starting to see the old Terrell. Certainly he’s not back to where he was, but he’s very, very close to where he was before his injury.”
As a unit, the Giants held Philadelphia without an offensive touchdown.
Thomas is the second NFC Defensive Player of the Week to earn the honor after recovering from three torn ACLs. Earlier this month, Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis won the award.
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