Inside The Panthers

Former Pitt S Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Former Pitt Panthers safety Jordan Whitehead was the obvious choice for the honor.

Stephen Thompson

Former Pitt S Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week
Former Pitt S Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week /
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PITTSBURGH -- Not only did former Pitt Panthers safety Jordan Whitehead earn himself a healthy extra chunk of change, but AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors as well for his standout performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. 

Whitehead, one of the best to play his position at Pitt in recent memory and a Western Pennsylvania native, came up with three interceptions of Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the Jets' dramatic 22-16 victory in the first Monday Night Football game of the 2023 season. He and the New York defense helped their team rally after starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles on the first series of the game. 

The former Pitt and Aliquippa star picked off Allen once in the second quarter on an overthrown deep ball, again in the third quarter on a misfired go route and the third came in the fourth quarter on a deep out route.

He becomes the first Jets player to intercept three passes in a game since fellow Aliquippa native Ty Law did it against the Bills in 2006 and the first player with an interception hat trick on a Monday Night since 2007.

With those three interceptions, Whitehead hit a contract incentive that awarded him an extra $250,000 and he did it one game. 

The 26-year-old Whitehead was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft coming out of Pitt. He signed a two-year, $14.5 million deal with the Jets in 2022 and was an immediately productive player, recording 89 tackles, four for loss, two interceptions and eight passes defended while appearing in all 17 games last season. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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