Seven weeks after exploding for his breakout game against Oakland, C.J. Anderson had another outstanding performance against the Raiders, earning him the nod for AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season.
Anderson had a rushing touchdown in each of the first three quarters as the Broncos built a lead that proved insurmountable. With great vision, strong legs and his drive, he proved hard to bring down. Anderson finished with 87 rushing yards on a 6.7-yard average and 20 yards on two receptions to go with his three rushing touchdowns.
It was a return to the fundamentals that Anderson credits for his success against the Raiders a week after a performance against Cincinnati that he deemed below his standards.
"After that game (at Cincinnati), I went back to my very first notebook when I very first got here, and it's super detailed, and I just read that over and I was just talking to my running backs coach, coach [Eric] Studesville, and just got back to the fundamentals and the details of things. He (Studesville) said that's when I'm most productive and that showed (today)," Anderson said.
In the last eight games—starting when Anderson burst onto the scene—only two running backs have rushed for more yards, and no one has run for more touchdowns (8).
Anderson's award marks the fourth time a Bronco has won AFC Offensive Player of the Week this season, after Julius Thomas in Week 1, Demaryius Thomas in Week 5 and Peyton Manning in Week 7.
See C.J. Anderson's wild 51-yard catch-and-run TD frame by frame from field level in Oakland.