Giants LB Bobby Okereke Named Week 18 NFC Defensive Player of the Week

Okereke had a bounce back season for the Giants in 2025.

New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke was named to his first NFC Defensive POTW honors. | David Banks-Imagn Images

New York Giants inside linebacker Bobby Okereke has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for games played in the Week 18 regular-season finale. 

Bobby Okereke named NFC Defensive Player of the Week! 👏 pic.twitter.com/X9jdeM3p5k

— New York Giants (@Giants) January 7, 2026

Okereke, in the Giants' 34-17 win over Dallas, registered two takeaways that the Giants converted into 10 points, including his second interception in as many games. 

With his other takeaway, a fumble recovery, Okereke became the first Giant with a fumble recovery and an interception in a game since safety Dane Belton did so against the Rams on New Year's Eve 2023.

The Giants' defensive co-captain and the Giants’ team winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, capped his 2025 season with 143 tackles, the fourth-most ever by a Giant in a single season. 

He is now the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons with at least 140 tackles.

This is the first Defensive Player of the Week award for Okereke, who is the first Giants player to win the defensive award since outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux in Week 15 of 2022. 

Okereke also became the first former Stanford linebacker to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors.

The award caps off somewhat of a comeback season for the 29-year-old linebacker, who last year saw his 2024 campaign cut short due to a back injury.

Per PFF, Okereke thrived once the Giants fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and replaced him with Charlie Bullen, the linebacker able to record his first double-digit solo tackle effort in Week 16 against the Vikings, while also sharply reducing the number of missed tackles in his game over that same stretch and recording 17 of his 47 stops on the year in that stretch.

As the Giants' nominee for the WPMOY, Okereke received a $55,000 donation to the charity of his choice. He will be among the 32 nominees by each club to receive up to a $265,000 donation to the charity of his choice, the announcement of which will be made public at this year’s "NFL Honors" on February 6.

If chosen, Okereke will join Eli Manning as the only other Giants player to receive the nationwide award since its inception back in 1970. 

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