Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr., was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month by the league office. The award is the second Defensive Player of the Month honor of his career.
A captain of the NFL's top scoring defense in 2024, James led the Chargers to finish the season with four wins in the final six weeks, including a three-game winning streak entering the playoffs. Over the league's final six weeks, James posted 28 tackles, 3.0 sacks, seven tackles for loss, an interception and a pair of pass breakups en route to being named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career.
The Swiss-Army Knife of the defense was the only defensive back in the last 15 seasons and one of just three players in 2024 to record multiple sacks, five tackles for loss and an interception in December and January of a single season. Two of his sacks came on fourth down in the win at New England to force a turnover on downs, the first performance with multiple fourth-down sacks by any NFL player since 2021.
James is the first to be recognized as AFC Defensive Player of the Month multiple times while with the Bolts. He previously won the award for November of the 2022 season, when he became the only defensive back in the last 30 years and first player in a decade to have at least 30 tackles, multiple sacks, an interception and forced fumble in a single November.
