Last Wednesday, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his three-touchdown performance against the San Francisco 49ers. While Penix came crashing back to earth on Sunday, his former teammate, Arizona Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier, took home the NFC award in Week 8.
Allgeier rushed for a career-high 147 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries in the Cardinals' 33-30 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The former fifth-round pick also caught all five of his targets for 44 receiving yards and a touchdown reception.
It was Allgeier's best all-around game of his NFL career, highlighted by a 63-yard touchdown run to cut the Cowboys' lead to seven points late in the third quarter.
While Cardinals quaterback Gardner Minshew most of the credit, Allgeier was the awarded NFC Offensive Player of the Week for a reason.
The 26-year-old has had a unique experience in the NFL this far. After being selected on Day 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft out of BYU, Allgeier rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie in Atlanta. The Falcons rewarded him by taking Bijan Robinson with the No. 8 overall pick the following year. And just like that, he was relegated to backup status.
Allgeier signed a two-year $12.25 million with Cardinals in free agency this offseason, but he quickly found himself stuck behind another top-10 draft pick. Arizona selected running back Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Thus far, Allgeier has been the more effective of the two backs - rushing for 323 yards on 72 carries (4.5 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns. Love has 268 rushing yards on 76 carries (3.5 yards per carry) this season.
For his career, Allgeier has rushed for 3,199 yards and 20 touchdowns over 75 games. Perhaps now he will finally get his chance to shine following his first career NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Former Falcons RB wins NFC Offensive Player of the Week
