ALLEN PARK –Al-Quadin Muhammad has been rewarded as the NFC’s defensive player of the week after his breakout performance over the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday.

Muhammad had three sacks against the Cowboys, helping revitalize the team’s pass rush in a crucial victory for their playoff hopes. The 30-year-old leads Detroit’s defense with nine sacks through 13 games. Muhammad joined Micah Parsons as the only NFC players to have three sacks in a single game this season.

His three-sack showing broke a cold streak, too, as Muhammad hadn’t gotten to the quarterback since Week 9, more than one month ago. He’s been a major boost for the pass rush this season, filling the void left by Marcus Davenport, Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal for most of the year.

Muhammad played 38 snaps in the showing, the most playing time he’s seen since Week 7 before the bye. He was down to 19 snaps on Thanksgiving, then saw his role double and took full advantage of the opportunity.

And thanks to his efforts, he is the first Lions defender to win NFC player of the week honors this season, and first since Brian Branch in Week 6, 2024. He’s the first Lions defensive lineman to win the honors since Hutchinson in Week 3 of 2023.

Pro Football Focus grades Muhammad 25th among edge defenders with enough snaps to qualify. He’s 26th among that same group with 41 pressures created. The veteran pass rusher has also been a nice stylistic fit as a pocket-crusher on the other side of Aidan Hutchinson. When Hutchinson is busy posting those pressures while drawing extra attention, it creates a lane for Muhammad to win his one-on-one and get home. Hutchinson leads the NFL with 80 pressures to this point, with 23 pressures through the last four games.

“I was going to say, I think we all know that we have a guy opposite of Hutch now,” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said of Muhammad earlier this season. “I think we’re pretty safe to say that Muhammad is a guy opposite Hutch, not just another guy we’re throwing out there. But he’s been tremendous.

“I mean, you’ve literally seen Muhammad line up at the nose, the three, the edge, and he hasn’t batted an eye. He’s gotten run game in there; it hasn’t just been pass rush. I’ve seen him drop a knee and anchor.”