T.J. Ward has been rewarded for his monster game against Minnesota after being named AFC Defensive Player of the Week, the team announced Wednesday.

Our Sam Cowhick profiled the Broncos safety in advance of Sunday’s game, saying Ward’s physicality would set him apart – especially against Minnesota.

Not mentioned in the tweet was the fact that his forced fumble was the final defensive play of the game for Denver, one that effectively sealed the win.

According to the team, Ward joined safety John Lynch (at S.D., 12/31/05) as the only defensive backs in Broncos history to record two sacks and a forced fumble in the same game. He also became just the third NFL safety in the last five years to accomplish that feat.

The weekly award comes one week after Denver’s DeMarcus Ware was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September.

Ward was our No. 2 “stud” in our weekly “studs and duds” report – perhaps we need to revise.

Check out Sam Cowhick’s feature on T.J. Ward from last week to see why Ward’s physicality is what sets him apart from other players.