NASHVILLE – Veteran pass rusher Cameron Wake made quite an impression in his debut with the Titans, and folks aside from Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield noticed.
Wake has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1, the league announced on Wednesday morning.
In the team's 43-13 win over the Browns, Wake tallied 2.5 sacks, including a sack of Mayfield for a safety. Wake's second sack of the day, which resulted in the safety, was Wake's 100th career sack. He joined Arizona's Terrell Suggs as the only current NFL players to reach the milestone.
Since sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982, only 33 players have reached the 100-sack mark. Wake, who now has 100.5 sacks, also became only the second player in franchise history to record a safety and at least 2.5 sacks in a game (Ray Childress, at Pittsburgh on Sept. 16, 1990).
It's the fourth Defensive Player of the Week award for Wake.
He previously won the award in Miami during Week 9 of the 2013 season, Week 1 of the 2014 season and Week 6 of the 2015.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel awarded Wake a game ball.
"Cam is a better teammate and person than he is a player," Vrabel said. "And we think he's a really good player – that's the reason he's here."
Wake, who is 37, said after the game he was happy to do his part.
Wake recorded 98 sacks in his first 10 NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins before joining Tennessee in free agency.
"It was a crazy offseason, but I think I landed in the right place," Wake said after the game. "This organization has welcomed me with open arms and obviously I want to do my part along with the guys up front. And I think we did that today as a group. It was a lot of fun."
