Denver Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 5 performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the Broncos’ 21-17 comeback, Bonitto dominated on the defensive side of the ball. He recorded 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. One of his sacks came with the game winding down and the defense needing to stop the Philadelphia offense from getting downfield.

With a minute left in the game and the ball back in the Eagles' hands as they looked to score a touchdown down 21-17, Bonitto reached quarterback Jalen Hurts on the first play of the drive and brought him to the ground. The seconds ticked off the clock, and the Eagles scrambled for a last-second touchdown. Bonitto and the Broncos defense held on and secured the victory in Philadelphia.

OLB Nik Bonitto adds another sack against QB Jalen Hurts | Broncos at Eagles Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto sacks Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to start the Eagles end-of-game drive.

Bonitto wins his first Defensive Player of the Week award in his four-year career. After an All-Pro selection in 2024 for his 13.5 sack season, Bonitto signed a massive contract extension with Denver in the days leading up to the 2025 season. The deal was for four years, reaching up to $120 million. It’s a hefty deal, but the 26-year-old has lived up to every dollar of it through the first five weeks of the 2025 season.

Through five weeks, Bonitto leads the NFL in sacks (7), quarterback pressures (31), and quarterback hits (14) according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. He’s currently on pace for 24 sacks, which would be the most in NFL history.

Bonitto is making his case not only for DPOW honors, but also for the Defensive Player of the Year. He would be the second consecutive Broncos player to win the award after cornerback Patrick Surtain II received the honor in 2024.

The Broncos selected Bonitto out of the University of Oklahoma with the last pick of the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s played 52 games for Denver thus far, but he’s already etching his name into the Broncos' history books.