Odafe Oweh has proven to be one of the smartest acquisitions in the NFL this season, with the Los Angeles Chargers reaping the rewards of securing him and a 2027 seventh round pick from the Baltimore Ravens last month.
Week 9 saw him put in his best performance of the season to date and earn his place as our African Player of the Week. Meanwhile, fellow Nigerian-American Olamide Zaccheaus takes the Moment of the Week honors.
African Player of the Week: Odafe Oweh
Oweh picked up two sacks for the Chargers in their 27-20 win over the Tennessee Titans. Both came on a fourth quarter drive as he led the Chargers' stifling of the Titans' comeback attempt.
The linebacker took his sack total to four in as many games since joining the Chargers. It has marked a superb comeback from a tough start to the season with the Ravens, which saw him go without a sack in five games.
The Chargers sit second in the AFC West with a 6-3 record - behind the Denver Broncos (7-2) but ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) and Las Vegas Raiders (2-6).
Oweh was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, but to a family with Nigerian ties on both sides - a father born in the country and a London-born mother of Nigerian descent. Aged 26, the 2021 first round draft pick is seemingly beginning to reach the peak of his powers.
African Moment of the Week: Olamide Zaccheaus
The Chicago Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals 47-42 and Zaccheaus, born in Plainfield, New Jersey to Nigerian parents, starred with a superbly executed touchdown.
Like his Nigerian-American compatriot, Oweh, Zaccheaus deserves special mention because of the sheer impact of his finest passage of play in deciding a tight game.
Zaccheaus crept round the Bengals defense, hugging the sideline, and shrugged off a tackle from Demetrius Knight Jr. to put the Bears ahead early in the second quarter after ending the first three points down. It was his first touchdown for the Bears, who he joined in March from the Washington Commanders.
Honorable Mentions
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October, continued his superb form for the Seattle Seahawks with 129 yards across eight receptions in addition to 11 rushing yards in their 38-14 win over the Washington Commanders.
Smith-Njigba, who has family ties to Sierra Leone through his paternal grandparents, is staking a claim for the NFL MVP prize. He leads the league by some distance with 948 total receiving yards and is on pace to become the first player in league history to reach 2000 for the season. Ja'Marr Chase, his closest competitor this season, has 'only' 831 receiving yards.
Adam Schefter explains to Pat McAfee why the Seahawks are an intriguing team to watch ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
The majority of standout performances from African players in week 9 came on defense. In the Seahawks win, Nigerian-American linebacker Uchenna Nwosu contributed half a sack.
There were strong performances on both sides of the San Francisco 49ers' 34-24 win over the New York Giants as Liberia-born Sam Okuayinonu made a sack for the victors and Nigerian-American Bobby Okereke made 14 tackles in defeat.
Okereke's compatriot, Foyesade Oluokun, also had a big impact in terms of tackles, putting in 11 in the Jacksonville Jaguars' 30-29 overtime win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Teammate Emmanuel Ogbah - born in Lagos - contributed half a sack.
Rookie defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku - a first generation Nigerian-American - continued his impressive form for the Dallas Cowboys. However, his sack came in a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Africa-born Player Watch
Ogbah and Okuayinonu aside, there were big moments from Lagos-born Joseph Ossai - who picked up a sack in the Bengals' narrow defeat to the Bears - and Port Harcourt-born David Ojabo, who got half a sack as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Miami Dolphins 28-6.
Ultimately, having picked up a sack in a win, it is Okuayinonu who will likely feel happiest of the players born in Africa over the outcome of the week. The pass rusher continued to impress on an individual level while the Niners went 6-3 for the season.