Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the team's overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Carr had four solo tackles and three pass breakups and generally had one of his better all-around games in coverage against the Steelers. But it was his overtime interception of Ben Roethlisberger that set up Dan Bailey's chip-shot field goal and won the game for the Cowboys.

It's the second game in a row in which Carr has come up with a significant turnover. His second-quarter interception of Andy Dalton in Week 14 set up a touchdown drive that tied the game at 10-10 at a point when the Cowboys had not done anything offensively. Carr has been inconsistent in his first season in Dallas after signing a $51 million free-agent contract in the offseason to help stabilize the secondary. He appears to be playing better during this critical time at which the Cowboys have won five of six games to move into a first-place tie in the NFC East.

Carr is the first Cowboys player to win an NFC Defensive or Offensive Player of the Week award this season. Punt returner Dwayne Harris was NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 10, and Bailey won that award a week later.