Boye Mafe had a decisive impact for the Seattle Seahawks with two sacks and four quarterback hits in their 20-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, keeping his team on course for a Wild Card spot.
He was not the only young African player to have a standout week, with YaYa Diaby on top form for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 30-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Ifeatu Melifonwu playing a starring role in the Detroit Lions clinching the NFC North Division title with a 30-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Elsewhere in the league, there were impressive performances from Gus Edwards, Nelson Agholor, David Njoku, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Romeo Okwara among others.
African Player of the Week: Boye Mafe (Seattle Seahawks)
Mafe, who is of Nigerian descent, was a menace to Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill throughout the duration of the Seahawks' narrow win and saved his best moments of the game for precisely the points at which they were most needed.
Mafe restricted Tannehill's options throughout the game, doing a superb job of making his presence felt.
The Titans still led 10-3 on the verge of halftime when Mafe made his first sack of the game -- a timely reminder that the Seahawks were not willing to submit without a titanic tussle.
In the second half, the Seahawks began to claw their way back before they finally took the lead in the fourth quarter.
Mafe then finished the second half as he did the first -- making another sack on Tannehill with under a minute left on the clock to help preserve the Seahawks' narrow 20-17 lead.
The former Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker, who was the 40th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, has nine sacks this season -- triple his tally from his rookie campaign.
The Seahawks went 8-7 and cemented their favorites tag for a Wild Card spot as Mafe's heroics overshadowed those of compatriot Chigoziem Okonkwo, who scored a touchdown for the Titans in the same game.
African Moment of the Week: Ifeatu Melifonwu (Detroit Lions)
Mafe's second sack was a contender for Moment of the Week, but ultimately, nothing could top the game-clinching and division-clinching interception from Ifeatu Melifonwu of the Detroit Lions, his Nigerian-American compatriot.
Melifonwu got on the end of a pass from Nick Mullins, aimed at Justin Jefferson inside the Lions' 10-yard line, with 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The pick effectively secured the Lions' first division title since 1993, bringing playoff football back to Detroit after a 30-year drought.
Melifonwu capped off a superb individual performance, which featured two sacks and five solo tackles, as well as two passes defended.
The 24-year-old safety from Syracuse was one of several young African players to have a week to remember and his reward was to enjoy Christmas as a NFC North champion.
Honorable mentions
YaYa Diaby, whose parents are from Guinea, continued to exceed all expectations of what he could produce in his rookie season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Diaby made 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble reception as the Bucs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-12 despite 12 tackles from Nigerian-American linebacker Foyesade Oluokun.
Another player of Nigerian descent who has been in fine form is David Njoku, who recorded yet another touchdown for the Cleveland Browns in their 36-22 win over the Houston Texans. The tight end now has four in his last three games.
Also influential once more for the Browns, who are now 10-5 for the season, was Ghanaian-American Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who made six tackles and an interception.
The Baltimore Ravens made a huge statement of intent in their hunt for the Super Bowl with a 33-19 win over fellow contenders the San Francisco 49ers. Central to that were Liberia's Gus Edwards and Nigeria's Nelson Agholor, who each scored touchdowns.
Josh Uche made a sack in the New England Patriots' narrow win over the Denver Broncos.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants' Bobby Okereke (10 tackles v Philadelphia Eagles), the Kansas City Chiefs' Charles Omenihu (a sack v Las Vegas Raiders), the New Orleans Saints' Paulson Adebo (10 tackles v LA Rams) and the Carolina Panthers' Chuba Hubbard (a touchdown v Green Bay Packers) were among the players of African descent who had big moments in games which ultimately ended in defeat.
African-born player watch
Kwity Paye, who was born in Guinea as a refugee of Civil War in Liberia, made a sack for the Indianapolis Colts in their 29-10 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons.
This was followed by another big moment for Liberia as Monrovia-born Edwards scored his touchdown in the Ravens' vital win against the 49ers.
However, Paye was not the only African-born player to stand out in the Colts v Falcons game. For the victors, Cameroon-born Arnold Ebiketie got half a sack, while Zimbabwe-born Nate Landman made nine tackles, including seven solo tackles.
Romeo Okwara, who was born in Nigeria, made a sack and a forced fumble for the Lions in their win over the Vikings.
However, the team with the most impressive performances from African-born players this week was undoubtedly the Ravens, with touchdowns from Edwards and Lagos-born Agholor likely to prove influential in determining the course of the season.