Kwity Paye put in a heroic performance for the Indianapolis Colts in their 26-23 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Throughout the last two seasons, he has been one of the shining lights in the team, but he was unable to prevent elimination from playoff contention.
Week 18 also saw some strong performances from other players of African descent -- namely: Joseph Ossai (Cincinnati Bengals), Osa Odighizuwa (Dallas Cowboys), Emmanuel Ogbah (Miami Dolphins), Julian Okwara (Arizona Cardinals), YaYa Diaby (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Odafe Oweh (Baltimore Ravens).
However, the Bengals, Cowboys, Dolphins and Cardinals all missed out on the playoffs, leaving a bittersweet taste for all of the above but Diaby and Oweh, who march on.
African Player of the Week: Kwity Paye (Indianapolis Colts)
The Colts did not have much to cheer about in the 2024 season, but for Paye, it was another year to remember.
After a breakout 2023 season in which he managed 8.5 sacks, the 2024 season saw the Guinea-born Liberian defensive end pick up eight. In addition to getting his eighth sack in the win over the Jaguars, he also defended his first pass of the season and only the second of his NFL career.
Paye sacked Matt Jones just over five minutes into the second quarter with the Colts 14-10 up. Deep in the third quarter, he got his hands in the way of a pass from Jones. By then, the Colts led 20-13.
Although they eventually squandered the lead and let the game go to overtime, the Colts ultimately emerged victorious. Given that they exercised the fifth year option on his contract, Paye remains the Colts' player as it stands until the end of the 2025 season.
African Moment of the Week: Odafe Oweh (Baltimore Ravens)
Oweh's sack on Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe with around five minutes remaining in the third quarter would have been an overall sweeter experience than that of many of those of his peers who shone in week 18.
The simple reason is: Oweh and the Ravens will be going to the playoffs to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round. With so many quality players at their disposal, ranging from quarterback Lamar Jackson on offense to the likes of American-Nigerian duo Oweh and Nnamdi Madubuike on defense, the Ravens have a real chance of success.
They started the 2024 season off poorly but recovered for a 12-5 regular season record and Oweh did his bit to help end the regular season on a high note and bring up double digits -- 10 sacks for his campaign.
Honorable mentions
YaYa Diaby, who is of Guinean heritage, will be heading to the playoffs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and also ended his regular season off on a high with a sack in the 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. This, too, was a strong contender for moment of the week and Diaby was a real contender for Player of the Week. Ultimately, Paye stood out in a team which was playing worse than Diaby's and thus pipped him to the honor.
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Julian Okwara, who was born in London but raised in Nigeria, made a sack in the 47-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Osa Odighizuwa -- also of Nigerian heritage -- finished the season with a career-high 4.5 sacks, including 0.5 in the last game, but that ended in a 23-19 loss to the Washington Commanders to bring a sadly fitting end to a disappointing Dallas Cowboys season.
Africa-born Player Watch
Three of the best African-born players in the league bowed out on a high with impressive moments in week 18.
Paye was one with his match-clinching performance for the Indianapolis Colts. Others were Emmanuel Ogbah (Nigeria) - who got half a sack in the Miami Dolphins' 32-20 loss to the New York Jets -- and compatriot Joseph Ossai, who ended off a breakout season with half a sack in the Cincinnati Bengals' 19-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It looked momentarily as if the Bengals may sneak into the playoffs largely as a result of Ossai's efforts in the last few weeks, but when the Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-0, the plan unraveled.
Gus Edwards sat out week 18 with an ankle injury, but the Liberian-born LA Chargers running back is a player to watch if he can make it back to full fitness in time for the wild card round match against the Houston Texans on January 11.