Odafe Oweh gave himself plenty of reason to enjoy his 27th birthday on Monday, picking up two sacks for the Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday's 16-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
That game saw plenty for African NFL fans to cheer as another player with ties to the continent -- Charles Omenihu -- shone for the Chiefs. Elsewhere in week 15 among African stars, Jaxon Smith-Njigba continued his incredible form for the Seattle Seahawks and defending Super Bowl champion Moro Ojomo had a game to remember for the Philadelphia Eagles.
African Player of the Week: Odafe Oweh
Oweh was the star of the show for the Chargers on defense in their narrow win over the Chiefs, taking his sack total for the season to seven -- all coming since his October trade to the Chargers from the Baltimore Ravens.
Both of his sacks came at crunch time, with the game in a critical stage shortly before the final stretch. Oweh shrugged off Esa Pole to bring down Patrick Mahomes midway through the third quarter to get his first sack of the game with the scores level at 13-13.
Cameron Dicker put the Chargers ahead with a 49-yard field goal late in the third quarter, with the visitors at Arrowhead Stadium overcoming a 13-10 half-time deficit to lead 16-13 heading into the final quarter.
From there, no further points were scored on either side - and Oweh played a key role in ensuring the Chargers defense held firm. He set the tone immediately in the fourth quarter with another sack on Mahomes.
Oweh -- who was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, to a family with Nigerian heritage on both sides -- broke through Nigeria's Chukwuebuka 'Chu' Jason Godrick to send Mahomes back six yards.
The Chargers never looked back and went 10-4 for the season to date -- leaving the Chiefs at 6-8 and with their playoff hopes in a perilous position.
African Moment of the Week: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Smith-Njigba was at his dazzling best as he danced through the Colts defense in a narrow 18-16 win -- a game in which the Seahawks needed all of the 113 yards he gained them across seven receptions.
There was one particularly impressive catch which came with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter as the Seahawks were looking to claw their way back from behind.
After receiving the ball from Sam Darnold, Smith-Njigba wiggled through Mekhi Blackmon and Germaine Pratt with a dazzling piece of footwork that would have made Lionel Messi proud. Smith-Njigba -- who is of Sierra Leonean descent -- gained 39 yards for the Seahawks on that occasion, which was his longest reception of the game.
At 11-3 for the season, the Seahawks are well-positioned to keep the pressure on the Los Angeles Rams for the top seed in the NFC right until the end of the regular season.
Honorable mentions
Charles Omenihu -- also of Nigerian descent, just as Oweh is -- picked up 1.5 sacks in the Chiefs' defeat to the Chargers.
Moro Ojomo made a huge sack in the Philadelphia Eagles' 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, which was a contender for Africa's Moment of the Week but ultimately lost out to the brilliance of Smith-Njigba.
Nick Emmanwori (ties to Nigeria) was another player who shone for the Seahawks in their narrow win, picking up seven tackles and a sack. Meanwhile, Esezi Otomewo picked one up in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 28-15 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The Rams sealed their playoff berth with a 41-34 win over the Detroit Lions and Zimbabwe's Nate Landman was in the thick of the action once more with 10 tackles.
San Francisco's Malik Mustapha -- known affectionately as the 'Nigerian Missile', equalled Landman's tackle haul for the week in the 49ers' 37-24 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Nigerian-American Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Christian Izien had a superb showing with eight tackles and a forced fumble against the Atlanta Falcons. However, the game ended in a 29-28 loss.
Africa-born Player Watch
Week 15 was a memorable one for Harare-born Landman due to his team's success and Lagos-born Ojomo for his huge hit on Kenny Pickett.
It was also a day worth waiting for for Chu Godrick as he turned out for the Kansas City Chiefs in a regular season game.
Given the previous success of the likes of Nigeria's CJ Okoye for the Baltimore Ravens and Zimbabwe's TJ Maguanyanga for the Washington Commanders in breaking into NFL teams, 2025 looks set to be remembered as the year of African International Player Pathway (IPP) Program players finally fulfilling their promise and proving that the sky is the limit for the continent.