October 15, 2025, will go down as a special day for Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean.

Not only is Dean celebrating his 29th birthday on Wednesday, but the veteran defensive back was also given Week 6 NFC Player of the Week honors after one of the best games of his career this past Sunday against the 49ers.

Jamel Dean Recognized After Making Big Plays In Week 6

After the Bucs revised Jamel Dean’s contract going into this season, he decided to bet on himself in 2025 before entering the open market next offseason. So far, Dean is well on his way for the torrid start he has put together.

The game-changing plays started in Week 3, when Dean picked off Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor for a 55-yard pick-six right before halftime in a game Tampa Bay would go on to win 29-27.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

Then came the veteran cornerback’s latest effort with the team facing a 4-2 49ers team. Dean made his first scene to end the first quarter, coming around on a blitz to bring down quarterback Mac Jones and force a fumble that San Francisco recovered. It was the first sack of his seven-year career, and after the game, head coach Todd Bowles made quite the resounding statement about him.

“That was [Jamel] Dean’s first sack that I have seen in my career and that was probably the best play that I can say next to Mike Evans getting 1,000 yards last year that I have ever seen,” Bowles joked. “That goes down in history for me.”

It will also go down in history as it is the first career Defensive Player of the Week Award for Dean, and he becomes the first Bucs cornerback to earn the honor since Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber did in Week 1 back in 2012. The former Auburn Tiger is also the second alumni to win Defensive Player of the Week, joining Rod Hood, who earned that honor with the Cardinals in Week 5 of the 2007 season.

That was not the only splash play No. 35 made, though.

In a 27-19 game with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dean also came down with an interception.

Overall, Dean recorded four tackles, a sack, forced fumble and interception in Tampa Bay’s 30-19 victory over San Francisco. That is quite the otherworldly stat line, as it marked the first performance with a sack, forced fumble and interception by an NFC player this season.

As mentioned above by the Buccaneers’ communications team, he currently leads the NFL in lowest passer rating when targeted (20.8), is tied for second in lowest completion rate when targeted (42.1%) and is tied for fifth in interceptions.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

Don’t look now, but Dean is making quite the scene in 2025. There is no denying that through the first third of the season, he has been the top cornerback in the league. The numbers say so, and now the recognition has come. He and the rest of the Bucs’ defense will look to continue building off their last performance in the Motor City on Monday night.

For Jamel Dean, this one will be personal as he infamously dropped an interception in the end zone during Tampa Bay’s playoff loss to Detroit in 2023. One can imagine he has had this game circled on his calendar for a while.