Aldon Smith named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

Aldon Smith's 5.5 sacks against the Chicago Bears set a record for Monday Night Football, and on Wednesday the NFL announced that the San Francisco 49ers linebacker was named as the NFC Player of the Week. The honor comes as no surprise, and what's more impressive for the second-year pro is where those 5.5 sacks place him historically.

The big game gave Smith the most sacks by any NFL player thus far this season. At 29 on the year, that's two more sacks than Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, who last year topped Smith as the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year winner.

Where Smith stands through 26 games as a pro is even more impressive. Right now, he sits behind only Reggie White and Derrick Thomas for the number of sacks through a players' first two seasons. White had 31 sacks and Thomas recorded 30.

And with 29 sacks in his NFL career, Smith still has six more games to surpass White and Thomas.