Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson returns his interception Sunday against the Giants.
 
 
He was suffering from bad leg cramps that kept him out of some plays late in Sunday night's game, but that didn't stop safety Adrian Wilson from having his best game of the season.

So maybe it's not a surprise it didn't stop Wilson – who spearheaded a defense that led the Cards to a significant 24-17 victory in New York over the Giants – from receiving the NFC's defensive player of the week award.

Wilson had five tackles – two for loss – to go with an interception, a near-interception and a fumble recovery. It's the third time in his career he has won the award, to go with honors after a game against Dallas in 2002 and a game against New Orleans in 2004.

The interception was Wilson's 19th in his career, leaving him one short in both interceptions and sacks to become a 20-20 man. When he reaches that level, he'll become the ninth man in NFL history to do so.

The pick led to the Cards' game-winning touchdown drive. The fumble recovery stalled a Giant drive for a game-tying touchdown in Arizona territory.

The only other Cardinals to ever have captured the defensive award three times are current teammate Antrel Rolle and former cornerback Aeneas Williams. It's the third award this year for the Cards this season. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was named the conference's defensive player of the week in Week Five, and Calais Campbell won special teams player honors in Week Two.