Winfield wins NFC award for his big game

Cornerback Antoine Winfield played arguably the best game of his career Monday and was rewarded Tuesday by being named the NFC defensive player of the week.

Winfield stuffed the stat sheet and made several game-changing plays in the Vikings' 30-27 victory over New Orleans. He recorded a sack, forced fumble and a fumble recovery on one play in the second quarter, setting up a touchdown. The fumble recovery was Winfield's 20th takeaway as a Viking (13 interceptions, seven fumble recoveries).

Winfield also returned a blocked field goal 59 yards for a score. He was credited with eight tackles, including five tackles for loss, and also had one pass break-up.

It is the first time Winfield has been named the defensive player of the week during the regular season. He received that honor in the 2004 postseason after collecting 13 tackles and an interception against Green Bay.

"It just speaks to his high level of play here over the first five weeks of the season," coach Brad Childress said.

Quarterback Gus Frerotte said he felt fine physically Tuesday after taking several big hits. He left the game for one play after getting drilled in the chest area by Saints defensive end Will Smith.

"I was just dizzy," Frerotte said. "Some birds flying around my head. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make that play, so I had to lay on the ground and let [Tarvaris Jackson] get warmed up. Any time something like that happens they have to evaluate you on the sidelines. I had to prove to them that I was able to go back in the game."

Childress said Frerotte tried to sneak away from the athletic trainers on the sideline so that he could re-enter the game.

"They were trying to tackle me, not letting me go back out," Frerotte said. "But I wasn't having any of that."

Childress did not give much information when asked exactly what doctors found when they performed season-ending surgery on the left foot of middle linebacker E.J. Henderson.

"It's just so hard for me to tell," Childress said. "I'd probably have an M.D. do that so I don't screw up somebody's ligament or tendon or what have you. But suffice to say it needed to be fixed and there was a little additional stuff that they wanted to do."

• Childress on whether talk about his job security is fair: "Does fair have anything to do with it? You guys drive that, and wins and losses drive that. That just goes with the place that you stand. I just ignore it and worry about who we've got to get ready for this week."

• Bernard Berrian's 110 receiving yards Monday marked the first time since the second game of 2006 that a Vikings receiver had 100 yards. Troy Williamson caught six passes for 102 yards in a victory over Carolina. That was Childress' second game as the Vikings coach.

• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Monday's game was the first in league history to include each of the following: two punt returns for a touchdown, a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a touchdown pass by a nonquarterback and two field goals of more than 50 yards.

• ESPN research revealed Frerotte went 10 years and 359 days between victories as a starter on ''Monday Night Football.'' Frerotte and Chris Chandler are the only quarterbacks to go at least 10 years between Monday night victories.