Peppers would also be named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month in November 2004 and finished fourth overall in the voting by the Associated Press for the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. He would also be named the NFC Defensive player of the Year by the Kansas City Committee, as well as the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year. 2005 season Peppers broke a bone in his right hand in the sixth game of the season against the Lions, but would return to the game with a cast and help the Panthers get a win 21–20. He would play the next few games with a cast on his hand. Peppers would record two impressive 3 sack games during the season, one against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, in which addition to his 3 sacks, Peppers also recorded 5 tackles. His other 3 sack effort came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, in this game Peppers also recorded 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed, and 1 blocked kick. Peppers was an absolute menace and was all over the field for the Panthers defense, but despite Peppers efforts, the Panthers would lose the game 20–24. For the season Peppers recorded 38 solo tackles, 12 assisted tackles, 10.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 6 passes defensed, 5 stuffs, and 1 blocked kick. Peppers would make his second Pro Bowl for his efforts. In the wild card round of the playoffs, Peppers was part of defensive effort that held scoreless the New York Giants offense that ranked third in the NFL in points per game. The Giants managed just 132 yards total offense. Panthers became the first team to register a shutout on the road in the playoffs since 1980 when the Los Angeles Rams posted a 9-0 victory at Tampa Bay (1/5/80) in the 1979 NFC Championship. Carolina shutout was third in team history. Panthers coach John Fox had Carolina prepared for everything New York attempted, rattling Eli Manning into four turnovers and sacking him 4 times, pressuring him throughout the game en route to a 23-0 victory. Peppers contributed 2 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass defensed. In the divisional round against the Chicago Bears, Peppers hurt his shoulder while driving Bears running back Thomas Jones out of bounds near the goal line in the fourth quarter. Peppers went to the locker room