SHANAHAN, CUTLER, HILLIS ALL UP FOR WEEKLY RECOGNITION

PEYTON HILLIS NOMINATED FOR TWO AWARDS!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR HILLIS, ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR HILLIS, GROUND AWARD

Quarterback JOE FLACCO of the Baltimore Ravens, fullback PEYTON HILLIS of the Denver Broncos, running back CHRIS JOHNSON of the Tennessee Titans, quarterback MATT RYAN of the Atlanta Falcons and running back STEVE SLATON of the Houston Texans are the finalists for DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK honors for games played on November 27 - December 1, the NFL announced today. 

Fans can vote for one of these five players on NFL.com/rookies beginning Tuesday at 8am ET and ending on Friday at noon ET to determine the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK.  The DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK will be announced Friday evening on NFL.com/rookies.

In addition, for the fourth year, NFL fans may cast their votes for the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK using phones with Sprint wireless service - an opportunity available only to Sprint customers.  This fast, convenient voting method involves texting the word PEPSI to short code 7777.  Sprint customers will then receive an interactive text message that links fans to the ballot with the five finalists each week.  Data and text messaging rates may apply.

After the regular season, five players will be nominated for Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors.  Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com/rookies throughout the month of January.  The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.

A closer look at the finalists:

• Baltimore's JOE FLACCO passed for a career-high 280 yards and two touchdowns completing 19 of 29 attempts in the Ravens' 34-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
• Denver's PEYTON HILLIS amassed 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts in the Broncos' 34-17 win against the New York Jets.

A few other notes on Hillis:

* - Hillis' 129 rushing yards ranked second among all rookies (5^th among all NFL players) for Week 13. His rushing output marked the 95th individual 100-yard game by the 14th different Bronco (both are NFL highs) in the Mike Shanahan era (1995-Pres.) and represented the first individual 100-yard rushing game given up by the Jets this season.

* - With his 100-yard rushing game against the Jets, Hillis became the first rookie in Broncos history and only the second player overall (Floyd Little, 1968) to record both a 100-yard rushing game and a 100-yard receiving game in the same season.

* - Among players with at least 20 carries for the week, Hillis' 5.9-yard per rush average ranked second NFL.

* - His rushing touchdown, from 1-yard out, gave Denver a 24-14 lead in the second quarter and marked his third consecutive game with a rushing score.

• Tennessee's CHRIS JOHNSON rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in the Titans' 47-10 win over the Detroit Lions.

• Atlanta's MATT RYAN completed 17 of 23 passing attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns as the Falcons defeated the San Diego Chargers 22-16.
• Houston's STEVE SLATON rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns over 21 carries. Slaton added 52 receiving yards in the Texans' 30 - 17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football.
  

JAY CUTLER NOMINATED FOR AIR AWARD, HILLIS NOMINATED FOR GROUND AWARD -- CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR JAY and PEYTON

Quarterbacks JAY CUTLER of the Denver Broncos, DONOVAN MC NABB of the Philadelphia Eagles and TONY ROMO of the Dallas Cowboys are the finalists for the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week honors for games played on November 27 - December 1, while running backs PEYTON HILLIS of the Denver Broncos, BRIAN WESTBROOK of the Philadelphia Eagles and DE ANGELO WILLIAMS of the Carolina Panthers are the finalists for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced today.

Fans can vote for one player in each category on NFL.com/FedEx from 9 a.m. EST on Tuesday through 11 a.m. EST on Friday to determine the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week.  The winners will be announced Friday evening on NFL.com. 

Fans will be voting for more than their favorite player. As part of the Air & Ground program for the first time, FedEx is teaming up with Safe Kids USA - a national non-profit organization that works to prevent accidental injury among children - to deliver safer kids by making weekly $1,000 donations in the winning players' names.  The funding directly benefits local Safe Kids coalitions in that team's city, to fund pedestrian safety improvements throughout the year. This year, FedEx celebrates its fifth year of the program and will surpass the $1 million mark in funding to create safer communities for children.

New this season, fans can tune into the "FedEx Air & Ground Lowdown" posted only on NFL.com/FedEx starting Wednesday mornings.  The show examines the nominees in the Air & Ground categories through exclusive video highlights and expert analysis.  NFL Network's MARSHALL FAULK and TERRELL DAVIS host the weekly five-minute show. 

A closer look at the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week finalists:

• Denver's JAY CUTLER passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns completing 27 of 43 attempts in the Broncos' 34-17 win over the New York Jets.
  
  A few other notes on Cutler:

* - Cutler's 357 passing yards led the NFL for Week 13 and represented his sixth 300-yard passing game this year, setting a Broncos single-season record.

* - He was one of three AFC passers with multiple touchdown passes for the week - His two touchdown passes made him the fastest player in Denver annals (33 games) to reach 50 touchdown passes.

* - His 238 passing yards (18-of-28, 1 TD, 0 INT) in the first half in New York were the highest total in a half by any AFC quarterback for Week 13.

• Philadelphia's DONOVAN MC NABB amassed 260 air yards and four touchdowns completing 27 of 39 passing attempts as the Eagles defeated the Arizona Cardinals 48-20.

• Dallas' TONY ROMO completed 22 of 34 attempts for three touchdowns and 331 yards in the Cowboys' 34-9 Thanksgiving victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week finalists:

• Denver's PEYTON HILLIS amassed 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts in the Broncos' 34-17 win against the New York Jets.

• Philadelphia's BRIAN WESTBROOK added 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts to the Eagles' 48-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

• Carolina's DE ANGELO WILLIAMS rushed for 72 yards and four touchdowns on 21 attempts as the Panthers defeated the Packers 35-31.

MIKE SHANAHAN NOMINATED FOR COACH of the WEEK - CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR SHANNY

Head coaches BRAD CHILDRESS of the Minnesota Vikings, MIKE SHANAHAN of the Denver Broncos and MIKE TOMLIN of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the nominees for MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE WEEK honors for games played November 27 - December 1, the NFL announced today.

Fans can vote on NFL.com for the head coach whose game plan played the greatest role in his team's victory.  Voting will take place from Tuesday morning through noon ET on Friday to determine the MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE WEEK.  The winner will be announced Friday afternoon on NFL.com.  In January, voting will be held on NFL.com to determine the MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE YEAR.

A closer look at the Motorola NFL Coach of the Week nominees:

• BRAD CHILDRESS and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears 34 - 14 to take first place in the NFC North on Sunday Night Football. The Minnesota offense controlled the ball for nearly 34 minutes. Vikings QB Gus Frerotte completed 16 of 25 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown. RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor each rushed for one touchdown and Peterson led the Vikings with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries. The Vikings forced three interceptions and DE Jared Allen recorded three sacks.

• MIKE SHANAHAN led the Denver Broncos to beat the New York Jets 34 - 17 for Denver's third consecutive road win. With the win, Shanahan tied Steve Owen for 16th in NFL history in career wins with his 153rd overall victory. The Broncos totaled 484 yards of offense, including 357 passing yards and two touchdowns from QB Jay Cutler and 129 rushing yards and one touchdown from rookie FB Peyton Hillis. Denver's defense limited Jets QB Brett Favre to a 60.9 passer rating and recorded one interception and two sacks.

• MIKE TOMLIN led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 33-10 road victory over the New England Patriots. The Steelers offense controlled possession for more than 35 minutes. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and the Steelers gained an additional 161 yards rushing. Pittsburgh limited New England to 267 total yards on offense and recorded five sacks and five turnovers on defense holding New England to only one-of-13 (eight percent) on third downs.