Defensive end ELVIS DUMERVIL of the Denver Broncos, linebacker LONDON FLETCHER of the Washington Redskins, cornerback NICK HARPER of the Tennessee Titans, defensive end DARRYL TAPP of the Seattle Seahawks and defensive end OSI UMENYIORA of the New York Giants are the finalists for GMC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK honors for games played on October 21 - 22, the NFL announced today.
Fans can vote for one of these five players on NFL.com beginning immediately following Monday Night Football and ending on Thursday at 4:00 pm EST to determine the GMC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK. The winner will be announced Thursday evening on NFL.com.
After the regular season, five players will be nominated for GMC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com throughout the month of January.
A closer look at the finalists:
* Denver's ELVIS DUMERVIL sacked Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger twice for a loss of 18 yards, to raise his season total to six, as he logged his third multi-sack in six games this season. Both sacks were impactful thwarting Pittsburgh scoring opportunities, and one produced points for Denver. Dumervil totaled four solo tackles and forced a fumble in the Broncos' 31 - 28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
* Washington's LONDON FLETCHER made plays all over the field in the Redskins' 21 - 19 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He collected 13 tackles and ran back an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter.
* Tennessee's NICK HARPER made eight solo tackles and two interceptions in the Titans' 38 - 36 win over the Houston Texans. Both of Harper's interceptions started Titans' drives that resulted in field goals.
* Seattle's DARRYL TAPP posted five solo tackles including four sacks and forced one fumble in the Seahawks' 33 - 6 win over the St. Louis Rams. Tapp led a Seahawks defense that held St. Louis to just 53 yards rushing, and 221 yards overall, and kept the Rams out of the end zone all day.
* New York's OSI UMENYIORA totaled three tackles (two solo), one sack and one forced fumble in the Giants' 33 - 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants (5-2) sacked Trent Dilfer six times, with the biggest being a third-quarter takedown by Umenyiora that resulted in the perfect play -- a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and 75-yard return for a touchdown.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ELVIS DUMERVIL!!
Wide receiver DWAYNE BOWE of the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive end TIM CROWDER of the Denver Broncos, wide receiver CALVIN JOHNSON of the Detroit Lions, running back MARSHAWN LYNCH of the Buffalo Bills and running back PIERRE THOMAS of the New Orleans Saints are the finalists for DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK honors for games played on October 21 - 22, the NFL announced today.
Fans can vote for one of these five players on NFL.com beginning Tuesday at 8am EST and ending on Friday at noon 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.
In addition, for the third 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 throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.
A closer look at the finalists:
* Kansas City's DWAYNE BOWE made three receptions for 84 yards including a career 58-yard reception that set up the team's winning touchdown in the Chiefs' 12 - 10 win over the Oakland Raiders.
* Denver's TIM CROWDER recovered a fumble for a 50-yard second-quarter touchdown in the Broncos' 31 - 28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
* Detroit's CALVIN JOHNSON scored one touchdown on a 32-yard run and completed two receptions for 37 yards in the Lions' 23 - 16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Johnson scored on a 32-yard run midway through the fourth quarter after Garcia's second fumble, and the play proved to be the difference in the victory.
* Buffalo's MARSHAWN LYNCH rushed for a team-high 84 yards on a career-high 27 rush attempts and scored one touchdown which provided the game-winning points in Buffalo's 19-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Lynch also set a career-high with three receptions totaling 14 yards.
* New Orleans' PIERRE THOMAS scored a touchdown in the Saints 22 - 16 win over the Falcons. Thomas rushed for 28 yards over two carries including his long 24-yard touchdown that put the Saints on top entering the fourth quarter.
This is Pepsi's sixth year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL and the third year that Diet Pepsi will present the NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR TIM CROWDER!!
Head coaches DICK JAURON of the Buffalo Bills, ROD MARINELLI of the Detroit Lions and MIKE SHANAHAN of the Denver Broncos are the nominees for MOTOROLA NFL COACH OF THE WEEK honors for games played October 21 -22, 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 EST 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:
- Buffalo's DICK JAURON coached the Bills to a 19 - 14 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Against a solid Ravens defense, Jauron's Bills were able to control the ball for more than half the game and score in three of four quarters. Under Jauron's direction, two rookies led the Bills on offense. QB Trent Edwards steered the Bills completing 11 of 21 passes for 153 yards and RB Marshawn Lynch scored the Bills' third-quarter touchdown and gained 84 yards over 27 carries. Buffalo's defense only let up two Ravens touchdowns for Baltimore's 14 points which secured the Bills' second win of the season.
- Detroit's ROD MARINELLI led the Lions to a 23 - 16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to pull within a game of Green Bay in the NFC North, improving to 3-0 at home and surpassing last season's win total. Detroit ran the ball effectively averaging 6.1 yards-per-rush (24 attempts for 147 yards and two touchdowns). The 147 yards, a season high for the Lions, combined with effective passing allowed the Lions to put up points in every quarter. A bend-but-don't-break defense worked well allowing the Bucs to move the ball but to only score in the second and fourth quarters. After the game, the players passed the credit to Marinelli, giving him the game ball after he led them to a win against the team he spent a decade with as an assistant.
- Denver's MIKE SHANAHAN brought his Broncos to a 3 - 3 record with a 31 - 28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shanahan's offense put up points in every quarter including a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give the Broncos the win. QB Jay Cutler passed for 248 yards that included three touchdowns to lead an offense that converted 70 percent of their third downs throughout the game. Denver is last in the NFL in stopping the run and the Steelers have the league's second-best rushing offense. Yet, Denver's defense was so effective that Pittsburgh RB Willie Parker (93 yards on 21 carries) had only three rushes for 10 yards in the first quarter.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR SHANNY!!
Quarterbacks TOM BRADY of the New England Patriots, JAY CUTLER of the Denver Broncos and SAGE ROSENFELS of the Houston Texans are the finalists for FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week honors for games played on October 21 - 22, while running backs BRANDON JACOBS of the New York Giants, LARRY JOHNSON of the Kansas City Chiefs and KENNY WATSON of the Cincinnati Bengals are the finalists for FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced today.
Fans can vote for one player in each category on NFL.com from 9am EST on Tuesday through 5pm EST on Thursday to determine the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week. The winners will be announced Thursday evening on NFL.com.
Fans will be voting for more than their favorite player. For the fourth season in a row, the weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are a win for the local community. Along with the award, FedEx will donate $5,000 every week to the local children's hospital in each winning market. The children's hospitals in the two season-long winner's markets, announced at this year's Super Bowl, will be awarded $25,000 each. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children's hospitals around the country in recognition of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.
A closer look at the FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week finalists:
* New England's TOM BRADY completed 21 of 25 passes for 354 yards and threw a career-high six touchdowns in the Patriots' 49 - 28 win over the Miami Dolphins. Brady led a Patriots offense that totaled 443 yards to bring the Patriots to a 7 - 0 record.
* Denver's JAY CUTLER passed for 248 yards with 22 of 29 completions and posted three touchdowns in the Broncos' 31 - 29 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cutler's smart play put the Broncos into range for the game-winning kick on the final drive of the game.
* Houston's SAGE ROSENFELS went 22 of 35 for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the Texans' 38 - 36 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Rosenfels replaced Matt Schaub in the first quarter and led a Texans' rally that tied an NFL record with four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week finalists:
- New York's BRANDON JACOBS led the Giants with 107 yards over 18 carries including one touchdown in the Giants' 33 - 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
- Kansas City's LARRY JOHNSON ran for 112 yards over 24 carries and one touchdown in the Chiefs' 12 - 10 win over the Oakland Raiders.
- Cincinnati's KENNY WATSON rushed for 130 yards over 31 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Bengals' 38 - 31 win over the New York Jets.