Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre is the NFL's second-leading passer (101.7 rating) and has taken the Packers to an NFL-best 8-1 record this season. He is also the top player in the league in terms of fan popularity on NFL.com, the NFL announced today.
Favre's bio and stats page on NFL.com has been accessed more than any player over the first two months of the season, according to the website.
Rounding out the top five: Dallas running back Emmitt Smith, who set the all-time NFL rushing mark last month; Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who has a career-high 96.0 passer rating; Miami running back Ricky Williams, who ranks third in the AFC with 811 rushing yards; and Kansas City running back Priest Holmes, who leads the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,353), and total touchdowns (16).
Following are the most popular players on NFL.com through the first half of the season (9/8-11/4/02):
- Brett Favre, Green Bay
- Emmitt Smith, Dallas
- Drew Bledsoe, Buffalo
- Ricky Williams, Miami
- Priest Holmes, Kansas City
- Marshall Faulk, St. Louis
- Jerry Rice, Oakland
- Michael Vick, Atlanta
- Tom Brady, New England
- LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D.
In September, a record 9.81 million unique users visited the NFL Internet Network - an increase of 47 percent from September 2001 (6.68 million), according to Nielsen// NetRatings. The NFL Internet Network - made up of NFL-related websites, including NFL.com and the websites of the 32 NFL clubs - was the second most-visited sports website for the month.
