Quarterbacks BRETT FAVRE of the Green Bay Packers, JAKE DELHOMME of the Carolina Panthers, and PEYTON MANNING of the Indianapolis Colts are the finalists for FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week honors for games played on December 24-27, while running backs SHAUN ALEXANDER of the Seattle Seahawks, DOMANICK DAVIS of the Houston Texans and WILLIS MC GAHEE of the Buffalo Bills are the finalists for FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced Tuesday.
Fans can vote for one player in each category on NFL.com from Tuesday morning through Thursday afternoon to determine the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week. The FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week will be announced Thursday on NFL.com and Friday in USA Today.
Fans will be voting for more than their favorite player. 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:
- Green Bay's Brett Favre completed 30 of 43 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 109.2 in the Packers' 34-31 victory over the NFC North-rival Minnesota Vikings. Favre threw touchdown passes of three, nine and 22 yards and led the Packers 76 yards in the final 1:35 to set up the game-winning field goal.
- Carolina's Jake Delhomme threw for 214 yards and four touchdowns, completing 19 of 24 passes for a passer rating of 143.4 in the Panthers' 37-20 victory over the NFC South-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Delhomme completed touchdown passes of two, four, six and 15 yards in the win, keeping the Panthers' playoff hopes alive.
- Indianapolis' Peyton Manning threw for 383 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 95.2, completing 27 of 44 passes in the Colts' 34-31 overtime victory over the San Diego Chargers. Manning's second touchdown pass of the game, a 21-yarder to Brandon Stokley to help tie the score at 31, gave him a record 49 TD passes this season.
A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week finalists:
- Seattle's Shaun Alexander carried 30 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns in the Seahawks' 24-21 victory over the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals. He scored from one, 17 and 23 yards out, giving him 15 TDs in 2004.
- Houston's Domanick Davis ran for 150 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries in the Texans' 21-0 victory over the AFC South-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. Davis scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
- Buffalo's Willis McGahee carried 15 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the Bills' 41-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. McGahee scored on runs of one and three yards, giving him 11 touchdowns this season.
*FedEx, the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services, is the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.
Through the weekly FedEx Air and Ground Awards, FedEx recognizes those NFL players who represent the same speed, precision and teamwork that their customers have come to expect from the full range of FedEx air, ground, freight and international shipping services.*
