Week 9 Top Performers
Posted: Tuesday November 03, 1998 12:45 AM
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Freeman had seven catches for 193 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the game AP |
No big preamble this week. As the NFL season reaches its midpoint, we're
sticking with fundamentals -- hand out the awards, reel off the stats,
leave the broad, league-wide comments for the weekly capsules. No
backhanded comments, no wild generalizations, none of that fluff. Onto this
week's honors ... Top Ground Gainer
The guy needs some publicity. He's got two straight 1,000-yard seasons,
he's third in the league in rushing, and nobody's heard of him. Atlanta's
Jamal Anderson has 862
rushing yards, putting him on pace to break Gerald Riggs' team record of
1,719 yards.
On Sunday, he set a career high with 172 yards on 22 carries, rushing for
two touchdowns and catching a third in the Falcons' 37-15 romp over the
Rams. To show how far he's come, consider that Anderson had more rushing
yards on Sunday than he did in his first two NFL seasons.
Anderson has rushed for 100 yards five times in the last six games, but
Sunday was only the third game this season in which he's averaged better
than 4 yards per carry. By next week, he may be only the third Falcons
running back to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons, joining
William Andrews (1979-81) and Riggs (1984-86). Offensive Outburst
Award
Heading this year's ready-for-the-big-bucks free-agents-in-waiting is
Packers receiver Antonio
Freeman, who caught two long touchdown passes from Brett Favre in the
Packers' 36-22 win over San Francisco. Freeman had seven catches for 193
yards, including an 80-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the game
and a key 62-yard bomb that gave the Packers the go-ahead touchdown late.
Freeman is up for free agency after the season, and now has the NFL lead in
both touchdowns (8) and receiving yards (820) and is on pace to break the
team record of 1,497 yards (Robert Brooks, 1995).
Sterling Sharpe's record of 18 touchdown grabs is certainly within reach.
With every touchdown, Freeman's off-season price tag goes up a little bit,
which isn't good news for Packers fans. Losing Effort Award
Ah, Neil O'Donnell.
This award is all his. You look at his numbers this season -- 12 touchdown
passes, one interception -- and you hear that his team has the NFL's fewest
turnovers and penalties, and you think, "How can the Bengals be 2-6?"
Sunday was typical 1998 O'Donnell: three touchdowns, no interceptions, 257
yards and one 33-26 loss to the Broncos. His mistake came in tying the game
(and tossing a crucial two-point conversion) with a full three
minutes remaining -- plenty of time for John Elway to meander down
the field and pull off another fourth-quarter comeback. O'Donnell has now
gone 209 pass attempts without an interception -- the NFL record is Bernie
Kosar's 308.
The road doesn't get any easier for O'Donnell -- his next two games are at
Jacksonville and at Minnesota. If you're wondering how many interceptions
he'll finish 1998 with, go ahead and pencil in seven -- he's had exactly
that many in five of the last seven seasons. Top Rushing
Performers
Jamal Anderson, Falcons, 22 carries, 172 yards
Eddie George, Oilers, 34
carries, 153 yards
Terrell Davis, Broncos, 27
carries, 149 yards
Mike
Alstott, Buccaneers, 19 carries, 128 yards
Warrick Dunn, Buccaneers,
18 carries, 115 yards
Corey Dillon, Bengals, 35
carries, 110 yards
Barry
Sanders, Lions, 27 carries, 107 yards
Emmitt Smith, Cowboys, 23
carries, 101 yards
Fred
Lane, Panthers, 35 carries, 101 yards
Garrison Hearst, 49ers, 17
carries, 99 yards
Karim
Abdul-Jabbar, Dolphins, 22 carries, 97 yards Top Passing
Performances
Billy Joe Tolliver, Saints, 24-48, 2 INT, 2 TD, 325 yards
Drew Bledsoe, Patriots,
22-35, 1 INT, 2 TD, 306 yards
Randall Cunningham, Vikings,
21-25, 1 INT, 2 TD, 291 yards
Brett Favre, Packers, 15-28, 3 INT, 3 TD,
279 yards
Peyton
Manning, Colts, 30-52, 2 INT, 2 TD, 278 yards
Warren Moon, Seahawks,
29-39, 1 INT, 1 TD, 275 yards
Vinny Testaverde, Jets,
20-34, 1 INT, 1 TD, 260 yards
Neil O'Donnell, Bengals, 20-37, 0 INT, 3
TD, 257 yards
Jim
Harbaugh, Ravens, 27-34, 1 INT, 3 TD, 243 yards
Mark Brunell, Jaguars,
13-20, 1 INT, 2 TD, 237 yards
Donald Hollas, Raiders,
12-22, 1 INT, 2 TD, 237 yards Top Receiving Performances
Antonio Freeman, Packers, 7 receptions, 193 yards
Courtney Hawkins,
Steelers, 14 receptions, 147 yards
Ed McCaffrey, Broncos, 7
receptions, 133 yards
Marshall Faulk, Colts, 9
receptions, 119 yards
Jake Reed, Vikings, 6
receptions, 117 yards
Charles Johnson, Steelers,
9 receptions, 115 yards
Johnnie Morton, Lions, 7
receptions, 115 yards
Ben Coates, Patriots, 10
receptions, 109 yards
Tony Simmons, Patriots, 4
receptions, 109 yards
Rob Moore, Cardinals, 5
receptions, 107 yards
Sean Dawkins, Saints, 6
receptions, 102 yards
Wayne Chrebet, Jets, 6
receptions, 101 yards
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