Week 15 Top Performers
Posted: Tuesday December 15, 1998 12:36 AM
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What about Bob: Robert Edwards rushed for a personal-best 196 yards in the Patriots' loss to the Rams AP |
As it gets to be late in the season, teams want to make sure they have a
solid running game for the playoffs. So it's no surprise that Week 15 saw
five running backs rush for more than 140 yards, a feat accomplished in
only one other weekend this season.
Three of the top six rushers this week -- Adrian Murrell, Duce Staley and Bam Morris
-- set season highs for carries. While the numbers were up for the
tailbacks, the receivers weren't getting as many passes their way.
Only two receivers caught more than 120 yards this week -- injuries might
be to blame here. Baltimore's Floyd Turner had 10 catches because starters
Jermaine Lewis and Michael Jackson were
missing and Washington's Albert Connell benefited
from injuries to Michael
Westbrook and James
Thrash last week. Without healthy receivers, it's hard to find healthy
numbers. Top Ground Gainer
Patriots rookie tailback Robert Edwards had been
missing from the New England offense for the last seven weeks. After
bursting onto the NFL scene by becoming the first player ever to score
touchdowns in his first six games, his numbers dropped considerably. On
October 19, he had his fourth straight game with 90-plus rushing yards --
since then, he hadn't been close. Until Sunday, that is.
Edwards rushed for a personal-best 196 yards in the Patriots' loss to the
Rams, helping offset Drew
Bledsoe's injury-related off-day. It could have been even more --
Edwards had 177 yards just three minutes into the second half, but with his
team trailing, the Patriots threw more in the second half. Edwards' 24
carries is his second-largest total this year, trailing only last week's
28-carry effort. Offensive Outburst Award
Quarterback Steve
McNair has quietly led the Oilers into the wild-card hunt -- the
fourth-year pro has Tennessee 8-6 and tied with the Patriots for the last
playoff berth in the AFC. In Sunday's 16-13 win over the Jaguars, McNair
passed and ran his way to victory, rushing for 81 yards and passing for 232
and a touchdown.
McNair is averaging 7.3 yards per carry this season, the NFL's best average
among runners with 50 or more carries. He held the same honor last season,
averaging 6.7 yards on his 103 carries. Where he's really improved this
season is as a passer -- he's on pace to match his 14 touchdown passes from
last season, but he's thrown only nine interceptions, down from 13 in 1997.
He's among the league's top 10 passers in yardage, completions and first
downs, and he's already matched last season's total of eight victories.
Losing Effort Award
It's the first time he's been eligible all season, but Denver's Terrell Davis gets the nod
here -- his 27-yard touchdown run put the Broncos ahead late in the fourth
quarter of what would have been the Broncos' 14th win of the year. Alas,
the Giants drove 86 yards to stun the reigning Super Bowl champs, which is
why Davis is here.
With 147 yards Sunday, Davis now has an NFL-best 1,801 yards with two games
remaining. He would need to average 152 yards to catch Eric Dickerson's NFL
record -- which isn't that far-fetched, considering Denver closes the year
at home against the Seahawks, who let Davis run for a season-high 208 yards
in October. Next week, Davis faces the Dolphins, ranked sixth in the NFL
against the run, in Miami on Monday night. Now that Denver is done with
that perfect-record thing, they can focus more energy on putting Davis in
the record books. Top Rushing Performances Garrison Hearst, 49ers,
24 carries, 198 yards
Robert Edwards, Patriots, 24 carries, 196
yards
Adrian Murrell, Cardinals, 32 carries, 174 yards
Terrell
Davis, Broncos, 28 carries, 147 yards
Jamal Anderson, Falcons,
27 carries, 148 yards
Duce Staley, Eagles, 30 carries, 141 yards
Bam Morris, Chiefs, 27 carries, 137 yards
Marshall Faulk, Colts, 26
carries, 115 yards
Gary
Brown, Giants, 18 carries, 112 yards
Dorsey Levens, Packers, 15
carries, 105 yards
Tim
Biakabutuka, Panthers, 17 carries, 103 yards
Top Passing
Performances Randall
Cunningham, Vikings, 32-55, 1 INT, 2 TD, 345 yards
Chris Chandler, Falcons,
19-28, 2 INT, 2 TD, 345 yards
Dan Marino, Dolphins, 30-57,
1 INT, 1 TD, 321 yards
Brett Favre, Packers,
26-42, 2 INT, 2 TD, 290 yards
Frank Reich, Lions, 18-35,
2 INT, 2 TD, 281 yards
Kent Graham, Giants,
21-33, 0 INT, 2 TD, 265 yards
Steve Beuerlein, Panthers,
16-25, 2 INT, 1 TD, 264 yards
Trent Green, Redskins,
23-42, 0 INT, 2 TD, 257 yards
Jake Plummer, Cardinals,
18-26, 1 INT, 1 TD, 234 yards
Steve McNair, Oilers, 22-39, 1 INT, 1 TD,
232 yards
Vinny
Testaverde, Jets, 17-29, 1 INT, 1 TD, 232 yards
Koy Detmer, Eagles,
16-28, 1 INT, 1 TD, 219 yards
Jim Harbaugh, Ravens,
16-26, 1 INT, 1 TD, 212 yards
Top Receiving Performances Terance Mathis, Falcons, 6
catches, 198 yards
Floyd Turner, Ravens, 10 catches, 147 yards
Muhsin Muhammad, Panthers,
7 catches, 118 yards
Albert Connell, Redskins, 8 catches, 116 yards
Tony Martin, Falcons, 8
catches, 109 yards
Rob
Moore, Cardinals, 7 catches, 109 yards
Wayne Chrebet, Jets, 5
catches, 105 yards
O.J. Mcduffie, Dolphins, 11 catches, 105 yards
Antonio Freeman,
Packers, 8 catches, 103 yards
Jimmy Smith, Jaguars, 6
catches, 103 yards
Chris
Calloway, Giants, 5 catches, 99 yards
Matthew Hatchette,
Vikings, 6 catches, 95 yards
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