After leading their teams to impressive wins, quarterbacks Tommy Maddox of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Joey Harrington of the Detroit Lions were among the NFL Players of the Week announced Wednesday.
Maddox completed 21-of-29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Steelers to a 34-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Maddox came up clutch against the tenacious Ravens defense, completing 8-of-10 passes on third down in his first career Week One start. He did not throw an interception and led the league with a 134.3 passer rating.
"He looked sharp, really sharp, especially for Game One," Steelers running back Jerome Bettis said about Maddox. "I don't think that there was any drop-off from last year."
Harrington, who endured a rough rookie season in 2002, is the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He was 17-of-30 for 195 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 42-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals. His passer rating of 116 also was a career high.
"I liked Joey's decision making," first-year Lions coach Steve Mariucci said. "He had no sacks and no turnovers and I don't remember him forcing a ball into coverage. He spread the ball around to a bunch of different receivers and did a good job."
Harrington had completions to six different players.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes, one of the league's biggest free agent acquisitions in the offseason, was instrumental in a 31-0 pounding of the New England Patriots and is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. One of four new defensive starters, Spikes helped limit the Patriots to just 239 yards. He became the first Bills linebacker with two interceptions in game since November 1990 and had seven tackles, including two for losses.
Minnesota Vikings safety Corey Chavous also had a pair of interceptions and earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Chavous had seven tackles, helping the Vikings to a 30-25 road win over the Green Bay Packers. Both of his interceptions came inside Vikings' territory.
San Francisco 49ers running back Terry Jackson made the most of numerous opportunities on kickoff coverage in a 49-7 thrashing of the Chicago Bears and won the special teams award in the NFC. Jackson had six tackles on special teams and recovered two fumbles.
Tennessee Titans punter Craig Hentrich was pressed into emergency duty as kicker and is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. After Joe Nedney left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, Hentrich was 3-for-3 on field goals to lead the Titans to a 25-20 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Hentrich tied his career high with a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and booted a 33-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He hadn't attempted a field goal since 1995, when he was with the Packers.
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Maddox completed 21-of-29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Steelers to a 34-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Maddox came up clutch against the tenacious Ravens defense, completing 8-of-10 passes on third down in his first career Week One start. He did not throw an interception and led the league with a 134.3 passer rating.
"He looked sharp, really sharp, especially for Game One," Steelers running back Jerome Bettis said about Maddox. "I don't think that there was any drop-off from last year."
Harrington, who endured a rough rookie season in 2002, is the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He was 17-of-30 for 195 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 42-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals. His passer rating of 116 also was a career high.
"I liked Joey's decision making," first-year Lions coach Steve Mariucci said. "He had no sacks and no turnovers and I don't remember him forcing a ball into coverage. He spread the ball around to a bunch of different receivers and did a good job."
Harrington had completions to six different players.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes, one of the league's biggest free agent acquisitions in the offseason, was instrumental in a 31-0 pounding of the New England Patriots and is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. One of four new defensive starters, Spikes helped limit the Patriots to just 239 yards. He became the first Bills linebacker with two interceptions in game since November 1990 and had seven tackles, including two for losses.
Minnesota Vikings safety Corey Chavous also had a pair of interceptions and earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Chavous had seven tackles, helping the Vikings to a 30-25 road win over the Green Bay Packers. Both of his interceptions came inside Vikings' territory.
San Francisco 49ers running back Terry Jackson made the most of numerous opportunities on kickoff coverage in a 49-7 thrashing of the Chicago Bears and won the special teams award in the NFC. Jackson had six tackles on special teams and recovered two fumbles.
Tennessee Titans punter Craig Hentrich was pressed into emergency duty as kicker and is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. After Joe Nedney left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, Hentrich was 3-for-3 on field goals to lead the Titans to a 25-20 win over the Oakland Raiders.
Hentrich tied his career high with a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and booted a 33-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He hadn't attempted a field goal since 1995, when he was with the Packers.
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