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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RAIDERS WR JERRY RICE, EAGLES S DAMON MOORE & PACKERS P JOSH BIDWELL NAMED NFL PLAYERS OF WILD CARD WEEK
Wide receiver JERRY RICE of the Oakland Raiders, safety DAMON MOORE of the Philadelphia Eagles and punter JOSH BIDWELL of the Green Bay Packers are the NFL Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for Wild Card Weekend (January 12-13), the NFL announced today. Rice had nine receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown in the Raiders’ 38-24 victory over the New York Jets. Five of his receptions were for 20-plus yards. Rice’s 21-yard scoring catch with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter provided the game-winning points. His 183-yard effort was the 10th best receiving performance in NFL playoff history and third best in Oakland postseason annals. Rice is the only player with two of the top 10 receiving performances in NFL playoff history (215 yards vs. Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII). His nine receptions tied the club playoff record (FRED BILETNIKOFF, 12/18/76; CLIFF BRANCH, 12/29/74). “What can you say about Jerry Rice?” said Raiders head coach JON GRUDEN. “It is a thrill to be on his team in the playoffs. That was quite a performance he put on. He thrives in this type of atmosphere. He loves to play in big games.” Jets head coach HERMAN EDWARDS agreed with Gruden. “Rice showed why he is a future Hall of Famer," said Edwards. Moore had two second-half interceptions, including a club playoff-record 59-yard return for a touchdown, in the Eagles’ 31-9 win over Tampa Bay. He also added four tackles and an additional pass defensed. Moore was part of a Philadelphia defensive effort that limited Tampa Bay to 63 rushing and 195 passing yards. His first interception came at the start of the third quarter when he picked off a pass intended for Buccaneers running back WARRICK DUNN. Moore’s second interception came with 2:08 remaining in the game and the Eagles leading 24-9. He stepped in front of a BRAD JOHNSON pass and returned it the record 59 yards for a score that gave the Eagles a commanding 31-9 lead. "We believe that when the ball is in the air, it's ours," says Moore. In a crucial field-position game, Bidwell averaged 47.7 gross and net yards on three punts, and had two punts inside the 20-yard line in the Packers’ 25-15 win over San Francisco. Bidwell’s 47.7 net average was the highest in an NFL playoff game (minimum three punts) since Pittsburgh’s CRAIG COLQUITT had a 48.3 net average against the Houston Oilers on January 6, 1980. Bidwell’s first punt was for 57 yards and pinned the 49ers to their own 10-yard line. His second kick was for 42 yards and was downed at the San Francisco 14. Bidwell’s final punt was for 44 yards to the 49ers’ 39-yard line. None of his punts were returned.
2001 NFL PLAYOFFS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
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