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AFC-POW-9    11/10/04

STEELERS RB JEROME BETTIS, RAVENS S ED REED &
PATRIOTS K ADAM VINATIERI NAMED AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 9

Running back JEROME BETTIS of the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety ED REED of the Baltimore Ravens and kicker ADAM VINATIERI of the New England Patriots are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the ninth week of the 2004 season (November 7-8), the NFL announced today.

OFFENSE: RB JEROME BETTIS, PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Pittsburgh’s Bettis was a force Sunday in helping the Steelers hand Philadelphia their first loss of the season in a 27-3 victory at Heinz Field.  Thanks in large part to Bettis’ 149 rushing yards on 33 carries (4.5 average), the Steelers implemented a dominant ball control game plan.  Pittsburgh possessed the ball for 41:49, compared to the Eagles’ 18:11 as 11 of Bettis’ first 24 carries went for five or more yards.  The Detroit native’s rushing total of 149 yards accounts for his most in 41 games when he ran for 163 against Cleveland on November 11, 2001.  With the victory, the AFC North-leading Steelers (7-1) become the first team in NFL history to defeat a pair of undefeated teams in consecutive weeks with records of 6-0 (New England) or better (Philadelphia, 7-0).  

In his 12th season from Notre Dame, this is the 5-11, 255-pound Bettis’ third-career Player of the Week Award. Bettis follows quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER (Week 6) as the second Pittsburgh player to be named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week this season.

DEFENSE: S ED REED, BALTIMORE RAVENS

· Reed, Baltimore’s All-Star safety, sealed a 27-13 win against Cleveland by thwarting a late Browns drive with an NFL-record 106-yard interception return for a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in regulation.  Reed’s game-saving interception return surpassed the former record of 103 yards, shared by San Diego’s VENCIE GLENN (1987) and LOUIS OLIVER (1992) of Miami.  The 5-11, 200-pounder was a key cog in a Ravens defense that limited the Browns to 217 total net yards. Reed chalked-up five tackles, including one for a loss, and defensed two passes to help Baltimore improve its record to 5-3. The Ravens trail Bettis and the Steelers by two games in the AFC North. . 

This is the second-career Player of the Week honor for the third-year player from Miami. Reed is the second Baltimore defensive back to earn this honor in the past three weeks (DEION SANDERS, Week 7).

 SPECIAL TEAMS: K ADAM VINATIERI, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

· In a 40-22 Patriots victory at St. Louis, New England’s Vinatieri completed a four-yard touchdown pass to TROY BROWN on a fake field goal for a decisive 26-14 lead that the defending Super Bowl champions would not relinquish.  The nine-year veteran from South Dakota State also was a perfect four-for-four in field goal attempts, connecting from 43, 31, 45, and 36 yards.  Vinatieri leads all NFL kickers on the season with 76 points scored.  With the win, the Patriots improve their record to 7-1 and reside atop the AFC East.

This marks the seventh Player of the Week Award of Vinatieri’s career. 

2004 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
  Offense Defense Special Teams
Wk 1 RB Curtis Martin, NY Jets DE Kenard Lang, Cleveland P-K Micah Knorr, Denver
Wk 2 RB Edgerrin James, Indianapolis S Rodney Harrison, New England P Shane Lechler, Oakland
Wk 3 QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis CB Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville K Kris Brown, Houston
Wk 4 RB Priest Holmes, Kansas City LB Tedy Bruschi, New England K Jason Elam, Denver
Wk 5 RB Chris Brown, Tennessee DE John Abraham, NY Jets KR-PR-K Wes Welker, Miami
Wk 6 QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh LB James Farrior, Pittsburgh P Brian Moorman, Buffalo
Wk 7 G Brian Waters, Kansas City CB Deion Sanders, Baltimore K Josh Scobee, Jacksonville
Wk 8 QB Drew Brees, San Diego LB Joey Porter, Pittsburgh KR Terrence McGee, Buffalo
Wk 9 RB Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh S Ed Reed, Baltimore K Adam Vinatieri, New England

Other nominees for AFC Offensive Player of Week 9 were:

New England running back COREY DILLON, who rushed for 100 yards or more in four of his past seven games, totaling one touchdown and 112 yards on 25 attempts (4.5 average) at St. Louis.

San Diego tight end ANTONIO GATES, who caught a career-high three TDs in a 43-17 home win against New Orleans.  Gates became the first Charger to score on three touchdown receptions in a game since TONY MARTIN in 1997 and leads the NFL in receptions (54).

Kansas City tight end TONY GONZALEZ, who had nine catches to reach 511 career receptions in a 34-31 loss at Tampa Bay.  Gonzalez now stands fourth among NFL tight ends in all-time receptions.

Baltimore running back JAMAL LEWIS, who accounted for five first downs and 95 total yards (81 rushing).

Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING, who completed four touchdowns without an interception on 23 of 29 passing for his season-best 79.3 completion percentage and a 144.8 passer rating in a 31-28 win Monday night against Minnesota.  Manning and MARVIN HARRISON (666) also surpassed Buffalo’s JIM KELLY and ANDRE REED (663) for the NFL’s all-time leading teammate tandem in completions.

Buffalo running back WILLIS MC GAHEE, who ran for 132 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries in a 22-17 win against the Jets.  McGahee’s 37 attempts tied for the second-most in a game in club history.

Denver quarterback JAKE PLUMMER, who passed for four touchdowns without an interception for a 138.7 passer rating in a 31-13 win against Houston.  Plummer completed 16 of 24 passes (66.7 percent) for 234 yards.

Other nominees for AFC Defensive Player of Week 9 were:

· Pittsburgh linebacker JAMES FARRIOR, who posted an interception and returned it 41 yards along with 1.0 sack and five total tackles, including one tackle for a four-yard loss.

· San Diego linebacker STEVE FOLEY, who notched 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble to help the Chargers limit New Orleans to their season-low of 243 total yards.  Six of San Diego’s past seven opponents have been limited to less than 100 rushing yards.

· Cincinnati cornerback TORY JAMES, who recorded his NFL-leading fifth interception and a forced fumble in a 26-3 win against Dallas.  James had a total of two passes defensed and a pair of tackles on the day.

· Kansas City linebacker KAWIKA MITCHELL, who posted five tackles.

· New England linebacker MIKE VRABEL, who helped guide a defense that limited the Rams’ offense to 15 points at St. Louis.  Vrabel had four tackles on defense and one on special teams.  He also made a diving touchdown reception on offense to give New England a 13-7 second quarter lead.

· Buffalo defensive tackle PAT WILLIAMS, who registered a safety and five tackles.

· Denver linebacker AL WILSON, who led the Broncos with nine tackles.

Other nominees for AFC Special Teams Player of Week 9 were:

· Cincinnati kicker SHAYNE GRAHAM, who was a perfect four-for-four in field goal attempts from 35, 47, 45, and 30 yards.

· Buffalo punter BRIAN MOORMAN, who punted seven times for 292 yards (41.7 average) amid windy conditions with a long punt of 64 yards.  Moorman also kicked a punt out of bounds at the two-yard line, which led to a Buffalo safety.

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