Quarterback*Jeff Garcia of the Philadelphia Eagles and running back *Ron Dayne of the Houston Texans are the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for games played on Dec. 21, 23-25, the NFL announced today.
Garcia threw for 238 yards and one touchdown, completing 15 of 23 attempts in the Eagles' 23-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Schobel to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. Garcia also carried seven times for 43 yards.
Dayne rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in the Texans' 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He scored first-quarter touchdowns of three and six yards to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Garcia and Dayne were selected from among finalists in air and ground categories through 50,932 fan votes on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless service. The other FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week finalists were quarterbacks* *Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Marc Bulger of the St. Louis Rams, while running backs Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams and Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs were the other finalists for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week.
Garcia received 59 percent of the fan votes for FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week, while Bulger received 28 percent and Brady received 13 percent. Dayne's 54 percent of the fan votes for FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week beat out Jackson's 32 percent and Johnson's 14 percent.
Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for the local community. Along with the player awards, FedEx is awarding Children's Crisis Treatment Center and Riverside General Hospital, the children's hospitals in the winning players' markets, a check for $5,000.
The children's hospitals in the two season-long winner's markets, announced at Super Bowl XLI in South Florida, will be awarded $25,000 each. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children's hospitals around the country in recognition of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.
FedEx, the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services, is the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Through the weekly FedEx Air and Ground awards, FedEx recognizes those NFL players who represent the same speed, precision and teamwork that their customers have come to expect from the full range of FedEx air, ground, freight and international shipping services.
