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The 2011 NFL regular season ended with the Baltimore Ravens reaching quite a few milestones in their 16 year history. There were also some notable achievements during the season, most recently with the announcement that Ray Rice has won not only the AFC Offensive Player of the week award, but also the FedEx Ground Player of the Week award as well. Rice rushed for 191 yards and two TDs on Sunday vs. the Cincinnati Bengals in the Ravens 24-16 victory.
In addition, OLB Terrell Suggs was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month. Suggs had five sacks and four forced fumbles in December/January and set a team record with seven forced fumbles in the 2011 regular season.
The Ravens as a team won the AFC North for the first time since 2006 and secured a first-round bye. They went undefeated against the AFC North for the first time in team history, also posting a perfect 8-0 record at home. The team tied a franchise record with nine sacks in a week 12 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
RB Ray Rice recorded an NFL-best 2,068 yards from scrimmage and became the first Ravens ever to have at least 1,700 scrimmage yards for three consecutive seasons. Rice ran for 204 yards in week 13 and joined Priest Holmes (227 yards on November 22, 1998) and Jamal Lewis (295 yards on September 14, 2003; 205 on December 21, 2003) as the only players in franchise history to rush for at least 200 yards in a game.
(Click on the 'Jump' to read the official press releases for Rice's AFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Ground Player of the Week awards)
Running back RAY RICE of the Baltimore Ravens is the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for games played the 17th week of the 2011 season (January 1), the NFL announced today.
OFFENSE: RB RAY RICE, BALTIMORE RAVENS
- Rice totaled 191 rushing yards on 24 carries (8.0 average) with two touchdowns in the Ravens’ 24-16 win at Cincinnati. He helped Baltimore clinch its first AFC North division title since 2006.
- Posted a career-long 70-yard TD run in the first quarter on the fourth play from scrimmage as the Ravens took a 7-0 lead. He scored his second rushing touchdown of 50+ yards in the fourth quarter (51 yards).
- Rice’ 191 rushing yards led the NFL in Week 17 and were the third-most rushing yards by an AFC running back in a game this season.
- Registered his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season and 13th of his career.
- Rice had an NFL-best 2,068 scrimmage yards this season (1,364 rushing, 704 receiving) and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer MARSHALL FAULK (four times) as the only players in league history to register at least 1,200 rushing yards and 700 receiving yards in multiple seasons.
- In his fourth year from Rutgers, this is Rice’s third career Offensive Player of the Week Award. He most recently won the award in Week 13.
- Rice joined rookie wide receiver TORREY SMITH (Week 11) as the Ravens to receive Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
The NFL announced today that quarterback MATT FLYNN of the Green Bay Packers and running back RAY RICE of the Baltimore Ravens are the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for games played on January 1.
In his first start of the season, Flynn converted 31 of 44 pass attempts for 480 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in the Packers' 45-41 win over the Detroit Lions. His passing yardage and touchdown totals are single-game franchise records.
Rice carried 24 times for 191 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens' 24-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. This is Rice’s second win in the Ground category this season.
Flynn and Rice were selected from among six finalists in Air and Ground categories. The other FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week finalists were quarterbacks DREW BREES of the New Orleans Saints and ELI MANNING of the New York Giants, and running backs MAURICE JONES-DREW of the Jacksonville Jaguars and MICHAEL TURNER of the Atlanta Falcons.
Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for local communities. Along with the player awards, FedEx is making a $2,000 donation in each of the winning players’ names to the local Junior Achievement area offices in Wisconsin and Central Maryland. The funding is used to help U.S. small business development, by educating the next generation of entrepreneurs on how to start and grow their own businesses.
During the week leading up to Super Bowl XLVI, FedEx plans to announce the 2011 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year in Indianapolis, as well as make a $25,000 donation in each winning player’s name to Junior Achievement chapters in the players’ cities.
Fans can still vote for the FedEx Small Business of the Week by visiting NFL.com/FedEx to cast their vote for one of three small business nominees. FedEx will award $5,000 each week to the small business that receives the most online votes, which will be announced every Tuesday. The program then culminates in recognizing the FedEx Small Business of the Year with an all-inclusive trip to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.
As the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, FedEx understands the need for a winning game plan, and created the Air & Ground program to highlight superior on-field performance among the league’s top-performing quarterbacks and running backs. Follow FedEx onFacebook, YouTube and Twitter @FedExDelivers and track the conversation at #FedExNFL.