Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson,
Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing and Miami Dolphins kick returner Ted
Ginn, Jr. have been selected as the AFC's top players for Week 8 of the NFL
season.
Johnson got the offensive award as he set a franchise record in rushing yards
in a single game, with 228 in a 30-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He
carried the ball 24 times and had touchdown runs of 52 and 89 yards to help
the Titans (1-6) to their first win of the season.
Johnson's counterpart on Jacksonville, Maurice Jones-Drew, had touchdown runs
of 80 and 79 yards, making it the first time in NFL history that there were
four rushing touchdowns of at least 50 yards in a single game.
In his second season out of East Carolina, Johnson earned his first weekly
award.
Cushing gained the defensive award after registering a team-high 10 tackles,
one sack, a tackle for a loss, one interception and one pass defensed in the
Texans' 31-10 win over Buffalo. His sack was the first solo sack of his
career, while his interception in the fourth quarter ended Buffalo's final
drive.
A rookie out of Southern California, Cushing has now earned two weekly awards,
as he also was a Week 6 recipient.
Ginn garnered the special teams award as he registered kickoff returns for
touchdowns of 101 and 100 yards in the third quarter to help the Dolphins take
a 30-25 win over the New York Jets. He became the first player in NFL history
to notch two touchdowns of at least 100 yards in the same game, and is the
eighth player to record two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same game.
He became the first player since Green Bay's Travis Williams in 1967 to record
to kick returns for touchdowns in the same quarter.
Ginn, in his third year out of Ohio State, was awarded the weekly prize for
the first time in his career.
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