Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career after rushing for 119 yards and three touchdowns at Houston last Sunday.
Jones-Drew posted his ninth career game with multiple touchdowns as he scored on a 61-yard run in the second quarter, a one-yard rush in the third quarter and an eight-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter. The three touchdowns tied his career-high (3, 11/9/08 at Detroit). The 61-yard run was the second-longest of his career (74t, 12/24/06 vs. New England).
It was Jones-Drew’s eighth career 100-yard rushing game, the second-most in team history, and the Jaguars are 6-2 in those games. He leads the team in rushes (47), rushing yards (282), receptions (13), touchdowns (4) and yards from scrimmage (353) through three games. He joins Arizona’s Tim Hightower (32-109 rushing, 20-172 receiving) and Buffalo’s Fred Jackson (61-291 rushing, 15-134 receiving) as the only players in 2009 to lead their respective teams in rushing yards and receptions.
Additional notes on Jones-Drew:
• Ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing yards (282) and tied for second in touchdowns (4).
• Ranks third in franchise history with 44 career touchdowns (38 rushing, 4 receiving, 2 kickoff returns) in only 50 games.
• Ranks second in franchise history with 38 career rushing touchdowns.
• Ranks first in franchise history with 5.3 average points per game.
• Jaguars are 7-2 in games when Jones-Drew scores multiple touchdowns.
• The 61-yard touchdown run was the fourth 50-plus yard touchdown run of his career. It was the longest play for the Jaguars since 12/23/07 vs. Oakland when Fred Taylor had a 62-yard rushing touchdown (span of 19 games).
• Averaged 117.7 yards from scrimmage in three games in 2009.
• Recorded 20-plus carries in seven career games and has posted at least 91 rushing yards in five of the seven games.
• Ranks second in the NFL from 2006-09 with 44 touchdowns, trailing only San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson (62). Tomlinson has 389 more touches than Jones-Drew during that span.
• Has 75 career rushes of 10-plus yards, 21 of 20-plus yards and four of 50-plus yards. Of his 587 career rushes, 12.8 percent have gone for 10-plus yards (8th-highest in NFL).