Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew was named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster in voting by coaches, players and fans, the NFL announced this evening. Jones-Drew has been recognized for the third straight year. The 2012 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 29 and televised live on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Jones-Drew is the fourth player in franchise history to be voted to the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons, joining Tony Boselli (1996-2000), Jimmy Smith (1997-2001) and Marcus Stroud (2003-05). Jones-Drew has served as the Jaguars' lead running back since the beginning of the 2009 season and all three seasons were highlighted by invitations to the Pro Bowl.
"Maurice is the ultimate competitor who sets the standard for others to follow," Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said. "He's a running back with a linebacker mentality, a complete player who has a rare blend of power, quickness and speed"
Jones-Drew enters the final week of the 2011 regular season as the NFL's leading rusher with a career-high 1,437 yards on 318 rushes. In the previous 16 seasons the Jaguars have never had a player finish in the top three in the NFL in rushing yards. Jones-Drew is 136 yards away from surpassing Fred Taylor's single-season franchise record of 1,572 rushing yards in 2003. He has five 100-yard rushing games including each of the last two, and has at least 84 rushing yards in 14 of 15 games.
The 2011 season has been the most productive of Jones-Drew's six seasons in the NFL. He has accounted for 46.5 percent of the Jaguars offense, the highest percentage in the NFL. He ranks third in the NFL with a career-high 1,807 yards from scrimmage (1,437 rushing, 370 receiving) and ranks second on the team with 42 receptions for 370 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, he has a career-high 38 rushes of 10-plus yards which rank second in the NFL.
The sixth-year pro set a franchise record for touchdowns (74) and established a single-game career-high for touchdowns with four against Tampa Bay on Dec. 11. Jones-Drew is the only player in the NFL in 2011 with four touchdowns in a game. His 62 career rushing touchdowns are tied with Taylor for the most in franchise history.
