The NFL announced today that Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris has been named the NFL Rookie of the Week and the FedEx Ground Player of the Week for Week 17.
Morris rushed for 200 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 28-18 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
With the 200 yards on Sunday, Morris finished the season with 1,613 yards, breaking Clinton Portis' team record for rushing yards in a season (1,516 in 2005).
Morris finished second in the NFL in rushing yards (1,613) and rushing touchdowns (13) this season behind Minnesota's Adrian Peterson and Houston's Arian Foster, respectively.
The three rushing touchdowns tied a Redskins' team record, marking the 22nd time a Redskin has rushed for three touchdowns in a game.
The 200-yard rushing performance by Morris is a Redskins rookie record and is the first by a Redskin of any experience level since Gerald Riggs' team-record 221 yards on Sept. 17, 1989, vs. Philadelphia.
The 33 carries were a Redskins rookie record and the most since Portis had 36 rushing attempts on Nov. 4, 2007.
The game was Morris' seventh 100-yard rushing performance of the season, the most by a Redskin since Portis in 2005 (nine).
Morris' 200 yards are the most by a Redskin in a single game in the Mike Shanahan era.
The Redskins finished with 2,709 rushing yards for the season, breaking the team record for rushing yards in a season (formerly 2,625 in 1983).
Morris opened the scoring for Washington with a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season.
With the touchdown, Morris broke the Redskins' rookie record for total touchdowns in a season previously held by Pro Football Hall of Famer Charley Taylor (10 in 1964).
The run also pushed Morris beyond 1,500 rushing yards on the season, the second such season by a Redskin in team history (Portis in 2005).
Morris is the fourth rookie in NFL history to reach the 1,600-yard mark rushing, joining Eric Dickerson (1,808 in 1983), George Rogers (1,674 in 1981) and Ottis Anderson (1,605 in 1979).
Washington took its first lead of the game on a 10-yard touchdown run by Griffin III in the third quarter. It was Griffin III's seventh touchdown run of the season and his first since scoring two rushing touchdowns in Week 6 vs. Minnesota.
In the fourth quarter, Morris scored his second touchdown of the day on a 32-yard run. It was Morris' third multi-touchdown game of the season.
Morris scored his third rushing touchdown of the night and 13th of the season on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.
This is Morris's second Rookie of the Week award this season, the seventh in a row for the Redskins, and the 11th overall for the team this season. The other Redskins winners this season are quarterbacks Robert Griffin III (eight awards) and Kirk Cousins.
The six games this season that a Redskin did not win the award include the team's bye week in Week 9.
Morris was selected from among three finalists in the FedEx Ground category. The other FedEx Ground Player of the Week finalists were Minnesota Vikings running backs Adrian Peterson and Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams.
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 area offices of Junior Achievement in Denver and Washington D.C.
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 XLVII, FedEx plans to announce the 2012 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year in New Orleans, as well as make a $25,000 donation in each winning player's name to Junior Achievement offices in the their city.
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