The NFL announced today that second-year quarterback Josh Freeman was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week for games played on January 2. He becomes the first back-to-back winner of the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week Award and is only the third player to win the award twice this season, along with QB Michael Vick and QB Aaron Rodgers.
Freeman completed 21-of-26 passing for 255 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 133.2, while leading the Buccaneers to a 23-13 win over the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. He also finished the game completing passes to 10 different receivers. With his two touchdown passes, Freeman extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 13 games (10/10/10-1/2/11), the most consecutive games in team history, and he has also now thrown 109 consecutive passes without an interception.
In the final five games of the season, Freeman threw for 1,190 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception for the third-highest passer rating in the NFL (110.6).
Freeman was selected from among six finalists in the Air category. The other FedEx Air NFL Players of the Week finalists were quarterbacks Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons.
Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards also are a win for local communities. Along with the player award, FedEx is making a $2,000 donation in Freeman's name to the local Safe Kids USA coalitions in Tampa Bay to support pedestrian safety improvements.