We mentioned on Thursday that the league has named Vikings quarterback Brett Favre the NFC offensive player of the month, that Colts defensive end Robert Mathis has secured the AFC defensive player of the month honor, and that Dolphins receiver Ted Ginn has won the AFC special teams player of the month prize.
Those three names surfaced on Thursday because their respective teams sent out news releases. The other three winners for the months were named in a league-wide missive. So in order to avoid the perception that we’re in some way dissing those honorees not named Favre or Mathis or Ginn, here’s the rest of the list.
In the AFC, the offensive player of the month is Titans running back Chris Johnson. He rushed for 800 yards in five games, with a per-carry average of 6.6 yards. He racked up the most rushing yards by any NFL player since 1970, an era in which the run was far more prevalent than it is today.
He’s also the first Titan to win such recognition since Steve McNair in October 2003, a season that ended with McNair and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning sharing the league MVP award.
The NFC defensive player of the month is Packers cornerback Charles Woodson. The 1997 Heisman winner (one of the few to become great NFL players) also won the award in September 2009, and he appears to be on track for the NFL defensive player of the year award, which is determined not by the league but by the Associated Press.
During November, Woodson twice was named NFC defensive player of the week, and he also gave $2 million to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital at the University of Michigan, Woodson’s alma mater.
The NFC special team player of the month is Eagles kicker David Akers. He kicked the ball a bunch of times, and he made all of them.
