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Wild Card Weekend Top Performers
Posted: Wednesday January 06, 1999 05:13 PM
Sure, there were only four games in the NFL this weekend, but that doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of candidates for this week's Top Performers. The toughest call of all in the postseason has to be the Losing Effort honors -- consideration for this award is never a good sign, but it's especially unfortunate in the playoffs. Check back early this week to vote for the 1998 season's Top Performers and check out the best single-game efforts of the year. For now, we're only concerned with one weekend ... Top Ground GainerJacksonville's Fred Taylor and New England's Robert Edwards have a decent rivalry going between the two. They went up against each other in college at Florida and Georgia -- Edwards had three touchdowns in Georgia's upset of the Gators in Jacksonville last year. But on Sunday, back again at Alltel Stadium, it was all Taylor -- the Jaguars rookie had one 46-yard burst that beat Edwards' game total of 28 yards on 17 carries all by itself. Taylor's 162 yards is the highest total allowed by the Patriots in the postseason since 1963, long before Taylor was even born. With quarterback Mark Brunell gingerly returning from a five-week absence caused by a high ankle sprain, Taylor carried the load, topping 30 carries for only the second time in his career. Next week, Taylor goes up against the New York Jets, whose rush defense ranks 10th among the 12 playoff teams, allowing 103.5 yards/game. Offensive Outburst AwardLost in the attention devoted to stars like Terrell Davis, Randall Cunningham and Randy Moss was the quiet success of San Francisco's Steve Young, who threw for an NFL-high 36 touchdowns in leading the 49ers to a 12-4 record. Young set career-highs for touchdowns and yards (4,170) and threw just 12 interceptions for an impressive 3-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio. On Sunday, Young found himself trailing by four points with 1:56 to play, with the distinct possibility his team would be eliminated by the Green Bay Packers for the fourth straight year. Instead, he took the 49ers the length of the field and found Terrell Owens in the end zone with three seconds left for the winning score. It was his third touchdown pass of the day, another great postseason moment in a lengthy NFL career. Now, Young and the 49ers travel to Atlanta to face their division rivals, a Falcons team they've beaten eight of the last 10 times they've played. Losing Effort AwardBuffalo's Eric Moulds might be the breakout player of 1998 -- in the course of this season, he's gone from a first-round bust to an All-Pro receiver who set his team's recieving record. On Saturday, the third-year receiver took things one step farther -- his 240 receiving yards set an NFL postseason record. What makes Moulds' 240 yards Saturday more impressive is that he had just 279 and 294 yards in his first two NFL seasons. On Buffalo's final drive, with Andre Reed ejected from the game, making Moulds the only legitimate receiving threat on the field, he still managed two catches for 35 yards and a pair of first downs. Buffalo's drive ended with Doug Flutie's fumble on the 5-yard line, and with that, Moulds' amazing season also came to a close. His fumble on the opening play of the game -- a 65-yard gain wasted -- should give him plenty of motivation for next season. Top Rushing PerformancesFred Taylor, Jaguars, 33 carries, 162 yardsGarrison Hearst, 49ers, 22 carries, 128 yards Dorsey Levens, Packers, 27 carries, 116 yards Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Dolphins, 27 carries, 95 yards Adrian Murrell, Cardinals, 12 carries, 95 yards Top Passing PerformancesDoug Flutie, Bills, 21-36, 1 INT, 1 TD, 360 yardsBrett Favre, Packers, 20-35, 2 INT, 2 TD, 292 yards Dan Marino, Dolphins, 23-34, 1 INT, 1 TD, 235 yards Jake Plummer, Cardinals, 19-36, 2 INT, 2 TD, 213 yards Top Receiving PerformancesEric Moulds, Bills, 9 receptions, 240 yardsPatrick Jeffers, Cowboys, 7 receptions, 92 yards Oronde Gadsden, Dolphins, 5 receptions, 85 yards Antonio Freeman, Packers, 4 receptions, 75 yards Terrell Owens, 49ers, 3 receptions, 73 yards
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