Palmer wins FedEx 'Air' Player of Week

This just in from the league:

Quarterback CARSON PALMER of the Cincinnati Bengals and running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON of the San Diego Chargers are the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for games played on November 30 and December 3-4, the NFL announced today.

Palmer threw for 234 yards and one touchdown, completing 21 of 32 attempts for a 97.7 passer rating in the Bengals’ 13-7 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, one of 10 completions for 106 yards to Houshmandzadeh on the night.

Tomlinson carried 28 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ 24-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills. He scored on runs of two and 51 yards to give him 26 touchdowns this season.

Palmer and Tomlinson were selected from among finalists in air and ground categories through 130,418 fan votes on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless service. The other FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week finalists were quarterbacks JEFF GARCIA of the Philadelphia Eagles and DAVID GARRARD of the Jacksonville Jaguars, while running backs LADELL BETTS of the Washington Redskins and CEDRIC HOUSTON of the New York Jets were the other finalists for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week.

Palmer received 47 percent of the fan votes for FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week, while Garcia received 41 percent and Garrard received 12 percent. Tomlinson’s 82 percent of the fan votes for FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week beat out Betts’ 9 percent and Houston’s 9 percent.

Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for the local community. Along with the player awards, FedEx is awarding Cincinnati Children’s Medical Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital, the children’s hospitals in the winning players’ markets, a check for $5,000.

The children’s hospitals in the two season-long winner’s markets, announced at Super Bowl XLI in South Florida, will be awarded $25,000 each. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children’s hospitals around the country in recognition of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.