D'Ernest Johnson earned himself plenty of praise from teammates and coaches following his career-best game Thursday against the Broncos — Johnson rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown in his first career NFL start to boost the Browns to a 17-14 win.
Now, Johnson is receiving some league-wide recognition as well. He's nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week for Week 7 and is the second Browns running back to be up for the weekly honor this season. Nick Chubb has been nominated twice this season, but his absence due to a calf injury Thursday led to Johnson earning the start and turning in another powerful performance.
Additionally, Johnson became the third Browns running back this season to produce 100-or-more scrimmage yards (168) in a game, joining RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who was also withheld from Week 7 with a calf injury. So far, the Browns are the only team in the league to have three running backs accomplish this feat.
Johnson's competition for the award is New England's Damien Harris and Indianapolis' Johnathan Taylor.
Voting is open until Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET at NFL.com/FedEx each week of the season. Fans can also vote on Twitter via the @NFL published polls and on the NFL Mobile App.
