The Harrington Family Foundation

(see detroitlions.com for full text of article)

For their Offensive Player of the Year, Detroit Lions' fans chose quarterback Joey Harrington. In his fourth NFL season, Harrington had a rollercoaster of a year, moving to a backup role seven weeks into the season for the first time since he was a rookie in 2002.

Harrington showed perseverance despite all of the hype surrounding him, never swaying from the stance that his focus was on winning football games and that he would do whatever it took to help the team win even if that meant staying in a backup role.

Two weeks after he was taken out of the starting role, Harrington was moved back under center though he still remained the backup quarterback on the depth chart. Quarterback Jeff Garcia was unable to play due to injury and Harrington was asked to take the snaps.

Though he got off to a slow start in his first game back at Minnesota (Nov. 6), he began to show his form in Detroit's 29-21 victory over Arizona (Nov. 13) at Ford Field. He threw three touchdown passes, all to receiver Roy Williams, on 21-of-31 passing for 231 yards.

After the Lions lost the next two games (at Dal, vs. Atl), a coaching change was made and defensive coordinator Dick Jauron stepped in as Detroit's interim head coach. With five games remaining, Jauron announced that Harrington would continue to assume the backup role and that Garcia would make the next start against Minnesota (Dec. 4). Harrington continued to take everything in stride, restating the fact that he was just there to help the team win.

After back-to-back losses to the Vikings (Dec. 4) and the Packers (Dec. 11), the Lions were faced with the Cincinnati Bengals in their final home game of the season. With the score 38-10 in favor of the Bengals early in the fourth quarter, Jauron substituted Harrington for Garcia.

As though it was the moment he had been waiting for, Harrington pieced together a pristine and efficient drive, reaching the endzone with seven plays over 69 yards. He completed five passes, all for six yards or more, with his final completion going to receiver Charles Rogers for a 35-yard touchdown reception.

Though the Lions went on to lose 41-17, Jauron chose to keep Harrington as the starter for the remainder of the season. The fourth-year quarterback did not let his team down, and showed a side of himself Detroit had been waiting anxiously to see.

In Detroit's 13-12 last-second victory over the Saints, Harrington completed 17-of-30 passing for 210 yards, with his most impressive point in the game coming in the Lions' game-winning drive. With 1:55 left on the clock, Harrington led his offense down the field, completing clutch passes to Marcus Pollard (12 yds) and Roy Williams (40 yds, 15 yds) to get Detroit in field goal range for the last-second win.

But Harrington ended the season with what may have been his greatest performance in his NFL career, despite the fact that the Lions were unable to come away with the victory.

Though the solid aspect of his performance may not show up in his stats line, he possessed a calmness about him in running the offense, completing 17-of-33 passing for 212 yards and putting together three impressive touchdown drives over the course of the game. He showed his ability to run for a first down, scramble and find an open man, and accurately hit receivers in the endzone. Despite the loss, it was a performance Lions' fans had been waiting to see.

HARRINGTON'S 2005 HIGHLIGHTS

QB Joey Harrington finished a tumultuous season with a strong performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers (1/1). He matched a season-high with three touchdown passes while completing 17-of-33 passes for 212 yards. He hit three different receivers on his touchdown passes: TE Marcus Pollard (11 yds), FB Cory Schlesinger (1 yd) and WR Roy Williams (15 yds).

Harrington led Detroit to a dramatic victory against the Saints (at San Antonio, 12/24). With 0:37 left in regulation and the Lions trailing by two, Harrington connected with WR Roy Williams on fourth-and-17 for 40 yards and then again on third-and-10 for 15 yards to allow K Jason Hanson to kick a 39-yard field goal as time expired. Earlier in the final quarter, he directed an 11-play, 89-yard drive, that was highlighted by a 49-yard completion to Williams, which resulted in a 21-yard Hanson field goal and a 10-9 Detroit lead. He finished 17-of-30 for 210 yards.

Harrington relieved QB Jeff Garcia in the fourth quarter vs. Cincinnati (12/18) and led the offense 69 yards on 7 plays while completing 5-of-6 passes to five different receivers including a 35-yard touchdown pass to WR Charles Rogers.

At Dallas (11/20), Harrington completed 17-of-25 passes for 169 yards. He was 2-of-3 on Detroit's 8-play touchdown drive, completing passes to RB Kevin Jones and WR Roy Williams of 28 and 30 yards respectively, before Jones capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Harrington helped the Lions get a win against Arizona (11/13) with a three-touchdown performance. He finished 21-of-31 for 231 yards with touchdown passes of 7, 21 and 29 yards to WR Roy Williams. His quarterback rating (120.7) was a season high.

After sitting out two games (at Cleveland, 10/23 and vs. Chicago, 10/30), Harrington started at Minnesota (11/6). He led the offense on a scoring drive in the second quarter, completing 5-of-6 passes for 70 yards and four first downs, highlighted by a 40-yard completion to WR Scottie Vines. In the fourth-quarter, he hit TE Marcus Pollard with a 23-yard touchdown pass that capped a 6-play drive on which he was 4-of-5 for 64 yards

Harrington tried to will the Lions to a last-second victory over the Buccaneers but an apparent 12-yard touchdown pass to TE Marcus Pollard was reversed after being reviewed by the officials. Harrington led the offense from their own 7-yard line to the opponent's 12-yard line while completing 7 passes for 72 yards on the drive.

Harrington connected with TE Marcus Pollard and WR Mike Williams for 9 and 3-yard touchdown passes respectively to help Detroit to a 17-3 opening day victory against the Packers (9/11). He is 3-0 as a starter on opening day and has thrown seven touchdown passes in those games, including a career-high four touchdown performance vs. Arizona (9/7) in 2003.

FANS' CHOICE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: DT Shaun Rogers

FANS' CHOICE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: P Nick Harris

FANS' CHOICE PLAY OF THE YEAR: Rogers' Fumble Return for a Touchdown

The fans' choice for play of the year goes to a play that had never been seen before & Detroit Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers running 21 yards and crossing the goal line for his first-career touchdown.

It was definitely an impressive sight. After a forced fumble by defensive end James Hall, Rogers scooped up the loose ball and began barreling toward the endzone. As he made his way down the field, however, he began picking up players and taking them along for the ride. Three Saints players clung on in an effort to make the tackle, but were unable to bring down the defensive tackle.

In addition to that, seven Detroit Lions also made themselves a part of the pack, trying to help the 6-4, 340-plus-pound lineman toward the goal line for the touchdown. In the end, Rogers scored the touchdown, despite all of the players he had to carry with him, for the first and only TD of the game.