Peyton Manning Named Finalist for Player-of-the-Week Honors
INDIANAPOLIS – Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning has been named a finalist for FedEx Air NFL Player-of-the-Week honors, the NFL announced on Monday. Fans can vote for winners on NFL.com/FedEx through 6 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday to determine the Players-of-the-Week.
Manning completed 27 of 41 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 100.1 rating on Sunday in the Colts' 23-20 victory over division rival Tennessee. The win clinched the AFC South division title for the Colts, their seventh division title in the past eight seasons.
Manning recorded his 45th career fourth quarter/overtime game-winning drive on Sunday, leading the Colts on a 37-yard drive to set up Adam Vinatieri's game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. On the final drive, Manning completed two passes to give him 450 on the season, which set an NFL record for most completions in a season (448, Drew Brees, 2010).
Manning finished with 4,700 yards passing on the season, surpassing his own franchise record for single-season passing yards (4,557 in 2004). The four-time MVP also became only the third quarterback in NFL history to post back-to-back 4,500 yard passing seasons, and his three seasons with 4,500 -passing yards is the most of any quarterback.
The win secured the Colts their ninth consecutive playoff berth, tying Dallas (1975-83) for the most consecutive playoff seasons in NFL history. The Colts also recorded their ninth straight season with 10 -victories, second-most in league history. Manning has won 10 games 11 times as a starting quarterback, surpassing Brett Favre for the most 10 -victory seasons by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era.
The winners will be announced Wednesday evening on NFL.com. New this year, fans will be able to keep tabs on the achievements of their favorite Air & Ground players (and others) with the NFL Milestone Tracker, presented by FedEx.
Fans will be voting for more than their favorite player. As part of the Air & Ground program, FedEx continues its support of Safe Kids USA by making weekly $2,000 donations in each of the winning players' names. The funding, allocated to local Safe Kids coalitions in that team's city, is used for pedestrian safety improvements throughout the year, from upgraded crosswalks and safety signs to traffic barriers and educational training.
Also nominated for Air Player-of-the-Week honors were Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Tampa Bay's Josh Freeman.
