INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have snapped the NFL's two longest win streaks in each of the last two weeks, knocking off the Houston Texans in Week 14 and now the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15.
After the latest victory — a 23-0 drubbing of the Cowboys at home in Lucas Oil Stadium — the Colts are getting some recognition in the form of a couple of nominations for weekly awards. The NFL announced that Colts running back Marlon Mack is a nominee for the Week 15 FedEx Ground Player of the Week award, while defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis is up for the Rookie of the Week award.
You can vote for Mack (as many times as you want) by clicking here.
You can vote for Lewis (as many times as you want) by clicking here.
MACK FOR GROUND PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mack continued building on his breakout sophomore season by putting up the biggest rushing performance of his career. The South Florida product carried the ball 27 times for 139 yards (5.1 avg) and two touchdowns. He also added a catch for 10 yards.
The carries and yards are both career highs, and his two rushing touchdowns also ties his personal best.
After the game, Mack was selected to appear on "21st & Prime" with Deion Sanders during the "You Ball, You Get the Call" segment:
Mack's teammates were singing his praises after Sunday's game.
"One of the things that people don't see with Marlon is just how patient he is with the holes," Colts center Ryan Kelly said. "He knows where the hole's gonna be. I think he trusts that we're gonna move our guys out of the way to get to there. It's just been so much fun, man, him running behind us."
Coming into the game, the Cowboys were one of the league's most stout defenses against the run, ranking third in total run defense (86.8 YPG) and first in yards-per-carry allowed (3.6 avg). The Colts busted both of those, running for 178 yards and an average of 5.0 per carry if you don't count quarterback Andrew Luck's three kneel-downs at the end of the game.
This is the third time that Mack is up for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week award; he also earned nominations for his big performances in Weeks 7 and 8.
VOTE FOR LEWIS
In just his sixth career game, Lewis finally got one in the sack category, and he added another for good measure.
The rookie out of Ohio State becomes the second Colts rookie to be nominated for the Rookie of the Week award, as star linebacker Darius Leonard won it in Week 2 and 8.
On the day, Lewis totaled four tackles (two for loss) and two sacks, as he became just the ninth rookie in Colts history to register multiple sacks in a game. Pro Football Focus credited him with three "stops," which constitutes a "loss" for the offense.
Lewis was tied for the second-most snaps (49 snaps, 71 percent) on the defense line, and his four tackles led the unit.
"Definitely a boost in morale," Lewis told reporters after the game about registering his first-career sacks. "After everything that I overcame, definitely just a boost in morale."
Lewis began the season on Injured Reserve with a toe injury that he suffered during training camp. He was later designated to return and made his debut in Week 10 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lewis has played very well since making his debut, totaling 11 tackles (three for loss), two sacks, one pass breakup, six quarterback hurries and seven quarterback hits.
"You really can't explain it," Lewis said about his level of play after missing so much of his rookie season. "A lot of it just goes back to watching the older guys and paying attention to the vets. Just learning from them, so I give most of the credit to all the older guys."
