Manning, Mathis and Wire capture AFC weekly honors

Sep 20, 2006, 17:15 GMT

New York, NY - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis and Buffalo's Coy Wire were selected as the AFC's top players for the second week of the 2006 season.

Manning captured the offensive award after throwing for 400 yards on 26-of-38 passing with three touchdowns in a 43-24 victory over Houston. The Colts have never lost to the Texans in nine all-time meetings and Manning was extremely proficient.

In earning his 13th career weekly honor, Manning notched his seventh 400-yard passing game to tie Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Warren Moon for the second- most in NFL history. Only Hall of Famer Dan Marino has more with 13. Manning also surpassed Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas' franchise record of 2,796 completions in the victory.

Mathis keyed Jacksonville's 9-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Monday night with a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions to garner the defensive award for the week. He also helped the Jaguars hold the Steelers without a rushing first down and the 26 rushing yards were the fewest by Pittsburgh in the 15 years under head coach Bill Cowher.

It was the second weekly award for Mathis, whose 15 career interceptions tied Aaron Beasley's club record.

Wire was chosen as the special teams award winner for the first time in his career after his blocked punt set up a field goal in Buffalo's 16-6 win at Miami.

Other nominees for the offensive award included Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who hauled in seven of Manning's passes for 127 yards and surpassed Art Monk for the fifth-most receptions in NFL history; Kansas City running back Larry Johnson, who rushed for 126 yards and caught five passes for an additional 41 yards in a 9-6 overtime loss at Denver; and Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson, who ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-17 win over Cleveland.

Defensive consideration went to Buffalo's Ryan Denney, who had three sacks in the win over the Dolphins; Bills linebacker London Fletcher-Baker, who recorded 14 tackles; and Cincinnati linebacker Brian Simmons, who registered nine tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.

Others considered for the special teams award included Baltimore return specialist B.J. Sams, who averaged 40.8 yards on four kickoff returns and had 16 yards on his lone punt return in a 28-6 win against Oakland; Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee, who accounted for each of his team's points with three field goals in the win over the Steelers; and San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding, who was good on each of his four field goals in a 40-7 rout of Tennessee.

© 2006 The Sports Network