Manning, Bailey, Miller earn AFC honors for October

Nov 2, 2006, 20:10 GMT

New York, NY - Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey and New York Jets return specialist Justin Miller have been selected as the AFC's top players for the month of October.

Manning has helped the Colts to a 7-0 record through the first two months of the season and had a banner October, completing 72.6 percent of his passes for 1,070 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception in four games.

In three of the four victories, Manning led the Colts on game-winning drives in the fourth quarter. He notched his third career Player of the Month award.

Bailey garnered his second defensive monthly award, helping the Broncos win three of four games in October. He had an interception in each victory, with the lone loss coming against Manning's Colts.

Two of the picks came deep in Denver territory, one in the end zone against Baltimore and the other on the one-yard line against Oakland.

Miller captured the special teams honor after returning a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns during October. Both came in losses to the Colts and Cleveland Browns.

The first was a franchise-record 103-yarder against Indianapolis, which gave the Jets a brief lead before Manning guided the Colts to the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. A 99-yard return last week against Cleveland gave the Jets life after they had fallen behind 20-3.

This is Miller's first Player of the Month award.

© 2006 The Sports Network