Colts receiver Reggie Wayne has had a lot of big games in his NFL career, but after many of his biggest games, the bulk of the credit went to his quarterback. Now that Peyton Manning is gone and Andrew Luck has arrived, and Wayne looks as good as ever, it may cause some renewed appreciation for Wayne’s talents.
On Wednesday the NFL announced that Wayne, who had a phenomenal game in Sunday’s comeback win over the Colts, has been named the AFC’s offensive player of the week. It’s the first time in his career that he has received a player of the week award.
Wayne caught 13 passes for a career-high 212 yards and had the game-winning touchdown as the Colts beat the Packers 30-27. Wayne caught five passes for 64 yards on the winning drive, which culminated with his touchdown catch with 35 seconds left.
With 12,214 scrimmage yards, Wayne passed Edgerrin James for No. 2 in Colts history, behind only Marvin Harrison. His 212-yard receiving day was also No. 2 in Colts history, behind Raymond Berry’s 224-yard game against the Redskins in 1957.
Wayne already has 36 catches for 506 yards through only four games this season, which puts him on pace for a ridiculous 144 catches and 2,024 yards. He obviously won’t keep that pace up, but it’s clear that Wayne still has plenty of good football left in him, even if he’s not catching passes from Peyton Manning anymore.