Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is a frequent recipient of the AFC offensive player of the week for games when he doesn’t set a new NFL record for the most touchdown passes in a single season.
That makes it something less than surprising to learn that he has been named the honoree for Week 16. Manning threw four touchdown passes against the Texans, leaving him with 51 for the season. That’s one more than Tom Brady threw in 2007, making Manning the league’s standard bearer.
Manning was 32-of-51 for 400 yards on the day, leaving him with 5,211 yards for the season. He’s the fifth player to throw for 5,000 yards in a season and he’ll set a new single-season record if he can throw for 266 yards in the regular season finale.
It’s safe to say that those records and the Broncos’ division title will make Manning an easy choice for the MVP of this season. It would be the fifth time that Manning has been so honored and the player of the week award is the 26th that Manning has received since entering the league.