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NEW YORK (Nov. 18, 1998) -- Peyton Manning's three-touchdown pass performance against the New York Jets on Sunday earned the Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor. Manning rallied the Colts to a 24-23 upset over the Jets by tossing a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marcus Pollard with 24 seconds left. Just six rookie quarterbacks have earned Player of the Week honors since 1984. Manning, the first overall pick in the NFL draft, led the Colts (2-8) back from a 13-point halftime deficit. The rookie from Tennessee was 26 of 44 for 276 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. "That's quite an honor for Peyton," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "It's well deserved." Manning's heroics helped knock the Jets (6-4) out of a first place tie in the AFC East with Miami. "It was a big upset, supposedly," Mora said of the Colts' victory. "The way that we won the game with Peyton as the quarterback. The fact that's he's a rookie. I also think it helped that it was (against) a New York team. That might have had something to do with it." Manning is the only quarterback in the NFL to take every offensive snap for his team this season. His streak of seven straight games with at least one touchdown pass ties the longest streak by a rookie since 1970. Sharing that distinction with Manning are Jim Plunkett (1971, New England), David Woodley (1980, Miami) and Dan Marino (1983, Miami). "I'm excited about the win we had on Sunday," Manning said. "As far as individual awards, that's never really been my style. It's a nice honor. I'd like to focus on the team right now." Manning said a reason the Colts had more success against the Jets was because they converted nine of 15 third-down attempts. "I did feel comfortable out there," Manning said. "I felt like we converted much better on third downs. If we can keep converting on third downs like we did and scoring touchdowns in the red zone we have a chance to win some more games."
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