Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will be named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Wednesday.
Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month is the first such award of his three-year career. It marks the first time in seven seasons that a Bronco has received AFC Offensive Player of the Month with quarterback Brian Griese earning that honor for his performance in September of 2001.
Cutler helped the Broncos to a 3-1 record and a first-place standing in the AFC West in September, completing 102-of-157 (65.0%) passes for 1,275 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions for a 98.6 passer rating. He led the AFC and ranked second in the NFL in both passing yards (1,275) and completions (102) while placing third in the league in touchdown passes (9).
Selected by Denver in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft from Vanderbilt University, Cutler registered an AFC-best three 300-yard passing games in September that tied for the most in the NFL. He finished the month with two of the top three single-game yardage totals by an AFC passer.
In addition, his four touchdown passes in a win against San Diego (9/14) marked the second-highest single-game total in the NFL for September. His 36 completions against the Chargers tied a Broncos single-game franchise record and were an AFC high for the month.
Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month marks the 10th time a Bronco has earned that award since it was initiated by the NFL in 1986. He is the third Denver quarterback to receive the award, joining Griese (September 2001) and John Elway (November 1997 and October 1996)