player. Though his season would be shortened by both foot and knee injuries, he had some good performances during the regular season; on November 14, he made 13 total tackles while returning a fumble recovery 37 yards for his first NFL touchdown against the Houston Texans during their week 10 matchup. He managed 9 tackles and a fumble recovery against the Kansas City Chiefs for week 8. 2005–06 Sanders played only four games in the 2006 regular season due to a knee injury he suffered early. In those four games, he racked up 27 tackles. He was soon dubbed "The Eraser", due to his reckless and punishing hits on opposing players which prevented many of the big plays that the opposing teams might have otherwise made happen. The Colts had the worst rushing defense in the NFL statistically, allowing at least 100 yards rushing in every game. During the playoffs, however, Sanders continued his comeback from injury, and breathed new life into the defense. With Sanders, the 2006 Colts had the second best run defense in the playoffs with only 73.3 rushing yards allowed per game. Sanders went on to help the Colts, on the road, to their victory in Super Bowl XLI. Sanders made a pivotal play in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots. With the Patriots looking to clinch the game with a first down with under three minutes to play and holding a 34-31 lead, Sanders dove in front of Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown and deflected the pass, forcing the Patriots to punt and giving Peyton Manning the chance to drive for the game-winning touchdown. Sanders made a couple of key plays in the Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears, forcing a fumble from running back Cedric Benson early in the game and intercepting quarterback Rex Grossman early in the 4th quarter after cornerback Kelvin Hayden intercepted Grossman on the previous drive with both picks helping seal the 29-17 win. 2007: Defensive Player of the Year For the 2007 NFL season Sanders was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2, following the 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks he recorded against division rival Tennessee Titans at Nashville. He was largely responsible for shutting down Vince Young at the end of the game, clinching the victory for the Colts 22-20. Sanders ended the year with 96 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions