Methods and systems to identify a codeword associated with samples of a signal from spectral content of the samples, and to estimate a frequency offset from the spectral contents. The samples may correspond to a physical layer header of a data frame. Modulation may be removed from the samples in accordance with each of a plurality of modulation sequences, each sequence associated with a corresponding codeword. Power levels in spectral contents of the modulation-removed samples are examined to identify a peak power level indicative of a match between a modulation sequence and the samples. The corresponding codeword is identified as being associated with the header, and transmission parameters associated with the identified codeword are used to decode a corresponding frame. An estimated frequency offset may be determined from a frequency associated with the peak power level.