Tag: afc special teams player of the month

Dolphins kicker earns AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors

The Dolphins’ veteran kicker was a perfect 10 for 10 on field goals and 13 for 13 on extra points last month.

A perfect month of November made Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, the league announced Thursday.

Sanders, 29, made all 10 of his field goals and 13 of his extra point tries in the Dolphins’ five November games. That included a pair of 50-yard field goals against the Los Angeles Rams and a 51-yarder against the New England Patriots.

It’s the fourth time Sanders has won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors, but his first since the 2020 season. The Dolphins kicker previously won in December 2019 and then in both October and November 2020.

The last Dolphins player to earn AFC Player of the Month honors was wide receiver Tyreek Hill in October 2023.

Through 12 games this season, Sanders has now made 22 of his 26 field goal tries. He hasn’t missed an extra point at all, which is a feat he’s accomplished across an entire season only one time in his career.

Sanders signed a five-year extension with the Dolphins in 2021 and is under contract with the team through the 2026 season.

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K Chris Boswell on track to break the single-season field goal record

Chris Boswell is on pace to break the NFL single-season field goal record, fueling the Steelers’ strong start to their 2024 campaign.

The ‘Wizard of Boz’ is truly onto something special in this spectacular start to the 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 season. K Chris Boswell has all but locked up a potential third-straight AFC Special Teams Player of the Month award for November, and he is currently on pace to shatter one particular NFL record.

The single-season field goal record is held by David Akers, who made 44 field goals during the 2011 season. Akers had previously broken the 2005 record of 40 set by Neil Rackers, but Boswell is on pace to leave Akers’ record in the dust.

Through ten games played, Boswell has attempted 30 field goals and made 29 of them. He is averaging three attempts per game and is currently on pace to hit 49 field goals in the 2024 17-game season after his six field goals made in Week 11.

If Boswell achieves this historic feat, should the kicker at least be considered in the 2024 MVP race? After all, Boswell is perhaps the most responsible for the Steelers’ fantastic start to this season.

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Broncos kicker Lutz named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

Congrats to Broncos kicker Wil Lutz for being named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month!

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November on Thursday.

In the month of November, Lutz was clutch, as the Broncos won two games by three points or less. Lutz finished the month 11-of-11 on field goals, and 3-of-4 on extra points.

After their bye week, the Broncos built on their then-two-game win streak with a walk-off field goal against the Buffalo Bills. If Buffalo didn’t have too many men on the field, Lutz may not have won this award this month. Initially, Lutz missed a 41-yard field goal, but a Bills penalty moved the ball five yards forward, and Lutz drilled the make-up kick.

Lutz becomes the Denver first player to win a Special Teams Player of the Month award since kicker Brandon McManus won the award as a Bronco in 2015.

Ironically, Lutz, who replaced McManus as the Broncos’ kicker at the beginning of the year, succeeds McManus as the AFC Special Team Player of the Month. Lutz hopes to continue his hot leg against the Houston Texans this week.

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Brandon McManus named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

Brandon McManus made all 12 of his field goals, including four from 50+ during a perfect October.

Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors for October, the NFL announced Thursday.

McManus, 32, finished the month a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals and 12-for-12 on extra points. The miss-free October included plenty of tough kicks too with McManus making four field goals from at least 50 yards. He also earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after making three field goals against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.

The Jaguars signed McManus in May after he was surprisingly released by the Denver Broncos. When he became a free agent, McManus gave the Jaguars a call to see if they’d be interested in his services despite already having Riley Patterson on the roster. Jacksonville made the swap and it has paid dividends with McManus rarely missing in his first eight games with the team.

McManus is only the third Jaguars player to ever earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors along with return specialist Jamal Agnew (September 2021) and punter Chris Hanson (September 2005). He’s the first Jaguars kicker to ever win the award.

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Chargers’ Cameron Dicker named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

The accolades keep coming for Cameron Dicker.

The accolades keep coming for Cameron Dicker.

After being named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for hitting a game-winning kick for the Eagles, then being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for nailing a game-winner for the Chargers, the rookie was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month on Thursday.

Over six weeks in December and January, Dicker scored the second-most points among AFC kickers with 47. He missed just one kick, a 52-yarder against the Raiders in Week 13. That 96.2 kick percentage between field goals and extra points was the second-best mark by a rookie AFC kicker with at least 20 attempts, behind only Tyler Bass in 2020. He also hit a game-winner against Tennessee in Week 15.

On the season, Dicker is 21 for 22 on field goals, counting his time in Philadelphia, and 24 for 24 on extra points. His field goal percentage of 95.5 is the best by a rookie kicker with at least 15 attempts, regardless of conference, since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Dicker becomes the first Charger since Darren Sproles in 2008 to win an AFC Special Teams Player of the Month award, a testament to the job both he and special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken have done turning the special teams unit around this season. Two questions are remaining for Dicker, however.

The first is regarding the playoffs. Chargers fans know better than most that there’s nothing more nerve-wracking than a rookie kicker in the playoffs. (Nate Kaeding’s missed field goal in 2004 against the Jets still haunts me deeply.) Dicker played in some big games at Texas as a collegian, including a 2018 upset of #7 Oklahoma in which he hit the game-winner. Dicker has shown the clutch gene in spades this season, but only time will tell if it shows in the playoffs, as well.

The second is regarding next season and beyond. Los Angeles only signed Dicker as a stopgap after Dustin Hopkins and replacement Taylor Bertolet both were injured. Hopkins still has two more years on the three-year, $9 million extension he signed with the Chargers after impressing in his prolonged audition to end the 2021 season. Before the injury, Hopkins was off to a great start to 2022, going 9 for 10 on field goals and 12 for 12 on extra points, including the game-winner against Denver in overtime. This sets up, for what feels like the umpteenth time in LA, a kicking controversy. The difference this time is that both Hopkins and Dicker are high-end NFL kickers. Despite neither having a 50+ yard make on their resume in 2022, both have a touchback percentage of over 80% this season. Hopkins is 32 years old, due a hefty paycheck as far as kickers go, and coming off a hamstring injury. Dicker is 22, cheaper, and could give the Chargers stability at the position they’ve not had since Nick Novak from 2011-14.

For now, at least, Dicker is a Charger. A decorated one, at that.

Cameron Dicker earns AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

The former Longhorn continues his impressive rookie campaign this weekend vs. the Jaguars.

The accolades continue to roll in for rookie kicker Cameron Dicker. Continue reading “Cameron Dicker earns AFC Special Teams Player of the Month”

Former Gators kicker Evan McPherson named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

McPherson hit a career-long 58-yard field goal two weeks ago.

Expectations for former Florida kicker Evan McPherson heading into his NFL career were about as high as you will ever see for a specialist entering the league. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Bengals, becoming the first and only kicker selected in the 2021 NFL draft.

He was the most accurate kicker in SEC history during his collegiate career, and that success has translated to the NFL. He is 26 of 31 on field goals while also making 42 of 44 extra points. He has hit multiple game-winning kicks in his first season, and for his efforts over the last four games, he was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Month.

In the month of December, McPherson was 9 of 11 on field goals and hit the longest of his career so far, a 58-yarder against the Denver Broncos on Dec. 19 where he took advantage of the thinner air at Mile High Stadium.

Kicking skills don’t always translate from college to the NFL, but McPherson was one of the most reliable collegiate kickers you will find, and he’s shaping up to have a lengthy career in the NFL, as well.

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Chiefs P Tommy Townsend earns AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors

Tommy Townsend is the latest #Chiefs player to take home a monthly award, earning AFC Special Team Player of the Month honors for November.

Kansas City Chiefs second-year punter Tommy Townsend is off to a stellar beginning to his 2021 NFL season.

His Super Bowl LV performance was shaky at best, but he’s learned from that experience and built on it this season in Kansas City. With 26 punts on the year in 11 games played, he’s averaging 48.6 yards per punt.

During the month of November, Townsend had perhaps his best month of professional football yet. For that reason, the NFL named him AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. In the past month, Townsend punted 10 times, averaging 54.9 yards per punt and 50.7 net, with six of those punts landing inside the 20 and a long punt of 68 yards.

Townsend also completed a 16-yard pass against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. It was his second career pass completion on a fake punt in as many years. His passing ability has quickly become a strong suit of his game, and teams are going to have to account for it moving forward.

This Special Teams Player of the Month award is special for Townsend and his team. It’s not only the first for Townsend, but he is now the first Chiefs punter to ever earn the award during his career. He also becomes the first punter from his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, to earn this honor.

Townsend joins rookie LB Nick Bolton as the second Chiefs player to take home a monthly award this season. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Month for October.

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