Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance in December and January, the NFL announced Thursday.
It is the fifth career AFC Special Teams Player of the Month award for Sanders and marks the second time he has earned the nod in back-to-back months. He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2024, October and November 2020 and December 2019. Sanders is one of only seven players in NFL history, and one of four in the AFC, to earn the Special Teams Player of the Month award at least five times in his career.
Sanders is the fourth player in NFL history to earn the Special Teams Player of the Month award in back-to-back occasions within the same season, and the only one to do so twice in his career. He is also one of two players in Dolphins history to earn Player of the Month honors consecutively, joining defensive end Jason Taylor who won it in October and November 2002, and the only player to win it in back-to-back months on two occasions.
Sanders converted 15-of-15 field goals (100.0 pct.), including five from 50-plus yards, and six-of-eight extra points for a total of 51 points across the months of December and January. His 15 field goals, and his five from 50-plus yards, were both the most in the NFL in that span.
In Miami's Week 14 matchup against the N.Y. Jets, he kicked four field goals, including a 52-yarder with seven seconds remaining in the game to send the contest to overtime for an eventual Miami win. It marked his second game-tying or game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter this season and the 10th of his career.
Sanders had one of the best outings of his career in Week 16 against San Francisco, converting five-of-five field goal attempts, including a 54-yarder, and adding two extra points to finish the day with 17 points. He not only tied the total points scored by the 49ers in the game, but single-handedly outscored five teams in Week 16 and tied two others.
Sanders reached 800 career points against San Francisco, becoming the third Dolphin to reach the benchmark and the fastest to do so in 114 games. He also surpassed 22-consecutive field goals made in that game, a streak that started in Week 8, breaking his own franchise record. He went on to finish the season with 27-straight field goals without a miss, which is the longest active streak in the NFL.
His Week 16 performance against the 49ers made him the only AFC kicker, and one of two in the NFL, to make five field goals in a game across December and January. He was the only kicker in the NFL to make a field goal in every game in the 2024 regular season.
Sanders finished the 2024 season with 37-of-41 field goals made (90.2 pct.) while converting 26-of-28 extra point attempts (92.9 pct.) for a total of 137 points scored. His 37 field goals ranked fourth in the NFL and are the second-most in franchise history. Meanwhile, his 137 points ranked eighth in the league this year and third in Dolphins history.
Out of his 37 field goals made, 12 were from 50-plus yards, the most in a single season in franchise history and the fourth-most in the NFL this year. Sanders has kicked nine-consecutive field goals from 50-plus yards, which is the longest active streak in the NFL and second longest in Dolphins history to his own record of 10-straight kicks across 2019 and 2020.
