Sanders (No Duh!) Wins AFC Award

Kicker Jason Sanders became the sixth different Miami Dolphins player to be recognized for a weekly award

Here we go again — in a good way.

It's another week, another AFC honor for the Miami Dolphins, with kicker Jason Sanders the one recognized this week for his brilliant performance in the 22-20 playoff-clinching victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

What we all should have known was coming became official Wednesday when Sanders was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

With the award, Sanders helped the Dolphins make franchise history, with this being the first time they've had six different players win an AFC weekly award in one regular season.

Sanders followed QB Tua Tagovailoa (Week 1), RB De'Von Achane (Week 3) RB Raheem Mostert (Week 6) and CB Jalen Ramsey (Week 11) and OLB Bradley Chubb (Week 15).

Almost amazingly, Tyreek Hill hasn't yet won the award this season despite having two games with at least 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns and two more with at least 150 yards and one score. In fairness, Hill was beaten out in Week 1 by his teammate Tua and Hill did earn AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors for October.

The six AFC weekly awards for the Dolphins represent the second-highest total since they first began in 1984, behind only the nine the team won in 1999 when CB Sam Madison was recognized three times, QB Dan Marino and K Olindo Mare twice each, and DE Trace Armstrong and punt returner Nate Jacquet once apiece.

SANDERS' MEMORABLE DALLAS GAME

This is the fifth time that Sanders has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week since he joined the Dolphins as a seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Sanders was recognized twice in 2019 and twice in 2020, and he's also got three AFC Special Teams Player of the Month awards (for December 2019, and October and November 2020).

Against the Cowboys, Sanders was 5-for-5 on field goals, including the game-winning 29-yarder on the final play of the game.

He also became the first kicker in Dolphins history with three field goals of 50 yards or longer in the same game, highlighted by a career-long 57-yarder to open the scoring in the first quarter. Sanders also hit from 54, 53 and 35 yards.

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