How you play down the stretch is always a key, and for two Steelers' players their performance in the final five games was something that definitely stood out and they were recognized for it.
Receiver Antonio Brown was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December/January, while kicker Chris Boswell was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the same time frame
There's not much more you can say about Brown, who is a back-to-back winner of player of the month after taking the honor in November as well. It's the third time in his career he won the honor, winning in December of 2014 as well.
Brown led the NFL with 51 receptions for 642 yards during the span, including an NFL-leading 34 for first downs, and added five touchdowns to help to lead the Steelers to a 4-1 record during the stretch. His 51 receptions were nine more than any other NFL player. Last week he had 13 receptions for 187 yards against Cleveland, and had 16 catches for 189 yards against Denver on Dec. 20.
Brown finished the regular season as the NFL's leading receiver with a career-high 1,834 yards and tied for first in the NFL with a career-high 136 receptions. He became the first player in Steelers' history with back-to-back seasons with at least 1,700 yards from scrimmage and led the NFL with 2,074 combined yards (including rushing, receiving and returns).
A little over three months ago Boswell was a kicker missing one thing…a team to kick for. He was released by the New York Giants twice during the preseason, the final time right before the start of the regular season. He had never kicked in an NFL game before the Steelers signed him on Oct. 3, but his calm demeanor would never indicate that.
The Steelers signed kicker Chris Boswell, a Fort Worth, Texas native who attend Rice University. Boswell spent some time on the Texans practice squad in 2014 and with the New York Giants during the 2015 preseason.
Boswell was 12 for 14 on field goal attempts, leading all kickers in field goals made, and 15 of 15 on his PATs in the five games. He was the only player to total 50 or more points in that span. Against the Colts on Dec. 6 he was three-for-four on field goal attempts, including a 51-yard field goal to tie his career long set against Arizona on Week 6. He matched a single-game career high by making four field goals against Cincinnati on Dec. 13, and accounted for a single-game career-high 15 points in the game. Against the Broncos he accounted for 10 points, tying a team record for scoring at least 10 points in sixth straight games. Boswell also added two field goals against the Browns in the regular season finale.
Boswell set Steelers' records for rookie/first-year kickers for points in a season with 113, field goal percentage at 90.6 and most field goals made with 29.
