The Arizona Cardinals have had an offensive player of the week and a defensive player of the week in their 3-4-1 start to the season. They can add a player of the month to that resume.
The team announced Thursday that kicker Zane Gonzalez was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his play in October, and he hasn’t even played his final game of October.
For the month of October, Gonzalez is tied for the NFL lead with Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones with 42 points and is tied with Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo for the league lead with 11 made field goals. In addition to connecting on 11-of-12 field goal attempts in the past month, Gonzalez also made all nine extra points as the Cardinals posted a 3-1 record in Weeks 5-8. He ended Week 8 with an active streak of 11 consecutive made field goals in a stretch that dates back to Week 5 at Cincinnati.
Gonzalez leads the NFL with 76 points and is tied for the NFL lead with 21 made field goals. Despite being just eight-games into the year, Gonzalez has already set career-highs for points (76) and made field goals (21) in a season.
The last Cardinals player to earn player of the month honors was Chandler Jones in December 2017. Justin Bethel was the last to earn player of the month on special teams. He was honored in December 2014.
The Cardinals have now had 10 players of the month named since the honors began in 1986.
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