Chiefs player awarded AFC Offensive Player of Month for December... and it’s not the QB
Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon closed out the final six weeks of the 2022 regular season in emphatic fashion, scoring a league-high nine total touchdowns in that span.
It was only fitting that the NFL on Thursday recognized McKinnon as the AFC Offensive Player of the Month.
McKinnon became the first running back since 1970 with a touchdown reception in at least five consecutive games, and his scoring binge was impressive.
The streak started innocently enough, with a 2-yard touchdown catch in Week 13. And then his trips to the end zone kept coming, week after week. By the time the six-game stretch concluded, the 5-foot-9, 209-pound McKinnon had amassed eight touchdown catches and one rushing score.
The Chiefs’ all-purpose running back finished the regular season with 291 yards and a touchdown on 72 carries plus 512 yards and nine touchdowns on 56 catches. His 535 offensive snaps led all Chiefs running backs.
McKinnon’s nine touchdown catches this season place him in elite company for most TD receptions by a running back in a single season during the Super Bowl era. Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk had nine in 2001, Chuck Foreman had nine in 1975 and Leroy Hoard had nine in 1971.
Thursday’s announcement marked the first Offensive Player of the Month award for McKinnon, who is in his ninth professional season. He becomes the sixth Chiefs running back to earn the award, joining two-time winner Priest Holmes, two-time winner Larry Johnson, Kareem Hunt, Christian Okoye and Barry Word.
McKinnon is the third Chiefs player to garner AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors this season, joining quarterback Patrick Mahomes (November) and punter Tommy Townsend (September).
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 9:40 AM.
