Bills kicker Rian Lindell was a virtual shoe-in for AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after booting five field goals last Sunday, including the game winner with eight seconds left to lift Buffalo to a dramatic one-point win over Washington.
On Wednesday, the league made it a formality as Lindell earned his first career Player of the Week award. Lindell is the first Bills player to win the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week honor since Brian Moorman won it in Week 15 last season.
Lindell has now hit 17 straight field goal attempts to tie Steve Christie (1994) for the longest streak in team history. But the unassuming Lindell isn't affected by much whether it's positive or negative.
When asked if he's ever put a string of kicks together like this Buffalo's kicker was matter of fact about his career long streak before lamenting his lack of success warming up prior to Sunday's game.
"No, so that's nice," Lindell said of his streak. "I haven't really been practicing as great. I didn't make them all in practice and that was disturbing to me, but as long as I make them in the games I guess."
This season Lindell has been making them in the games. He's missed just two attempts one from 54 yards and the other from 45 through 12 games and is tied for the league lead in field goal percentage (20-22, 91%).
Sunday Lindell provided the ninth game-winning field goal of his career when his 36-yard attempt was right down the middle making him 9-10 on game winners in his career.
A head coach breathes a lot easier when he has a kicker he can count on. In a season where points have been hard to come by offensively, Jauron knows he has such a kicker.
"A lot," said Jauron when asked how much confidence he has in Lindell. "Just by how he has played through the year and how he kicked (Sunday). He's really a guy you trust."
