Jerick McKinnon named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December

The Kansas City Chiefs found another offensive weapon honored this season as Jerick McKinnon’s hot December led to some hardware.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that a player from the Kansas City Chiefs was honored as the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Month for December. With a nice win streak going, a high-powered offense, and plenty of star power, the Chiefs are used to earning such accolades along the way. This time, the honoree is a newer face on the list who has enjoyed a stellar month of football: running back Jerick McKinnon.

McKinnon was honored for the months of December and January for his astounding production in the final weeks of the 2022 regular season.

This is McKinnon’s first such win for Offensive Player of the Month, but it was hard to deny his incredible surge on the field. The Chiefs have been leaning on him increasingly and he finished the year with 9 touchdowns in his last six games—including one touchdown catch in each of those contests.

Given that McKinnon was a postseason hero for the Chiefs a year ago with 315 yards from scrimmage in three playoff games, it’s not shocking to see him coming on strong again at this point in the season.

On the year, McKinnon has 72 carries for 291 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. He also has 56 catches for 512 yards and 9 touchdowns through the air. McKinnon set a new career-high in touchdowns this season after putting up a previous total of 6 in 2020 with the 49ers.

Just last month, Patrick Mahomes was the November honoree here, making it two consecutive Chiefs players to close out the season.