Cincinnati Bengals kicker Josh Brown was awarded the Special Teams Player of the Month for December by the NFL on Thursday. This is the seventh weekly and monthly award claimed by Cincinnati Bengals players -- a franchise record -- and the second monthly award following A.J. Green's AFC Offensive Player of the Month in September. The most weekly and monthly awards claimed by Bengals players in a single month was the 1988 and 1989 squads with six each.

When Mike Nugent suffered a calf injury practicing onside kicks during practice, the Bengals needed a kicker to replace him during the closing month of the 2012 regular season. So they tried out a few and signed Josh Brown, who went on to convert 11 of 12 field goals, scoring 41 total points (including PATs).

His 43-yard field goal with four seconds remaining against in Pittsburgh not only beat the Steelers and eliminated them from the postseason, it clinched a playoff berth for the Bengals. His lone miss with Cincinnati was a 56-yard attempt at Heinz Field, a stadium that hasn't witnessed a conversion longer than 52 yards.