NEW YORK – Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney and Arizona Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland are the NFC Players of the Month for the month of October (Weeks 5-8).
OFFENSE: QB JARED GOFF, DETROIT LIONS
- Goff led the NFL in completion percentage (80.0) and passer rating (149.8) in October, becoming the third player in NFL history with a passer rating of 125-or-higher in four consecutive games (minimum 15 attempts per game), joining Russell Wilson (five straight games in 2015) and Ryan Tannehill (four in 2019). Detroit’s 172 points in their past four games (Weeks 4, 6-8) are the most points by a team in a four-game span since the 2019 Baltimore Ravens (172 points from Weeks 9-12).
- This is Goff’s second-career Player of the Month honor and first with Detroit. He is the first Lions quarterback to earn Offensive Player of the Month:
- 2018: September (Rams)
- 2024: October (Lions)
- Goff is the second former University of California player to earn Offensive Player of the Month multiple times, joining Aaron Rodgers (10-time winner).
DEFENSE: S XAVIER MCKINNEY, GREEN BAY
- McKinney totaled 19 tackles, three passes defensed, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a sack in the month of October, finishing as the only player with multiple interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery in Weeks 5-8. McKinney notched his league-leading sixth interception of the season in Week 8, becoming the fifth player since 2000 with an interception in six of his team’s first eight games of a season, joining Corey Chavous (2003 with Minnesota), Trevon Diggs (2021 with Dallas), Doug Evans (2001 with Carolina) and Brian Russell (2003 with Minnesota).
- This is McKinney’s first-career Player of the Month honor. He is the third Packers defensive back to earn Defensive Player of the Month, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson (three-time winner) and Atari Bigby (December, 2007).
- McKinney is the third former University of Alabama safety to earn Player of the Month Honors, joining Landon Collins (November, 2016) and Eddie Jackson (November, 2018).
SPECIAL TEAMS: K CHAD RYLAND, ARIZONA CARDINALS
- Ryland, with game-winning field goals in Weeks 5, 7 and 8, became the first kicker since Daniel Carlson (with Las Vegas in 2021) to record three game-winning field goals in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime in a four-game span.
- This marks the first-career Player of the Month award for Ryland, joining Neil Rackers (October & December, 2005) and Zane Gonzalez (October, 2019) as the only Cardinals kickers to earn the honor.
- Ryland becomes the first former University of Maryland kicker to win a Player of the Month award and second to win Special Teams Player of the Month, joining Jermaine Lewis (September, 1998 & December, 2000).
