Buffalo Bills: Naming the 2017 team MVP’s

Special Teams – Steven Hauschka

When the Bills picked up Hauschka ahead of the 2017 season, there were some mixed reviews among fans. Yes, Hauschka was going to be an improvement over having to deal with another season of Dan Carpenter (19/25 in 2016). However, Hauschka himself was coming off of a rough showing in 2016 with Seattle when he was barely over 80 percent on extra points (29/35).

In his first season with the Buffalo Bills, Hauschka delivered the goods in the kicking game. He was 29/33 in the field goal department, more importantly he was 15/15 from 40-yards or closer. Hauschka’s short-range perfection extended into the extra point game as well, where he was 29/29.

The kicking game in the NFL is a fairly thankless job. Most teams expect their kickers to make all of the kicks with little praise given when they do their jobs. On the other side, kickers that miss kicks are often hung out to dry by fans on a weekly basis. Hauschka’s performance in 2017 should have the Bills not concerned about their kicking game heading into the 2018 season.