The accolades keep stacking up for the Silver and Black this season.
On Friday, AJ Cole was named to the Associated Press' All-Pro First Team, while Daniel Carlson and Maxx Crosby earned nods on the All-Pro Second Team.
Cole, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl this year, paved the way for punters on the season – ending with a league-high and career-high 50 yards per punt average. Cole punted for a total 3,202 yards on 64 punts, with his longest punt being 71 yards (tied for fourth in the league).
"Punting and kicking here means a little bit more than just about anywhere else," Cole said back in December.
The special teams unit's success has not only been fueled by Cole, but clutch kicker Daniel Carlson as well. The fourth-year kicker had his best season to date, scoring a franchise-record setting 150 points while making 40-of-43 field goals and 30-of-33 extra points.
His five game-winning field goals are tied for most ever in a single season in league history. Carlson also earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors four times over the course of the 2021 season, more than any kicker ever has in one season since the awards began.
A Pro Bowler, team captain and all-around force on the field, Crosby ended the regular season with eight sacks, seven passes defensed and 30 QB hits, while leading the league in quarterback pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. His presence on the field has been noticed and felt by everyone around the league, as Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor commended Crosby ahead of the two teams' upcoming wild-card game.
"He's one of the best players in the NFL," Taylor said. "He is. You have to have a plan for him. He can disrupt an entire game,"
View the full AP All-Pro Team here.
