Birthday surprise: 49ers kicker Robbie Gould earns NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

On the day that Robbie Gould celebrated his birthday, the San Francisco 49ers kicker earned an NFL honor. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award winner.

On Sunday, Gould was presented with the game ball by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan following the team's 15-14 victory over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The kicker was responsible for all of San Francisco's points that day, converting all five of his field goal attempts, which included the game-winner.

Gould was seen celebrating after the game-winning kick against his former team. He spent 11 years with Chicago before signing with the New York Giants and then, in March, the 49ers. Gould's home is in the Chicago area.

"This means a lot to me," Gould told his teammates after the game upon being presented the game ball. "You don't know how hard it was to come back here. Harder than I thought ... It wasn't pretty. We won how we had to win but we've got such a high ceiling, and we haven't even got there yet."

In his first game back in Chicago, Gould tied his career high with his five field goals (5-for-5 at Arizona on October 1, 2017). He became the first player to make five field goals at Soldier Field since December 28, 2012, when Carolina Panthers kicker Justin Medlock did it.

Gould has converted 26 of his 28 field goals this season, which is a 92.9 completion percentage. That is good enough to rank him third among NFC kickers. The 49ers hope their kicker can get enough votes to earn a Pro Bowl selection. Gould has not been selected for the annual event since 2006, which was his second year in the league.

The NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award was the second of Gould's career. He earned the same honor during Week 9 of his rookie 2005 season with Chicago. Gould was also named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December of 2008 and was the Bears' Ed Block Courage Award recipient in 2015.

Gould ranks as the Bears' franchise leader in total scoring (1,207 points), made field goals (276), made field goals of 50-or-more yards (23), and field goal percentage (85.4). With the 49ers this season, he hit on each of his first 15 field goal attempts, setting the franchise record for most made to start a season. The previous record was held by Wade Richey (13 in 1999).