PITTSBURGH – Halfway through the 2012 regular season, Shaun Suisham has only missed one field goal and has the sixth best field goal percentage in the NFL.

Suisham, who is in his third year as the Pittsburgh Steelers kicker after joining the team in November 2010, has made 17 of his 18 field goal attempts this season. At this point, his 94.4 percent success rate is his career best for a season.

Suisham’s 94.4 percent success rate also is sixth best in the league following the Cleveland Browns’ Phil Dawson (17 of 17), the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Josh Scobee (14 of 14), the Denver Broncos’ Matt Prater (10 of 10), the Oakland Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski (19 of 20) and the Minnesota Vikings’ Blair Walsh (19 of 20).

Suisham’s lone miss this season came in the fifth game of the season against the Tennessee Titans when his 54-yard attempt fell short with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Steelers lost the game 26-23 as the Titans’ Rob Bironas made a 40-yard attempt as time expired.

On the season, Suisham is five for five from 20-29 yard range, five for five from 30-39 yard range, six for six from 40-49 yard range and one of two from 50 yards plus.

In the loss to the Titans, the Greenville resident did tie his career long with a 52-yard field goal with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter. That matched his previous best, which he kicked as a second-year pro in a 2006 game at St. Louis for the Washington Redskins.

On the season Suisham also has made all 18 of his extra points. He has made 69 points through the first eight games of the year, which has him on pace to break his personal best of 116 that he set in 2007 with Washington.

Suisham made a game-winning 34-yard field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles as time expired on Oct. 7, and he also has recorded one tackle this season.

Suisham attempted one run for -1 yard on a fake field goal in a game Nov. 4 against the New York Giants. It was the first run in his eight-year career.

At 5-3, the Steelers are one game behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. As it currently stands, the Steelers would make the playoffs as a wild card and receive the sixth seed in the AFC.

The Steelers begin the second half of the regular season with a Monday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at 8:30 p.m. Monday. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN from Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.

Following Monday’s game, Pittsburgh has three straight divisional games with a home game against the Ravens, a road game at Cleveland and then a home game against the Ravens.