Kansas City Chiefs, Week 5 player awards: Dee Ford leads the team to victory

An outstanding defensive performance led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, making for the best defensive performance by the Chiefs all season.

Welcome to the Week 5 edition of the Kansas City Chiefs weekly player awards, where we will be focusing on various players on the rise, the MVPs of the week, and the biggest disappointments on both sides of the pigskin.

Surprisingly enough, the defense stood out in this game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, something that nobody would have ever imagined happening this season. Four different players came up with an interception, probably the most notable being defensive end Chris Jones, who returned his for a touchdown. With the standout defensive performance, in which they held the Jaguars offense to only 14 points and scored 7 of their own, only a small handful of players stood out among the rest. It was a true collective effort in the Chiefs win.

Let’s get right into the awards.

Player on the Rise: Offense

This offseason addition was one that I, among others, thought was overpaid. Even though I don’t think he will perform to the level of his $16 million a year contract, he still deserves a nod as he’s becoming more and more of a factor.

Listed as the Chiefs No. 2 wide receiver, Sammy Watkins continues to assimilate his time with the Chiefs, getting better as the season progresses. Although he didn’t have a fantastic stat line, he did perform very well over the win against the Jaguars. Look for him to see an increase in touches as we go on, as I feel he’s getting himself in the groove.

• 6 receptions
• 78 receiving yards

RUNNER-UP: Chris Conley (2 rec, 21 yards); Spencer Ware (1 rush, 0 yards; 1 rec, 13 yards)

Player on the Rise: Defense

This player is another off-season addition, one that was much less notable. Nobody had thought he’d have much of an impact on defense, especially since he’s been primarily used on special teams. That wasn’t the case today though, as a series of injuries to the secondary gave him his first taste of defensive action as a Chief.

Safety Jordan Lucas had an impressive outing on Sunday afternoon, after injuries to safeties Eric Murray and Armani Watts put him in as the next man up. His most notable play was when he intercepted Blake Bortles for a very lengthy return. Watching it live was definitely something else. The awe-inspiring cheers from the crowd, coupled with the thunderous roars, was truly something for the ages.

Lucas may not see much action going forward unless injuries to the other safeties force the team’s hand, but the former sixth-round pick definitely filled in nicely when he needed to.

• 6 total tackles (4 solo, 2 assisted)
• 1 interception

RUNNER-UP: Terrance Smith (4 solo, 1 assisted tackles; 1 sack); Xavier Williams (2 solo, 1 assisted tackles; 1 sack)