Full Kansas City Chiefs Awards at Halfway Point of 2014 Season
The Kansas City Chiefs started the season off 0-2 and at one point were forced to play without nine of their starters. But Kansas City managed to overcome those woes and played well together through the last six games, winning five of them and improving to 5-3.
The Chiefs have come together and played well, as several players have shined as playmakers to help the team bounce back and capture five wins at the midway point.
In this slideshow, we will hand out midseason awards to the Kansas City Chiefs. As always, chime in with your thoughts below.
Most Valuable Player: OLB Justin Houston
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It is a rare sight for defensive players to be labeled as the most valuable player on a team. But for Kansas City, Justin Houston has truly been the Chiefs' most valuable player.
Houston leads a strong front seven that also features outside linebacker Tamba Hali, nose tackle Dontari Poe and defensive end Allen Bailey.
By hurrying the quarterback and coming up with sacks, Houston has been a thorn in the side of many quarterbacks this season. Kansas City had a tough first six games in its schedule, but Houston helped the Chiefs in a big way by pressuring opposing quarterbacks, and he is a big reason why the Chiefs are No. 1 in the NFL against the pass.
Even with J.J. Watt’s dominance, don’t doubt the chances of Houston sneaking up and possibly snatching the Defensive Player of the Year award or falling just short by the time the season is over.
Offensive Player: RB Jamaal Charles
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Despite missing the majority of Week 2 in Denver and all of Week 3’s match in Miami, Jamaal Charles returned and quickly made an impact against the New England Patriots when he scored three touchdowns.
Charles currently leads the team with seven touchdowns, five of them coming on the ground. Plenty of Kansas City’s work on offense involves giving the ball to Charles, as he is able to use his breakaway speed to advance the ball and lead the team to scoring plays.
Alongside backup scatbacks Knile Davis and De’Anthony Thomas, Charles has helped the Chiefs rank sixth in the NFL in rushing. The Chiefs are also third in the league in rushing touchdowns with 11.
Defensive Player: OLB Justin Houston
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Houston has collected 12 sacks this season, already a career high for most sacks he has ever had in a season. He is on pace to pass Derrick Thomas’ franchise record for most sacks in a season with 20 and is a threat to beat Michael Strahan’s NFL record of 22.
Houston has had four multisack games and has recorded a sack in every game except one.
The most impressive part about Houston’s statistics is that he is sharing the field with teammates and Pro Bowlers Hali and Poe.
At this rate, Houston is projected to finish the season with 24 sacks.
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Special Teams Player: K Cairo Santos
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Rookie kicker Cairo Santos took plenty of flak after missing two of his first four field goals.
Since his rough start, Santos rebounded, connecting on his last nine field goals, giving him 11-of-13 makes for the season. Santos' biggest moment came against the San Diego Chargers when he made all three of his field goals, including a 48-yard game-winning field goal to hand San Diego its second loss of the year.
Santos split the uprights the following week from 53 yards out, the longest field goal he has made in his young career.
Rookie of the Year: RB/KR De'Anthony Thomas
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We have only seen Thomas play in four games, but he has shown some flashes in a short amount of time.
In his first offensive touch, Alex Smith threw the ball to Thomas, who used his blazing speed to run 17 yards for a touchdown.
Thomas showcased his speed on a couple of returns and offensive plays, giving the Chiefs big yardage.
Comeback Player: TE Travis Kelce
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Travis Kelce missed his rookie season due to a knee injury, delaying his NFL debut. One year later, Kelce finds himself starting games and leads the Chiefs in catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions.
He has converted 24 of his 32 catches into first downs, giving him one of the highest first-down conversion rates among tight ends.
The Chiefs have not had a tight end with this kind of impact since Tony Gonzalez left the team, and fans are happy to see Kelce be a big part of the offense.
Role Player: ILB Josh Mauga
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While mentioning members of the front seven in Houston’s first slide, I purposely left out Josh Mauga’s name.
Aside from leading the team with 57 tackles while filling in for Derrick Johnson, Mauga has no flashy statistics. But his performance goes beyond the numbers.
Mauga has been a key player on Kansas City’s defense against the run, closing in on ball-carriers and bringing them down for either little or no gain.
This past week, Mauga blitzed and helped the front seven by bringing some pressure, which he has rarely done this season.
Mauga has been a pleasant surprise for the Chiefs. If he and Johnson start next to each other, it will be interesting to see how good Kansas City’s defense will be.
Most Improved Player: RB Knile Davis
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Davis was known to fumble a bit, and it showed during his rookie season when he lost the ball three times in a short span. His fumbling issues have not gone away, and it showed when he did it three times in Week 2 and Week 3.
But those fumbles were quickly forgotten when Davis ran for 211 yards in those two weeks.
He has nearly doubled his rushing yards and has equated his four touchdowns from last year.
In addition to getting more action on offense, Davis also continues to do well in the return game. He took a kickoff return 99 yards for a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams.
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