The Chiefs are headed into their earliest bye week in the NFL, and the timing feels unusual. Kansas City has already played four games, sits at 4-0, and gets the week off while the rest of the football calendar keeps rolling. So with no Chiefs game on the schedule, The Star’s coverage team is handing out its annual bye-week awards.
For this installment, the focus is on defense and special teams - two areas that have given Kansas City plenty to talk about through the first month.
On special teams, the nod goes to Matt Araiza.
Araiza’s afternoon against the Raiders turned into one of those quietly decisive performances that can tilt a game without grabbing every headline. His first punt was fielded at the 1-yard line, and even after a 15-yard return, Las Vegas accepted a Chiefs penalty and forced him to punt again. That’s when Araiza surprised everyone by taking off for 12 yards and a first down.
Later, with the Chiefs protecting a three-point lead, he pinned another punt at the 1-yard line. That left the Raiders with almost no room to work on their final drive, and they came up empty as Kansas City finished off the win.
The NFL noticed, too. Araiza was named the AFC’s special teams player of the week for the effort, but his work has been strong all season. Through Week 5, he leads the league in average punt yardage at 52.2 and, just as importantly, tops the NFL in net average at 47.2.
One vote also went to Bassa, who made his own impact in Las Vegas. He forced a fumble on a Raiders kickoff return in the fourth quarter, and the Chiefs recovered before turning it into a touchdown that put the game out of reach. In his second season, Bassa has seen his special teams workload rise from 65% to 76% of the Chiefs’ snaps, a sign he’s earned the trust of special teams coordinator Dave Toub.
The defensive award goes to rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Delane made his presence felt immediately when he intercepted Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on the third play of the season. That play came with a cost, though, because he aggravated a shoulder injury on the interception and could not return in the opener at Arrowhead. He also missed the Chiefs’ second game, then got back on the field for wins over the Dolphins and Raiders.
His overall body of work has been strong enough that Pro Football Focus lists him as its top-ranked rookie so far, regardless of position. PFF also has Delane as the No. 5 cornerback in the NFL with an 84.5 rating. Only Cleveland’s Denzel Ward, at 89.5, and Rams corner Trent McDuffie, at 89.1, rank ahead of him.
Delane has brought more than coverage ability, too. He has been reliable as a tackler, piling up 20 tackles, which is fifth on the team. He also has three passes defended, second-most on the Chiefs behind Nohl Williams.
The defensive vote was the tightest of the bye-week awards. George Karlaftis finished second with two votes after a huge game against the Raiders on Sunday.
He posted six quarterback hits, five tackles, a pass defended and a tackle for loss. Karlaftis still doesn’t have a sack, but he does have an interception and leads the Chiefs with 10 quarterback hits.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah and R Mason Thomas are tied for second on the team with three.
In Other News...
Chiefs Have An Unexpected Offensive Centerpiece Entering The Bye
Patrick Mahomes has opened the season with numbers that look a lot like the ones from his MVP runs, which would normally make the conversation about Kansas Citys offense a pretty familiar one. Instead, as the Chiefs head into the bye, the surprise centerpiece has been Kenneth Walker III, whose early impact has been impossible to ignore and whose versatility has given the offense a different kind of rhythm.
Chiefs reporters were unanimous in naming Walker the teams MVP and top offensive player through the first quarter of the season, a notable nod for a back who has done damage both on the ground and as a receiver. He leads the NFL in rushing yards over the first four games, and his production has helped shape the way Kansas City has played on offense, even with Mahomes doing Mahomes things in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Are Getting Late Heroics While A Bigger Mahomes Concern Grows
The Chiefs have spent the first month leaning on late-game finishes, and Kenneth Walker III has been a big reason why. He has found the end zone late in games often enough to stand out across the league, including two touchdowns in the closing minutes against the Raiders, a stretch that has helped Kansas City keep rolling to a 4-0 start despite some offensive line injuries and the looming early bye week.
It has been the kind of production that masks a larger question about how sustainable this offense looks as the schedule wears on. While the Chiefs are still winning and getting enough from their playmakers when it matters most, the growing concern is whether those late heroics can keep covering for the issues up front before the pressure on Patrick Mahomes becomes harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Stadium Vote Could Cost Wyandotte County More Control
Wyandotte County officials are set to vote on an amended ordinance tied to the Chiefs' new stadium financing, a move that would revisit some of the guardrails put in place when local leaders agreed to help underwrite the project. The stadium plan leans on local sales tax revenue and state-issued STAR bonds for a facility in Kansas City, Kansas, and the ordinance change comes as the county weighs how much control it wants to keep over the deal as it moves forward.
The amended language would loosen several protections that were originally intended to give Wyandotte County a say in how the money is used and how the project evolves. It would also reshape local oversight of the stadium process in ways county officials have previously treated as important, leaving one of the biggest questions in the financing arrangement centered on how much influence the county will still have once the vote is complete. [Read more 🡒]