Jaylen Watson named AFC’s defensive player of the week for Week 2

Two games into his NFL career, Kansas City Chiefs seventh-round rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson already has a weekly award.

Stepping in for injured first-rounder Trent McDuffie, the 24-year-old Watson has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2.

With the game tied at 17 — and with the Los Angeles Chargers threatening to score in the fourth quarter of Thursday Night Football — Watson intercepted a Justin Herbert pass at the goal line, taking it back 99 yards.

The Chiefs went up 24-17 and never relinquished the lead, eventually winning 27-24. It was the longest go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown scored by a rookie in NFL history. Watson also had four tackles in the game.

Only two other Chiefs cornerbacks have won this award during the past decade: Marcus Peters (who won it three times) and Mike Hughes, who spent just a year (2021) with the club.

In the other AFC awards, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won Offensive Player of the Week and New York Jets punter Braden Mann won Special Teams Player of the Week.