The awards and accolades have not exactly hovered over the Giants this season like all those Thanksgiving Day parade floats set to be inflated. Individual honors rarely come to players on losing teams. Landon Collins and the Giants broke that mold, as they beat the Chiefs last Sunday and Collins on Wednesday was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Collins had a career-high 14 tackles (10 solo) and intercepted a pass, not from quarterback Alex Smith, but from tight end Travis Kelce, as the Chiefs tried some gimmickry and Collins was not fooled.

Not surprisingly, Collins is the first Giants player to receive any NFL weekly honor this season. That is what happens when a team loses eight of its first nine games. Collins was especially strong in the second half of the 12-9 overtime victory. In the third quarter, he had a tackle for no gain on Kareem Hunt and then a tackle of speedy receiver Tyreek Hill for a 1-yard loss. Collins had his interception in the fourth quarter.

This was a throwback showing for Collins, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice last season. He is the first defensive back in Giants franchise history with three career Defensive Player of the Week honors.