Mathieu gave a sneak preview of his outstanding second half of the season in this Week 3 breakup of a Lamar Jackson pass to tight end Mark Andrews (No. 89) in Kansas City’s 33-28 win over the Ravens. Andrews is looking to run a skinny slant from the inside of trips right, and Mathieu (No. 32) is aligned as the free safety in a two-high look. But watch how he diagnoses the throw. breaks late to the ball to avoid Jackson moving to a different target, and gets to the ball aggressively.
Mathieu’s diagnostic skills were on display in this Week 13 interception of a pass from Oakland Derek Carr to receiver Darren Waller. Mathieu is aligned over receiver Tyrell Williams in the defensive right slot, and he carries Williams through the first half of his deep post. Then, Mathieu breaks from that route and jumps the throw to Waller outside.
Speaking of diagnostic skills, there’s this Week 11 interception of a Philip Rivers attempt to Keenan Allen in Kansas City’s 24-17 win. Mathieu starts on the other side of the field from Allen in a two-high look with fellow safety Juan Thornhill, and Allen’s on the outside of a trips left, running a last-second split exchange pre-snap. Doesn’t matter what the Chargers do pre-snap, because Mathieu has this thing read as he eyes Rivers. Once again, the late break on the ball (a Mathieu specialty, and something that makes his intentions difficult to discern for quarterbacks), and Rivers most likely thinks Mathiey is sticking with receiver Mike Williams (No. 81) over the middle. Not so. Instead, Allen (No. 13) and Rivers experience an unpleasant reality — if you think Mathieu can’t get to your throw because he’s on the other side of the field, you are very wrong.
This fake dead-leg reaction to Julian Edelman’s pre-snap motion in Kansas City’s 23-16 Week 14 win over the Patriots is a personal favorite. The CHiefs are giving man coverage away here with Mathieu’s response to Edelman, and Tom Brady thinks he’s going to get away with a quick screen. Wrong answer, and Mathieu blows Edelman up for a two-yard loss.
Not that Mathieu is just a great cover safety. He can also stop the run surprisingly well for his size, because his diagnostic abilities extend to run fits, and he has absolutely no fear when taking on bigger backs — hence the “Honey Badger” nickname from his LSU days. He’s also an outstanding blitzer, picking up two sacks and seven total pressures on the season. This takedown of Broncos quarterback Drew Lock in the Chiefs’ 23-3 Week 15 win over Denver is the best effort sack I’ve seen all season by any defensive player. Once the Honey Badger is in your kitchen, you may have to move to a new neighborhood..
“I truly feel like they brought me here, obviously, to make plays, but to kind of set the tempo and set the energy in the building,” Mathieu recently concluded. “I’ve always been a team guy. I feel I can go into any locker room and fit in for the most part, really relate to the most of the guys in the locker room. That’s all I tried to do here is come in, play my role, be a veteran and be a leader on the defensive side and just try my best to kind of bring the team together and keep the team together whether things are going good or bad.
“The first thing with leadership is you have to understand your surroundings, your environment and the kind of people you’re dealing with day to day. Here we had such a young team, such a vibrant team with a lot of different personalities. I’ve just tried to be myself.”
So far, it’s worked amazingly well. It is not an overstatement to say that Mathieu has changed the complexion of Kansas City’s defense to the same extent that Mahomes altered Kansas City’s offense in 2018. When you have a leader who can do everything his position requires, that’s what happens. When you have one of those players on each side of the ball? Well, that’s how Super Bowls are won.