Chiefs vs. Texans: Tyrann Mathieu’s greatness and other lessons learned in Week 6

Tyrann Mathieu proves his worth

Kansas City made some big moves this offseason, especially as general manager Brett Veach remade the defense by bringing in Emmanuel Ogbah, Alex Okafor, Darron Lee and paying big money for Frank Clark. Sadly, some of these moves have not produced nearly as much as Chiefs Kingdom would like to see so far, which has led to harsh criticism of not just the moves but Veach himself.

One player, however, has shined through six weeks of football and stands out as a massive success for Veach’s offseason moves: safety Tyrann Mathieu.

Through Week 5, Mathieu had 19 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 4 batted passes. Offenses have shown that they are scared to throw at the Honey Badger, opting to throw short passes rather than give him a chance at making a play.

On Sunday, Mathieu outplayed every other defender when he put up 10 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and set up an interception for Juan Thornhill. Mathieu not only had a strong game, but made a strong case for AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Even when looking at the film rather than the box score, Matheiu continues to stand out as a star. DeAndre Hopkins could not get a look when he got deep into Mathieu’s territory, and when blitzing, Deshaun Watson was scrambling within two seconds of the snap (where he scrambled for extra yards about 70% of the time, but that falls on the linebackers).

After six weeks, Mathieu is third in solo tackles (fifth in total tackles), and first in pass breakups, which is exactly where a team leader should be sitting.