Chiefs defense is finding identity at right time under Steve Spagnuolo
Offseason signings showing leadership
The two signings that stick out the most from the offseason are defensive end Frank Clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu. While moving on from longtime Chiefs like Justin Houston, Dee Ford, and Eric Berry was tough, it was a move that needed to be made. Clark and Mathieu have brought stability and leadership along with some fire that the defense had been lacking.
Mathieu earned respect from Chiefs fans almost immediately. He took over as the primary leader of the defense that was once held by Berry. Clark, on the other hand, has taken a mountain of criticism for the contract he was given. Struggling early on to make a significant impact, it wasn’t until November that fans found out Clark had been playing with a pinched nerve in his neck since training camp.
When the news broke about Clark playing through injury, it made sense as to why he hasn’t been the same player that he was last season in Seattle. That power just wasn’t there from a season ago. According to Peter Schrager, Clark also had a stomach illness that hospitalized him and forced him to lose 12 pounds and . Despite being sick and hurt, Clark would play against the Patriots and have a dominant showing in critical moments of the game, including the final play for New England.
In the red zone where the Patriots had been successful all season, Clark came up with multiple plays for the Chiefs defense. Early in the fourth quarter, he tackled running back James White for a loss on 1st down from the Chiefs three-yard line. He followed that up two plays later on 3rd and 5 from the Chiefs five yard-line walking left tackle Isaiah Wynn back to get to Brady on the Alex Okafor sack. Fast forward to the Patriots final drive from inside the Chiefs 5-yard line, Clark dips under Wynn to rush Tom Brady’s throw to Julian Edelman on fourth down that led to the pass breakup by cornerback Bashaud Breeland.
Mathieu started the season playing roles that would cover up weaknesses in the defense. We hadn’t seen him get many opportunities to be the ball-hawking spy in the secondary until recently. Even the last few games, Mathieu has been tasked with coming down to play the slot at the line of scrimmage given the Chiefs injuries at cornerback.
Clark has made 5 sacks in his last five games, missing weeks 8-9, after only having 1 sack through the first six games of the season. During that five-game stretch, he has also come up with 6 quarterback hits and numerous pressures that led to mistakes by opposing quarterbacks. Mathieu has intercepted the ball twice in the last three games bringing his total to 3 on the season. He also had 2 pass breakups in those three games.
Both Clark and Mathieu have brought an attitude to the Chiefs defense that had been missing for a few years. That was on full display against the Patriots on Sunday. Chiefs beat writer BJ Kissel and head coach Andy Reid spoke about Clark and Mathieu’s leadership following the victory over New England.
“You see guys like Frank Clark,” said Reid. “He’s had the flu. He had it, going out there he had it where he wasn’t feeling very well. Son of a buck, he just [found] a way to come through. He hoots and hollers at me, ‘I want to play more!’ How great is that? That attitude — I want to be out there, I want to help, I don’t feel very good, but I’m going, I’m ready to go. That’s infectious.”
“You’ve got the good leaders,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid during his conference call on Monday. “You mention Tyrann — he’s one of those guys. He unites people and brings them together. At the same time, he has a unique way of being able to challenge guys — including himself. He’s not afraid if he makes a mistake… That attitude is infectious, so I appreciate that.”