Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu was named the AFC’s Defensive Player for the month of December after a stellar close to the regular season.
The Kansas City Chiefs already had one of the single biggest snubs when it came to this year’s Pro Bowl rosters with the exclusion of star safety Tyrann Mathieu. The awards are handed out midway through the final month of the season, but what was missed in the process was the tremendous season—and in particular, the second half of a season—put together by Mathieu.
The NFL just voted Mathieu as the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for December, a sign that Mathieu has been coming on strong as of late. He’s been a solid performer all season long, but it’s clear he’s become more comfortable with his role in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense and next to his teammates like Juan Thornhill over time. He’s become more vocal as a leader on and off the field as well, and it’s frustrating that he hasn’t received his due this year.
In fact, Mathieu it seems has been overlooked for most of his career. Injuries have played a part in some of that, but the Honey Badger is known around the league as a good to great defender yet he’s only made one Pro Bowl in his professional career—all the way back in 2019. It’s akin to watching Mitchell Schwartz get passed over only to grab every other honor possible for a right tackle these days.
Mathieu finished the regular season with 75 total tackles, 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 12 passes defended and 2 more quarterback hits.