Top Five Tyrann Mathieu Moments With The Chiefs
Well, it finally happened; Tyrann Mathieu officially has a new (but old) home.
Late Wednesday afternoon, former Kansas City Chief and All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu inked a three-year, $33 million deal with the New Orleans Saints.
Done Deal ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/gvbH1SclgA — New Orleans Saints (@Saints) May 4, 2022
Mathieu returns to his home state of Louisiana, having spent the first nine years of his pro career away elsewhere and the last three years in Kansas City with the Chiefs.
Having been one of the most successful free agent signings in team history and helping bring home a Lombardi trophy to Kansas City for the first time in 50 years, it’s only right we honor Tyrann Mathieu’s legacy with the Chiefs with a countdown of our Top Five Favorite Honey Badger Moments.
Five: Tyrann Signs With The Chiefs
To state the obvious, we wouldn’t have much of a list if Tyrann had never signed with Kansas City three years ago, so here we are with number five on our countdown list.
Back in March of 2019, the Chiefs made a big splash in free agency by signing the Honey Badger to a three-year deal worth $42 million, essentially bringing an end to the Eric Berry era in Kansas City.
Mathieu’s $42 million deal was good for the second-biggest contract given out to a safety in 2019 (Landon Collins being first, signing an $84 million deal with Washington). It signaled to the rest of the NFL that the Chiefs were serious about overhauling a defense that proved crippling to the team’s chances of advancing to the Super Bowl just a year before.
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Mathieu’s arrival was a culture-changing move and an essential part of correcting a Chiefs’ defense that ranked 31st in the NFL just a year prior to his arrival. Tyrann brought an edge and leadership to Kansas City that the team had been desperately lacking for quite some time.
If the Chiefs don’t sign the Honey Badger, you may as well throw that Super Bowl LIV ring out the window because it never happens without #32.
Four: Tyrann’s First Touchdown With The Chiefs
Next, we have Tyrann Mathieu’s first touchdown in the red and gold.
Over a year and a half ago, the Chiefs played the COVID riddled Patriots in a game that had to be postponed and moved back a day to Monday Night due to the excessive amount of players testing positive between the two teams.
The game turned into a bit of a slugfest, with Kansas City never being able to pull away from the Brian Hoyer-led Pats. However, halfway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs received a crucial spark from their defense that resulted in the final blow to New England’s chances at taking home a win.
With just under nine minutes left in the game, Tyrann Mathieu finally got his first score as a Kansas City Chief.
PICK-SIX! Tyrann Mathieu takes the tipped pass to the house! (Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/0cwpUt2uVa — USA TODAY NFL (@usatodaynfl) October 6, 2020
As lucky as the play may have been bouncing off and through Edelman’s hands, Mathieu, as he often is, found himself in the perfect position to capitalize and punch the rock in for six. The play was also made a little extra sweet by the fact this was the first Chiefs and Patriots matchup in Arrowhead Stadium since the 2018 AFC Championship game.
Three: Mathieu’s Fun In The Snow
Now this play is one of the greatest cinematic shots in NFL history (in my humble opinion).
I think we all vividly remember this play from the Honey Badger back in December of 2019. The Chiefs got Drew Lock and the Broncos coming to Kansas City for a snowy Sunday, making for a fun and visually appealing game.
With the Chiefs up two scores and nearing the two-minute warning, Denver was knocking on the doorstep of putting points on the board right before halftime. The Broncos being only ten yards out from pay dirt, saw Drew Lock throw a back-shoulder pass in the corner of the end zone to WR Cortland Sutton, who looked to be coming down with the ball just as Tyrann Mathieu, with his right hand, swiped the ball out of Sutton’s hands as the receiver was falling to the ground.
#Broncos WR Courtland Sutton on 5/14: "I know that y’all have seen the play with Tyrann Mathieu. That play is something that did haunt me for a while. I moved on from it.” pic.twitter.com/FA9aw98n37 — Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) May 18, 2020
This certainly wasn’t a game-saving play by any means, but this was a great example of Mathieu’s Honey Badger-like mentality. Tyrann, never giving up on the play, was able to jar the ball loose just as it looked like Sutton was coming down for six.
Regardless of overall importance, this play will be one of the more iconic ones in Tyrann’s time with the Chiefs.
Two: Mathieu Sticks It To Corey Davis In The AFCCG
Ah, back to the ever-magical 2019 season. This year just felt different for the Chiefs all season. With the acquisitions of Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark and getting the Titans at home in the conference title game after the #1 seed Ravens dropped a dud the week before to give Kansas City home-field advantage, it all certainly felt like destiny.
The Chiefs didn’t start the game firing on all cylinders. They were playing from behind almost the entirety of the first half, and with Tennessee driving, the Chiefs desperately needed some sort of morale boost to energize both the fans and players.
Tyrann would deliver:
On 1st & 20, the Titans try a little dump-off pass to WR Corey Davis, who comes screaming in from the right side behind the line of scrimmage. Tyrann reads it the whole way and sprints full force in the direction of Davis just as the receiver catches the ball, absolutely laying the boom on the young WR and creating an eruption from the crowd.
Tyrann Mathieu with the big hit on Corey Davis 😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/RpE57cCnEu — NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) January 19, 2020
The intensity and tenacity of the Honey Badger were one of the stark differences between the 2018 and 2019 Chiefs, and this play highlights just the type of energy Mathieu brought to Kansas City as they secured the Lamar Hunt trophy for the first time since 1970 with their 35-24 win over the Tennessee Titans.
One: Super Bowl LIV
Is there anything that needs to be said here? Tyrann Mathieu becoming a Super Bowl Champion with the Chiefs is far and away the greatest moment of Tyrann’s time with Kansas City.
Mathieu brought everything as advertised to KC in his time with the Chiefs and, in doing so, helped the Chiefs break the 50-year curse by winning Super Bowl LIV in 2019.
Of all the special moments of the Honey Badger in Kansas City, this will always be the cherry on top of them all.
"Having that edge, and having that attitude, keeping that chip on your shoulder throughout the game…I think that was one of the reasons we were able to fight back."@Mathieu_Era reflects on becoming a Super Bowl champ as he gets ready for married life 🏆🤵 📺: @NFLTotalAccess pic.twitter.com/wxaAO0cHkw — NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 20, 2020
So thank you, Tyrann; you came in and gave the city and team your all and will always be remembered for your contributions on the road to LIV. Good luck in your next chapter, and I hope to see you back in Arrowhead one day with your name being added to the Ring of Honor among the greatest ever to have worn the red and gold.
What is your favorite Tyrann Mathieu moment with the Chiefs? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion.
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