Chiefs’ safeties are leading the defensive overhaul in Kansas City. And it’s no fluke
Tyrann Mathieu lodged the football between his forearm and gut, ready to embark on some sort of celebration, when he saw the flag. It stopped him suddenly, the words of frustration not really suitable for print. A penalty had robbed him of his third interception in four games.
One player later, Juan Thornhill stole it back.
The Chiefs’ rookie safety intercepted Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, part of the secondary’s shutdown performance in a 23-3 win Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
So, really, it all evened out, right?
Well, not exactly. At some point later in the game, Thornhill tracked down Mathieu on the sideline. He had a playful taunt for his veteran teammate.
“I stole one off your plate today,” Thornhill said, later putting it into context. “One of us eats, we all eat. So I appreciate it.”
In the immediate aftermath of the sequence — a Mathieu interception negated by a penalty, then flipped to a Thornhill pick — Mathieu didn’t compliment anyone. He’s quickly become the vocal leader of the back end of the defense, but this time he opted to remain silent.
“I was pissed off I wasn’t the one to catch it,” Mathieu said through a laugh.
The banter between the Chiefs’ starting safeties illuminates the result of an offseason overhaul in the secondary. An exploitable weakness last year has become such a strength that they no longer wonder if someone will make a play.
They argue about who will make more.
“We’re competing against each other,” Thornhill said. “See who can make the most plays on the ball. When you got two guys competing like that, it just makes the secondary a lot better. We’re going against each other every day.”
On Sunday, they traded shot for shot.
Their influence stretched well beyond interceptions (or would-be interceptions). Mathieu sacked Lock on the Broncos’ game-opening drive after flushing him out of the pocket on a blitz. Lock continued to target the receivers Mathieu guarded throughout the first half — to no success.
Mathieu was credited with two passes defensed — one when he ripped the ball out of wide receiver Courtland Sutton’s hands in the end zone. Thornhill was credited with one, too.
That’s the statistical effect of their presence. The less measurable consequence was this: For yet another week, the Chiefs’ secondary took away the back half of the field from an opponent’s passing game.
It’s a trend. A new one for this franchise.
Lock managed only 208 yards on 40 pass attempts. That’s one week after New England quarterback Tom Brady gained just 169 on 35 throws against the Chiefs. Just two weeks after Oakland’s Derek Carr had 222 yards on 30 passes.
The numbers illustrate a picture of everything coming together nicely in the past few weeks. But the Chiefs spotted this potential much earlier, back when the stat lines didn’t necessarily back the message.
Members of the offense, in fact, picked up on the secondary’s improvement during training camp, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing against these guys daily and tight end Travis Kelce garnering their one-on-one coverage.
“Unbelievable athletes, man,” Kelce said. “High energy. Guys that are very aware, smart and understanding of concepts and pass routes. But on top of that, they’re downhill guys — they’re not afraid to hit you.
“(Mathieu) is out there playing his tail off. He gets me fired up every time I see the defense going. Then obviously Juan’s out there making plays left and right. It’s exciting to see those guys have success, and I’m glad I don’t have to go against them.”
Instead, they continue going against one another.
“I’m just following in his footsteps,” Thornhill said of Mathieu. “Doing whatever he does, and trying to do it better than he does it.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2019 at 5:36 PM.