Chiefs’ defense makes statement but leaves room to improve, says safety Tyrann Mathieu
The Chiefs needed time to adjust to new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense a year ago. With Patrick Mahomes, the offense was rolling and simply outscored opponents anyway.
Spagnuolo’s crew caught up late in the season and during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-championship run, and that momentum carried into their 2020 season opener.
The Chiefs’ defense was superb in holding off the Houston Texans 34-20 Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium. After a putting up a touchdown on their second possession, the Texans went scoreless in the second and third quarters as the Chiefs rolled up 31 answered points to make the contest a no-doubter.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has had some big games against the Chiefs in his young career, was ineffective when it matters most. He finished with 253 yards passing and rushed for 27 in a marquee matchup against KC counterpart Mahomes.
“They did a heck of a job against a very good offense,” Mahomes said of the Chiefs’ defense.
Another indication the Chiefs have come a long way on the defensive side: safety Tyrann Mathieu wasn’t satisfied.
“I’m pissed off,” Mathieu said. “I felt like we played fairly decent up until the last couple of stretches in the fourth quarter. We started giving up big plays, big chunks.”
Well, that’s true. The Texans amassed 145 yards in their final three possessions. But by then the game was out of hand. And it was largely because of the Chiefs’ defense.
Houston finished with 360 total yards. A year ago, the Texans put up the most yard totals allowed by the Chiefs during the 2019 regular season (472) and playoffs (442).
After the Texans opened the scoring Thursday, their possessions ended with a punt, missed field goal, punt and interception. The pick belonged to Chiefs rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, and he’ll have a moment he’ll always remember.
But the play was created by blitzing Mathieu, who disrupted Watson into tossing a floater that made the ball easy pickings.
“I was just doing my job,” Mathieu said. “Trying my best to make an impact on the play. A lot of what I do doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. I’m just happy that he caught it. We left a lot of those interceptions on the field last year. I think we dropped 10 or 11 as a group. To see the kid focus in, lock in, catch the ball and show his speed, that’s why he’s starting for us right now.”
The Chiefs also came up with four sacks against Watson. Chris Jones was credited with 1 1/2, with one each for Frank Clark and Dorian O’Daniel. Alex Okafor, who left the game with a hamstring injury, was credit with a half-sack.
Still, to Mathieu, this defense can be even better.
“We have a lot more work to do,” he said. “We could have held those guys to seven points.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 11:52 PM.