Tyrann Mathieu does his homework.
The veteran safety turned in one of the top defensive highlights in the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game win over the Titans on Sunday. With Tennessee up 10-7 in the second quarter and driving into Kansas City territory yet again, wide receiver Corey Davis lined up behind the right guard, was set in motion to the left and received a screen pass from Ryan Tannehill. The funky formation didn’t fool Mathieu, who made a beeline for Davis and drilled the Titans receiver for a 2-yard loss.
Honey Badger brings the ? #ChiefsKingdom #NFLPlayoffs @Mathieu_Era
?: #TENvsKC on CBS
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Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/x5sQRf24XS pic.twitter.com/1aDRctYMom— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2020
If it looked like Mathieu knew the play was coming, he kind of did.
The Patriots ran a nearly identical play against the Chiefs in the teams’ Week 14 meeting at Gillette Stadium. N’Keal Harry was the go-to man for New England, but unlike Davis, the rookie wide receiver managed to slip by Mathieu before making a push for the end zone.
(You can check out the play beginning at the 8:44 mark in the video below.)
After not making the play on Harry, the “Honey Badger” was not going to be fooled again.
Same play patriots ran on us. They almost scored. Knew it would show up again. https://t.co/9blgsDOBUy
— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) January 20, 2020
The Chiefs now are on to Miami for Super LIV. While the San Francisco 49ers feature a slew of strong after-the-catch weapons like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Emmanuel Sanders, they would be wise not to run the aforementioned play on the first Sunday in February.
Mathieu will be ready for it.
