Tyrann Mathieu Earns AFC Defensive Player of the Month Honors

This marks the second career “Player of the Month” award for Mathieu

Jan 02, 2020 at 09:57 AM

Matt McMullen

Chiefs Reporter

The man they call the Honey Badger has been making plays all season long, and with the final month of the regular season now in the books, the folks from the National Football League have recognized him for it.

Kansas City Chiefs' safety Tyrann Mathieu was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month on Thursday, capping off a strong five-week stretch – both individually and for the Chiefs as a whole – with some hardware.

Mathieu tallied 25 tackles, six passes defensed, two interceptions and a sack through five December contests, helping the Chiefs hold the opposition to the fewest points in the NFL during that span and tally a perfect 5-0 record.

The advanced analytics back up Mathieu's stellar play, too.

Among 45 safeties to play 400+ snaps in Weeks 10-17, no one played better than #Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu

• 85.8 Overall grade (1st)
• 90.6 Coverage grade (1st)
• 6.9 Yards per Reception (1st, 15+ targets)
• Only S to have 3+ INT, 3+ PBU, and 0 TD allowed#ChiefsKingdom
— PFF KC Chiefs (@PFF_Chiefs) January 1, 2020

This marks Mathieu's second-career "Player of the Month" award and his first since winning NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for November back in 2015. Mathieu is the first member of the Chiefs' defense to earn a Player of the Month award since defensive tackle Chris Jones did so in November last season.

Mathieu will be back in action on January 12 at Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs kick off the Divisional Round of the postseason.