Chiefs’ Sack Nation has new Ring of Honor member ahead of Super Bowl: safety Ty Mathieu
It’s not exactly Fight Club, where Rule No. 1 is not talking about Fight Club.
But it’s plenty physical, only the strongest and most resilient gain admittance, and once you’re in, you’re a brother for life. And unlike Brad Pitt’s 1999 cinematic classic, this is, in fact, real, live, bone-crunching life.
Welcome to the Kansas City Chiefs’ “Sack Nation,” a badge of honor inside the KC locker room.
And safety Tyrann Mathieu isn’t just a member now, he’s in its Ring of Honor.
“I’ve been inducted into Sack Nation,” Mathieu said with pride Thursday during the Chiefs’ media appearance at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort in the Miami suburb of Aventura. “I believe I have two on the season.”
That’s correct: one against the Detroit Lions in September, one against Denver’s Drew Lock, the Lee’s Summit High and Mizzou grad, in December.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones, the self-described president and CEO of Sack Nation with nine sacks this season, said it doesn’t matter that Mathieu, the Chiefs’ first-year defensive leader, has “just” two. It’s about the size of his heart.
And in that department, Jones said, Mathieu is a natural addition to this fun, not-so-secretive subset of Chiefs culture.
“It’s not about how many sacks you have,” Jones said with a wry smile. “It’s about doing what’s expected of you at the highest level. Honey Badger, he’s the Landlord of the field.”
Some catch-up here: Honey Badger is, of course, Mathieu, and another of his nicknames since arriving in Kansas City last offseason on a three-year free-agent contract worth $42 million is Kingdom Landlord — as in, when you step on the field and enter his territory, you do so at your own peril; he’s your landlord and the rent is due.
Defensive end Frank Clark beamed when asked about Sack Nation, then nodded at chuckled as talk turned to Mathieu.
“I’m the vice president of Sack Nation,” said Clark, producer of eight sacks this season. “Tyrann is definitely in. He’s relentless. ...
“You know how honey badgers are? They’re close to the ground? That’s Tyrann, man,” Clark continued. “You saw it all season, like in that snow game where he never gave up on the play and ran and ran until he got the quarterback (Lock) down.”
It truly was a cartoon-like play. Mathieu pursued Lock through the pocket, then chased him out the back side as it collapsed. He never gave up on the play and eventually brought the rookie to the ground.
“Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, they started Sack Nation as Sack City,” Jones said when asked how this whole Sack Nation thing began. “No offense to them, but this is a new generation now.
“Sack Nation, it’s about a committed group of guys with one goal. That’s all that matters. When you’re committed and you strive for something, you’re going to succeed.”
To wit, these guys are about to play in a Super Bowl. And a lot of that can be traced to the efforts of a defense that’s worlds improved over last year’s unit that got shattered by pretty much anyone it played.
“I don’t expect Khalen Saunders to get four sacks a game,” Jones said. “But I do expect him to shut down the run. I don’t expect Derrick Nnadi to get four sacks a game. But I do expect him to disrupt an offense. Sack Nation is not just about sacks.”
Clark says he’s particularly excited to see how Mathieu progresses in Kansas City over the next couple of years. He’s still not hit his ceiling — that’s how Clark sees it. Whether sacking the quarterback, intercepting passes or just generally making life difficult for opponents in the Chiefs’ secondary, there are many ways to contribute to Sack Nation, and Mathieu excels at pretty much all of them.
“He’s always gonna attack those legs and bring a guy down,” Clark said. “He’s in Sack Nation — he’s in our Ring of Honor. It’s very hard to get in there.”
Clark especially praises what Mathieu has brought to the field as a guy “who’s not that big,” standing 5-foot-9 and weighing a listed 190 pounds. Size, Clark will tell you, doesn’t matter when it comes to the former LSU Heisman finalist.
“He’s relentless,” Clark said. “He’s perfect for Sack Nation.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Chiefs’ Sack Nation has new Ring of Honor member ahead of Super Bowl: safety Ty Mathieu."