GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Tyrann Mathieu of old showed up Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals, but with a new mindset.
After Mathieu picked up a fumble by Washington’s Andre Roberts in the fourth quarter, he headed for the end zone. But after making two Redskins miss, he had a flashback to the play that ended his 2013 season.
“I seen 71 (Washington tackle Trent Williams) running," Mathieu said. "He’s fast. I knew he was coming back. I just got down. Very reminiscent of last year. Very.”
In one play, the Mathieu of 2013 was married into the Mathieu of 2014. He was in the right place at the right time -- which became his calling card last season -- but the trauma of his injury wasn’t forgotten. The more he plays this season, the quicker that mindset will eventually disappear.
Mathieu made his first start of 2014 on Sunday and appeared to play more snaps than he has in any game this year. It translated into four tackles, a quarterback hurry and a pass deflection. On at least two occasions, he got to Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins untouched on a blitz a split-second after Cousins released his pass.
Mathieu found a rhythm Sunday, something he’s been searching for all season.
“When I did play, I just really couldn’t get in a groove, couldn’t find that comfort zone,” Mathieu said. “But I think this week I knew I was going to play more. I got more reps in practice, so I was way more comfortable going into the game.”
Reaching a point where he’s comfortable post-injury has been a process that started when he first put on his knee brace last summer. It continued into the season, as he’s been learning how to adjust to it.
“I’m not really comfortable with it,” Mathieu said. “But I have to be comfortable with it, just play these mind games with myself, tell myself I’m comfortable with it.”
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians made clear that there’s “nothing wrong with [Mathieu].”
“He’s getting more used to the brace,” Arians said.
“He’s just getting [used] to [learning] how to play with a brace on. When you play the position that he plays, any lack of mobility frustrates you, especially him, because he is cat quick. He doesn’t like being immobilized at times, and that’s what the brace does.”
It limited Mathieu on Sunday during DeSean Jackson’s 64-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Jackson got behind cornerback Patrick Peterson and headed toward Mathieu, who was at free safety. Mathieu said he took a bad angle to defend Jackson but he added he thought he “was a little bit restricted," aside from taking a bad angle.
While one play might have exposed Mathieu’s restrictions with the brace, it didn’t define his game. The fumble recovery did, and his teammates are looking for more of that out of him.
“Tyrann is a ball guy,” said safety Rashad Johnson, who had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. “The play that the ball came out, it seems like it just pops in his hands. He’s a guy that’s always around the ball.
“We are looking forward to him coming back and getting more snaps as the season goes on and making big plays for us as well. He is a big emphasis on defense and you’re going to see him do a lot more things for us.”
