Chiefs LB Drue Tranquill has the perfect theory about an unsuspecting special teams contributor for Kansas City
The Kansas City Chiefs saw an unsuspecting contributor on punt coverage in Week 13's win over the Las Vegas Raiders.Chiefs punter Matt Araiza is developing a reputation for getting down the field like a missile after he bombs his punts and even his teammates are taking notice. Twice during the win over Las Vegas, Araiza […]
The Kansas City Chiefs saw an unsuspecting contributor on punt coverage in Week 13's win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chiefs punter Matt Araiza is developing a reputation for getting down the field like a missile after he bombs his punts and even his teammates are taking notice. Twice during the win over Las Vegas, Araiza got down the field to make the tackle on the ball carrier after his punts. The first time, he came in and delivered a hit as one of the last lines of defense.
The second time, Araiza made the tackle as the holder on a 59-yard field goal attempt before the half.
Chiefs LB Drue Tranquill shared his reaction to both plays on X (formerly Twitter) after the game.
"Is Matt Araiza an undercover linebacker playing punter," he quipped.
He sure looked like a linebacker laying the wood on both of those tackles.
Araiza finished the game with two total tackles, just one tackle shy of tying the NFL record for the most tackles in a single game by a punter. According to Statmuse, that record is owned by former Texans P Brett Hartmann, who had three total tackles in a game against the Saints in 2011.
Chiefs P Matt Araiza is still laying the wood, despite Dave Toub's wishes
Tranquill might get a kick out of Araiza's antics, but Dave Toub certainly doesn't. He knows that he's got a good and tough athlete, who wants to contribute. However, as a coach, he'd like to see Araiza do things a bit differently.
"They (the players) love it," Toub said of Araiza's tackling on Nov. 21. "I don't love it. I want him to come down. I want him to be part of coverage, but not to that extent. I want him to get down in there and be a safety type guy, but not— it says a lot about his toughness and all that stuff. But we need him to make it through the season, you know. He doesn't need to be down there being a missile like that. And I understand why he did it, because he didn't hit a great punt. And he knew it as soon as he hit it. So he wanted to be sure that it didn't pop out on us. So, I mean, that's why he did that."
We'll see if Araiza gets the message this time around. A few times, he seemed to lead with his head, which could open him up to a fine from the NFL.
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