Tyrann Mathieu is NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Arizona Cardinals fans know how important safety Tyrann Mathieu has been this season to the defense and how good he has been. Now he is being recognized by the NFL. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November.

This is Mathieu's first selection for "Player of the Month." He helped the Cardinals go undefeated in November (4-0) by recording 27 tackles (24 solo), two interceptions and five passes defensed. In last week's win at San Francisco, Mathieu set a career-high with 13 tackles, including one for loss and had an interception. He was the only defensive back in November with 25+ tackles and 2+ interceptions.

Overall in the 2015 season, Mathieu is tied for the team lead with a career-high four interceptions and is third on the team with a career-high 70 tackles. He is the only player in the NFL with at least 70 tackles and four interceptions.

Mathieu is the second player in team history to be named "Defensive Player of the Month" (Kwamie Lassiter, 2001). Besides Mathieu, the Cardinals have had a Player of the Month seven other times since the award began in 1986: QB Neil Lomax (October, 1988), QB Boomer Esiason (November, 1996), Kwamie Lassiter (November, 2001), K Neil Rackers (October and December, 2005), PR Patrick Peterson (November, 2011), and ST Justin Bethel (December, 2014).