This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
In football, it is imperative for defenses to generate pressure against the opposing team’s quarterback, thus putting a premium on elite pass rushers. Most teams are fortunate to have one top-tier pass rusher; in the 2000s, the Indianapolis Colts, perhaps best-known for their explosive offense led by Peyton Manning, were blessed with dominating pass rushers from both edges – Dwight Freeney from the right side and Robert Mathis from left end. With opposing teams having to account for both sides of the line, the fearsome duo frequently posted double-digit sack totals and accumulated over 200 total sacks together with the Colts. As to the question of whether Freeney was great because he had Mathis on the other side, or vice versa, it is probably a “chicken or egg” type question, but let us compare and ask:
Who was better – Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis?
The Beginning
Though neither Freeney nor Mathis was considered a prototype defensive end, the former was still an elite college talent and first-round draft pick who had an immediate impact, while the latter was an unheralded diamond-in-the-rough who gradually evolved into a dominant force.
A Connecticut native, Freeney played four sports in high school (football, basketball, baseball, and soccer); following a high school football career in which he set a state record for sacks, he attended Syracuse on a football scholarship. Though he did not become a starter until his junior year, Freeney was a 2x First Team All-Big East selection and racked up 17.5 sacks as a senior to earn First Team All-American honors. Despite being viewed as somewhat undersized at 6’1″, he was selected 11th overall in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Colts and went on to rack up 13.0 sacks, 46 total tackles, and a league-high 9 forced fumbles as a rookie to finish as runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year (to Julius Peppers).
In contrast, after growing up in Georgia, Mathis was unheralded coming out of high school and attended Division I-AA school Alabama A&M University (a notch below the top tier of college football). As a four-year starter there, he established himself as the premier pass rusher in Division I-AA and set a single season record with 20.0 sacks as a senior. Nevertheless, Mathis was not drafted until the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft by Indianapolis and had a quiet rookie season in a reserve role with 3.5 sacks and 25 total tackles, along with 3 forced fumbles.
Career Comparison
Over the course of more than a decade playing together on the Colts’ defensive line, Freeney and Mathis were among the league’s premier pass rushers, each a threat to rack up double-digit sacks and lead the league in pass rushing in any given season.
Known for his trademark spin move, Freeney earned the first of seven Pro Bowl selections in 2003 with 11.0 sacks, 34 total tackles, and 4 forced fumbles (including the only touchdown return of his career), also good for Second Team All-Pro honors. Over the next couple of years, he was not only a Pro Bowler each year, but also a First Team All-Pro in back-to-back seasons:
- 2004: led the NFL with a career-high 16.0 sacks with 36 total tackles and 3 forced fumbles
- 2005: 11.0 sacks, 42 total tackles, and 6 forced fumbles
However, subsequent to this period of dominance, Freeney struggled mightily, dipping to just 5.5 sacks in 2006 and then, only 3.5 sacks as injuries limited him to 9 games played in 2007.
Nevertheless, Freeney bounced back from this nadir with four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons, including three straight years with double-digit sacks; notably, he had his final All-Pro selection in 2009 on the strength of 13.5 sacks, 24 total tackles, and 4 forced fumbles. Coming off his final Pro Bowl season in 2011 (8.5 sacks), the implementation of a new defensive scheme for the Colts led to Freeney moving from defensive end to outside linebacker; the results were poor, as Freeney managed just 5.0 sacks and became a free agent at season’s end, having spent 11 years with Indianapolis and racked up 107.5 sacks. His last half-decade in the NFL was a bit nomadic – Freeney signed with the San Diego Chargers for the 2013 season, but totaled just 4.0 sacks over two years with the team; then, he joined the Arizona Cardinals for the 2015 season and had 8.0 sacks in 11 games, his highest single-season total outside of Indianapolis. Finally, Freeney spent two more seasons between the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Seattle Seahawks with a grand total of 6.0 sacks; after playing his last NFL game at age 37 in 2017, he signed a one day ceremonial contract in 2018 to retire with the Colts.
On the other side of the Colts’ defensive line, Mathis broke out as a situational pass rusher in year two with 10.5 sacks, 36 total tackles, and a league-high 6 forced fumbles in 2004. The next year, he increased those totals to 11.5 sacks and 56 total tackles, and again led the NFL with 8 forced fumbles. Upon becoming a starter in 2006, his sack totals decreased over the next couple of seasons, though Mathis became a more complete player (i.e. playing the run) and accumulated a career-high 65 total tackles in 2006. In 2008, Mathis earned the first of five Pro Bowl selections (11.5 sacks, 47 total tackles, and 5 forced fumbles, including a touchdown), followed by two more Pro Bowls in 2009 and 2010:
- 2009: 9.5 sacks, 37 total tackles, and 5 forced fumbles
- 2010: 11.0 sacks, 60 total tackles, and 1 forced fumble
Despite another 9.5-sack season in 2011, Mathis snapped his streak of Pro Bowl seasons, but quickly made another Pro Bowl in 2012 after moving to outside linebacker and posting 8.0 sacks. With Freeney departing for San Diego in 2013, Mathis became “The Man” for the Colts defense and responded with a career year – by leading the NFL with a career-high 19.5 sacks and adding 59 total tackles and a league-leading and career-best 10 forced fumbles, he not only made his final Pro Bowl and only All-Pro First Team, but also finished second for Defensive Player of the Year to Luke Kuechly. Unfortunately, as a follow-up, Mathis missed the entire 2014 season due to a drug policy violation and then, an Achilles tendon tear; he managed to bounce back with 7.0 sacks in 2015 and had 5.0 sacks in his final season in 2016 – upon retiring at age 35, Mathis was the NFL’s career record-holder for strip sacks (47).
In total, Freeney played two more NFL seasons than Mathis and racked up slightly more career sacks (125.5 vs. 123.0) with more double-digit sack seasons (7x vs. 5x), though with a lower sack rate (0.58 per game vs. 0.64 per game); both rank in the top 20 as of this writing, though remember that sacks only became an official NFL statistic starting in 1982. Additionally, Mathis was more well-rounded, accumulating significantly more career tackles and forcing more fumbles, though when it comes to awards and accolades, Freeney has the edge with more Pro Bowls (7x vs. 5x) and All-Pro selections (3x vs. 1x). As two of the best pass rushers of their era, both Mathis and Freeney are likely borderline Hall of Fame candidates when they first became eligible in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Regular Season Statistics
| Dwight Freeney | Player | Robert Mathis |
| 16 (2002-2017) | Seasons | 14 (2003-2016) |
| 218 | Games Played | 192 |
| 125.5 | Sacks | 123.0 |
| 46 | Forced Fumbles | 54 |
| 299 | Solo Tackles | 408 |
| 51 | Assisted Tackles | 130 |
| 7x | Pro Bowls | 5x |
| 3x | All-Pro | 1x |
| 1x | Super Bowls | 1x |
| – | Other Awards | – |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Together with the team’s high-powered offense, Freeney and Mathis led the Colts to the playoffs year in and year out, culminating in a couple of Super Bowl appearances and the team’s first title since the Johnny Unitas-led Baltimore days in the 1970s.
Across nine postseason trips for Freeney with the Colts (11x overall) and ten for Mathis, the duo played a key role in guiding the team to Super Bowls XLI and XLIV. In Super Bowl XLI vs. Brian Urlacher’s Chicago Bears, the Colts cruised to a 29-17 victory, with Mathis having 3 total tackles and a forced fumble and Freeney scooping up a fumble recovery. A couple of years later, however, in Super Bowl XLIV, the team would fall to the Drew Brees-led New Orleans Saints by a score of 31-17; this time around, Freeney had 3 total tackles and a sack, while Mathis contributed 4 total tackles.
Playoff Statistics
| Dwight Freeney | Player | Robert Mathis |
| 22 | Games Played | 18 |
| 11.0 | Sacks | 6.5 |
| 2 | Forced Fumbles | 5 |
| 30 | Solo Tackles | 39 |
| 10 | Assisted Tackles | 16 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; case in point, Freeney’s production declined after leaving Indianapolis, while Mathis never posted double-digit sacks again after his career-best year. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Freeney is on the First Team for the 2000s), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Dwight Freeney | Player | Robert Mathis |
| 2002-2005, 2008-2012, 2015 | Decade of Dominance | 2004-2013 |
| 149 | Games Played | 147 |
| 106.5 | Sacks | 107.5 |
| 38 | Forced Fumbles | 47 |
| 238 | Solo Tackles | 357 |
| 37 | Assisted Tackles | 116 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Interesting, across decades of dominance that for the most part overlap, Mathis holds the edge in essentially every category – an additional sack in fewer games played, as well as significantly more total tackles and forced fumbles.
My Thoughts
During the Colts’ heyday in the 2000s, defense was always considered their Achilles heel, even with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis manning (no pun intended) the edges of the defensive line; without the duo generating a fierce pass rush, who knows how mediocre Indianapolis’ defense would have been? Between the two, Freeney generally received more acclaim during their playing days (2000s All-Decade First Team, more Pro Bowls, more All-Pro selections, etc.), but I actually think Mathis was the better overall player. Not only did Freeney vacillate between double-digit sack seasons and relatively ineffective years, but he was also somewhat one-dimensional in terms of being a pure pass rusher; in contrast, Mathis was just as good at getting to the quarterback (2.5 fewer career sacks, but a higher sack rate and the higher single-season total at 19.5 sacks), yet was also fairly stout against the run and the NFL’s all-time best statistically at strip sacks, i.e. generating turnovers. In terms of their Hall of Fame candidacies, personally, I consider them both borderline cases, probably more “Hall of Very Good”-type players just a notch below the very best defensive ends of the era (e.g. Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor, Julius Peppers, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, etc.).
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Robert Mathis
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
More Good Stuff
- Watch: Get tickets to see the Indianapolis Colts or any other NFL team in action
- Wear: Buy sports apparel for the Colts or any other NFL team
- Collect: Buy unique sports memorabilia for Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, or your favorite NFL player(s) or team(s)
- Play: Show off your football knowledge by playing daily fantasy football
- Build: Start your own sports website/blog
Previous
H2H 92: Allen Iverson vs. Tracy McGrady
3 responses to “H2H 93: Dwight Freeney vs. Robert Mathis – Who was Better?”