KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With 2 minutes to go and the Chiefs clinging to a one-score lead over the Baltimore Ravens in Thursday’s NFL season opener, the butterflies and the chest-pounding Matt Araiza experienced earlier in the evening were gone.
“I’d say at first it was just trying to focus, because here in the crowd, for that first time, it was crazy,” Araiza said. “My heart was going through the roof, so I was trying to calm down.”
He proved it by unleashing a booming 48-yard punt toward Ravens returner Deonte Harty, who fielded the ball at the 10-yard line. Gunner Nazeeh Johnson corralled Harty after a short 3-yard gain, leaving the Ravens 87 yards to go for a potential game-winning score. In a game where every inch mattered, Araiza’s punt proved pivotal to the Chiefs escaping with a 27-20 victory to start the season 1-0.
“Araiza, our punter, had a good night,” head coach Andy Reid said. “So welcome to Kansas City, and he sure did a nice job.”
There’s no sidestepping that Thursday night was no ordinary game for the 24-year-old punter. Two years ago, he appeared ready to take the NFL by storm as a sixth-round pick for the Buffalo Bills after a legendary college career at San Diego State where he picked up the moniker “Punt God.”
But his rookie season was derailed before it even began. After a single punt in a preseason game, Araiza was the target of a lawsuit alleging his involvement in the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl. Araiza denied the charges and filed a defamation suit against his accuser. The parties dropped the lawsuits in December with neither side admitting wrongdoing and no money involved. Araiza retained the right to file a suit against his accuser’s attorney.
Araiza took the next step toward putting that saga behind him with a night that showcased why many thought he had the makings of an All-Pro punter. He averaged 48 yards on three punts, and in addition to pinning the Ravens at the 13-yard line before their final drive, Araiza also dropped a 40-yard punt just outside the Baltimore goal line. Gunner Joshua Williams unfortunately stepped into the end zone before making contact with the football for a touchback.
“It’s hard to decide, hard to decide if you want to do a flip punt or you want to hit a spiral punt,” Araiza explained about punting on fourth-and-5 from the Ravens 40-yard line with just under 4 minutes to go in the third quarter. “And I decided to go with spiral, which I’m not upset with the decision, but just try and get that one a little bit shorter.”
Any doubts or nervous energy were gone when Araiza stepped on the field for his final punt of the night. All game long he tried to make everything seem smaller, he says. “That was hard at first, to be honest with you.”
But with the game on the line in the final 2 minutes, his instincts kicked in once again.”
I mean, that’s kind of the closest, most pressure situation you get into as a punter,” he said. “It’s kind of when your team’s up and you punt at the end of the game. So it was good to get that off and hang it up there and give our great coverage team time to get down.”
Araiza’s performance impressed kicker Harrison Butker, who said his teammate delivered in key moments and performed well on holds — something Araiza never did in college.
“He did a great job,” Butker said. “Very impressed. Locked in. I mean, that felt like a playoff game. I thought he did a great job. We almost had a great play at the 1-yard line.”
The Chiefs celebrated their 2024 Super Bowl victory Thursday night with the unveiling of the championship banner. Araiza wasn’t a part of that team but it was a celebratory evening for him as well — marking the beginning of his NFL career after a prolonged delay. Family members were waiting for Araiza after the game, and they plan to watch the Royals game on Friday and take advantage of the team’s extra days off before preparation starts for hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
As he prepared to walk outside the locker room to join his family, Araiza reflected on his NFL regular-season debut.
“It was a really good game,” Araiza said. “I was happy with the process, and everything played out, and (long snapper) James (Winchester) and Harrison both had great games, so it makes my life easier.
“But, yeah, that was — that was incredible.”
