How genes, dedication led Falcons’ Jake Matthews to 200th career start

NEW ORLEANS — It’s a bit of a hidden secret in the Falcons’ locker room, a story Jake Matthews doesn’t go out of his way to share.

In the midst of his 198-game streak of consecutive starts, while recovering from a knee injury and battling to keep his unbelievable run alive, he moved his Peloton next to the bathtub in his master bathroom.

For hours, he went from hot tub to cold tub to cycle, doing everything in his power to play, and start or compete.

He did all three.

“The level of dedication that Jake has to be out there on Sundays,” right guard Chris Lindstrom told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “is unlike any other.”

Dedication has now brought the 34-year-old Matthews to the brink of another career milestone. He’ll make his 200th career start when the Falcons (1-2) face the Saints (1-2) at 8:15 p.m. on “Monday Night Football” inside Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

A first-round pick in 2014, Matthews made career start No. 1 against the Saints. He got injured right before halftime and missed the Falcons’ next game.

“Feels like a lifetime ago,” he says. “Like a completely different person.”

He’s started every game since. His teammates marvel at the feat and wonder, truly, if there’s some paranormal force pulling the strings to this magical career.

“The guys joke I’ve got some weird routine and secret voodoo routines or stuff that I do,” Matthews said this week. “I just stick to the plan (the trainers) give me and take it a day at a time and Friday rolls around (and) I feel pretty good about doing this. So, I do that a few times and guys start thinking you’re doing something unnatural.”

But the root of Matthews’ streak has little to do with unnatural means or voodoo tactics.

The first aspect — and perhaps most important — is his genes. He’s the son of Bruce Matthews, a Hall of Fame lineman who played 296 games across 19 seasons and made 14 Pro Bowl appearances. Jake is the nephew of Clay Matthews Jr., who played 19 years as an outside linebacker, and the cousin of Clay Matthews III, an 11-year veteran and six-time Pro Bowler.

“We cannot dismiss the genetic lottery that was hit,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said this week. “I mean, that bloodline is like minimum 15 years in the league. You know you’re going to get that just by being a Matthews. It’s no secret.”

In other words: His genetic code being Matthews-programmed made a lengthy career almost a foregone conclusion.

“He was put on this earth to play left tackle for a very long time,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Genes, however, matter less if dedication doesn’t accompany it.

“He’s used those traits that he’s been blessed with and he’s done an amazing job of working very hard,” Stefanski said. “The way I watch Jake work and how he goes about his business on a day-to-day basis is very, very impressive for a person that’s been doing it as long as he has.”

Matthews is one of only two offensive linemen from the 2014 draft class still playing, along with New England Patriots tackle Morgan Moses. Ulbrich, then the New York Jets’ interim coach, spent 2024 around Moses. Falcons offensive line coach Bill Callahan worked with Moses from 2015-19 with the now-Washington Commanders.

They’re the final two pillars standing from a class that had 45 offensive linemen go off the board in 256 picks. Their shared trait? A thorough, unrelenting daily approach.

‘He’s such a pro’

At the beginning of the Falcons’ offseason program, the coaching staff showed clips to the entire team of Matthews working during individual drills. There he was, in Year 13 as a professional, doing all of the little things exactly as his coaches desired. Ulbrich, who leads the other side of the ball, urges the Falcons’ defenders to capitalize on Matthews as a resource to better themselves.

“He’s such a pro, in every way,” Ulbrich said. “I always tell these young guys, ‘If you want to know how to carry yourself, you want to know how to check every box during the course of a week, go observe him. Go ask him every question you can as far as how he’s been able to be so consistent, play so long and play at such a high level for so long.’”

There was another member of that 2014 draft class, though he vehemently — jokingly — argues against his inclusion. It’s Falcons offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who played quarterback at Notre Dame and earned a rookie minicamp tryout with the Commanders.

Matthews laughs at the idea of executing plays called by a coach his age. Is it a sign of his age, or a nod that Rees climbed the ladder at a rapid pace? “Maybe a bit of both,” Matthews said. But it’s not a foreign concept. For the final seven years of his career, Bruce Matthews’ head coach was his college teammate, Jeff Fisher. Again, these things sort of just run in the Matthews’ genes.

“I guess I am kind of old,” Matthews said, chuckling.

But he shows no signs of it.

To Lindstrom, seemingly every Falcons practice features a moment where Matthews and the team’s coaching staff share a difference in opinion. The staff pulls Matthews from a drill, trying to monitor his health and rep count.

“He’s like, ‘Why are you pulling me?’” Lindstrom said. “Like, it’s almost offensive to him to take rep off.”

Every year, when the Falcons arrive for OTAs, Matthews jogs out to the practice field and jokes, “Let me see if I remember how to do this.” Every year, he does. He’s started 198 consecutive games — the longest active streak in the NFL among nonspecialists — and established himself as one of the game’s steadiest left tackles.

Callahan studied Matthews during the 2014 predraft process but knew he’d go far too early to be in play for the Cowboys at pick No. 16. Years later, Callahan watched Matthews during a leaguewide review of the best offensive tackles, trying to find a new trick to help his own players.

Together at last, the 70-year-old Callahan calls it a “real honor” to work with Matthews, whom he insists hasn’t lost a step.

“Oh, no. Gosh, no,” Callahan told the AJC. “I wouldn’t even go there. It’s amazing that these guys, as they get older, they get a little bit wiser, a little more craftier. He’s like the old, crafty vet in that regard. They know what works for them. They know how to be successful.”

Setting the mark

On Monday night, Matthews will become the fourth player in Falcons history to play 200 games. Right guard Matthew Bergeron said Matthews is “aging well,” still playing at a high level and “can play as long as he wants.” Lindstrom said he thinks Matthews can make another 100 starts if he chooses.

“You always think like, ‘Oh, have I lost anything?’” Lindstrom said. “And then I watch Jake and it’s just like, ‘No, it’s the same guy over and over and over again.’”

Bergeron, who hit 50 career starts earlier this season, said he’s struggling to wrap his mind around making it to 100. Matthews is similarly questionable about hitting 300. “We’ll see,” he said. “See how 200 goes.” But the Falcons have no questions about how it’ll go.

For 13 years, Matthews has been their rock, a franchise left tackle and an unheralded staple at a crucial position. He’s big, long, strong, smart, athletic, savvy and, most of all, steady. He’s a “nice luxury,” Rees said, and still carries the same passion and inquisitiveness into offensive line meetings as he did when he was a rookie.