The son of a former end with the San Francisco 49ers and brother of NFL linebacker Clay Matthews, Bruce was an All-American guard at the University of Southern California and was chosen in the first round of the 1983 draft by the Houston Oilers where he would block for the legendary Earl Campbell and eventually play all line positions (Guard, Center and Tackle), going to the Pro Bowl for the latter two. He was selected to fourteen Pro Bowls in all, a league record. His entire career was spent with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans.

The 6-foot-5, 291-pound Matthews spent 19 seasons with the team, moving from guard to center late in his career. He tied Merlin Olsen for most Pro Bowls appeared in with 14, nine as a guard and five as a center. He played in 296 career games, an NFL record for non-kickers. Mathews also set a record by starting 229 consecutive games. Matthews recorded the longest playing streak at any position. He never missed a game because of injury, but was sidelined by contract disputes in 1983 and 1987.Matthews retired after the 2001 season.