Highly versatile, Matthews played every position on the offensive line throughout his NFL career, starting in 99 games as a left guard, 87 as a center, 67 as a right guard, 22 as a right tackle, 17 as a left tackle, and was the long snapper on field goals, PATs, and punts.

As a junior in 1977, Matthews was named to the All-California Interscholastic Federation third-team,[2] and as a senior, he played in the Shrine All-Star Football Classic alongside John Elway.

[4] Matthews attended the University of Southern California, where he played all offensive line positions at various times for the USC Trojans football team.

As a senior in 1982, Matthews was shifted from weakside to strongside guard to replace departing Roy Foster as the principal blocker in the "Student Body Right" play.

As a senior, Matthews earned consensus All-America honors and won the Morris Trophy, which is awarded to the best lineman in the conference.

[9] Matthews was selected to 14 Pro Bowls, which at the time tied a league record set by Merlin Olsen.

Matthews also earned first-team All-Pro recognition each year from the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Weekly, and The Sporting News.

[15] He thrived in the run and shoot offensive scheme adopted by the Oilers around this time, which required linemen to be exceptionally agile.

[17] The holes Matthews opened up helped running back Mike Rozier to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1987 and 1988.

"[19] Behind blocking by Matthews and fellow future Hall of Fame guard Mike Munchak, Oilers quarterback Warren Moon led the league in passing yards in 1990 and 1991, and running back Lorenzo White was a 1992 Pro Bowl selection.

[21] That year, the Oilers signed free agent center Mark Stepnoski, and as a result, Matthews moved to left guard.

[22] He spent the majority of the rest of his career at the position, occasionally filling in for injured players along the offensive line.

Matthews' blocking helped running back Eddie George to four straight Pro Bowl seasons.

"[26] After the Titans finished the 2013 season with a 7–9 record, general manager Ruston Webster and president/CEO Tommy Smith met with Munchak and gave him the option to fire a large contingent of assistant coaches, which included Matthews, in exchange for an extension and a raise, or lose his job as head coach.

Bruce and his wife, Carrie, have seven kids: Steven, Kevin, Marilyn, Jake, Mike, Luke, and Gwen.