Andy Reid
OPENING STATEMENT: Alright, really the only major injury would be (Isiah) Pacheco with his ankle. We’ll
just have to see – he’s having some tests done on it now, x-rays, all that stuff. I don’t have anything for
you on what exactly it is, but he came out with the ankle. Thanks to our fans, they did a great job today
and hung with us (through) the highs and lows and stayed right with us. (I) can’t say enough about
(Harrison) Butker and that kick. He’s (Harrison Butker) so reliable and we just appreciate how he goes
about his business. As good of a kicker as he is, he’s an even better person, so I appreciate him all the way
around. (Matt) Araiza jumped in and had a big punt right there at the end, which was great to see, at a
very important time. Then the tackles by (Nick) Bolton, and (Drue) Tranquill and J (Justin) Reid, they were
the leaders in that area. The turnover with the touchdown ends up being huge to (Mike) Danna and
(Tershawn) Wharton on the fumble there. Then – this can go on, but (Isiah) Pacheco had a big day (with)
19 carries for 90 yards and five receptions for 21 yards, so, busy day there. (Rashee) Rice, again, had a nice
day there (and) Patrick (Mahomes) always has a good day (and) comes through in the clutch hits and big – our best plays were called back but it was a great job by him as we went. So, what did we learn from
this? Turnovers they kill you, they don’t give you – they very seldom give you an opportunity to win the
game. So, if you come out with a win with three turnovers, that’s a plus, but we got to take care of business
there. Then penalties when – all of these things on the plus side of the field, those end up being points
whether it’s a field goal or whether it’s a touchdown. We got to make sure we take care of business with
that and improve. We had some young guys that ended up with some of these penalties and they’ll learn
from it. Kingsley (Suamataia) was going against arguably one of the best defensive ends in the league (and)
it will be a great experience for him to put away in here and learn from. I ended up taking him (Kingsley
Suamataia) out of the game, sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. So, Wanya
(Morris) came in and did a nice job, now he also had a penalty there. Very seldom are you going to get a
guy like that right there (Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson) – that you’re playing against. What you want to do
is learn from it and move forward. Anyways, with that time is yours.”
Q: How far did you feel like you needed to get Harrison Butker into field goal range?
REID: “I was like, I’d feel more comfortable around the 32 (yard line) and in.
Q: But you knew he’s made field goals longer than that.
REID: “Yeah, he could’ve made it. Normally when you’re at the 35 (to) 40 (yard line) you’re pretty
confident that he’s going to drill it.
Q: Can you elaborate on how bad you think Isiah Pacheco’s ankle injury is?
REID: “Yeah, I don’t actually know right now. I just got to see. They’re doing all the stuff right now so, I
really haven’t had the chance to talk to him or anything there about it.”
Q: What is it like to have to take a player out of the game like you took Kinglsey Suamataia out of the
game today?
REID: “It’s a great learning experience. Sometimes if you get beat a couple different times and you’re a
young guy, you haven’t quite figured out the answers to the test there on how to fix it and your coach
talks to you and then you have to settle down. That happens, so you go back and you learn from it and
Wanya (Morris) will do the same thing. He did a nice job jumping in there, with the exception of the
penalties.”
Q: Do you think Harrison Butker thrives under pressure?
REID: “I hope we all are that good under pressure (laughter). He (Harrison Butker) does a great job with
it, yeah.”
Q: What did you see on Patrick Mahomes’ first interception?
REID: “Yeah, the guy got him (Patrick Mahomes). He was waiting on (Travis) Kelce just to break it (and)
Kelce broke in there and he didn’t see that it was a cover two look and that backside linebacker,
experienced guy, snuck right into the picture there. He doesn’t miss many of those…”
Q: On Carson Steele fumbling the ball and then coming back in and making big plays.
REID: “Yeah, he’s another young guy. You have to keep the ball up against your body in this league. He
was down low and he had two hands on it but it starts rising up and all of a sudden you get it punched
out. Something you can learn from; you just can’t do that at this level. He came back and he ran hard for
us.”
Q: What is going on in your mind on a fourth-and-16 when you have the ball?
REID: “There’s not a whole lot other than you want to get it. You’re hoping that it’s a completion so yeah.”
Q: That’s all you can do at that point, right?
REID: “Right. Yeah, I mean there’s nothing else. You’re in the mix so I wasn’t dreaming about going to the
Bahamas at that time.”
Q: On Chamarri Conner being the spark today.
REID: “You know what, I probably should have mentioned him (Chamarri Conner) because he had a heck
of a game – a heck of a game. He was all over the place and he’s playing good football right now.”
Q: Is your expectation to go right back to Kinglsey Suamataia next game?
REID: “We’ll see, we’ll see how it goes. I’m going to go back and look at the tape and I’ll talk with (Offensive
Line) Coach (Andy) Heck and we’ll go from there.”
Q: Is it gratifying when you see a big man score a touchdown?
REID: “Yeah, that was good, no, he (Wanya Morris) did a nice job. I probably should have mentioned that
too, that was a great job. When you’re that open, sometimes you can freak out if you’re not – (he) secured
it and it was all good, that was great.”
Q: At the two-minute warning, Harrison Butker went out to the 50-yard line, picked up some grass and
threw it in the air to feel out his surroundings and get ready, just in case. Regarding his preparation, is
that just the type of guy he is?
REID: “He’ll (Harrison Butker) tell you that’s his job, I mean to figure out all that stuff. Those guys are half
weather man so they know the wind, they know the weather and all that and they’ve got to calculate
everything in. He practices kicking in our stadium so he knows exactly how it swirls and he does a good
job with that.”
Q: Do you have a name for the play where Wanya Morris scored the touchdown?
REID: “No, no name. Too early in the season.”
Patrick Mahomes
Q: How did you characterize this entire game?
MAHOMES: “I thought we did a lot of good things, but obviously the three turnovers just can’t happen.
The first interception – I have to find the backside linebacker and I mean, the kid (Bengals CB Cam Taylor
Britt) made a great play on the second pick. We played not as clean as we wanted to and still found a way
to win. That speaks to the defense and the full, entire team. Obviously, we have to clean up a lot of stuff
on offense as we go forward.”
Q: Can you explain what it feels like in the fourth-and-16 situation with the game on the line?
MAHOMES: “Obviously, they’re going to get in that kind of fence defense at the sticks, and so my job is
to buy time for guys to get downfield. I was able to do that (and) as I scrambled to the left, I saw Rashee
(Rice) open. I knew it was going to be contested, but you have to put the ball up and Rashee did a great
job of trying to get the ball. I haven’t seen the replay or anything, but I felt like the dude (Bengals S Daijahn
Anthony) was there pretty early and we got the flag. You have to give guys chances in those situations
and that’s what we did.”
Q: Do you have all the faith in those kinds of moments that you’ll figure out a way to win?
MAHOMES: “100 percent. Until the time hits zero, I feel like there’s a chance that you can win the football
game. Obviously, we’ve done that in so many different ways and so we’re prepared. We come in with that
mentality that if we get the football with the chance to win the game, we’re going to do it, and we were
able to do that today.”
Q: What kind of problems did Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson present for you guys today?
MAHOMES: “He’s just an absolute monster. He just – his motor, the way he’s able to rush the passer. I
remember playing him in New Orleans and he was like that and then he got to Cincinnati (and) he’s been
like that. He did a great job today. He’s great against the run and the pass, kind of an underrated guy. It
was a good test for us, and we’ll have to get better for it.”
Q: What’s the message that you’ll have for Kingsley Suamataia over these next couple of days?
MAHOMES: “Just keep playing. You’re not always going to have your perfect day. I mean, I didn’t have a
perfect day today, but just like any other great player, you have to trust in your abilities, you have to learn
from it, you have to have that mentality (of) ‘I’m going to come and get better this next week.’ I have all
the trust in the world that he’s going to keep getting better and better and be a guy that I can really count
on every single game.”
Q: What do you see from opposing defenses trying to take Travis Kelce out of the game?
MAHOMES: “They’re doing a great job of just kind of having two people for him pretty much the entire
game. That’s why you’ve seen guys like Rashee (Rice) and (Xavier) Worthy – I mean, if you look at the first
touchdown, I’m actually looking at Trav (Travis Kelce) and the backside safety goes all the way across the
field to help guard Travis and then you throw the ball down the sideline to Rashee and that’s kind of what
they’ve been doing. Obviously, we’ve played two opponents that we’ve played a lot, so they have a plan
on how they’re going to account for Travis. As the season goes on, he’s going to get his catches, he’s going
to get his yards. The leader that he is – what’s special is he’s hyping everybody up, he’s keeping everybody
motivated and that’s what you need out of your great players.”
Q: Can you take us through that touchdown to Rashee Rice?
MAHOMES: “It was a play where I was actually going to look at the right side first. They gave me kind of
a two-high (safety) type of look. Like I said, I was going to shoot it to Trav (Travis Kelce) down the middle
of the field (but) the backside safety kind of closed in and that’s what got my eyes to Rashee (Rice) and
then he won against a great corner. That’s what you want to see. I told y’all, man, he (Rashee Rice) can
do a lot of things, so I’m going to keep giving him opportunities and he’s going to keep making plays.”
Q: On Rashee Rice winning on in-breaking routes.
MAHOMES: “I think just – people obviously saw last week so they’re not going to let him have the free
releases and the short stuff, and he has to be able to show that he can beat people deep and he was able
to do that today. Then, we had the holding that he did again later at the end of the game – he’s (Rashee
Rice) a complete receiver, man. He’s getting better and better and he can do it all. I think people see the
short stuff and they get enamored by it because it’s so special when he catches the ball, but he can catch
the ball down the field, he can block, he can do whatever – everything it takes to be a good receiver in
this league.”
Q: Take us through the touchdown to T Wanya Morris.
MAHOMES: “Obviously, it was a great drive. I mean, running the football, getting downhill and so they
have to bring more and more people in the game – bigger people. (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid dialed it up
at the right time. Wanya (Morris) had been in a couple plays (and) blocking as that extra o-lineman. Right
when they thought they were going to shoot and make a play, he released him into the flat. I mean, if you
look at the play, Wanya’s open and then I threw it, and Travis (Kelce) was also wide open. That comes
with getting the run game going. You get the run game going, it helps out the entire offense.”
Q: What does it do for a team to win two games the way you guys have won them?
MAHOMES: “It just shows that we can still do it. Those are two great football teams (that) we’ve played
these last two weeks, teams that we’ve played in AFC Championship Games. To be able to come out with
wins, at home, that’s important. Obviously, we feel like we can get a lot better. We’re going to clean up
the mistakes, especially on the offense. It starts with me and then we’ll be a better team (going) forward
as the season goes on. It’ll be a great challenge next weekend on Sunday Night Football in Atlanta.”
Q: What’s going through your mind when you see Harrison Butker go kick a game-winner?
MAHOMES: “I’m nervous, but I’m not nervous, so it’s like – I’m obviously nervous because it’s out of my
hands. I don’t have a chance to go out there and make a play. At the same time, when I step on the field
on that fourth quarter drive with two minutes or whatever it is and all I need is a field goal, I just really
know I’ve got to cross the 50 (yard line) and Harrison’s (Butker) going to go out there and knock it through.
It’s a special thing to have a kicker like that so (I’m) super appreciative of it and he’s going to keep making
them, man.”
Q: Although it was called back, can you talk about the play that you found Travis Kelce on the run?
MAHOMES: “He (Travis Kelce) did a great job. You’ve got to be able to have that in the offense – being
able to scramble and make throws down field, obviously. They were doing a good job of – when I
scrambled, of covering the guys and letting me run but they lost Trav (Travis Kelce) for a second. I got him
the football and he’s like pump faking and stuff. I mean, he’s the only person in the league that can pump
fake forty yards downfield, but he will throw it, so they have to respect it. We’ll get it going. As the season
goes on, I’m sure more of those plays will happen.”
Q: How bad did you want to go for it on the first drive?
MAHOMES: “I always want to go for it but obviously, with that drive we had (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid
send out the field goal unit. That’s what makes us a great team. Obviously, I want the offense to be
highflying and explosive, but I feel like in years past, if I played like we played today offensively, we
would’ve lost this game, but we have a great football team. Defense stepped up (and) made plays, special
teams made plays. I’m excited for it. We’re not even playing our best football and we’re still getting these
wins against great opponents.”