Q: On the decision to go for it on fourth down.
MAHOMES: “There was a conversation for sure. We just wanted to have a play that we liked. (Head)
Coach (Andy) Reid trusted us. He trusted us a lot tonight and we were able to go out there and make a
play happen. Obviously, you roll out and you want to throw it to a couple guys but when you can run it,
you just take it, and it was a big moment in the game, and we were able to go down and get points after
that.”
Q: Was that the same call that you ran in overtime last year?
MAHOMES: “No, there was differences to it. It’s actually very similar, I don’t know if you remember the
play that we ran for a touchdown to Travis (Kelce) in the first Super Bowl. Just getting me on the edge,
having a couple options for guys to throw it to and then if they (the Bills) take that away in man coverage,
just use your feet and get the first down.”
Q: On running for more yards and touchdowns than Josh Allen.
MAHOMES: “I didn’t know that. Not necessarily. They always give me options to kind of pull the ball and
run it and they (the Bills) were playing man coverage a lot of the day and they were putting a lot of
attention on Travis (Kelce). With them kind of pushing that safety and pushing extra linebackers to Travis,
it opened up different lanes for me to run, and I was able to run the football, and I pulled some of those
reads that I’ve had all season long just because it’s playoffs and you have to make sure the defense is true
to what the rules are.”
Q: How much have you guys been working on that fourth down play?
MAHOMES: “It’s actually the same run that Kareem (Hunt) scored on. I handed it off on that one and then
based off how the d-end (Bills DE Greg Rousseau) played, I knew he was going to try to get in there and
not let him score again. He went down and I pulled it and went out and Noah (Gray) had a great block and
Xavier (Worthy), I think, was out there at the edge and then Travis (Kelce) with a big block to get me into
the end zone. It’s just about – it’s about reading the defense (and) going out there and making plays and
it’s always great when you have guys that are going to lay their body on the line in front of you to get you
into the end zone.”
Q: On the decision to play Samaje Perine on the last possession.
MAHOMES: “It’s just – just like I said, a ton of trust by (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, to give me the football
and let me have a chance to throw the ball. It helped that they (the Bills) called timeouts, and I mean,
obviously they had to, but it gave me time to talk with the coaches, get to the play that we wanted, stuff
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills
Sunday, January 26, 2025
AFC Championship Game
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Quotes
that we had talked about the night before the game. (I) was able to know that if it wasn’t there then just
take the sack, run for it as much as you can, let the clock run and just a lot of trust and it comes from a lot
of experience in those moments and Samaje (Perine) with a big-time play. I haven’t seen it yet because I
got tackled after the throw, I like looked up at the other scoreboard, but it seemed like he made a great
move, and he stayed in bounds. It’s just execution stuff that we work on every single week.”
Q: Can you describe the feeling of getting to the Super Bowl again?
MAHOMES: “It’s just so hard to get to the Super Bowl and I don’t take it for granted. To be able to do it
again at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium was special. I mean, last year was awesome. You get there and
you win it but you’re at a different stadium. Then, being able to win it at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
and then you get that trophy on that stage, and you look around and there’s not a seat empty. It is a
special place and I’m glad that I get to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom and here in Kansas City because these
(are) moments that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Q: What did it take to get to this point?
MAHOMES: “It’s a long process. It takes everybody. It takes every single person on the team, and you saw
that tonight. If it was special teams, if it was offense, if it was defense, everybody had their role in this
game and that was a great football team that we played. For us to go through the season and win the
games the way that we won them, I’m proud of the team, but like you said, we’re not to the ultimate goal
yet and this will be a great challenge for us with Philadelphia. I’m excited for the guys preparing and get
to New Orleans and put up our best shot.”
Q: Does this Super Bowl feel a little bigger than the others in this moment?
MAHOMES: “I mean, not necessarily. I just – I put every single season as its own season. Every team’s
different. You get new guys; you get guys that have to step up in different roles and so I just go about my
business and just try to prepare everybody to be in the best possible situations to succeed. Obviously, it
will be awesome. I think if we somehow look back at the end of my career if we’re able to go out there
and get that three-peat, but at the same time, you just treat it as one season and one Super Bowl run
which is always hard to do.”
Q: How special is it to work with Carson Wentz?
MAHOMES: “Carson’s (Wentz) extremely intelligent. He’s someone that’s – he’s there early, he works
extremely hard. You see why – he has the talent, so you see why he was a starting quarterback in this
league and an MVP-level quarterback in this league. (I’m) excited for him. I mean, I know he got the Super
Bowl (ring) when he was in Philly but to be able to go up against the Eagles again – like a lot of these guys
on our team have that Philadelphia history and so it’ll be a great moment to be able to go up and do that
and try to do whatever we can to find a way to get a win.”
Q: Can you explain what happened on the handoff with you and Isiah Pacheco? What did you tell yourself
to not let that turnover snowball in the wrong direction?
MAHOMES: “I was trying to pull it to either run or throw the ball. Obviously, I did it a little too late. It’s
hard to put the running back in that position when they’re trying to run and hit the hole, and you try to
make a late decision to pull the football. Obviously, you just move on. You just kind of keep pushing
forward. It hurt in the moment – it hurt our team, and they went down and got points. But it was a long
football game left and so throughout different times in the game you have to find ways to push through,
even when you’re not playing your best football and we were able to do that tonight.”
Q: How do you guys keep winning so many close games?
MAHOMES: “It’s because it’s everybody. It’s not just one side of the football. If you look (at) today,
obviously, (the) offense played well, but we didn’t score that touchdown there at the end and the defense
stopped (Bills QB) Josh (Allen), one of the best quarterbacks in the league, in a critical situation to give us
the chance to run the time out. So, it takes everybody, and we’ve done it so many different ways now that
we just have full trust. The coaches have trust in the players and the players trust in the coaches and we
go out there and execute our job. When you’ve done it over and over again, it becomes (a) habit.
Obviously, we’d want to win by more, but I think the regular season, winning all those close games has
prepared us for moments like today.”
Q: What was going through your mind when the Bills QB Josh Allen had the ball at the end of the game?
MAHOMES: “You’re obviously nervous. I mean, I’m always nervous whenever the football’s not in my
hand. It was – I have so much trust in that defense, they’ve done it all year. I know that’s a great offense
that they’re going up against and (Bills QB) Josh (Allen) has made a lot of great plays all night – all season
long but I trust that (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Spags is going to call the right blitz or call
the right coverage and the guys are going to execute the assignment and whatever happens, happens. So,
I was very happy that it was incomplete, and we were able to run the time out after that.”
Q: Seventeen postseason wins in your career now, which is the second most by a quarterback in NFL
history. How does that feel?
MAHOMES: “It’s obviously really cool. That’s your goal is to win in the postseason. I’ve been blessed to
be on a lot of great football teams with a lot of great coaches and a great organization. I just try to
maximize every moment because you never know when it’s going to be your last one, but I know I’m a
long way from (former NFL QB) Tom (Brady), so I’ll try to do what I can to get close to that.”
Q: What does it mean to have the opportunity to three-peat with Travis Kelce and Chris Jones?
MAHOMES: “It’s just – it means the world to me because I see the work that they (Travis Kelce and Chris
Jones) put in every single day. Everybody sees – especially those two – their personalities and how fun
they are and how much people like to be around them. The work that they put in every single day, even
when they’re at the top of their game is what makes them so special. Like I said, I just try to maximize the
opportunities I have with those guys. I’m so appreciative of being in this situation with this team and I’m
just excited to have another challenge in the Super Bowl with those guys as leaders beside me.”
Q: How quickly do you put this win behind you and start preparing for the Super Bowl?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I’ll have a good night tonight but after that, we’ll be right on to focusing on the Eagles.
We have a meeting tomorrow and you try to take care of like your tickets and everything like that and
then you just focus on the game plan. This is a great football team (that) we’re playing. They’re great on
offense, they’re great on defense and special teams. We played them in a close Super Bowl a couple years
ago, but they’ve added players and got even better,so it’ll take our best football to win. We’ll be prepared,
and we’ll try to go out there and do that.”
