Andy Reid
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, first of all, (we) thank our fans for showing up in the rain and doing a great job for us. As far as the injuries go, Mecole Hardman hurt his shoulder, was able to come back in. Likewise with Pat (Patrick Mahomes), hurt his ankle (and) was able to continue to play. George (Karlaftis) hurt his hip there and then he also came back and played there until that last series. (Tershawn) Wharton tweaked his right knee. All in all, we came out relatively healthy. That was a hard-fought game. I thought both teams played really well, and they’ve got one of the top offenses in the National Football League. Even with the guys that are banged up a little but they’re – (Buccaneers Head Coach) Todd (Bowles) does a great job with that whole football team. As far as some of the accolades, Pat was 33 of 44 for 291 yards, three TDs from throwing the ball which was great. DeAndre (Hopkins) had a big day. He was eight (receptions) for 86 (yards), two TDs and then (Travis) Kelce had a big day, 14 receptions for 100 yards. Then, Kareem (Hunt) went over 100 (yards) right at the end there. Good in the red zone, (Offensive Coordinator Matt) Nags had a phenomenal plan for these guys and – 12 for 18 on third downs, four for four in the red zone. We’re getting better as we go, we just shot ourselves in the foot a couples times so we have to take care of that but we’re headed in the right direction as we go through the season. Defensively, George – (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) had another good plan too – George had a big day. Drue Tranquill with the seven tackles, led our team in tackles. Chris (Jones) is always in there wreaking havoc. He did that likewise through double teams and everything else, he gets home so great job there. Special teams wise, Mecole did a nice job on the 30-yard return and then (Harrison) Butker and (Matt) Araiza were solid today, along with (James) Winchester. Everybody had a piece of this. I keep on going on the defensive side, our secondary – we had some young guys back there playing. 2 (Joshua Williams) showed up today, had a big challenge, stepping in and being a starter and I thought he did a nice job for us. Again, all in all, a good team win and now we move on quickly to Denver so things move rapidly when you have a Monday night game, so keep them short, keep the questions short. Doggonit (laughter).”
Q: When you walked over to Patrick Mahomes what did you happened to his ankle and how fast did your concerns get eased?
REID: “Well when you’re being carried off, I wasn’t too eased with it Vahe (Gregorian). I wasn’t sure exactly where he was going to be with it, but he might have the loosest ankles in America. It’s ridiculous how he can come back from those things and then he’s mentally tough on top of that. You know I missed the offensive line; they had a big day today too; I should have mentioned that. When you can run the ball like we did, and just put the hammer down that second half, that big offensive line did a great job and (Offensive Line Coach) Andy Heck deserves some of that rec (recognition) with them.”
Q: Patrick Mahomes has pulled overcome some serious injuries, do you always think that he will pull through and play if he can?
REID: “Yeah, he’s (Patrick Mahomes) a competitor. I told him I was going to take him out and he about wanted to fight me so, he’s a tough kid.”
Q: Any similarity between this ankle injury and the other one he got in the playoffs a couple seasons ago?
REID: “I’ll tell you tomorrow when I see how he (Patrick Mahomes) wakes up with it but right now, I’m sure it’s going to be tender tomorrow but I don’t know how bad.”
Q: On the increased run plays in the second half.
REID: “I didn’t call enough runs (plays) in the first half. I told the offensive line that I was going to bank on them and we need to get this thing started and get a little bit more balance in there, in our attacks. They were game with it. Then, I thought they just stepped up and played great football. We – a little bit more downhill than we were the first half. The first half we started off downhill then we started going to some of our outside zone stuff and we were better off hitting it up in there.”
Q: What was the call on the downhill slant pass play with DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter?
REID: “They have a little connection they can do there, depending on the look that they have. Those two (Patrick Mahomes and DeAndre Hopkins) – you talk about being on the same page, they were on the same page. They were off a little bit on the one where it was incomplete on the vertical look and Pat threw it in the middle of the field there but that one down there, they were spot on. They have a little freedom on that.”
Q: What allowed DeAndre Hopkins to be such an important part of the offense so soon?
REID: “First of all, he’s (DeAndre Hopkins) smart and he has a lot of experience. We put more in for him this week. (Wide Receivers Coach) Connor (Embree) does a nice job with those guys of getting them ready and ready to go. DeAndre is a veteran player that’s a smart guy so that’s the most of it right there.”
Q: Were you surprised that the Buccaneers didn’t go for the two-point conversion at the end of regulation?
REID: “No, but I’m glad he (Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles) didn’t.”
Q: Did you tell Carson Wentz to be ready?
REID: “Yeah but when he’s (Patrick Mahomes) in the tent, I can’t go in the tent. It’s like a private sanctum there so I just – I told Carson to be ready to go.”
Q: How did Patrick Mahomes convey that he wasn’t happy that you were going to take him out of the game?
REID: “He (Patrick Mahomes) didn’t want to come out.”
Q: On the deep pass to DeAndre Hopkins in traffic there, what did you think about Patrick Mahomes taking that risk?
REID: “He’s (Patrick Mahomes) got a lot of trust in him, and you’ve seen DeAndre (Hopkins) make those catches over his career. You have two great players throwing to each other, sometimes great things happen. It’s not the way we drew it up, but it was a good finish to it.”
PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: Can you take us through what happened in the injury and when you were getting up?
MAHOMES: “I was obviously running for the goal line. (I) was kind of committed to running the football and at the last second, (I) saw Samaje (Perine) and kind of awkwardly rolled the ankle a little bit – definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it’s the same ankle I rolled last week so it scared me a little bit, but once I kind of took my breath and kind of calmed down a little bit, (it) ended up being not too bad and we were able to go in there and get the re-spat and go back on the football field.”
Q: Did you feel a little better as you got about halfway across the field and were on your own?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I was trying to run off the field and they were telling me not to and just kind of the football mentality is to get off the field. We had just scored a touchdown, and they told me to just take it slow and as I started walking, it started feeling better. Obviously, after I get the re-spat, you get that comfortability back and then (I) took a few drops and felt good.”
Q: On Head Coach Andy Reid trying to take Patrick Mahomes out of the game.
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I thought he (Head Coach Andy Reid) was joking. He said it and I was like, ‘Come on. We’re not doing this again.’ He trusts me and once the doctors checked it out and I was able to get back and do the drops again, he let me get back on the field.”
Q: Are there any similarities between this injury and the one in the playoffs a few years ago?
MAHOMES: “No. I think just because the one in the playoffs a couple years ago was a little bit how I got tackled and it got stuck and it hurt a lot more. I could move – I could still have mobility in my ankle, and I still did after this game. Obviously, you’ll sleep – probably get a little swelling tomorrow – short week, but you go in there and take care of it and be prepared to play next week.”
Q: Did you know quickly that it wasn’t anything serious?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, you feel the pain and that scares you because obviously I’ve dealt with ankles (injuries) before. I just kind of laid there and as time went on, it kind of – the pain subsided – big word for me, but it did and so I just kind of got back to it and got back moving again and felt comfortable going out there.”
Q: What makes DeAndre Hopkins such a nice fit for what you guys like to do?
MAHOMES: “He’s (DeAndre Hopkins) so good at winning one-on-one (matchups). To be able to have him down in the red zone, third down situations, he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows kind of like Travis (Kelce) does. I think as he figures out the whole entire offense, he’ll get even better
because there’s sometimes (where) he’s going places (and) I’m like, ‘Dude, there’s a time and a place for that,’ but that’s what makes him great. Then, you give him a chance down the field, and he makes a play and goes from a play where it might have been a bad decision to a big time catch.”
Q: On the catch where DeAndre Hopkins had three defenders on him, did he run the right route?
MAHOMES: “He (DeAndre Hopkins) ran the route similar to Trav (Travis Kelce) did and then as I scrambled up in the pocket, he kind of took off down the field. I wanted to throw the ball a little bit harder. Obviously, getting hit, it kind of floated a little bit for me, but to have a guy like that that can go up and make that catch in a crowd of defenders is a special type of player.”
Q: On the history of DeAndre Hopkins making contested catches throughout his career.
MAHOMES: “You see it on tape. I mean, there’s even more in the game (that) I probably could’ve gave him (DeAndre Hopkins) chances for, but you have to know the time and place to give him those chances. I felt like there we were kind of at the edge of field goal range – give him a chance down the field (and) let him make a play and he did and the more plays he makes, the more chances that I give him, and that’s kind of how you roll as you go along the season.”
Q: What kind of trust do you have in DeAndre Hopkins not having played with him for that long?
MAHOMES: “He’s (DeAndre Hopkins) extremely intelligent so we can talk about things on the sideline. He’s seen a lot of different looks. We had talked about certain coverages, and what we were going to do with him. Then, obviously, I had options on the other side as well, but they gave him the one-on-one option when we got to the check that we had talked about versus the coverage we had talked about, and he goes out there and makes a big time catch.”
Q: You said you talked with him during the week?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, during the week – we had talked about that during the week. You obviously – you study tape (and) you see the different looks you can get in that certain situation. Obviously, the defense pushed over to take Trav (Travis Kelce) away for the most part. It’s one-on-one on the back side and then you look at the leverage of the guy and you get to the right check, and you let a guy win one-on-one.”
Q: What has it been like for you to watch Kareem Hunt?
MAHOMES: “It’s been fun. It’s been fun to watch, man. I mean, he’s (Kareem Hunt) come in the building – since he’s been here – and he’s just got after it every single day. He works his tail off, he prepares himself for the moment and then whenever we get down there in like (the) fourth quarter and (at) the end of games, he’s going to make those runs. Five to six yards (or) seven yards, whatever it is and he’s going to finish. When you play that hard the entire game, it wears on the defense. I think guys are proud of the way he’s playing and the way he’s come about his business this year.”
Q: What’s Kareem Hunt like in the huddle in the fourth quarter and overtime?
MAHOMES: “He (Kareem Hunt) wants the football. I think that’s the biggest thing, is as the game goes on it’s like he starts feeling it and he starts going. There are certain situations where I might have throws on the outside and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m going to give this guy the football and let him go,’ because when he’s running – even though (it’s) six-yard (or) five-yard carries, they take a toll on the defense.”
Q: What’s running through your head when Kareem Hunt scored the game-winning touchdown?
MAHOMES: “I mean, (it was) a great run. I thought the offensive line did a great job – all night, really, but they did a great job on that play and getting that push. Then, Kareem (Hunt), when you get that push, he’s going to follow it in there and get in the endzone. I’m happy for him. For him to bounce back and come back here and then have this great start to the middle of the season here. Whenever we get Isiah (Pacheco) back, it’s going to be a tough tandem for guys to tackle.”
Q: A lot of times we hear a non-contact injury and it’s pretty scary in itself. Was that part of what made you scared?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, 100 percent. I mean, whenever you do something and you said it’s non-contact, you don’t know exactly what happens and you get that sharp pain, you always fear the worst. That’s why I kind of sat there on the sideline for a second and just kind of took a breath. As time went on and I kind of realized it wasn’t as bad as it looked or felt, I was able to recuperate myself and get back out on the football field.”
Q: Is there a way to describe how that pain feels like?
MAHOMES: “Not good (laughs). That’s the best way to describe it.”
Q: Travis Kelce had a career-high 14 receptions. Why were you guys in sync this game?
MAHOMES: “I didn’t realize he (Travis Kelce) had that many catches. Yeah, I mean he just does a great job of finding space. I think with having DeAndre (Hopkins) out there it takes pressure off him to where all the eyes aren’t on him the entire time. Then, I know it was out of bounds but then the deep shot to Xavier (Worthy) down the field and then being close with that one to J-Wat (Justin Watson), it spreads the defense out and you let guys like that work underneath. I’m almost positive he (Travis Kelce) had a game with 16 receptions. It might have been a playoff game though, but yeah, whenever he gets going, he’s hard to stop.”
Q: What’s it like when you know that you have to adjust in wet conditions to get your accuracy to be on point?
MAHOMES: “First off, I pride myself on being able to throw in any condition. I think that’s an advantage at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and so if it’s raining, if it’s snowing, if it’s cold (or) if it’s hot, whatever it is, I want to be the best thrower of the football on the football field. That’s why we want homefield advantage, that’s why we want the playoffs to come through GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s because it’s a special place and you have to be able to play in every environment.”
Q: You had the ankle injury in 2022 in the postseason. How much does that inform you about how to operate when you are dealing with pain?
MAHOMES: “I know, in a sense, it hurts you – I mean, obviously, it hurts – your ankle injury but sometimes it almost settles me down, especially in the pocket, where I can’t use my mobility. So, I feel like early in the game I was running into sacks because they were doing good in their pass rush lanes and it kind of settled me in the pocket. When the offensive line is blocking like that, I can sit in the pocket, go through my reads and get to the right guy. What gets lost in the play throughout the entire beginning of this season
is how good that offensive line is playing. Running the football and pass protecting and that’s what’s going to carry us into this run that we want to go on.”