CHIEFS HEAD COACH ANDY REID
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, December 8, 2019.
AR: OK, as far as the injuries go, Andrew Wylie came out with a shoulder. And came back, so that was good. Pat [Mahomes] hurt his hand early in this game and you know, we think it's OK. We will see how it goes. It was hard for him to grip the ball and do the things that he needed to do there. But he powered through it and didn't say much. That's how he is, so we will just take an x-ray of it, as we go here and all that stuff that we do. Listen, all in all, a good football game. I think for the fans to watch, I mean, it had two good teams playing each other. I mean, the Patriots, their history says, you know, everything. And that's what made it such a special game. Bill's [Belichick] done phenomenal job here, as Tom [Brady] has. And the rest of their coaches. I'm proud of my coaches and the coordinators. I thought EB [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy] had a great plan offensively and Spags [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] defensively. [special teams coordinator Dave] Toub, you know, from a special teams standpoint. And the guys stuck to it, the guys played their tails off, so you just it was going to come down to the end. And I mean, it did. So, you know, we have to clean some things up. We had too many penalties, we got to take care of that, and make sure we work on that. We've got a hot Denver Bronco team coming in, so we have to take care and get ourselves ready. Get back, we have a long trip here. So, we've got to get back and get rested up, and get ready for Denver. So with that, time is yours.
Q: Coach, first of all, congratulations. Winning the AFC West for the fourth straight year. What does that mean for you as the coach, the owner, the organization…
AR: Yeah, well I'm partial, I think I have the best owner around, so I'm partial to that. Let's start there. He gave us all an opportunity to be here and we're trying to do the best we possibly can with that chance. But it's not one person, it takes everybody. We've all got a part of it, you guys in included for support. So we are all in it. There's nothing more than you'd like to see than victories. So, you know, I am proud of all our guys.
Q: Was Pat [Mahomes] at any point close to coming out of the game?
AR: No, but he kept messing with that hand. And I could tell he wasn't gripping all that well. You know, he never says anything, so he doesn't make a big stink out of anything.
Q: You struggled in the second half, with penalties and Pat's [Mahomes] injury…
AR: Yeah, you know, we had the turnover. Yeah, yeah, the guys beared down. Part of our defense right down to the end. Like I said, I think everybody knew it was going to come down to that. You know, we got a bunch of things we got to clean up, and do. But we are going to enjoy this for the flight back and then, we will get back ready to go against Denver.
Q: Coach, the slow start, can any of that be contributed to the equipment being late to the game?
AR: Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, you know, I know Allen [Wright] takes the grunt of this. But Allen's had a couple games that he's been the equipment manager for, and there were other things that got involved. I just know this, everybody stayed calm and just, it happened. So, wasn't a big deal. I've been doing this for a lot of years and one out of how many years I've been doing it. You know, it keeps things exciting.
Q: Were you at all nervous that it wasn't going to show up?
AR: No, not at all. I think everybody did a good job of getting it back here. We had plenty of time and we rolled.
Q: Coach, the running game today, your thoughts on Spencer Ware coming, basically in off the street, and contributing today. And also, Darwin Thompson…
AR: Yeah, all three guys, I thought contributed. Spencer brings a little different flavor, just downhill, I'm sure he's going to be a little sore tomorrow. You know, he hadn't done much. But he did a heck of a job, I thought, coming in and playing. So, he knows the offense.
Q: Talk about Patrick [Mahomes] some more, his leadership…
AR: Yeah, phenomenal. I mean, I can't say enough about the guy, so he does a heck of a job. Never lets anything get him down. He's tough and he keeps pounding. You saw that on some of those long third-down plays, where you just keep firing and good things are going to happen.
Q: And then they called those time-outs in that first drive…
AR: Yeah, good leader.
Q: Andy, third straight week your defense has helped you win the game. Do you feel like you can say you finally turned a corner there?
AR: That's hard to say in the National Football League. I can tell you that every week, we've gotten better. You know, we had a little hiccup in Tennessee, but other than that, it's been consistent progress forward. I think Spags and the coaches have done a heck of a job. Most of all the players have bought in. I mean, they were flying around a making plays. You know, they were able to get to Tom [Brady] and do some nice things, do some things in the run game. And ended up, putting it down right there at the end and made some plays.
Q: Your game plan was obviously to get pressure on him, do you feel like you did that?
AR: Yeah, I think we did. Now listen, he's a battler. That team's got a big heart, and so they battled back. But, when it came down to it, the defense was really on the field last, on the plays that were really the real plays, other than taking a knee.
Q: You often talk about each game being a learning experience. How can a win against that team in this place, be something you use moving forward, to be one of those character building type games…
AR: You know, I kept hearing all week about 'four quarters of football', I mean, the guys, 'four quarters of football', they kept talking about that, and so you've got to do that. You want to play against the best. I mean, these are the reigning world champions. If you're going to do that, then you better be mentally prepared to play for four quarters. I thought the guys did that. I mean, that's what ended up happening and I'm proud of them for that, you know.
Q: Coach, the referees made some pretty big calls in some pretty big moments. I know it's part of the game, but how did you feel about the officiating?
AR: Yeah, you know, it is give and take. I mean, that's what it was. We had too many penalties, and I said that. They had five, we had 10, I think. It's too many for a hundred-plus yards. I mean, those things are give and take, it's all part of the human element of the game, you know. Whether you agree with it or don't agree with it, it all works its way out.
Q: Coach, just the last question for me. The Patriots, you know, they defeat the team in the AFC Championship and last time you all played them here, you left time on the clock. This time around, you still had time on the clock, but you were able to stop them. How big is it, especially knowing that you may have to come back here and play this team again…
AR: There is a chance of that too, and we understand that. We know the season's not over, we still have the remainder of the season to go here that we've got to take care of. You know and like I told you, I mean, Denver is playing good football right now. The [Drew] Lock kid is playing well at the quarterback spot. So these are short lived and we understand there is plenty of season left, so we got to really bear down the stretch here.
Q: The extracurricular activity, the pushing and shoving…
AR: Competitive, I think both teams are playing to the whistle. That's all part of this thing and trying to manage the best you can. It's an emotional game and sometimes we forget about that. That these guys, I mean, that's what it's all about. And they are young guys and so us old people, who don't have any hair, we can sit and critique that however we want to critique it, but these are young guys who are getting after it. Competing on both sides, I mean, it was a knockdown, drag out. I mean, that's alright, we break it up and let them go play some more.
Q: Each of the last three weeks, it seems like it's been a different defensive guy who has made those game changing plays. Tonight, there were multiple guys, but Bashaud Breeland, his interception and his play on fourth down. Can you speak to what you saw from him throughout the week and how's he's developed?
AR: So you look at him, he's another one that banged his knee on the last play before half and shook that off. Got it alright and came back, had some penalties, shook that off, came back, competed and you have to be able to do that. Everything is not going to be roses, there are going to be ups and downs, got to persevere through it. I mean, you've got to make sure you battle and that's where that whole four quarter thing comes in. I mean, you got to be able to do that.
QUARTERBACK PATRICK MAHOMES
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, December 8, 2019.
Q: How does it feel to celebrate winning the AFC West again with your teammates?
PM: Yeah, that's the first goal that you have every season, to go in and win your division. We play in a division with a lot of good teams that are good year-in and year-out. So to be able to have this for my second year in a row, and then even the year before when Alex [Smith] was here, it's definitely a great accomplishment.
Q: How does it make you feel on a personal level to get your first win against Tom Brady, especially knowing that this could possibly be his last season?
PM: First off, I don't think this will be his last season. He's still playing at a high level. But yeah, you want to beat the best, you want to go out and play against the best and give your best effort. But it's a team game, your team has to beat his team. That's a really good football team, this is a really tough environment to play in and so for us to find a way to win a game – it wasn't pretty the whole time, it was just a tough, hard-fought win.
Q: Why were you able to win the game this year when you weren't able to do it last year in the AFC Championship Game? What was different?
PM: Obviously we got some stops in this game to final [close it] out and get that win in the end. We scored the first drive after we came out for the second half and didn't score again. It felt like we didn't get a first down again and the defense stood tall. So for them with all the different stuff that happened in the game, for them to only give up 16 points or whatever it was, it shows that they have that mentality, that they're going come back versus adversity every single time.
Q: How's the hand?
PM: It doesn't feel great right now but it's something that you play with. In this sport, you're going to get hurt, you're going to bang something. So for me, it's about going out there and competing and relying on my teammates to help me out whenever I'm not feeling 100 percent.
Q: How did you hurt it?
PM: I just kind of hit the ground weird when I was trying to throw that ball away and got hit, threw it away and got tackled right as I threw it away. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know for sure. Then I tried to fire that next pass and it didn't look too pretty so I kind of just let the trainers look at it. They gave me the good-to-go and so I went out there, battled, figured out ways to throw the ball across the middle and maybe not shoot those long shots that I usually throw but enough to get them back and still score touchdowns.
Q: Was there ever the consideration that you might come out of the game?
PM: No, no, never. For me, I'm playing until they take me out.
Q: But that did affect your ability to throw the deep ball?
PM: That, as well as they put a lot of two-high [coverage] and they did a little bit where they went over the top of Tyreek [Hill] and did stuff like that. We obviously hit Mecole [Hardman] later on after I did the hand injury and he scored a big touchdown. But that's a really good defense. They've been really good for a long time, especially this year, and for us to go out there and put 23 points up, that shows that we're going in the right direction. Obviously we didn't have the second half that we wanted, but we're still going in that direction.
Q: How do you weigh beating this Patriots team that beat you twice last year versus another victory?
PM: I think it's just another step in this season honestly. For us, we've dealt with adversity through the middle of the season as far as injuries or losses that we didn't expect to have before the season started. But this team is building every single week. The defense is getting better, the offense is still rolling and doing good things, we're still getting better. It's part of the process; it's day-by-day. Obviously we wanted to get this step, win this game, win the AFC West, but we're still going and that's how we're going to keep rolling throughout the rest of this season into the playoffs.
Q: What did you say to your teammates on the sideline following Travis Kelce's fumble?
PM: I think I just tried to put it in perspective. We were still winning by 10 points at that time, or I believe it was 10 points at that time, going into the fourth quarter. If you had asked for that going into the game, you would have taken it. For us, we didn't have a lot going our way at that moment but I pretty much said that. I said, "We're right where we want to be at. We just now have to go out and execute a little bit better. We're still moving the ball and just try to find a way to put points on the board." We didn't, but luckily the defense kind of saved us there.
Q: Were you worried your equipment wasn't going to show up today?
PM: No, it is a crazy thing but I love those equipment guys. It was kind of weird thing that happened there with the gear, but they let us know that it would be here before we went out there. We might have had to share helmets if it didn't get here.
Q: Was your equipment here?
PM: Mine was not here, so I had to warm up in some different stuff than I played in. But it was here in time for me to be able to go out to the real warm-ups. So just going out there – I mean, they always keep extra stuff around so they took care of us and found a way to make it work and we just kept rolling.
Q: I know you left too much time on the clock against the Patriots in last year's AFC Championship Game and you left time on the clock in this game too. Did you think Tom Brady might work his magic one more time and send the game into overtime?
PM: No, I have ultimate trust in our defense to go out there and get that stop. They've done it the last few weeks now and they've done it this season at certain points. For me, it's the same trust that I had in the defense and the guys last year. They're going out there and they're doing their job. They've built for these moments and they've built and built and you're seeing the results of it now. And like I said, we're still the same team that came in at the beginning of the season, we still have the same goals and we're going to keep building as the season goes on. And I think that's the biggest thing and we're not done yet. Obviously like I said, it's a big step, but our goal is to get to the playoffs and then try to get to the Super Bowl.
Q: It seems like you're always coming up with something new. It seems like you've invented the fade-away pass, throwing the ball off your back foot. Can you talk about the deep throw to Mecole Hardman? How were you able to throw that ball on such a line?
PM: I saw with the coverage they were kind of doing that thing where they were trying to put an extra guy with Tyreek and I knew if Mecole – with his route, if he could get the guy to kind of go underneath him, then he was going to be able to break out and be open. Obviously they had I think a five-man rush and so the guys were getting a little bit of pressure on me, so I tried to buy an extra tick, put the ball out there. I didn't want to overthrow him so I kind of threw it a little shorter where he could adjust, because I knew he was going to be open. With that guy, if you get the ball in his hands, he can make plays happen and you saw that. He got it and he was in open space and he went and scored a touchdown.
Q: You talked about the goals this team had at the beginning of the year. Does winning here specifically change the belief in your ability to accomplish these goals?
PM: No, not necessarily. I believe every single week that we're going to win. We respect the opponent and we come in with the mentality that we're going to go out there and give our best effort, but we expect to win every single game that we step on that field.
Q: So in regards to the Patriots, we're going to hear nationally that they're done and the dynasty is over. But you're coming up here and telling us that they're as tough as they've ever been. Tell us how much respect you have for the Patriots.
PM: They play the game the right way I think is the biggest thing. If they're not clicking on offense or they're not clicking on defense, they're not clicking on special teams, the other unit picks them up. And so for me, when you have a team that plays the game the right way, that finds ways to win games even if they're not supposed to win them, you know that they're going to be there in the end in the playoffs. And so for us, we understand that, we understand that they're still sitting at the two or three or whatever seed it is, and we understand that we're going to have to come out every single week and then when we get to the playoffs, we'll probably have to play them or another great team in this AFC to try to get to the Super Bowl.
Q: What's it like going and seeing Tom Brady after this game? Were you able to say anything to each other?
PM: Yeah, I mean just kind of the usual stuff you say as a quarterback. Obviously I have the upmost respect for him and the way he plays the game and the consistency and high-level football he's played for 20 years or whatever it is. He's built this place with [Bill] Belichick to be at the top of the league every single year and so for us, it was a great game but I'm still going to show him the respect he deserves.
Q: I know you'd probably rather have wrapped up the division at home in Arrowhead, but winning the division guarantees you a home playoff game and two of your last three regular seasons are at home. What's your message to Chiefs fans who watched this on TV knowing you guys are coming back to Arrowhead next week?
PM: We're still building. We get to play two division opponents at Arrowhead so those are going to be tough games. We need you out there loud and showing that support that you always do because we're coming with that mentality of winning games.
PLAYERS IN THE LOCKER ROOM
Bashaud Breeland, CB
(On what he saw on his interception)
"We were in a three deep. I pressed like I was on Julian [Edelman]. He went underneath and I climbed. Tom Brady just didn't see me, I came out of nowhere."
(On if beating the Patriots feels like a significant step)
"Oh yeah, it's taking us in the right direction. This is the type of game that we wanted to come play to really test where we're at. We've had our ups and downs throughout the season. We felt like this was our point that really can help get us over that hump and propel us to where we want to be."
(On if the Chiefs have surpassed the Patriots with this win)
"I'm not really into who is passing who. We came out here and did a job as a team together. We built cohesiveness and that's all that really matters to us. We're getting to the next level."
(On the defense's responsibility to have a game like this)
"It felt great, man. Not one step in that fourth quarter that we really felt like we were going to lose this game. The defense the whole time, we were confident enough knowing that we were going to continue to do what we were doing. You know Tom Brady, he's the G.O.A.T. You're not just going to shut him out a whole entire game. So for us to do what we did against him, it was a glorious moment. I hope it propels us to next week."
Frank Clark, DE
(On sacking Tom Brady)
"There's nothing like getting the sack, period. But when you throw one on the so called G.O.A.T., it's even better you could say."
(On how he's feeling about the win)
"Right now I feel like shit, but it's nothing that can replace a win. It's hard winning in the NFL. You know, we're playing the best team, I mean the best quarterback in the league. It's the fourth quarter where he [Tom Brady] has defined his legacy, where you always worry about what's going to happen. And as you can see, at that second half they come out with fire. They're marching the ball however he wanted to do and that's... you know we've seen that for years happen. The one thing that I wanted to challenge the defense, and the defense and everybody else wanted to challenge me, was just making the play. Go make the play. Go force the issue. And with the help of my defensive line, and our front 7 and the back end, we got the job done collectively."
(On not leaving time on the clock to allow the Patriots to score at the end of the game, and what it means to beat the Patriots in Foxborough)
"Just, it shows what type of defense they got. Like I said at the beginning of the year, we're just building. So you see in the beginning of the year, a lot of that didn't happen. Teams get down there and they score, teams get down there and they make the right plays. You see us in a bad spot, we put our offense in a bad spot with a few seconds remaining in the game and you know, over the last few weeks, last few months, you've seen us completely blow up as a defense. We've come together, and we're just challenging each other more. Challenging each other to step into our role and win our individual matchups.
(On getting comfortable with Chiefs defense)
"Of course. Yeah, coach Spags [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo], great coach. Great defensive coaching. Just having him there, having his support, and having him believe in us, and that we can do it. You know, a lot of coaches would have gave up on their players. A lot of coaches just call anything just to get their players through it, but Coach Spags out there giving his all for us. Just like we want to give our all for him.
(On shutting down the Patriots offense)
"Just playing our type of defense. When you play our type of defense, you focus on us and not them. And that's what happens… hats off to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick over there. Great team we played against, but we got the better hand of the stick this week, so… we'll see them in the playoffs. I'm sure we will in the future. Hopefully we do, I mean I want them again. The tackle… the tacklers, I feel like a lot of times, we let them off the hook with a lot of stuff. But you know my thing is that I don't like letting them off the hook. I feel like I want to play some more, but you know me being sick, they had to hold me back a little bit, so, just more, I want to put more pressure on them.
(On the Patriots running gadget plays)
"At the end of the day, any team that has to run gadgets to beat you, it shows what type of team they are, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, we played them straight up. It wasn't no gadgets. Play hard. You know with football, if you're Tom Brady, you know what defense we in, you know what's coming at you. And they couldn't stop it. Period."
(On how the equipment mishap affected the players)
"That didn't affect us at all, man. At the end of the day, things like that happen. The equipment getting lost and stuff… as long as we got 11 people on the field at one time, we feel like we can win the game."
Mecole Hardman, WR
(On making big plays)
"It always feels different when you hit a big play. It gives us a lot of momentum too, even for the defense and the special teams, so it's always good."
(On the momentum of the game)
"When you play a great team there is going to be highs and lows, so how you are going to beat the adversity is what's going to make your team. I think we did good with the adversity. We stayed strong, we stayed together as a team and we came out with the win."
(On the defensive performance)
"Outstanding. They've been playing great the last two week. They came in this week and played great. So we are going to feed off that. Good motivation, good energy for us."
(On winning the division)
"It feels good, to come to an organization like this. For them to believe in me and draft me it feels great."
Tyreek Hill, WR
(On what he'll remember about this game)
"Just the passion that this team played with. I feel like everyone laid everything they had on the line tonight for their brothers. Team effort. Special teams, defense, offense. I mean offensively we can pick it up. But I feel like everyone else played well at their positions."
(On what specifically the offense can improve upon)
"I mean I'm a wideout man. I'm always looking at us as a group. Route running, route depth and all of that. Route conception and running the right routes for [Patrick Mahomes]. Making his job easier. I'm not talking about nobody else. Blocking down the field for the running backs, things like that. Things that we can control as a wideout group."
(On the atmosphere when the Patriots were coming back)
"Even when we're up we're going to continue what we've been doing the whole game. Staying close, staying fundamentally sound and all that good stuff. Doing the things that got us to that point. Everything was good, the atmosphere was good."
(On Travis Kelce and what he has learned from him)
"He's definitely one of the best that I've ever played with. I'm blessed to have him on this team. He's a great complement to all of the wideouts. He just makes all of us better, you know what I'm saying? We watch him day in and day out running routes against defensive backs and work them and work them. It's a blessing to have him on this team. He's passionate in everything that he does. Very hard working, loves a challenge. You can't ask for more from a guy."
Anthony Hitchens, LB
(On how he felt on the plays made tonight)
"Everything goes by so fast that I am always onto the next play. I know when I play back tape there will be some plays that need improvement, not just this week but looking back on every week. That is just a part of the game."
(On if the equipment showing up late affected his pre-game routine)
"To be honest when I arrived, all my stuff was already here so my pre-game routine was the same. I can't speak for everyone but when we were on the field for warm-ups it seemed like everyone had what they needed. They had it all prepared if the equipment didn't come and I know one thing about our equipment staff is that they have been around for a while, a lot longer than the coaches and staff and know what they need to do to have everything prepared for a game."
Clark Hunt, Owner
(On how he feels to be having a playoff game at home)
"Well we have the best fan base in the National Football League and Arrowhead is a tough place to play. It is very important for us to get a home playoff game for our fans to get to cheer their team on and for the team to get to play at home."
(On whether or not NFL owners will re-seed the playoffs)
"You know I really don't think so, that conversation comes up periodically every three or four years when you have a division that may not be as strong but I personally feel that it is important to reward the division regardless."
(On if he thinks they will play the Patriots again this season)
"I absolutely think that we will see them again. The Patriots are an incredible franchise and have a great team. They have the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach in the modern era so I think there is a good chance that we will see them again and we will give them the respect that they deserve."
(On being friends with Robert Kraft and if they ever become competitive with one another)
"We don't, we try to always keep it as friendly possible. He is always so great to come over on the sideline and I had the chance to visit with him before the game. We both talked about the fact that at the beginning of the year we knew that this was going to be a big game and sure enough it had big implications for both teams for a playoff standpoint."
Chris Jones, DT
(On the game)
"It was a tough game. We did the two most important things: preparation and execution. We prepared well and we executed on defense which is the most important thing. There were a lot of ups and downs in that game and we knew it was going to be a battle and maybe overtime, so you got to expect those things. We expected it and we came out and executed on defense.
(On this game giving the team momentum going forward)
"I feel like it's a regular season win that we needed to win to get where we want to go. We treat them all the same. Every game is important, whether we're playing [Tom] Brady or whether we're playing whoever. Every game is important, especially in November/December. That's when the games matter the most."
(On the team's momentum during the game)
"It shifted a couple of times, because sometimes our offense got on the field and didn't score and then the Patriots got it back. Especially on the blocked punt, they got momentum on that. We as a defense, saw that coming and we knew it was going to be a shift in the game. I think you got to thrive and strive. You got to thrive off the momentum and just strive. As a defense collectively, I think we did that as a whole."
Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE
(On the defense coming together)
"At the beginning of the year we felt like it would take some time to gel and mesh. That's what it is. Time has caught up to us. We are understanding the scheme and how people work within that scheme."
(On winning the game)
"After getting that win, it was like a breath of fresh air. Finally to get that win on them, and now it's just keep building."
Jordan Lucas, S
(On the officiating)
"It's like this if we play bad, we play bad, that's what the people are going to say. If we play good, we play good. The Patriots do that, same thing. The refs, they are going to be here regardless. So the calls, it happens every game around the league. So you just have to keep playing."
(On the chippiness of the game)
"It's just football. I don't really think anything of it. I think it was just football. It was chippy, it is suppose to be chippy."
(On winning the division)
"It feels great. This is my second year here, second year as west champion. Definitely feels great to be part of history and have your name etched in something this special."
Tyrann Mathieu, S
(On preparation leading up to today's game)
"I just felt like the whole week, we really prepared the right way. I felt like our coaches really put everything on the table for us and I don't really think we had many surprises today, other than those two trick plays. Other than that, I feel like everything we saw this week, we got. Our guys played aggressive. I thought our guys up front played well and they were really able to help us play more aggressive coverages, knowing that those guys were getting home."
(On winning against the Patriots)
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a big time win. It's a great team. I think everything it stands for, speaks for itself. Tom Brady, I could go on and on about him and Bill Belichick. Even when we were up 20 to 7, you know two possessions, in our minds we knew that we were going to have to win the fourth quarter playing against Tom Brady."
(On playing from behind early)
"In our minds, we have to play complementary ball. Complementary ball doesn't mean that our offense scores 35 points and we give up 32. I think complementary ball is if your offense happens to have a turnover, we need to hold those guys to three points. I think that's good complementary football and if we get in bad positions or we put our offense in bad positions, we feel like those guys complement us well. I thought today, that we more importantly stayed together throughout the whole game. We had a lot of penalties today, which sucks because we didn't have any last week. We have to clean up that. We got a big a big time division game this week against the Denver Broncos, so we got to win that game."
Mike Pennel, DT
(On the team)
"I'm just thinking, we're all playing together right now. It's all just building and right now, we're not even at our peak. We're just going to keep going up from here. Guys are getting more comfortable in our system and guys are coming back. It's going to be something good to see."
Spencer Ware, RB
(On how the offense looked)
"We've definitely got to tighten up the little details. We've got to finish. Take care of the ball, including myself. Can't put it on the ground as much catching it out of the backfield. Found a way to win, so that's all that matters. Back to the drawing board next week. Put it behind us and keep it rolling."
(On what he sees as his role moving forward)
"Wherever they need me. I've been in multiple roles, positions so to speak. You know me, I'm just grateful for opportunity. Like I said my mental never changes. I prepare like I'm the starter and then I go out there when called upon. I'm just here to help my team."
(On the tone of what Patrick Mahomes said to the offense late in the fourth quarter)
"We've just got to compete. Just stay competing and stop worrying about what happened the last drive. Just continue to just try to move forward."
Sammy Watkins, WR
(On the win)
"Big win for us. We started off slow, and now we've won four in a row. We've just got to continue to play hard, and play for each other, and continue to get better.
(On the competing level on the field that carried over to the bench with Stephon Gilmore)
"First play of the game, I knew it was more of a playoff atmosphere, playoff game. And it was definitely probably one of the hardest battles since last year. And that's what we look forward to. It's going to be the same way the next six to seven weeks, so, we've just got to continue to come out and play with each other, and play hard, strong, and keep fighting.
(On Stephon Gilmore)
"Yeah, I mean you got two good players going up against each other. And heat of the moment, you know. And I know him from Buffalo, so I was like, 'This is my opportunity to take a shot and I did'. He took his shots also. "
(On the confidence that comes from beating the Patriots)
"For sure, but I think we have all the confidence we need within this locker room. So, if we could just continue to play hard and play for each other, and rack these games up, and you know what I mean… went out and continue to be ourselves and play hard for each other, I think we'll be fine."
(On Patriots trick plays)
"I think we just got to be focused for anything that anyone throws at us, not just the Patriots. And I think we did well tonight on both sides... Maintained our poise… a lot of stuff… adversity happened, and our defense played crazy good, and that's what we needed.
James Winchester, LS
(On the confidence this win has given him moving forward)
"I mean this is huge for us and I think for every team in the NFL, you want to be playing the best in December and be able to put yourself in a position to go compete in the playoffs first and foremost then when you get to that point and are up there you have to take the opportunity and make up for dropped games. We just want to feel like we are playing our best in December and the guys are doing that right now. Defense, offense and special teams are stepping up and we have confidence."
(On importance of winning this game)
"You know we were just trying to beat the Patriots at home and we were able to do that. I mean props to the defense who stepped up which was huge. It was special and really cool to be a part of all of this. You know some of the years we have come short from where we wanted to be in the Super Bowl but this is a new year."
