CHIEFS HEAD COACH ANDY REID

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

October 14, 2018

AR: Ok, really just the one injury. Mitch Morse has a concussion, will be in the protocol and we will find out more later. So listen, it was a heck of a football game. I was proud of how the guys battled. We will learn a lot from this game. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit early and you can't do that against a good football team. So, we learn from it and we move on and get ourselves better for the following week. Had a lot of young guys playing tonight and so, again, good learning experience. Tough place to play. Bill's [Belichick] got a good football team and so, you have two good teams playing each other. We came up short, but again, we will learn from this. 

Q: Andy, your defense, you had the one takeaway. Then you stopped them on downs early in the game, which you couldn't really get them off the field other than that. Was it just you guys missing some key pieces tonight?

AR: So, we expect the next guy up to do their job. And I was proud of those guys who stepped in, that's not an easy thing to do. They did it, and we can learn from it in a lot of cases. Young guys in there, so we learn. For our quarterback, it was a great experience, he kept battling. Another test for him. On the defensive side, you know again, we had some new guys in there. But I thought they battled their hearts out. 

Q: How much did it seem like Patrick [Mahomes] was able to settle down after that first half. I mean, he looked a little jittery. He was overthrowing and then got in a better groove in the second.

AR: Yeah, he did a good job. He pushed through in the second half; he did settle down. He did a nice job. But again, the objective is to actually win the game and we didn't do that. At the same time, when you have one like this, you go back and you learn from it. If you are honest with yourself on the mistakes that you make, whatever position it is, coaches included. We all have our things that we can do better and so, you go back and you do that. It's a long season and the objective is to get better for that next week. And so that's what we got to do. 

Q: What did Breeland [Speaks] say about the sack that looked like he almost had Tom Brady down right there at the end and then he didn't?

AR: He got out of it. I don't think Breeland is going to miss many of those. Tom is a big strong guy and he got himself out of it and made a play.

QUARTERBACK PATRICK MAHOMES

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

October 14, 2018

Q: What changed in the second half?

PM: I think we just started hitting on the throws that I was missing earlier. I felt like we moved the ball well the entire night, we just have to find ways to score in the red zone. The last two weeks it seems like we just can't punch it in there and I feel like the second half we finally started getting it in the end zone.

Q: Did you think you were a little over-amped early where it looked like you over-threw a couple guys?

PM: Yeah, I missed some throws, that happens in this league but whenever you're playing good football teams, you can't miss those throws. We left some points out there and so when you go back and look at the tape, you have to learn from that and try to do better whenever you get the next opportunity.

Q: What happened on those two interceptions you had?

PM: Yeah, the first one, he [Dont'a Hightower] had came into the line of scrimmage, I thought he was coming in on a blitz and I kind of, I just lost him. Kelc [Travis Kelce] had beat up his man so I was trying to get the ball on him as fast as possible to let him go to work with it. He had dropped back into coverage and I just didn't see him and I ended up throwing it, he made a great play. And then on the second one, just in the two minute drill, we were rolling, just got a little too greedy. I thought I could throw it a little higher and Kelc could go get it and I kind of got hit as I threw and just left it short. In those situations it's kind of a him or nobody and I just have to learn from that and know that. If I'm going to try to make that throw, then make it either Kelc can catch it or nobody else.

Q: How did you figure out some of the pressure looks they were giving you?

PM: They had a good game plan. They threw a lot of pressure at us, a lot of different stuff and I just tried to stay within myself. Early I missed some throws even when there was pressure that we could have scored on and I feel like as the game went on, I just kept making the reads and throwing the ball and I started connecting on the ones later.

Q: What does a team learn about itself in a loss like this versus an easy win?

PM: Oh, you learn a ton. First off, you're playing a great opponent in a great atmosphere and so just to be able to go against the best, you want to compete against them every single day. We got down, we put ourselves in a huge hole and I'm just proud of my team and how we fought to get back in the game. We had the lead at one point and then we ended up not coming out with the win but just that fight, it's something you can carry on and to the rest of this season.

Q: Is a loss like this more valuable than an easy win?

PM: You want to win. As a competitor, you want to win every single week but you learn from everything in this league. You learn from every experience that you have. You're not going to win every single game. And so for us, we're going to take the things that we did in that second half to kind of get us back into it and kind of keep that stuff going as the season goes on.

Q: On the short touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill, was that pass intended for him or Kareem Hunt?

PM: A magician never reveals his tricks. So I'll just leave it at that.

Q: What were your emotions on the sideline during the Patriots' final drive and can you describe the mutual respect you have with Tom Brady?

PM: I have the ultimate respect for Tom and everything that he did this game and his whole entire career. He's had success in this league because he's won games with last-minute drives like that. For us, you just have to find a way to win games like this. If you want to get to where you want to get to, you have to win games that are going to be tight and they're going to be against really good opponents.

Q: What was the conversation like with Tom Brady after the game?

PM: He gave me congrats on playing a good game and I mean, of course I did the same to him. I just kind of told him good luck for the rest of the season and we're going to go out there and hopefully we can keep playing and hopefully we might get to see him again.

Q: Even being down 24-9 and throwing two interceptions, you were unfazed. Can you describe what was in your head at halftime and how it is you know that you can just keep going?

PM: I never don't believe in ourself and this team. I think that we can win within every situation. Coach [Andy] Reid puts us through training camp and the worst situations possible and I feel like we have to find ways to win those games. Tonight we didn't but I feel like just that fight and that competitiveness and everything that we did, it shows the true team and who we are. 

Q: You weren't fighting off any self-doubt or anything at halftime?

PM: No. When you have the guys that I have on this team, with the weapons that I have, I know that I have to keep slinging it. I have to keep putting the ball out there, the offensive line blocked their tail off today and really gave me time to give those guys chances to make plays and they made plays that whole second half.

Q: What was the adjustment going from Mitch Morse to Jordan Devey on the offensive line?

PM: Yeah, I mean there's a little bit of an adjustment but I feel like with Jordan, he really stays on top of things. He's kind of been that back-up center role and been able to kind of learn this offense for the last few years and it helped a lot that last year on scout team he was my center the entire year. So just having that relationship with him already and just being prepared for that moment - I mean hopefully Mitch is back pretty fast but just to have Devey who you can trust in is something that is truly valuable.

Q: How much did that 97-yard kickoff return by Tremon Smith give you guys a spark?

PM: It was huge. It got us to where we got the lead in the game. He hit the whole and it got there and it shows with him being that young that he's not afraid of the moment. He wants to go out there and make a play and I'm proud of him and hopefully we can keep it rolling.

PLAYERS IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Dee Ford, LB

(On the play of the defense)

"We just have to do a better job. We wanted to get them in third-and-long situations, but I don't think we had many opportunities. It was a learning experience, and it's early in the season. I'm pretty sure we'll see them again."

(On missing key guys on the defense)

"The inevitable is the guys stepping up, because they are just as talented. What they bring to the table. You just have to answer the bell at the end of the day. We know that as a defense as a whole, we just have to keep rocking and rolling. It's just a bunch of little things that we need to correct."

(On the little things that need work)

"Well just getting off blocks. I felt like early on we really didn't get off blocks like we need to. Especially myself, and being gap sound. Especially at the end of the game, you got to play assignment football. They bring out the gadgets at the end of the game, at a pivotal time of the game, when you really have to lock in. Everything that we are frustrated with we know we have to get better at is very correctable."

Kareem Hunt, RB

(On the second half)

"No matter what the score is, we are going to keep fighting, until the scoreboard says zero seconds on the clock."

(On how the team played)

"We started out slow and there were some plays we could have made out there that we left out there. We missed some touchdown passes on two of them earlier; we've got to make those."

(On how it felt going back and forth in the second half)

"Pretty much you have to keep going. Whoever gets the ball last is going to win. So that's how it was, I feel like if we had the ball last like they did we would have gone down and scored and won, too. We can take this loss. I mean you never want to lose. We're going to learn from this, go study and make sure it don't happen again."

Chris Jones, DL

(On the Chiefs coming back)

"Guys showed character. Down what, [15] at halftime? Guys showed character tonight. It's a tough loss, a tough loss, but you learn a lot from that. You learn a lot about your team and about yourself and who you are. We are going to face adversity throughout the season and this team came together, we battled back, but they ended up kicking the field goal for the win."

(On facing Tom Brady)

"Just like any other quarterback, it is going to be tough. They had good schemes, a good game plan. They executed on offense and put it in the end zone. They stuck to their game plan, stuck to what they've been doing. We just have to execute better on defense."

(On if he looks forward to playing the Patriots again) 

"Of course we do. Right now we are going to focus on Cincinnati, make sure we are prepared for Cincinnati and watch the film. Learn from your mistakes and try to correct them before next week."

Travis Kelce, TE

(On the game)

"You got to love the way the team fought. I mean it is crappy losing and nobody likes to lose. It is unfortunate the team that ended up with the ball won. It is something to learn from and you have to start fast. We made some mistakes early as an offense and it ended up hurting us in the long run."

(On possibly scoring too soon at the end)

"Not at all, we have full trust in our defense. It is just hats off to the other team for making plays."

(On what he learned from playing with the key injuries and on the road)

"Nothing that I didn't already know. It is just another test that we came forth and really just approached it with a certain mindset that we have been practicing all off-season. That is to finish games and go into hostile environments and we knew our schedule going into the season and we knew this was going to be a tough game. Sure enough it sucks losing."

(On what got the offense going)

I think we just settled down. We realized what they were doing defensively and they were trying to put pressure on us and they got us a little out of beat. Sure enough once we got back into rhythm everything was alright."

(On Patrick Mahomes in the second half)

"Just being more composed. It is a big game going up against arguably the greatest of all time. I know he has a lot of respect for him [Tom Brady] and the team has a lot of respect for 12. It being a Sunday night game, we knew it was going to be a special one. I think the emotions and the excitement got a little ahead of us. We just settled down and we saw him in the second half be more like himself and have a little fun out there."

Steven Nelson, CB

(On the Patriots offense)

"We have to play better. There were no difficulties, we just have to play better. We have to execute. We have to play better as a whole."

Orlando Scandrick, CB

(On what the Chiefs can take out of this game)

"We have a lot of work to do. We've got a talented team. We'll just continue to play hard. We showed great character, we battled, but we just didn't make enough plays. Nobody has their head hung. We've got to play better. There's a good chance that if we get better and take care of our business at some point we will see this team again."

(On how the Patriots played)

"They just made plays when it came down to it. The quarterback is a damn good player. The tight end is a damn good player. Those guys have been with each other a long time and you can see it. You can see the non-verbal communication. They just made more plays than us tonight. I tip my hat to Tom Brady. I tip my hat to Rob Gronkowski. I tip my hat to Julian Edelman, the whole Patriots football team. They came ready to play and they made more plays than us tonight."

(On the character of the team)

"When you score 40 points and you lose you've got to look yourself in the mirror. This team has got great character. It's one of the best group of guys I've been around in my whole 11-year career. We'll be fine, I am not worried about it at all. The way this team works, the way this team prepares. If we handle our business the way we're supposed to handle our business there is a good chance we will see them again. I'm not looking past anybody else."