Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
September 16, 2026
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, as far as injuries go, the guys who won't practice today, (DB) Chamarri (Conner) and (71) Josh (Simmons), they are making progress in a positive way, so that's good. (LB) Cooper McDonald will be on IR, so he's got a four-week window there, and we'll just see where he's at after we get to that point. Other than that, (CB Mansoor) Delane is back, and he'll be out there today doing his thing. I look forward to the challenge of playing the Colts.(Colts Head Coach) Shane (Steichen) does a nice job with that crew, along with the coaches. They've got good players. I look forward to the challenge of playing them here at home at Arrowhead. Our fans were great the other night, and I know they'll be that way Sunday night. Anyways, with that, time's yours.
Q: Is there any way that you can distinguish or pinpoint why you had such a strong collective group of rookies who all had contributing plays in your win on Monday?
REID: “I'll tell you, (General Manager) Brett (Veach) did a nice job of bringing the guys in and drafting them and free-agenting them, it was good to see. The thing I mentioned to them is there's tape out there now, so whatever hiccups you had, you've got to fix those. You know these other coaches are pretty creative people, and the players, they study you. That really goes for everybody, but it's for the rookies. They don't have a lot of tape on those guys.”
Q: Is that a credit to your assistant coaches as well, considering they had to develop these guys?
REID: “Yeah, absolutely. That's what I was saying after the game. I thought they've done a nice job coaching them up, and it showed. And then the players themselves, just listening and trying to do the right things. It's one thing to do the right thing in practice or against a bag. It's another thing to do the right thing when it's live. It counts.”
Q: When talking to QB Patrick Mahomes about what he was still adjusting to, with having so many players out and gone through that at some point, was him playing in the game kind of an unexpected thing?
REID: “Yeah, again, Sam (McDowell), the same thing I mentioned after the game. There was a little rust there. Then it gets in the second half, 12 for 14 or whatever it was, did good in the second half, and you figured there was going to be a little bit of that. Just the speed. Even if you're handing the ball off, just the speed of everybody and the calls, the urgency of the calls that you've got to make. The other teams make it in front of you. I anticipated a little bit of that. But for (QB Patrick Mahomes) him to even be out there, 90 percent of the guys wouldn't even play. So, it's just something for him to be out there doing it.”
Q: What did you see in T Kahlil Benson after watching the film?
REID: “Yeah, listen, I thought for the most part (T Kahlil Benson) he did a nice job. There's some things he'll work on and get better. But for your first go-round, not a bad job. (OL) Kingsley (Suamataia) and he have a relationship that they've developed, and you've got to have that. He's out on the wing, and Kingsley's got to be a transmitter to him with what (C) Creed (Humphrey) calls or what Kingsley sees. So, I thought they handled that good. But again, you've got to stack all that as you go.”
Q: When you guys were looking at NT Khyiris Tonga in May, how much did the offensive stuff play a role in wanting to get him here?
REID: “Yeah, listen, I like to claim I brought him in to play fullback (laughing), but I knew he did. We knew he had done that before, and he came from the right school and everything.”
Q: What happened with the interception, was that just an option route or did the quarterback and receiver read it differently?
REID: “Yeah, you know what? We probably didn't rep that enough. I looked back on it, and it was a backed-up play call. You only get basically one rep on it. That guy played it, 22 played it, in the perfect area. It was a gray area where you either go over the top or underneath, and neither guy was really wrong other than the result. Probably should give him more opportunities to practice it. That one goes on me.”
Q: When it comes to RB Kenneth Walker’s success, just how much do you credit Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Running Backs Coach DeMarco Murray for trying to maneuver around the pieces there, making it a little tighter for some of those runs?
REID: “Yeah, both (Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Running Backs Coach DeMarco Murray) those two have done a nice job with that. It's basically a new room. (RB Brashard Smith) 2-4 was there, but it's basically a new room here. But for them to get in there and grind on it and then making sure they're on the same page with (Offensive Line Coach Andy) Heck. Those guys, they're lucky to have those two coaching them, and they're taking advantage of it.”
Q: What is the process for going through and cleaning up the penalties?
REID: “Yeah, so a couple of them were a couple of young guys lining up over the center and running a guy into the coolers over by us. You can't do that, so you got to know the rules are on it. So, we have to learn from it. We've got to do better practicing and communicating, I guess, would be your answer there. But we shouldn't have had those, for sure, especially those two.”
Q: With CB Mansoor Delane, will he be full practice today or just kind of doing the usual stuff? And is he kind of on track to being back on the field Sunday?
REID: “Yeah, there's a pretty good chance (CB Mansoor Delane) he'll be back out there, yeah. But, yeah, he's going to go today.”
Q: With the Colts, what sort of things do you expect defensively?
REID: “Yeah, we know they're a good football team, and they're well-coached, and they're coming off a great year. They're back healthy. So, we've got to make sure we take care of our business here and have ourselves right and ready to go.”
Q: When you go back to watch the coaches film, what does it kind of mean to see your offensive line set that tempo, have that impose their will, lean on some people?
REID: “Yeah, that's always important. You kind of go as your offensive line goes. I know those guys take a lot of pride and make sure (QB) Patrick's (Mahomes) clean and the run game's right. There were some good results, things we can do better, though. We'll work on that this week, but they came out and played hard. You're in a short memory zone here because nobody really cares how that went. You're on to the next one, and you're kind of as good as the next one. So, you've got to get right on that.”
Q: How many games as a play caller does it take for you to feel like, okay, I kind of get a feel for a team? Is week two almost just this amount?
REID: “Yeah, three or four games. People kind of settle in on what they're going to do. For the most part, you're always going to get a couple of wrinkles in there. But normally it takes three or four weeks or so.”
Q: You mentioned that NT Khyiris Tonga is playing fullback and kind of joked about it, but how difficult is it?
REID: “Yeah, so on Thursday (NT Khyiris Tonga) he'll jump in with us. We start right off with the goal line, short yardage stuff, if he's in the package. So that's how, and then he goes out and he reps it during practice. It's a good way to do it because they're in a defensive period. All of a sudden, whoop, sudden change. You've got to get over here and get ready to go. We have a chaser that goes and gets him when we start getting into those areas.”
Q: Does NT Khyiris Tonga enjoy it?
REID: “Yeah. The fourth quarter he had a lot of reps. He probably got a little tired there, but he's not going to say anything. He just kind of keeps going, but I looked at the look on his face and he was pretty tired.”
Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes Quotes
September 16, 2026
Q: What did you see on the interception after reviewing the film?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think I was pretty on what I thought about after looking at the tablet, there were some guys kind of opened up, especially later into the routes, secondary and third routes, and so, I got better as the game went on of getting through the reads and getting to those guys. But I thought overall, we played well as an offense. It's just now it's about taking that next step of using the run game to get to the pass game and so it was a good, it was a good starting point, but now we’ve got to keep getting better.”
Q: In your opinion, how much did the way RB Kenneth Walker was running the ball have to do with things opening up as the game carried on?
MAHOMES: “100 percent, I mean, that's how it works, when you're able to run the ball like that, defenses have to adjust and have to change and they probably came out in more shell coverages than we even expected from prior years, trying to see what we were going to do. And we were able to showcase that we were going to stay true and we're going to run the ball and get them out of those and once they did that and they started getting out of some of those shell coverages, the pass game opened up and so that’s the balance of it. You have to be able to do both in order to have a successful offense.”
Q: Regarding heavier jumbo packages, you guys really enjoy running those. Is there an extra boost when they work?
MAHOMES: “I know the O-line for sure enjoys it. I mean, you get more of those guys on the field and they get to prove that they're the tougher squad and that they can make stuff happen and so for (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid to call those plays in the situations that he called them, fourth down and two, first drive of the game, he puts all the O-linemen in, get (NT Khyiris) KT (Tonga) in, and they're able to go down there and get that first down on a big play. It pumps those guys up and then you can see they feed off that energy throughout the entire game.”
Q: A lot is made about Head Coach Andy Reid’s consistency as a coach, but I also wonder how much you might have a view to his adaptability and the way he evolves, whether season to season or game to game?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, if you see (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid's offenses all the way back from Philly, they've always changed and it depends on the team. You have to adjust to the team and play to everybody's strengths and so when he first got here, it was feeding (RB) Jamaal Charles and letting him run and then we evolved to more of a spread out scheme with the speed that we had. And now we’re trying to find that perfect balance of both. (RB) Kenneth (Walker) had a huge game this first game and I'm expecting to continue to get better and better but we, as an offense, have to be able to throw the ball and play action, do that stuff off of it so defenses can't account for just him. And so, that’s just kind of Coach Reid and the whole offensive staff is that they pushed for us to be the best that we can in every single game, no matter what it takes.”
Q: Certainly, you've seen him tweak stuff plenty before, but this season, have you felt like it’s a little more dynamic?
MAHOMES: “I think it's just more attention to detail throughout the whole entire staff. I think throughout last year, you kind of saw we lost little things. It was here and there, my footwork, or the route depth, or the blocking assignments weren’t just perfect, and in this league, you have to be perfect in order to succeed. And so, they've really been harping on everybody to be on every single little detail so that we can go out there and have success and I think it was great for everybody to see that all that work that we put in training camp paid off early but now it's about how you respond. That was just Week 1, and I think it'll be big for us going up against a team that's going to be hungry to go out there and prove themselves.”
Q: Do you feel differently going into this game? Was there anything processing wise that you were dealing with?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, you’ve got to get out there and play. In order to get good at football, you have to play football. And so, for me, just getting those reps, getting out there and playing, getting hit and everything like that, it slowed me down a little bit just in general, just showed me that I could just play my game. I don't have to try to press and push to be even better and so, it helps when you have guys around you making plays and I was able to have that last Monday and so, now it's about being better myself in order to be better for the entire offense.”
Q: Was there a particular play that stood out to you when you watched your own game?
MAHOMES: “I think there was two. I mean, there was one early. I try to force the ball to (TE) Trav (Travis Kelce) and if I get through my read, the last read's (RB) Kenneth (Walker) on the route out of the backfield and you give it to him, he has a chance to score a touchdown there. And then early in the game, one of those first third and longs, I try to force the ball into (WR) Xavier (Worthy) and that is my first read, and there was a chance I could get it in there, but if I just see the coverage or reset back, (WR) Tyquan (Thornton) wins in the backside route. And so, that's just those things there. It's like, you can try to make those plays happen. When they work, it's awesome, but if you want to just go through the whole entire offense, you know where you can get to, and where you can find the free guy with the better leverage and the better matchup.”
Q: T Kahlil Benson talked about the trust that you guys have to have to build confidence. Can you talk about the trust you have with him?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, obviously it takes—you have to play in games and stuff like that, but I think what the trust has come from (T Kahlil Benson) his work and how he's worked and went about his business throughout the entire process. I mean, starting back from OTAs until training camp, he's the guy, he's in the building early, he's late, he asks the right questions, and then he competes and you want guys that want to go out there and compete and be out there and play and just do whatever they can to help the team. And so, he did a great job of that, of just being out there and it's not always going to be perfect. I mean, he went up against one of the best pass rushes in the league, and he did a great job of just finding ways to compete and battle, and he's gotten better and better every step of the way. And so, I expect him to keep continuing to get better.”
Q: Does your leg feel normal a couple days later?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I feel normal. Actually, I mean, it's like a blessing and curse. You get sore everywhere else because you haven't played football in so long. And so, the leg is like the least of my worries right now. So, I'm just excited to be out there and playing. At the end of the day, you don't know until you get out there and play and I was able to go out there and play, and I feel good today. So, now it's about getting in the ice bath or whatever it takes to be ready for this Sunday night game.”
Q: Did you say anything to T Kahlil Benson? His first regular season debut, and he's tasked with protecting you and the team.
MAHOMES: “No, I mean, I didn't say anything, throughout the week. I think the only thing I said to (T Kahlil Benson) him right before the game was, ‘I believe in you,’ and that’s it. You're out there for a reason, just go out there and be yourself and do what got you here. A lot of times, it's the NFL. Sometimes you make it bigger than what it is, but you're still playing a game that you've loved since you were a kid, and there's a reason that you're in that uniform and the reason that you're on that field. And so, go out there and do that.”
Q: When you have a physical performance like you guys did in Week 1, how does that help an offense expand over the weeks?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, we’ve got to continue to still prove that. I think it's going to take more than just one week, but if we can continue to prove that we can run the ball like that, defenses are going to have to adjust. I mean, at the end of the day, they can't—running the ball is so big in this league and especially if you're able to establish that physicality, defenses have to adjust that. They can't just let you do that every single week and so, defenses are going to adjust, and they're going to come up, and they're going to play more run-stopping defenses. It'll open up the explosive passes and stuff like that and then, it's our job to hit those and make those plays happen. And so, definitely, it was a great starting point, but we have to continue to build on it.”
Q: On the interception he threw on Monday.
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, the coverages that we had practiced against all week and what they had played last year was a different coverage and they came out with a—obviously, they can do what they want. So they came out with a different coverage, I think probably because of how we were running the football. And obviously, I thought he was going to go across his face, but then (WR) Xavier (Worthy) saw the safety squat and went over the top. So, it's not like he made the wrong decision. It's just us being on the same page and being a little backed up there, I probably could have let it take another hitch and then let him go to the top and had a chance for a huge play there and so stuff like that happens throughout a season. It's about how do we learn from it and how can we be better from it and whenever we get that opportunity again, we'll be on the same page and we'll hit it.”
Q: The field thing, on social media you're always posting a clock emoji. What makes the time so significant?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, so first is, I’ve got a nickname 2 p.m. from my dad and his friends and stuff like that for Patrick Mahomes II and I always thought it was cool because you get the clock pointing to 2 p.m. and I have a tattoo on my leg, the clock at 3 p.m. on my son's hand and foot because he's Patrick Mahomes III. And so, I've always been big on time and that's like time spent with my family, time spent in the building, you have to maximize it and it's something that's super important to me. So, the clock just fits in perfectly for that and it's more of just like who I am. It's like maximizing my time in this league, maximizing my time, being a dad, being a father, being a husband and you can't get it back. So, you have to maximize it.”
Q: When you went back and watched the tape, did anything stand out even more to you about RB Kenneth Walker when you saw it from that view?
MAHOMES: “I think it just more like solidified what your beliefs were. Like I knew (RB Kenneth Walker) he had the speed, so I knew like when he bounced it, like I was probably the first one that had the one up because I knew he was going to get to the end zone and I knew he ran tough, but I think that the contact balance and seeing him break those tackles, like you could see it in practice, but we're not fully tackling every single day and so you don't know for sure and I always tell the coach they blow the whistle a little too early on some of those plays, but he showcased it as like, you’ve got to wrap them up. You have to hit them the right way in order to tackle them and if you're not going to, he's going to get those extra yards, and I think that's a special ability. I thought he did a great job of that and I thought (RB) Emmett (Johnson) did a great job of that as well and so when you’ve got guys that are running hard and breaking through tackles and guys on the perimeter blocking for him, a lot of those explosive plays show up.”
Q: The Colts had a tough day defensively against the Ravens last week, Week 2, big chance for them to improve. What sort of adjustments do you think they'll make?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, well, they have really good football players. I mean, if you look at their defensive line, their safeties, their corners, they have really good football players or linebackers. And so, they'll have a lot of pride and they'll come out with the right mentality. And they won a lot of football games last year off their defense and (Colts Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Lou) Anarumo is one of the best defensive coordinators I've went up against. And so, they will come out firing just like any other team in the league that when you lose that first game, you always want to get back on the right track and so we have to match that intensity. We can't let this first week, a big win make us lackadaisical or something like that. We have to have a great day of practice today. Do it again, do it again, prepare night before the game and then go out there and play our best football if we want to go out there and get a win against a good team.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
September 16, 2026
LB NICK BOLTON
Q: How important was it for you guys to go out and make a statement in that first game, after a lot of disappointment in how last year went, to have the kind of game you guys had on both sides of the ball?
BOLTON: “Yeah, we just want to start the season off the right way. Last year, obviously we didn't do that. So, the mindset with a divisional game similar to last year to go out there and start the season off winning 1-0. This was just a mindset. Young guys came in, I think they played well, put a lot of pressure on those guys, but veterans came in and kind of set the tone early and kind of just fed off the rest of the game.”
Q: DE R Mason Thomas and DL Peter Woods, those two guys, what did you think of their performance the first time out?
BOLTON: “Yeah, (DE R Mason Thomas and DL Peter Woods) their excitement for the game. You can tell on the tape, man, you can tell they're excited, flying through the ball. There were a couple of times where (DL) Peter's (Woods) rushing the passer, getting out of the stack, making plays on the field, and then (DE) R Mason (Thomas), his first career sack is just a straight hustle. Spinning back and wrapping up the quarterback's leg. So, you can definitely see their excitement. They're excited to be out there, excited to play, excited to show what they can do for this team and help us win. So, yeah, going to keep building this thing. It's just a scratching surface for those guys, but that's probably where they're at.”
Q: Why do you think the Chiefs defense performed so well?
BOLTON: “Yeah, I think we just played well. We had a defensive line that took the tone early, able to get them in unfavorable downs. I think our DBs did a great job tackling, getting off blocks, forcing a lot of those penalties, and getting them to favorable downs. So, I think it's just everybody. It takes all 11. It really takes all 22 guys on the defensive side of the ball to execute and do their job. So, yeah, I think it's the defense playing well.”
RB EMMETT JOHNSON
Q: How do you evaluate yourself in the first game?
JOHNSON: “I think I did pretty good. Obviously, a lot of room for improvement. I can always get better, and I feel like just going out there and playing free was good for me. Like, I think I did a good job of trusting what I do in practice, but I got to keep getting better. A lot more football left.”
Q: How much do you feed off of RB Kenneth Walker and his performance?
JOHNSON: “Really, really well. I feel like in practice, like, when we're out there, it's like, if he makes a play, I want to go out there and make a play, too and we kind of just feed off of each other. We have a great bond, including (RB) Brashard (Smith). We all push each other in the room and (Running Backs) Coach (DeMarco Murray) has been doing a god job with us, too”
Q: You have two coaches that have played at this level, what have you learned from them?