Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
October 8, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, there are no injuries to talk about right now. Everybody is going to go today. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Lions. (A) good football team, they’re playing very well right now. (Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) has done a nice job with that crew over the last few years. Look forward to the challenge and look forward to playing at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Time’s yours”
Q: On the decision to punt on the first drive of fourth and two.
REID: “It’s subjective, so I thought it was the right thing to do at that time. We have been aggressive, but I thought field possession would end up being a big thing in that game, so I chose to do that.”
Q: On special teams’ penalties.
REID: “I always go back to the basics and the angles that you take are so big on special teams to put yourself in position to block. You’re doing it in space, so you have to be very disciplined so you don’t have your hands gravity cloth. You have to be real careful of that. The best way to do it is you go out and practice fast with it. That’s what we’ll do. Try to put guys in – try to get them where they can get the right angles and get in the right position.”
Q: What was your message or the coaching staff’s to Chris Jones about that final play?
REID: “You can’t think that the guy is down. You can’t think that. You just have to play the play, and he (Chris Jones) knows, I mean he’s been around this thing a long time. That’s really what it came down to.”
Q: Do you have any messages to the guys about social media?
REID: “No.”
Q: Are you surprised about how many uncharacteristic self-errors the team has made through the first five games?
REID: “We got to take care of that Nate (Taylor). That’s something that we have got to fix. It’s getting us right now and you can’t do that. The best way to do it is you go out and practice it and make sure you get yourself working on those things that have been causing the problems.”
Q: What concerns you most about the Detroit Lions? They’ve won four straight games.
REID: “Well deserved, too. They’re playing good football, good solid defense (and) flying around. Offense they have been very effective, offensively point wise and execution wise. They haven’t had the self-inflicted wounds as much as some other teams, so you know that they’re not going backwards. We have got to make sure we take care of business (and) stay aggressive on both sides of the ball and special teams for that matter.”
Q: What have you seen from the Lions offensive and defensive lines?
REID: “They’re strong in both of those spots, I think that has been well documented. They are a good offensive line (and) have been together a while, and they do a good job in the run and pass game. Defensively likewise, they’re solid in the pass game, they got good scheme (and are) good in the run game, they cover their gaps.”
Q: On Isiah Pacheco’s performance against the Jaguars.
REID: “I thought he (Isiah Pacheco) did a good job. Not only running, but catching the ball, blocking when he was asked to. He got a little more play time, which I thought was good, kind of get him into the swing of things, that helped. At the same time Kareem (Hunt) had a good day.”
Q: On uncharacteristic mistakes.
REID: “That’s this league right now. There is so much parity. That’s why I mentioned after the game the penalties, turnovers, and so on. You can’t have those; the games are too close, too much competition – equal competition, so you have to take care of business there and it’s my responsibility to make sure that is done.”
Q: On Harrison Butker’s performance throughout this season.
REID: “Like any golfer – you guys have all golfed – sometimes you’re hitting it good and other times you’re off, but you work through it and you keep swinging man, and he’ll (Harrison Butker) do that. He’s a talented kid (and) mentally tough; I’m not really worried about him.”
Q: How do you guys get ready for opponents at home or away when it comes to judgement calls?
REID: “I just make a judgment it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. I just try to make a judgement from what – I go into the game thinking a certain thing and then do it. If there is one that I haven’t thought about, I’ll probably still do it (laughter).”
Q: On the challenge for the running backs to produce against the Jaguars defensive line.
REID: “Their defense was ranked up there now. They’re number one in a lot of categories and the guys moved the ball effectively but the stat part doesn’t matter, it’s points. You have got to score more than the other team and we didn’t get that done, but there were some good things that took place. The o-line did a nice job and running backs did a nice job, but we had a couple of self-inflicted wounds there and you can’t do that.”
Q: What stood out to you most about the team’s performance against the Jaguars?
REID: “When we didn’t have the issues, I thought the guys executed well. We had penalties, the interception, all those things that went on negate some of that, but overall, I thought our execution was pretty good. But you have got to score more points, right?”
Chiefs Player Quotes
October 8, 2025
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: On why the team hasn’t executed as much in one score games this season.
MAHOMES: “Pretty much you said it, execution. Just little things here and there. We’re just not making winning football plays in certain moments and if it goes down to the interception in the redzone that I throw, it’s a 14-point swing. I feel like we played better these last few weeks, but in this league, it’s going to come down to one score games. That’s what (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid preaches right when we start off training camp every single year, and it’s about who executes at a higher level and we haven’t done that as a team throughout these first five (or) six weeks.”
Q: How do you reconcile putting up 500 yards of offense but making mistakes in some spots?
MAHOMES: “Obviously, there are positives on how we’ve progressed as an offense, but like I said, more than anything it’s about making winning plays. In years past, we might not have had so much success offensively, but we’ve made those winning plays whenever it’s counted and so I think we have to get back to doing that. Obviously, we want the offense to continue to progress, but when we get in these high leverage, high intense moments, we have got to execute at a higher level and that starts with me and it kind of feeds throughout the rest of the team.”
Q: How do you view this game against the Detroit Lions?
MAHOMES: “It’s extremely important. There’s no way around it. This is a really good football team that we’re going to play. They play extremely hard, and they have a mentality (that) they’re going to come in and win a football game, so we have to match that intensity. We have to match that mentality and knowing that it’s going to take our best football (from) everybody, offense, defense and special teams, and we have to go out there and prove it on Sunday. We have got to start off with a great week of practice, and then come in with the mentality that we’re going to find a way, no matter how it looks, that we’re going to find a way to get a win.”
Q: On if Head Coach Andy Reid asks him to not try and make a tackle after a turnover.
MAHOMES: “He’s (Head Coach Andy Reid) never told me anything like that. Regardless, I’m a football player more than a quarterback, and I have to find a way to tackle the guy or at least slow him down so other guys can get there. Playing that quarterback position after an interception, first off, it’s your mistake, you have got to find a way to limit the mistake and then you’re kind of in that safety type position where it’s you and no one else. Gotta be better in that situation, obviously, and try and slow him (defender) down and get a hand on him or anything like that so someone else can get there and make that tackle and let our defense bail us out of a bad mistake.”
Q: On the play to Tyquan Thornton in the first quarter.
MAHOMES: “We knew they (Jacksonville Jaguars) had some kind of different fronts there on that third and medium type range, and we had a good plan for it. They actually gave us an un-scouted look in that situation as well. That’s why they kind of got a guy through there, but we knew when they did that they kind of leveled and flat footed thinking the ball is going to come out fast and I’ve always been at the mindset if they’re going to blitz we have got to be aggressive and throw the ball down the field, it’s your best opportunity to do that and so give a guy a chance down the field and I didn’t get it far enough but Tyquan (Thornton) did a great job coming back and adjusting to the ball and making a play.”
Q: Are you still seeing un-scouted looks regularly?
MAHOMES: “Everybody always adjusts their stuff here and there. I thought they (Jacksonville Jaguars) did a good job. They gave a couple – really, I think it was those two unscouted looks that they had situationally, and that’s what defenses are going to do. It’s about you being able to adjust on the fly and be able to make the right protection calls and stuff like that. That happens every game. I think it was just big moments where it was a big play, one our way and one their way with the unscouted looks.”
Q: On if he could see the ball get to Tyquan Thornton on that long play.
MAHOMES: “I didn’t see it necessarily land, but I could see he (Tyquan Thornton) came up with the catch – I don’t even know how to explain it. I kind of could see it through some people’s feet and stuff like that that he caught the ball. Just giving guys chances down the field. We talked about it all week, I told the guys if they bring the pressure in this situation, I’m going to throw them the ball down the field and let y’all make a play, and he accepted that challenge and went up there and made a play.”
Q: Is it a weird sensation to be on your back when the play is happening?
MAHOMES: “I think you kind of get used to it at quarterback. A lot of times you’re throwing the ball (and) you’re getting hit and trying to hang in there until the last possible second. I’ve never even thought of it honestly. It is usually where I am at, whenever a big play happens.”
Q: What impresses you about Lions Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s defense?
MAHOMES: “I think he (Lions Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) does a great job of game planning like we talked about with the unscouted looks (and) doing stuff that’s specific to each and every team. He puts his guys in positions where they can play fast and play hard. You can tell they (Lions players) respect him by how hard they do play. I don’t know if that is (him) being a former player or whatever it is (because) he gets the best out of his guys, and so it’ll be a great challenge for us. We got to match the intensity of going up against a Detroit Lions football team and a Detroit Lions defense, and so it’ll be a great challenge for us.”
Q: On the running backs intensity Monday night.
MAHOMES: “When we’re able to run the ball like that and then being able to play-action and do bootlegs and stuff like that off of the run game, it really just opens up the entire offense and I thought both those guys – all three of them (Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco and Brashard Smith) ran really hard when they got the ball in their hands. It’s just finding ways to put them in positions to succeed, and I thought the offensive line did a great job of – you can tell their chemistry because pass blocking is one thing, but run blocking, it's a lot of chemistry and trading off blocking. You can tell that stuff’s building with time and with more and more reps. I think it will continue to get better and better as the season goes on and those guys can continue to have more and more success.”
Q: Do you want to be the team’s leading rusher?
MAHOMES: “However we win football games. I don’t care how that looks, but it doesn’t look like that is helping us right now. If other guys get running, and we start winning football games, I’ll take that.”
Q: Outside of the record, how do you feel about the offense’s trajectory?
MAHOMES: “We’re getting better. That’s all that you can do, is we’re getting better and better. Obviously, we have one more week until we add Rashee (Rice), just getting him into the offense as well, but at the end of the day, it’s all about winning. I think if we can start making those winning plays, that is the last step we need in order to take our offense to the next step.”
Q: On social media and advice to others.
MAHOMES: “It can be toxic for sure being on social media and seeing stuff, but to me, at the end of the day, I know who I am, and I know the amount of work that I put in and I can live with myself and live with the results. And so I feel like if you’re putting in the work and you’re doing whatever you can to leave everything on the football field, you can live with the results of a win/loss or whatever anyone has to say because you know the type of effort that you put in every single day so stay off it (social media) as much as possible and then if you are going to be on it I would use it as motivation more than anything.”
LB NICK BOLTON
Q: On facing the Detroit Lions.
BOLTON: “They’re special. They have a great tight end, two good backs, their wide outs (room) have some depth, and they have a young guy as well that is kind of adding to the mix and their quarterback is playing great – if I’m not mistaken, he might be the best in the league on competition percentage. It’s going to take everybody, all hands on deck up front and then in the back end mixing up some looks pre-snap and try to force a couple turnovers when we can, but it’s a great challenge for us.”
Q: How much do you feel like you’ve grown on coverage?
BOLTON: “Definitely since I’ve been in this league, I’ve come more familiar with (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Coach Spags’ scheme and being in the middle is kind of different than other places. So, trying to keep my eyes in the right place and obviously, I’m growing and learning concepts and spacing, where guys are trying to attack this defense. He’s (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) been coaching for a while, so you see a lot of tape out there, and guys know how to attack the middle of the defense and stuff like that. I definitely have been evolving and definitely feel like I’m getting comfortable as my years progress. I feel like I’m in a good spot right now.”
Q: What mentality does the defense have to have against the Lions offense?
BOLTON: “Just have to have focus for 60 minutes. Not doing anything different than what we’ve been doing. Just executing and bringing the mindset we’ve been bringing the first half of last week. Trying to put that back on tape (and) that is kind of our main goal this week. We started off good, and it just didn’t end good, so kind of maintain that for 60 minutes, that focus and energy. I think we will be in a good spot.”
RB ISIAH PACHECO
Q: What is the good that you’ve seen as the season has gone on?
PACHECO: “Together. We’re building something special here, and together every week you see how tough we are, not pointing the finger, we’re building on each other (and) loving on each other and we’re going to get going.”
Q: What was the difference between you and Kareem Hunt that was working for the running game?
PACHECO: “Having fun. Allowing the game to come to us and just being excited for one another and whoever make(s) the play, make it and you know it’s good for the team.”
Q: Is it nice to catch the ball and see only one guy in front of you?