Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
December 3, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “The guys that will not practice today are (Chris) Roland-Wallace with his back, he is making progress. Josh Simmons ended up having surgery on that wrist for a fracture and a dislocation, he’ll go on IR. Then we’ll just see about the recovery on that (and) where it goes from there. Then Trey (Smith) and Jawaan (Taylor) won’t practice today, but they’re making progress going forward. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Texans (a) good football team. (Texans Head Coach) DeMeco (Ryans) has done a great job down there with that crew, and so we know we have to have a good week of practice, and the guys were in here today beginning that part. With that, time’s yours – Esa Pole will take that spot, he’ll be the one elevated.”
Q: How disappointing is it for Josh Simmons and all he’s gone through this season?
REID: “The kid (Josh Simmons) loves to play football. He’s down about that part. But he’s upbeat, the surgery went well, which was a real positive. He feels good about that. Then it’s just a matter of coming back. He did a great job with his knee coming back. He’s a worker, so whatever he can do to rehab it, he’s going to do. That’s just how he rolls.”
Q: Are you hoping to have Josh Simmons for the postseason?
REID: “We’ll see how it goes. They’ve got to wait just a little bit on that Herbie (Teope) and see how that goes with his recovery, but there’s always that chance.”
Q: How have you seen Jaylon Moore and Wanya Morris step up?
REID: “One positive is two of the three of them played against them (Texans) last year (and) did a good job. They know what they’re up against. That’s a great defensive front – great defense. I mean all three levels are really good, and they’re number one in a lot of categories there defensively. But those guys are getting themselves ready to go.”
Q: Is Jaylon Moore going to be the first man up for the left tackle position or right tackle?
REID: “We’ll, see what happens with injury guys first. But yeah, he’ll (Jaylon Moore) probably be at the right tackle and Wanya (Morris) at the left if that’s the way it went.”
Q: How important is Creed Humphrey to the offensive line?
REID: “All pro, he’s (Creed Humphrey) a great player there and a great person. (He’s) stable so you’re going to get the same thing every day. He’s going to prep the same way every day, and he’s dirty tough, strong and smart.”
Q: Will you guys do anything different for execution within the fourth quarter?
REID: “We need to take care of some of the little things, the penalty things. They take you out of drives, so you’re not scrambling as you go there. You have got to clean that up. Some of that you have to give the guys the right plays to try to execute to their strengths. So coaching is part of it, playing is a part of it and we all have a piece of that pie. You show that against good teams, you can’t have this discrepancy distance between penalties, penalties (and) your penalties that shouldn’t happen that way in a football game. Right or wrong. I’m not saying they’re all correct, but I’m just saying one team has a bunch and the other team – that’s not good for anybody.”
Q: What was the message to the team as you approach the last five games?
REID: “It buys coaches time to go back and give them some answers to things, which is a positive and let’s go. You’re in the month of December and you’re still in it, so let’s go. That’s what’s important.”
Q: How do you get the pass rush going?
REID: “I can’t tell you exactly but we’re going to try and make it better. To start with you have got to win some individual battles and there are other things that (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags has that he uses there too.”
Q: What specifically is it about Houston’s defense that has allowed them to play well?
REID: “Well, it starts up front. They have got an active front. I think their linebackers likewise are tuned in. They can run, tackle (and) are very sound that way. Their back end, likewise, they’ve got talent on the back end. All three levels. They are solid. I think they all work together and have done a nice job.”
Q: Why is it important to maintain positivity right now?
REID: “I’m big on reality, what’s real, why are we where we are (and) what can we do to fix that. That’s what I look at and try to give something – they have something they can work on. Likewise, as a coach that’s how I look at it for myself and the coaches. Where are the problems? Then let’s work on fixing those and if you do that it takes your energy to get it right and that’s what we’re striving to do.”
Q: What’s the reality of the postseason?
REID: “Yeah, that we’re really close. We just have to take care of business. Whatever I say here or whatever I say – it’s what you do and that’s where you’re at and you have got to do it and fix the issue because we’re very close.”
Q: Could we see Nazeeh Johnson back before the end of the season?
REID: “Yeah, we’ll have to see on that Matt (Derrick). There’s always that chance, but we will have to see where that goes.”
Q: Would you guys like to get Esa Pole back here?
REID: “We thought we saw some talent there and he (Esa Pole) knows the scheme obviously. We thought there was some growth. He could be a guy that works in somewhere.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
December 3, 2025
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: How do you describe the team’s attitude?
MAHOMES: “More than anything, we just have to execute at a higher level. I thought we’ve done a lot of good things, but at the same time, we’ve made a lot of mistakes that we haven’t been able to overcome. We have to be better in those bigger moments (and) not make those mistakes. At the end of the day, go prove it. We have to prove it on game day, and that’s something that I believe we can do.”
Q: On his confidence in the backup offensive linemen.
MAHOMES: “The guys have played. Obviously, we’ll go through the week and see where we’re at the with guys that are a little banged up but you have got to give respect to where it’s deserved, and those guys (Texans) have a great defensive line. We’ll try to do the best we can, as getting the ball out of my hand, running the football, and then whenever there’s shots down the field, you have to be able to hit them. Standing in the pocket and making those throws against a really good defense.”
Q: Do you rely on past experiences to pull you out of this situation?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, you can utilize some things. We’ve played in a lot of big games, so knowing that the speed of the game speeds up and the moment’s bigger and you have to settle yourself and go out there and play your best football. I don’t know if we’ve been in this situation this early in the season. I think just learning from it together, building together and then using what we can use from prior seasons to hopefully make a run at this thing and try and get ourselves to the playoffs and see where we can go from there.”
Q: Is there something specific you can work on to thrive in those big moments?
MAHOMES: “You can learn from it but at the end of the day you have to make plays and that’s stuff that we haven’t done consistently enough. There have been games where we have and we’ve won and there have been games where we haven’t. Just having to make those plays in the big moments will get you those wins.”
Q: Are you going to have to be more of a dual threat on Sunday night?
MAHOMES: “You’re going to have to utilize them (running ability), utilize everything. Not just my legs, you have to utilize everything you have to go out there and win. This is a really good football team that’s playing really good football right now and has a really good defense. We’re going to have to throw it all out there and find a way to win. This will be a big game for us to showcase who we are and who we think we can be moving on the rest of the season.”
Q: What signs do you see to this team being close?
MAHOMES: “If you look at every game that we’ve lost this year, we’ve been right in it up until the end, but we haven’t made those plays. We’re definitely close, but like I’ve said these past few weeks, we can be close, but you can’t be close for too long, you have to go out there and make it happen. I think we have the guys to do that, but we have to go out there and prove it. It’s another opportunity for us to go out there and prove it this weekend.”
Q: On his time off and communication with Head Coach Andy Reid.
MAHOMES: “I’m always talking to (Head) Coach (Andy Reid). Obviously, we’re in a spot in the season where you can have some time off, but you’re looking ahead at how to get yourself better to try and make a run. I’ll talk to all the coaches about things that I see and things I think we can continue to get better and better at. At the end of the day, they’re (coaching staff) going to do what’s best for us and put us in the best situation to succeed and I’ll give as much input as I can to help with that, but I trust they’re going to go out there and put us in that position.”
Q: What is the biggest challenge with the Houston Texans defense?
MAHOMES: “You have to match their intensity. I think that’s the biggest thing. Obviously, d-line’s good, linebackers (are) good and the DB’s (are) good. I think what makes them who they are is how hard they play. Every single snap they’re flying around. They’re trying to make plays happen, they’re trying to intercept the football or trying to knock the football out (and) they’re trying to make big hits. We got to match that intensity as an offense (and) as a team in order to go out there and get a win.”
Q: How tough is it for the veterans who expect success and have had so much success?
MAHOMES: “I think it’s tough in a sense that we like to win. I know we all know it’s a process, and we all know we have to continue to give ourselves a chance and continue to get better but when you have a lot of guys that like to win, it’s tough when you lose. We’ll continue to push. I think that’s one thing that makes us great is that no one’s hanging their head. Everybody’s ready to go out there and try and prove ourselves this next week. This is another great opportunity. It’s a great opportunity at (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) to showcase who we think we can be the rest of the this season, but it’s going to start with Sunday.”
Q: On Creed Humphrey.
MAHOMES: “He’s (Creed Humphrey) a leader man. He’s someone that knows what it takes in order to go out there and have success, and he pushes other guys to match that level. A great person but a great football player and a great leader on this team and I’m glad that’s the guy that’s going to lead the offensive line.”
C CREED HUMPHREY
Q: What’s the challenge for the offensive line this week?
HUMPHREY: “For us, whoever is going to be in the game, they’re going to be ready to roll. So, for me it’s just making sure the communication is good, and everybody is on the same page, and everybody is ready to play.”
Q: What can you tell us about Houston’s defense?
HUMPHREY: “Yeah, very talented all across the board. All three levels of the defense (are) very talented (and) present a good challenge. They have great pass rushers, great players inside, great linebackers, great secondary. It presents a good challenge, and the guys are excited for it. We’re ready to get in here and work throughout this week and get the game plan figured out and show up on Sunday ready to play.”
Q: How important is the message that the “ship’s not sinking”?
HUMPHREY: “I think it’s huge. Like I said, all the games have been close. It’s a few plays here and there, and we’d be looking at different results. So, for us, it’s just about making sure we’re coming in here and being consistent and executing when we need to execute.”
CB TRENT MCDUFFIE
Q: On the position of the team and confidence in postseason play.
MCDUFFIE: “We’ve been here before. (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) is always bringing out this saying where ‘December to remember’ (and) you need to play your best football in December. Just the attitude around here is understanding where we’re at. We have a shot; we’re still in the hunt. We’ll just take it week by week and game by game and make sure we go out there and execute our game plan so that we do have a shot when it comes to playoffs.”
Q: How does the team fix all of the little things?
MCDUFFIE: “I think each group; defense, offense (and) special teams. Guys have to clean it up on their own. When you look at the games where we do really good, it’s a cohesive unit. Everybody’s playing on the same court, everybody’s doing their responsibility at a high level, and we have success that way and when guys come in and one person makes a mistake and one person over here makes a mistake and it kind of has that trickling effect, I feel like that’s sometimes when we get in trouble. Like I said, the game plan that we have, the coaches that we have and just the overall locker room that we have, the guys understand. The guys know. There isn’t anything that we hang our heads at and just try to make excuses about, we just attack each week as best as we can.”
Q: What have you seen from the Texans’ offense?