Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
September 24, 2025
HEAD COACH ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, I don’t have any injuries for you. Everybody’s going to practice today, so that’s a positive. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Ravens. (They’re a) good football team, we’ve played them the last couple of years. We think they know us, and we know them, pretty much, so it should be heck of a battle. Look forward to that challenge and look forward to coming back here to (GEHA Field at) Arrowhead (Stadium) and playing. Anyways, with that time is yours.”
Q: On the play Isiah Pacheo was running lateral.
REID: “It was just the release on it. We weren’t trying – not once or twice. We don’t want that. He (Isiah Pacheco) was trying to chip on the tackle and got caught up in there and it bumped him out too wide. We’ll fix that.”
Q: Has optimism grown for the potential return of Xavier Worthy this week?
REID: “Yeah.”
Q: How important is it to see Xavier Worthy in practice?
REID: “Yeah, I mean we will just evaluate him (Xavier Worthy) and take it day by day. But he feels good, so we’ll see.”
Q: How have you guys’ adjusted week in and week out with rotations in the wide receiver room?
REID: “I think one of the great things is that Pat (Mahomes) has been able to get some game time with a couple of guys he didn’t have a lot of game time with between Hollywood (Brown) and 80 (Tyquan Thornton). I think it’s a positive thing and then when the other guys come in, then he’s got experience with them. I look at the production of the other two guys, Hollywood and Thornton, and it’s been – I think that’s a real positive for the team going down the road here.”
Q: On Patrick Mahomes throwing deeper this season.
REID: “We practiced it. You’ve got to practice that. The percentages go down on long balls anyways compared to the short intermediate gains the further you go down the field. So, you’ve got to put in the time there and practice it and as coaches we got to make sure we give them an opportunity to do that before game time. We spent a little bit more time with that, so it would be a part of the offense. And then he (Patrick Mahomes) could get used to these guys doing the routes.”
Q: After halftime did you guys come out more confident offensively?
REID: “Yeah, I thought it was better the second half for sure. It ended on a good note that way, but you’ve got to build on that, when you’re going against a good defense. So, you got to make sure we take care of business this week. Make sure we detail our work.”
Q: What do you see from the Ravens defensively?
REID: “Well (Defensive Coordinator Zach) Orr, he’s a good one – defensive coordinator. He brings guys from all over when needed and at the same time they play good sound defense on top of that. They’ve got good players. I’m sure he will have some change ups from what he did with us last time. We’ll just have to adjust to it. But he does a nice job with that defense (and) he has a lot of flexibility there of what he can do and with the players.”
Q: What do you expect from the Ravens?
REID: “They’re a tough football team. It should be a good tough football game, and that’s the way you prepare yourself, sure.”
Q: On Jawaan Taylor and penalties.
REID: “Yeah, when he doesn’t have the penalties, his percentage has been good. You can argue (he is) one of the better tackles in his pass protection game. So, I’m conscious of that, and then I’ll take care of it from there.”
Q: Are you surprised that the offensive line hasn’t been more effective with the running game?
REID: “I thought that this past week was one of their better games. I thought they came together there and did some good things (with the) run game and pass (game).”
Q: What does JuJu Smith-Schuster bring to the wide receiver room?
REID: “He’s (JuJu Smith-Schuster) great in the room as a leader, a good man, works hard and does things the right way. He’s not afraid to speak up when he sees something, which is great for the young guys here. Then he’s a good football player, he understands space and big bodies. He’s not afraid to go anywhere on the football field or anybody. So, that’s his benefit there.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
September 24, 2025
Q: On taking more shots down the field.
MAHOMES: “I think just with the guys that we have, I’ve kind of put it on myself to give guys chances down the field and even though we haven’t performed offensively as a whole, I think the entire year so far, as far as efficient and scoring points the way we want to, we’ve made an emphasis to give guys chances down the field to make plays and guys have made those plays. That started in training camp (and) that started in OTAs. I told guys to hold me accountable, and I wanted to hold myself accountable that I give the guys chances to make plays and they’re proving that they can make them.”
Q: How does it feel to wind-up on your throws?
MAHOMES: “It’s still something that I have to continue to get better and better at. I think that there’s more opportunities to make these plays in the games and these first few weeks. I think it just gives me the confidence when guys like Tyquan (Thornton) come down with the catch that he did. That I can keep forcing the ball down the field and let them make plays. We’ll continue to get better and better at that as well as the rest of the offense, but it’s always super exciting when you get a chance to throw the ball down the field.”
Q: How have you been able to maintain each receiver that steps into a new role to stay within the system?
MAHOMES: “Obviously, there’s things here and there that you have to work on, but I think more than anything the guys are putting in the work during the week. I think for us at the end of the day whenever we start getting these guys back like Xavier (Worthy) and Rashee (Rice) when he gets back it’s going to make us even better because guys had to step up and they have, and they’ve stepped up and made plays and you’ve seen Hollywood (Brown), you’ve seen JuJu (Smith-Schuster) (and) you’ve seen Tyquan (Thornton) all step up into their roles and have even bigger roles within the offense. We’ll continue to get better and better as the season goes, but it’ll be an important week this week.”
Q: What does JuJu Smith-Schuster mean to the wide receiver room?
MAHOMES: “He’s (JuJu Smith-Schuster) kinda like the leader of those guys. He’s someone who has been there and done it. He’s won the Super Bowl, he’s had big 1,000 yard receiving seasons (and) he’s been in all different types of offenses, so he can be that guy that they lean on and ask questions to and then I think he does a great job when his number gets called in the game to make the plays happen and being available whenever I need someone to throw to. (He) has a good feel for the defenses and what the defenses are presenting so he’s someone that is super important to that room in general, but he’s stepped up whenever we needed him to these first few weeks and made plays happen.”
Q: What signs did you see in the second half that show the offense is getting closer?
MAHOMES: “I think just the execution. We cleaned up our execution. I got the ball out, made the right decisions and the right throws. I think that’s the most important thing, just making the throws (and) making the throws whenever they are there. Getting the ball out of my hand and letting guys make plays happen. I did that in the second half, and the only drive that we didn’t score was when I missed Tyquan (Thornton). It just proves that if you make the throws that the offense can be productive and can have the progress that we want, I just gotta go out and make the plays happen.”
Q: On being blitzed more.
MAHOMES: “I think you see that we’re able to throw the ball down the field a little bit more now because of that. It’s just a product of the teams that we played and them testing our young offensive linemen. I think our offensive line has done a great job at picking up those blitzes and giving me opportunities. That’s why you’ve been able to see some of these deep shots down the field and you gotta be able to execute and showcase that you can hit those throws and if you do that, they’ll adjust then we have to adjust as well. That’s what’s beautiful about the NFL is that you have to be able to adjust on the fly and make things happen.”
Q: How much input do you have on the plays that go into the playbook for the game?
MAHOMES: “(Head) Coach (Andy) Reid gives me free roam that if I don’t like a play to just tell him and he’ll take them out of there. We do a good job; they communicate with me throughout the week. It starts yesterday or even the day before on Monday of just kinda just talking about stuff that they’re thinking about, and I communicate what I’m seeing, and I trust in Coach Reid that he’s going to make the game plan the way that he has done for a long time now and he always makes great ones. I think more than anything is trusting in him and telling him whenever I’m not feeling the play that I’m not feeling.”
Q: Has it evolved over time?
MAHOMES: “Stuff evolves for sure just because I’ve seen more and more defenses and know the team more and more and know what we’re trying to do. I think more than anything the trust that he (Head Coach Andy Reid) has with me has gotten even more and more just throughout the years and a lot of those times, especially when I go to the sideline there before a timeout or a review with the Tyquan (Thornton) play and then we talk about it and I tell him a play that I like (and) he’ll call it. He has that trust in me that I’m seeing it right out on the football field and he gives me a chance to go out there and make it happen.”
Q: On having Rashee Rice back in the facility.
MAHOMES: “It’s huge. Just having a guy that you work with every single week all training camp (and) all offseason and then having him (Rashee Rice) back in the building, he always has a smile on his face and you can tell the guys (that) they like him and kinda like JuJu (Smith-Schuster) he’s kinda been one of those guys that has been here and he’s won a Super Bowl and even though he’s young, he can be a leader for those guys in the room of how we work and how we get after things. Obviously, he can’t practice but he can be in the meetings listening to stuff that we’re working on. (He) definitely gives a boost to the whole receiving room and the whole offense.”
Q: What are your conversations like with the referees in the game?
MAHOMES: “More than anything, they’re just communicating different things that they’re seeing, and you might ask alignment stuff or the motion type things and the timings and stuff like that just to make sure that we’re doing everything the right way and everything the way that we’re supposed to. That’s stuff that we have to continue to get better and better at. But just keeping an open dialogue because those guys are trying to make the game go as smoothly as possible and want us to go out there and let the players dictate the game and so we try and have that open communication with them and I think that is kinda like every QB in the league, you have those communications like that.”
Q: Do you feel like the running game has momentum?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, we want to be balanced. Every team in the NFL does and I thought that this last week we did a better job at running the ball and I thought the offensive line did a good job of doing the run blocking together and the chemistry building between them and I know that you saw Monday night at the Ravens, but they’re a prideful group. I don’t think they’re gonna be very happy with the film, and they’re going to come out with the mentality of stopping the run, so it’ll be a great test for us. To be able to go up there and to run the football and then to be able to pass off of it will be important to us. Stay balanced and go up against a team that is going to be as hungry as we are. It’ll be a great football game this weekend.”
Q: Is your trust increasing the offensive line over the first three weeks?
MAHOMES: “100%. I think that’s been huge. This last defensive line that we played had all type of first rounders (and) all type of talent and our offensive line did a great job at giving me time to throw the ball down the field and my feet you can tell are a little more calm because I understand that these guys can protect and they can get me time to make these throws and I’ll continue to get better and better at that and try and make some of these throws more accurate down the field and instead of hitting one to two a game, making that three to four and then five to six and then defenses will back up and it will help us out with other stuff within the offense. I’m just excited for where this offense is going, I know it hasn’t been a perfect product that we put out there so far but there’s a lot of good too.”
Q: How do you approach this week from an execution and mentality standpoint?
MAHOMES: “For us, we got to start faster. Every game we’ve kind of said that, and we haven’t really got to do that. We were moving the ball early in the game last week, but we were settling with field goals and when you play teams that are really good and have dynamic quarterbacks like the Ravens do, you got to turn those into touchdowns. That will not only put pressure on them, but it unleashes (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Spags to be able to do what he wants to do, and you always see when we get leads, he’s a great finisher. He’s a great closer of being able to give you different looks and stuff like that. We gotta take pressure off our defense and put pressure onto them by starting faster, and we can be better at that this week.”
Q: On what was going through his head when he threw backwards to Isiah Pacheco.
MAHOMES: “I just got to see where I’m throwing before I throw it. We called a play, and you don’t want those short completions in that two-minute type tempo. We say ‘take the incompletion,’ and so I kind of had went to burn it at his feet and then seeing him as I was throwing it, obviously he was backwards and that’s why I knew immediately when I threw it. You’ve got to see the guy before you throw it there. I’m obviously trying to throw it out to him in the flat and everything like that. But I got to see where he is at. He was trying to chip and give me some time to throw down the field. Luckily, I was able to get the ball back and the defense was able to get us a huge stop for us there at the end of the half. But I have to be better at not just throwing it blindly, just knowing where those guys are before I throw it at their feet.”
Q: Are there any passes you wanted back versus just a matter of communication.
MAHOMES: “The one that I for sure wanted back was the post one before the half. I knew that once Tyquan (Thornton) won I knew that the backside guy had gotten held by the route we had, the backside safety. I could probably put that ball out further, I threw it more across the field but with the leverage that the corner had I wish I would have thrown it further and just let Tyquan run underneath it, it probably (would’ve been) a touchdown if I did that. Then the one that was on the third and short was more of a miss communication. If I had more time, I could’ve sold it a little more but it was a run play, so I didn’t want linemen down field so I wanted Tyquan’s eyes back a little bit earlier but he sees the open space and so that is just communication stuff that we can work on. He’s in a bigger role and stuff that he’s never done before, so that will be important. Obviously, we missed a touchdown and still win the game, and he’ll learn from that, and we will hit it next time we get the opportunity.”
DE GEORGE KARLAFTIS
Q: On Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and what he does for the defense.
KARLAFTIS: “Yeah, he’s (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) such a master at what he does. In game planning, knowing what the opponents (are) going to do and the game theory side of it. ‘I think that he thinks I’m going to do this’, type thing. He’s really really good at that. He’s incredible at game planning, putting guys in positions to make plays, and playing to our strengths. Just awesome at what he does, and we’ve had a lot of success because of him.”
Q: What does it take to play against Lamar Jackson?
KARLAFTIS: “It takes all 11 I can tell you that (laughs). We got so much respect for the dude, not just him but their whole offense, really their whole team. They’re tough; they do stuff the right way. Lamar specifically is so athletic, but he’s such an accurate quarterback. I don’t think he gets enough respect for that. He really can do it all, and I’ve talked about this before, he’s one of those elite quarterbacks that really can do it all, he’s MVP and all this stuff. Definitely a lot of respect for him, and it’s going to take everything we got to stop him.”
Q: How’s the preparation for RB Derrick Henry?
KARLAFTIS: “When you play against a guy like that (Ravens RB Derrick Henry) you can’t make any mistakes. If one guy is out of your gap, he’s gone. It’s all about being detailed in the run game, being detailed and executing your assignment (and) trusting the scheme of the coach and your responsibility and executing. Just like I said he’s a beast, he can make all the plays, he can make everything happen. Big runs, we want to avoid that obviously and executing our scheme and playing to the best of our abilities.”
WR TYQUAN THORNTON
Q: How much have you enjoyed the opportunity to play?
THORNTON: “Man, it’s fun man. Going out there and fighting with my guys. Going out there and competing (and) playing the game, I enjoy it a lot.”
Q: How much are you still learning?
THORNTON: “I’m learning a lot. I learn every day. I learn a little bit from my teammates – taking the little things from some of the veteran players on how I can be better at the little things and going out there each and every day on the practice field and challenging myself.”
Q: What’s different about tracking and adjusting to Patrick Mahomes’ deep ball?