Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
December 10, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, the guys that won’t practice today are Wanya (Morris) and Jawaan (Taylor). Wanya is going to take a little time here but Jawaan is making progress, so we’ll just see how he does this week as he works through this thing. Trey (Smith) – the rest of the guys are practicing today. Look forward to the challenge of playing the Chargers a good football team (and) a great environment for a football game and our guys are going to have a good week of practice this week to get themselves ready to roll. With that, time’s yours.”
Q: Do you feel good about where Trey Smith is at?
REID: “We’ll see how he (Trey Smith) does today. He’ll be in there today though. Feeling better though.”
Q: On Trent McDuffie’s injury.
REID: “Yeah, we’ll just see how today goes. He’s (Trent McDuffie) been sore, so we’ll see how he works through the week, but he’ll go today and see what he can do.”
Q: What have you seen from the guys and their attitudes?
REID: “They want to get to work. That’s how they’re wired. So, I think they’re eager to get back on the field and get going. Everybody knows, they know where we stand right now, they know what’s taken place (and are) very aware. But they also like to work, so we’ll get back to it.”
Q: What has the pass receiver rooms been like after drops?
REID: “These guys, they’ve got good hands and they’re proud guys that normally catch the football. Things happen in this business where you might drop a ball once in a while. So, you got to go back and catch a few more balls at practice and focus in on it and we go from there.”
Q: How do you adjust versus react to dropped passes during games?
REID: “I got trust in the guys. That’s not a common thing for the guys that have had some mishaps there. They’ll work through it, that’s what you do. They’re good players and we’re always looking at it from a coach’s standpoint to put them in better positions. We’re never going to stop doing that either, try to work to their strengths.”
Q: How have you seen Rashee Rice respond to some of the mistakes he’s made on the field?
REID: “He’s (Rashee Rice) a tough dude. A young guy with a lot on his plate and he’s powering through it to the best of his ability right now and that’s how he’s going about his business. He comes to work and works. And it’s unfortunate that he’s had a couple of these drops. It’s not for a lack of effort or focus that way but to say he doesn’t have a lot of things going he has a lot of things going.”
Q: Are the drops due to defenses seeing him as the number one receiver?
REID: “No I don’t think that. I think he (Rashee Rice) understands that, and he’s had some good games too. We get locked in here on the last couple here with the drops and that’s not normal for him.”
Q: What is your confidence in Esa Pole if he starts in the upcoming game?
REID: “Good to see him (Esa Pole) again. If he’s going to be in there – he’s showed some nice things, it’s always a challenge the second time when they have tape on you. So, if you’re getting in there you better keep practicing and detailing your work.”
Q: On getting Esa Pole back.
REID: “We took him (Esa Pole) originally because we thought he would be a good player. You got to juggle the numbers which is always a challenge. So, he got poached there – taken and when he got un-poached we poached him (laughter). It was pretty simple we got him back here as quickly as we could.”
Q: What did you see from the Chargers on Monday night?
REID: “Good football team all the way around offensively and defensively. They’ve been banged up a little bit up front but they worked through it. Tough quarterback, playing aggressive football and they’re well coached. Defensively, they’re one of the top defenses – I know I say this every week, but we’ve been playing some good defenses and they’re one of the top defenses in a few of those categories that are important so it’s a nice challenge.”
Q: Do you look at any of the media regarding playoff scenarios?
REID: “No. You need to win games is what you have to do so focus straight ahead on that. I’ve been here before and you bear down, and you go (and) try to keep all of that (hand gestures out). (General Manager) Brett Veach, he can deal with all of that; he likes all of that. I’m (gestures straight forward).”
Q: On Patrick Mahomes as a leader during tough times.
REID: “He’s (Patrick Mahomes) great. He’s coming to work, and he keeps his head up at all times and understands he’s in a leadership position and he’s a good leader. Nothing you can do but try to get better. If you’re hanging your head, you’re not getting any better, surely not making anybody – including the whole team, you’re not making them better.”
Q: Where are you guys at offensively right now?
REID: “We’ve been up and down, so we need more consistency and that’s what we’re striving to get here now. We’ve had some great days, great plays but you have to do it for four quarters in this business, so we’ve got to be more consistent.”
Q: What would you like to see from Dameon Pierce this week in practice?
REID: “I think he’s (Dameon Pierce) still getting acclimated to everything here. I like the kid. I can tell he’s sharp and into it. We don’t have any injuries going on so the guys that know the stuff are playing right now. But I sure like the way he goes about his business. You see why he’s a good player.”
Q: On Dameon Pierce making the team next season.
REID: “Sure, potentially. It seems like he’s (Dameon Pierce) all in on things, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. He’s been welcomed here that way.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
December 10, 2025
QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: On if his pass-catchers are going to try and keep fighting.
MAHOMES: “Just knowing the guys, the mindset that they have is they’re going to try and get better and try and go out there and win football games. At the end of the day, that’s what we got to do, it’s everybody. It’s throwing the ball in the right spots, catching the ball, it’s blocking, it’s defense playing like they did this last game and then just trying to find ways to win. That’s what this is all about. It doesn’t always have to be pretty, but you have to find ways to win football games, and that’s something we have to be better at.”
Q: On if he feels the team’s record when on the field.
MAHOMES: “We understand we got to win, that’s obvious. You got to win the football game. Whatever it takes. We say that every week, but obviously, you’re at that back-against-the-wall type spot where you’re playing a team that you’re chasing that has a big lead in front of you, so you have to find a way to win. You have to have that mindset when you step on the football field.”
Q: What stood out the most when looking at film from this last game?
MAHOMES: “Just little things here and there. Just trying to keep drives going, and there’s times to be aggressive (and) there’s times to just get the ball out of your hand and let guys make plays. I think that was something when I looked back at myself is there were certain times in certain spots of the game where I could’ve taken a completion instead of trying to go for the home run shot. That’s stuff that I have to continue to get better at.”
Q: On the Chargers defense from Week 1 to now.
MAHOMES: “There’s differences and there’s the same. You get better as the season goes on. You learn about yourself, and they (Los Angeles Chargers) did a good job of the defensive line playing as a unit, getting to the quarterback, the linebackers fly around with speed and obviously (Chargers S) Derwin (James Jr.) can play the secondary or in the box as well. They do a great job of playing complementary football together as a defense and then they have a great defensive coordinator (Jesse Minter). It’s a heck of a challenge for us, and we’re excited for it.”
Q: What gives you the confidence to win four games in a row?
MAHOMES: “Just kind of how I’m wired. I believe that this team can win any football game, but we have to come and show that. It should be a great challenge for us, and we understand that. We’ll have to have a great week of practice (and) try to prepare ourselves and just try to go win it on Sunday.”
Q: On keeping everyone positive.
MAHOMES: “You just have to make sure you have a great day of practice. We had a great walkthrough (that) we just came from. Now it’s just going into practice and having a great day at practice, getting extra work in with the guys on the sideline like I always do and then when you’re in that practice you have conversations with guys and keep them in the right mindset. I haven’t had any looks at seeing guys down. Obviously, you want to win and guys hate losing, but at the end of the day, we know that we have to handle our business first. We have to win the football games and then let the rest handle itself.”
Q: On the offensive line.
MAHOMES: “I thought they did a great job. That’s a great defensive line with a lot of guys coming in – in the game as well and then stepping up. I thought they did a great job of fighting and battling and giving me time to make some of these throws down the field. They’ll have to continue that. This is another great challenge for them and hopefully we get some guys back as well. It’ll be a great challenge for us as an offense to go up against this defense.”
Q: On the solution to attacking man coverage.
MAHOMES: “We have to keep giving them different looks and different things to beat the man coverage as far as giving our guys opportunities to get themselves open and then what will be important is getting with our guys and know what’s their best routes against man coverage and getting them those routes in the right situation. That’s stuff that we’ve done and we go through waves of being able to beat it then teams obviously adjust and stuff like that so we have to make those adjustments as well again and showcase that we can beat the man coverage and then whenever they get in zone, showcase we can beat that as well.”
Q: Did you gain confidence in the offensive line as the game went on?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, for sure. I think they (offensive line) did a great job in general. I have trust in those guys but until you’re out there on the football field, you never know and I thought they did a great job against a great defensive line. Just continue to build more and more trust with them (and) giving them more chances so I can give receivers better chances down the field.”
Q: On Texas Tech Football.
MAHOMES: “It’s just really cool because obviously you can say you’re going to do things and you can put money into it, but you have to build the culture. You have to build the culture of what it’s about. You can see it when they play football is that they truly love each other. For them to be able to get into the playoffs, win the Big 12 Championship which I know was their first goal (and) having an opportunity to go compete for a national championship, I’m excited to watch them go through that process.”
Q: Have you enjoyed being a part of Texas Tech NIL?
MAHOMES: “They definitely have shown me love, always have. I’ve done some helping out with NIL stuff, but they’ll put my name on a room that I haven’t done anything to even put on the room (laughter). They definitely show me love (and) it kind of goes vice versa. I really like to see the people that are in charge there and how they’ve had success because of the right people. (Texas Tech Football Head) Coach (Joey) McGuire, (Texas Tech Director of Athletics) Kirby Hocutt (and) (Texas Tech Quarterback) Behren Morton playing quarterback. All these guys have gone through the process of building the program. It’s cool to see them have success along with the other guys and how they’ve all bought into the brand.”
Q: On the culture with the Chiefs.
MAHOMES: “You’re going to have to. We’re in an unprecedented territory. Someplace that we haven’t been since I’ve been here. I think you lean on the guys that have battled through adversity and came out better on the other side. That’s Chris (Jones), Trav (Kelce) (and) all of these guys that have won championships. It hasn’t always been pretty, but it’ll really test us to see what type of character we are and I think we got the guys in the room to do it.”
Q: On Kevin Durant defending his recent criticism.
MAHOMES: “Any time you get any compliment from one of the greats of any profession, it’s special. I still have a long ways to go. I always say I have a lot left in my career, but we’ve built something special here in Kansas City and I don’t take that for granted. We’re going to go out there and execute it and do whatever we can to keep building as my career goes on.”
Q: Do you draw on different things for motivation?
MAHOMES: “I always want to win, so it’s not like I have to draw too far but when I look at it now, I don’t know what the percentages are but I know they’re not high and I think it’d be special if we get to the playoffs and can make a run so why not give ourselves a chance to do that and we have to start by winning a football game so that’s what we’ll start at.”
LB DRUE TRANQUILL
Q: On the inspired second half defense against the Texans. How do you bring it against the Chargers?
TRANQUILL: “We’re going to need it at noon on Sunday. We’re going to have to keep bringing it in all three phases. We have to at this point, or it will be over for us.”
Q: The Chiefs defense is still one of the better defenses in the league but there has been issues on third and long. How do you reconcile the success with issues in big moments?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, we’ve had success. The way I chalk it up is we’ve got to be able to get off the field on third down in some of the scenarios and we’ve got to force some turnovers. I think both of those areas we can be better at as a defense and getting the ball back to Patrick (Mahomes). I think early in the year we were really good in the turnover margin and down this middle to last stretch we haven’t been as good in the turnover margin. That’s an offense, defense and special teams statistic. So, we certainly have to home in on that in these last four games and hopefully into the playoffs as well.”
Q: On the Chargers offense.
TRANQUILL: “They have good personnel. Obviously, we know about the quarterback (Justin Herbert) and the toughness he has exhibited and how good of a player he is. He gets the ball to all these different guys. They’ve got the emerging rookie tight end (Oronde Gadsden), they’ve got all the receivers obviously, got the rookie running back back (Omarion Hampton). Coach (Chargers Defensive Coordinator Greg) Roman (and Chargers Head) Coach (Jim) Harbaugh they put a good plan together every week. They may challenge you in a lot of different areas and keep you on your toes.”
WR XAVIER WORTHY
Q: What is the receiving room like after that last performance?
WORTHY: “We’re a tight group, so everybody’s sticking together. Obviously working on the things we need to work on and get better.”
Q: On his foundation that he started in Kansas City.
WORTHY: “Wherever I touch, I want to be able to leave a mark so coming to Kansas City changed my life, so I want to do something to be able to change the people’s lives in Kansas City. My foundation is helping single moms so being able to give them tools to make them a better parent or a better dad or make the kid have a memory that could change their life. Just being able to do that for them.”
Q: On having a great game against the Chargers.