🏈 Chiefs Quotes: 11-5-26

Chiefs Coordinator Quotes

November 5, 2026

ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB

Q: When you say it's a confidence thing with K Harrison Butker, how do you work on that?

TOUB: “You start with practice and you get them—You try to put them in those situations. You create hard kicks. You move them around where he's having troubles, and you work on that. You talk to guys. Like, we have (K Justin) Tucker here, who's an experienced guy. What do you see? You talk to other people out there. I mean, you exhaust every possibility to get this guy right. And that's what we're doing right now. We're not just going to pull the plug.”

Q: On choosing between K Harrison Butker and K Justin Tucker?

TOUB: “Because (K Harrison) Butker’s our kicker. Butker, he's on our team, and we're paying Butker. And Butker has won a lot of football games for us. Butker is a champion. And he deserves the right to be exhausted on this thing, and we're going to exhaust every possibility with him.”

Q: Will RB Emmett Johnson get more opportunities on kickoff returns?

TOUB: “I mean, (RB Emmett Johnson) he's getting every opportunity. He's getting every opportunity back there as a kickoff return guy. I think teams are going to try to kick it away from him. That could happen because he is dangerous, and every time he touches it, something good is going to happen.”

Q: On P Matt Araiza’s current performance.

TOUB: “Yeah, I think a little bit of luck, too. (P Matt Araiza) He hit a great kick because the returner was way out to the left. He tried to yank one away from him to the right, and it ended up bouncing into the end zone. I thought that was just a bad luck deal. He's still in a good space. He had two touchbacks in the game, which is not what we like, but he's having a good year right now.”

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO

OPENING STATEMENT: “Good morning. I don't have a lot. Listen, after what happened last week, we're moving on to the Jets, because that's what we've got to do. I had to flush it. Wasn't easy. It was sickening, but we're going to move on to the Jets.”

Q: What about the loss was sickening?

SPAGNUOLO: “Well, listen, we as a group, as a unit, we take a lot of pride. We talked about it. Guys talked about it in the locker room after. I didn't have to say anything. You have an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. The responsibility falls on the defense to make sure you win the game, and we didn't do that. And I know, listen, everybody wanted to score at the end, and (QB) Patrick (Mahomes) has bailed us out a number of times in the last eight years I've been here, but we don't like to put the offense in that situation. So that's why it was kind of felt that way.”

Q: Do you see a bigger role going forward for DB Jadon Canady?

SPAGNUOLO: “I think so. I mean, listen, (DB Jadon Canady) he was forced into the workload because of (CB L’Jarius) LJ Sneed's situation, but we've always felt like he's kind of done this as a rookie. He's a little bit like (CB) Chris Roland-Wallace in that he plays a number of different positions. We've actually played him at safety at training camp. He's not in that role right now but the nickel, the corner, and he's a real sharp guy. We knew that when we drafted him, and that's proven to be true and so in a week, we kind of had to get ready. We didn't know where LJ was. I thought he did a nice job in grasping the game plan. I really like when he's out there for a young guy, he takes command of communication, and that's not easy for a young guy going in with a bunch of vets.”

Q: How can the defense develop a killer instinct when holding a lead?

SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, it's funny you use those two words because that was on my objective going into this game, that if we are fortunate enough, again, to get in that situation, because it doesn't always happen that way. I mean, we might be playing from behind in this game, and then it's a whole different deal. But yeah, we talked as a group on Tuesday about—I asked everybody to look in the mirror and ask themselves this question. Did you let up after three straight, I think it was a four play, and a three play, and a three play, and did we let up? Did we lose our edge? Did we lack the killer instinct? And everybody had, I didn't—nobody was talking, but I think we all got to look at that. Did I call it differently? Does it need to be called differently? And so, we had that conversation and hopefully, we will be presented with that situation again. Hopefully, we can rise up and make those plays.”

Q: On the Jets rushing attack and RB Braelon Allen.

SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, well, (RB Braelon) Allen has had four really good games, and it feels like they want to feature the running back no matter who's back there. I think they're a little bit different and yet I think they both run the scheme really well. (Jets Offensive Coordinator) Frank (Reich), I think is one of those guys that's not going to get away from running the football unless we were lucky enough to get the game that they had to. But I was just talking about that earlier today that if we don't burr up on the run and we played the run pretty good, we’ve got to continue to do that to get them in those throwing situations. But I think he looks (Ravens RB) Derrick Henry-ish to me sometimes. He's a big guy. So, we’ve got to be on point tackling.”

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ERIC BIENIEMY

OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, good afternoon. Hope all is well. Coming off a tough loss against an AFC West divisional opponent. Congrats to them. They did an outstanding job of playing defense when they needed to, and we did an awful job of executing our offense when we needed to be at our best. But with that said, I'm all ears.”

Q: Will RB Emmett Johnson get more carries going forward?

BIENIEMY: “(RB) Emmett (Johnson) will continue getting his reps just like he normally does. Emmett did an outstanding job of performing. I thought Emmett made the most of his opportunities, and that's what you want out of any player. Anytime their number's called, making sure that you're ready for that challenge and you excel when that moment defines itself.”

Q: How do you develop the offense’s killer instinct to put away games with a lead in the fourth quarter?

BIENIEMY: “It's exactly what I'm discussing, being poised. Understanding that I can't take anything for granted. It's about maximizing the opportunity. Every day when you walk in this building, you’ve got to have a plan. How am I going to attack the weight room? If I'm getting treatment, how am I going to attack treatment? Okay, how am I going to make sure that I can get better in this particular scheme? What are some of the little things that I need to do extra that's going to help me to grow and be better in these game-defining moments? The best thing is just making sure that you have a plan and that you're attacking that plan because sometimes just in everyday life, and it doesn't matter what profession that we're in, sometimes we take those little things for granted because we really haven't been exploited. But now, seeing it live up close in person and having a bird's-eye view of it, I think it's gotten everybody's attention. And so, one thing, collectively as an offensive unit, we're learning. We can't take the little things for granted because the little things come back to bite you in the behind.”

Q: On coaching up WR Cyrus Allen after a mistake.

BIENIEMY: “That’s an example. (WR) Cyrus (Allen) played fast the entire game. That one particular moment could have been a game-defining moment. So, the moral of the story, you can't take anything for granted. You’ve got to play every play as if it's your last play, and every play is by far the most important and so that's the lesson. You get to see it on tape. You're presenting that in front of your teammates and so that's just something that we’ve got to be better at. But as we sit here and we discuss this, and I've said this before, we're a young football team and we're learning how to play together. We're growing. Don't get me wrong. We’ve got some veterans, right? (QB Patrick) Pat's (Mahomes) been around for 10 years. (TE Travis) Kelce has been around for 13, 14 years now, but other than that, we're a very young team. And so, it's our job as a coaching staff to make sure that we're maximizing these opportunities to teach our guys how to become a consistent professional. That's our job. We wear every hat that is available, whether it's a father figure, whether it's a disciplinarian, whether it's a coach, whether it's a friend, whether it's just an ear. We have to wear all those particular hats, and we’ve got to help our guys to grow but on top of that, be truthful and honest. Let them know and if we're doing that, guess what? We're going to be much better because of it, and I think because of what took place last week, we will be much better because of it.”

Q: What do you see defensively out of the Jets?

BIENIEMY: “The Jets are pretty good. They've had a number of first-round draft picks. The talent stands out. They’ve got a kid by the name, I say kid, a grown man by the name of (LB) Demario Davis, who's in the middle, who mans the middle of that field as a linebacker, and he's been in this league for a very long time. He does an outstanding job of getting those guys lined up. They play extremely hard. They play fast and (Jets Head Coach Aaron) A.G. (Glenn), obviously, they haven't had the best of luck, but when you turn that tape on, they get your attention. And so, our job is to make sure that our guys are ready and prepared mentally and physically, just like each and every week. But when it's all said and done, what it is going to come down to is our execution, our drive, alright, and our will to inflict on this opponent for this particular weekend.”

Chiefs Player Quotes

November 5, 2026

DT CHRIS JONES

Q: What's the feeling working into this week about the disappointment of not being able to get those stops you needed against Denver?

JONES: “I don't want to emphasize that in detail. 11 points going into the fourth quarter, put that on defense. We'll have a better outing this week.”

Q: How long does a loss stick with you?

JONES: “24 hours, man. You can't do it alone. You’ve got another team to prepare for. You’ve got the Jets coming in. So, 24 hours, watch film, look at your mistakes, areas you can be better at, and then move forward.”

Q: Did the game feel different to you at all?