QB PATRICK MAHOMES
Q: Are you ready for the cold Saturday?
MAHOMES: “I mean yeah, what could be better? Playing playoff football in January at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s going to be cold; it is what it is, I’d rather be playing a football game than chasing my kids around the backyard. I’ll have a little bit of the adrenaline rush and I’m excited for it.”
Q: As a Texas native how have you adapted to the cold weather over the years?
MAHOMES: “Practicing with (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid you kind of have to. If there’s an opportunity to go outside, he’s going to have you outside. He’ll have the doors open in the indoor to let the cold air in. I’ve realized that practice in the cold is a lot harder than playing in the cold – just with the heaters and stuff that you have on the sideline. You just adapt to it, but like you said, I grew up in Texas and didn’t get any games like this. I honestly kind of appreciate it. It’s cool to be at a stadium like this, the cold weather, you know you’re really playing football.”
Q: Did you feel a benefit getting a week off of playing last week?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, you just get healthy. I think that’s the biggest thing. Everyone is a little banged up here at the end of the season, so to get guys rested and preparing their bodies, I thought, it was a boost just to get to watch these other guys who work day in and day out and don’t get those opportunities. They got to get those opportunities and they found a way to win a football game, so it definitely was exciting for me.”
Q: Did you feel like you needed a physical break with small injuries?
MAHOMES: “I’m getting old man; I need a break every once and a while (laughter). Hopefully in future seasons I’m going to try to get that bye but this year we didn’t get the opportunity to get it. We had whatever you want to call it – the rest – and were able to watch some other guys go out there and succeed.”
Q: Does how you got to the playoffs feel any different this year?
MAHOMES: “Not really. We played Wild Card Weekend a couple of years ago against the Steelers and were able to win that game. You’ve just got to be prepared to go, now everybody’s record – there is no record, everyone is going out there to play and win games, everybody believes they can win the Super Bowl. This is when the best football is played, all the mistakes are magnified but all the successes are magnified. You go out with the mentality that I’m going to take it one play at a time, put my best effort forward and see what happens.”
Q: Head Coach Andy Reid said you spent some time last week preparing for possible playoff opponents. Can you take us through what that looked like?
MAHOMES: “I watched a couple games from each team that we had the chance of playing. Just got a head start in that sense. Once we know who we were playing – I mean we didn’t really know until basically we landed – I got a good night’s rest, had a long day yesterday watching a ton of film on Miami, getting the game plan down. Now you’re back to your regular schedule. You try to go over all the finer details and the small points, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go out there and play. (The) coaches will get us prepared and we’ll go out and play our best football.”
Q: Were you all watching the Dolphins-Bills game on the plane?
MAHOMES: “No, the Wi-Fi wasn’t really working. We were catching – I could see the highlights of the game, but you couldn’t keep the live stream going. We’ve got to work on that (laugher). We definitely kept up with it, we just didn’t necessarily watch it live like that.”
Q: What do you see differently in the Dolphins now from when you played them in Germany?
MAHOMES: “I think we just have to have better execution throughout the entire game. We had a good first half, but in the second half we sputtered a little bit, we missed a couple of deep shots here and there. They’re a good defense, they have a great defensive coordinator in Coach (Vic) Fangio who I know really well. He’s done a great job of having different schemes every time I play against him. They have a lot of guys that play extremely hard, they’ll be a great challenge for us, it’s a full team, it’s a great football team – that’s what you get in the playoffs, every team is a great football team. Whoever plays the best that day wins.”
Q: What does it take to be a ‘Snow game guy’ like you’ve mentioned in the past?
MAHOMES: “I think you just go out there and play. At the end of the day, you go out there and play, if you win you can call yourself a snow game guy. I’ve got to continue to find ways to win these games, I lost the last one in Denver, so I need to find a way to win this one.”
Q: What do you remember about your first snow game against Indianapolis?
MAHOMES: “It was very windy that day, I remember that. From the beginning of the game, you could see the wind and everything like that. Like I said, the adrenaline rush gives you that warmness that you’re seeking. You have heaters on the sideline. People make it a big deal, but at the end of the day you just go out there and play football. If you love it, you’ll be able to go out there and play your best football at the best time of the year to play it.”
Q: What kicks in for the playoffs? Is there a new energy?
MAHOMES: “I think it’s just everything you’ve worked for all season long is on the line. That’s basically it. Everybody is in the same position. When you put in the time and effort every single day and you spend time away from your family, it’s for these moments. It excites me to have that pressure on you and to be able to go out there and perform at the highest level. This is what you watch growing up – even me who wasn’t necessarily the biggest football fan growing up – you watch these playoff games. You get to go out there and have the opportunity to go out and play in them and you never know when you’re going to get another one. I’m excited for it.”
Q: Was there anything in the Bengals game that gave you confidence in the offense?
MAHOMES: “That’s still a really good defense. Cincy, they have great pass rushers, great linebackers, a great secondary. I thought we did a great job moving the football. Obviously, we have to continue to get better in the redzone. You watch the tape, we did a good job, guys were executing at a high level, we missed a couple of deep shots – we hit a couple of deep shots, we’re going to have to hit those in order to win this game this weekend, I’m excited for it.”
Q: Have you talked to Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill?
MAHOMES: “I have not heard from (Dolphins WR) Tyreek (Hill) this week, I don’t know if we’ll be talking this week. But I talk to him every once in a while. He’ll be excited to come to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. This week I won’t talk to him as much I’ll say.”
Q: Has your relationship with Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill changed since he has left?
MAHOMES: “We’re competitors. You’ve seen me with guys like (Raiders DE) Maxx Crosby, you see me – I have that fire, that competitive fire on the football field, he’s the same way, that’s what makes him so great. We’re still friends in the offseason and everything like that, but when you play on the field you’re trying to compete to win. That’s just how it is. I’m excited for the opportunity for our defense, I’m excited for the opportunity for our team to go against a great football team.”
Q: How confident are you that the offense can find another gear?
MAHOMES: “I’m extremely confident. Not only in our offense, but in our football team. You see how the defense is playing, offensively I feel like we’re going to play our best football at the right time. I think if we can just score – we don’t even have to score too many points if we can just score enough points our defense will shut the door and we can find a way to get the win.”
Q: How can you use the adversity that you’ve had over the season?
MAHOMES: “We play in a lot of big games, playing games on short rest, we play in night games, whatever it is. I think just having that experience is going to help us. Having those games where not everything is going your way, and you have to find a way to pull through and get a win. A lot of guys on this team have done that. The step up that you always see going into the playoffs, it will be a step up, but I think we can make it even a little bit smaller because we’ve been in games like this. Just being able to rely on our experiences and go out there and be the best team we can be and play our best football and see what happens.”
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: Are you ready for the cold Saturday, how do you keep it from being a distraction?
JONES: “Most importantly, we’re in the playoffs, we’re grateful for that. We know what’s at stake. It can be negative 13-degree weather, I think we’re just excited to be here with this opportunity ahead of us. I think cold – it’s cold all the time here, it shouldn’t play a factor. Snowing one day, hot the next day. Hopefully it warms up a little bit before the game, but if not, we’ll be prepared to play in whatever the universe gives us.”
Q: Patrick Mahomes has expressed confidence in the defense, does that do anything for you guys?
JONES: “I mean it’s a team effort collectively. If the offense doesn’t score 40 points the defense has to hold them to under 10. If the offense does score 40 points, we still have to hold them. Whether the offense scores or not it still comes down to the defense still has to hold the (opposing) offense to score less and not give them huge chunk plays. We go into every game with that mind frame as a defense to hold the offense to minimum yardage, points and whatever else we can.”
Q: Do the Dolphins look any different from when you played them before?
JONES: “They’re a good team. You look at the history of us this year, the teams that we played twice this year, we’re 2-2. That’s for the Raiders and the Broncos, so it’s a point of emphasis this week to make sure we key in on details and be attentive. We have a really really good team coming in this week, a high scoring offense, a fearless coach and a quarterback with a lot of weapons around him.”
Q: Do you feel like this is the best defensive team you’ve played on?
JONES: “Yeah, collectively. We have a lot of good individuals in this room who have exceeded expectations throughout the year. We still have a ways to go, we have four games to go. We’re going to continue to build on what we put out throughout the regular season and continue to maximize our efforts.”