Kansas City’s head coach joined media members for his usual Zoom call on Monday.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid met with the media via Zoom on Monday, two days after the team’s 23-14 Divisional round win over the Houston Texans.
Reid made no opening statement. Instead, he immediately asked for questions.
We’ve rounded his answers up in four takeaways:
Reid spoke about Travis Kelce’s fantastic outing — and what may have led to the outburst in production.
As he seems to do in every playoff game, Kelce had a tremendous game against the Texans, going for 117 yards and scoring a touchdown.
“I’m happy for him with the seven catches and all that,” said Reid. “I think more of it is just we have a variety of guys around him. The opportunities he’s had, he’s done well with, and I don’t think it’s his play that has been reduced. Everybody asks about age — by age or physical ability or anything. I just think you’ve got a variety of guys we’ve been able to use around him, and when we didn’t, teams were ganging up on him. It’s a good problem now because guys are healthy, and we’ve got choices out there. They can’t really just focus on him.”
The 35-year-old also brings a certain level of vitality to the locker room and the sideline that helps make his teammates better.
“It’s not only his energy,” said Reid. “It’s that positive mindset that you can do anything. I think he does a great job with that and being able to show it to the guys. Listen, we come together the right way, anything’s possible. That’s the thing I appreciate the most. I also appreciate that at his age, he goes out there every day and practices hard. If you try to take him out, he gets mad at you. I think that’s a special thing for an older player.”
Reid shared a brief evaluation of the offensive line’s performance.
The starter at left tackle was a topic all week heading into the game, with Reid ultimately deciding to give the nod to Joe Thuney. Mike Caliendo started at left guard.
“First, I give credit to the Texans,” started Reid. “That defense is a good defense, a real good defense, and that defensive line is a big challenge, as it will be this week (against Buffalo)… I thought our guys held up well against them and we did some good things in the run game and did some good things in our play-pass game. We were decent on third down. I think, all-around, it was good against who we were playing against.”
The Texans pressured Mahomes on 15 dropbacks — or 47% of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Reid praised defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for his efforts.
Overall, the Chiefs defense hit Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud 14 times, coming away with eight sacks.
“He does a heck of a job of knowing when to use the different blitzes, and that’s half the battle,” said Reid of Spagnuolo. “It’s not how much you blitz; it’s how you utilize the blitzes and when you utilize them. He’s got a great feel for that.”
Per PFF, the Chiefs blitzed Stroud on 16 dropbacks, which led to 12 pressures and three of the eight sacks.
“The players also have to step up and that,’s what the guys have done a nice job with,” added Reid. “I’m so proud of them for that. (Defensive line coach) Joe Cullen does a heck of a job with that defensive line. George had a big day being as relentless as he is and how much work he puts into the game and making sure he’s physically right and so on. It’s a real tribute to him and his effort.
“Charles [Omenihu], it’s been great to have Charles in there… he’s a good pass rusher. He’s a good football player so that helps a lot to have him in there — and Chris Jones, likewise. Mike [Danna] — who doesn’t get any of the glory — [is] a good football player, too. He kind of does the dirty work and doesn’t get much praise for it.”
Reid provided 2 status updates on players of note.
Cornerback Jaylen Watson returned to the lineup after a long absence, and wide receiver Mecole Hardman currently remains on the Reserve/Injured list. Reid spoke about both players, and we have more on that here.