The former Los Angeles linebacker is entering his second postseason campaign with Kansas City.
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for their first matchup of the 2024 postseason against the Houston Texans, linebacker Drue Tranquill reflected on the challenges that lie ahead.
“You play to play in the playoffs,” he remarked to the press on Thursday, “and it’s an honor to be here and have this opportunity. You prepare all year — offseason OTAs, training camp — for this moment.”
“It’s win or go home — and with that pressure, it’s a privilege. We’re excited to get a shot at it.”
Tranquill played an important role in 2023’s Super Bowl-winning season during his first season in Kansas City. He’s grateful to be part of it again.
“A lot of your peers in the NFL are on vacation and packing up their lockers,” he noted, “and you still have an opportunity to be playing.
“I think it’s the week leading into it when you know not everybody’s practicing [and] you’re out there. A lot of times, there’s snow on the ground [and] it’s cold outside. It just feels like playoff football.”
Even Houston turned in an impressive 32-12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers — Tranquill’s former team — in the Wild Card round, he knows what it will take for the Chiefs to collect another victory against the Texans, whom they defeated in Week 16.
“In the playoffs, everything gets amplified,” he explained, “and tackling is certainly one of those things [that need to be done well]. [They’ve] got a lot of good ball carriers that can get yards after the catch — so we’ll have to be on [our game].”
The two teams have met five times in the last six seasons.
“It’s almost like you’re playing a division opponent, where you see a team twice a year,” said Tranquill. “They know us [and] we know them a little bit — so I’m sure there’ll be [new] wrinkles here and there.
“It’s going to come down to execution.”
Tranquill believes head coach Andy Reid’s consistent and methodical approach will also be important in the postseason.
“He’s ultra-consistent,” reported Tranquill. “He’s got a routine. He’s got a formula — [and] he sticks to it.
“He has a lot of really good ideas. He leans on his coaches [and] his players — and I think he’s done a great job of building a good team around him.”
The linebacker noted that the motivation to return to the pinnacle of the sport has been palpable ever since the most Super Bowl recent ring ceremony.
“It was like, you’re hungry to get that first,” Tranquill recalled, “but there was almost a hunger to get back on the field even at the ceremony — to do it again.
“Guys and coaches will talk about that: after you get that first, there’s a hunger — a drive — to get a second [and] get a third. I certainly feel that.”