Head Coach Andy Reid
(opening statement)
"I thought a lot of people did a nice job. I would start with the coordinators and the job that they did putting those gameplans together, all three phases. I thought the players were tremendous, and the way they executed the game, there were so many people who did so many good things, our defense was barring down against what I consider one of the best offenses in this league. For our defense to do that is something special, so we take a lot of pride in that. Offensively, I thought the other guys were able to score some points, which were important. We had the turnover, which I wish we had back. We had a nice drive going there, but that's how it goes. I just thought overall, against a team that I think is as well-coached as any team in the league in John Harbaugh and his crew, it was a well-executed game from the Chiefs standpoint."
(on the Chiefs' offensive creativity and how long they had been practicing those plays)
"Well, we were hoping they would work. There is nothing like Monday Night Football, so it's a just a good time to use it."
(on the trick play touchdown to T Eric Fisher)
"We put it in at training camp. We worked on it a little bit when you guys weren't looking, so we were able to pull it out and use it here. 'Fish' is always bragging about how good his hands are, so he did a pretty good job, I have to give him credit. I was a little nervous when he had to jump, but he did a nice job."
(on if the first half was the best the Chiefs have played so far this season)
"It was a good half; it could have been better, but it was a good half. We still have a ton of things we can work on here, clean up, and we will do that when we get back and get ourselves settled."
(on the success of the offensive line picking up the Ravens' blitz)
"They do a bunch of different things, so that's the tricky part about this. I am proud of our offensive line, none of that happens without them, so I thought they did a nice job picking things up. The running backs, when asked, did a nice job, and we have good tight ends. All in all, I thought the guys executed. But it is tough, I'll tell you, it's hard to get a read on them, [Ravens defensive coordinator] 'Wink' [Don Martindale] does a nice job with them, so you have to give credit to Pat [Mahomes], for leading the charge, and he stepped up big and wanted the responsibility for leading the charge, and he did a great job."
(on preparing for the Ravens' defense off of limited film study)
"They go about everything and anything that you are able to see, and they just do it naturally. I don't know how they learn all of that, but they do, and they do it so well and accurate. They always have a little wrinkle for you every time you play them. There was something new in there. You can't possibly cover all of the different things that they do, but you just have to stay disciplined in your rules and go with it from there."
(on the discipline of the defensive line and the difficulty of preparing for QB Lamar Jackson)
"Well it all starts there, up front, and I think you are right on that. I just thought that when they got into position, and you want naturally to charge the quarterback, you do that with him, and it is over. To keep contained, it ends up being a huge thing. He is faster than most of the guys on the field. So, you see him run away from them, whether it is a quarterback or not, he can go, he's as fast as anybody out there. For us to stay disciplined, that means a lot and takes a lot to do that. I was proud of our guys for that, for staying disciplined."
(on preparing for the electric Ravens' offense)
"Well yeah, it's Lamar and the guys around Lamar that make that thing happen. So, it is a great challenge, and that's why we do this. I am probably most proud of our guys for just challenging every snap. Nobody hung their heads when things didn't go right. They just kept bearing down, which ends up being important, very important, when you are playing this group. They are mentally tough; they are a mentally-tough football team, so you've got to equal that or better them."
QB Patrick Mahomes
(on preparing for Ravens' unique style of play)
"They definitely had a blitz package that we weren't necessarily prepared for. At the same time, we had talked about different stuff that they could do. Obviously, we had some unscouted looks, but I thought the offensive line did a great job of picking those guys up even though were hitting in gaps they hadn't hit so far this season. It's about communication throughout the game and making adjustments. I thought we did a good job of that."
(on counting to "four" with fingers during the game)
"I think I threw four touchdowns in the game at that point."
(on touchdown passes to FB Anthony Sherman and LT Eric Fisher's touchdown)
"The first one to 'Sherm' [Anthony Sherman], we had actually ran it my first year starting against the Patriots. They had accidently covered it because the guy was just following the ball, so we've been holding on to that one waiting for the right opportunity. I thought Coach Reid did a great job of calling it there on that down and distance to get that touchdown. Coach Reid and Coach Eric Bieniemy. So, that one was good, and the other one was a play we worked on in training camp that we had drawn up, and I thought 'Fish' [Eric Fisher] did a great job of reporting it and making a heck of a catch, because he was more open in practice. I threw it there high for him, and he made a great catch on it."
(on trying new plays and responding well against the blitz)
"First off, the plays that we ran – we just got in the right situations. Last week against the Chargers, we weren't in the right situations to run some of the plays that we had. I thought 'E.B.' [Eric Bieniemy] and Coach Reid did a great job of dialing them up at the right time. At the same time, I feel like guys executed at a very high level on those plays. Against the blitz, same thing. First, going against our defense, when you're going through training camp against Coach [Steve] Spagnuolo, you're getting a heavy dosage of blitzes from everywhere. I thought guys accepted that challenge in training camp, and it paid off today. We might not have necessarily seen that exact blitz, but we had seen blitzes with fire zone-pressures and cover-zeroes. Guys sped up their routes, the O-line gave me enough time, because when they're bringing extra people – they're getting big and really slowing up – giving me enough time to get the ball down the field and let these guys make some plays."
(on performance of defense)
"That's a dynamic offense. Our defense did a great job of accepting the challenge. Everyone was talking about how they were going to run it down our throat the entire game, and that did not happen. They might have given up some yards at the end of the game, but for the most part of that game, they stuffed in there, getting three-and-outs – getting the ball back in our hands. I think if we wouldn't have put our defense in such a bad situation two times in the second half, they wouldn't have even given up that many points."
DE Frank Clark
(on how much they felt they had dominate the line to control the Ravens)
"Anytime I play ... In the league, every game has been won up front. We knew that coming into the week. [Coaches] were telling us that we need to step it up. Last week against the Chargers, it wasn't a good performance overall. We did get the "W," which is what matters. I felt we [played better] this week. What did we give them, 13 or 10?"
(on the keys to stopping Jackson)
"You've got to be patient. It's a patient game. For a player that's so fast and so explosive, he can make so many plays. He can make so many plays from the ball, running the ball. I can't give away too many other secrets because we've got to play this man for the next few years down the road. I'm sure we'll probably see them again this year. That's a great team over there. I felt once we got on them, we [didn't] let up."
(on if he was surprised the Chiefs were the underdog)
"Typical coming off a Super Bowl win the year [before]. You'll get these teams that you come up against. It's not going to be the first time; it's not going to be the last time. I think it's more important that we come into every week knowing that teams are going to be looked at us as the top dog, and knowing that we're going to be doubted outside of that. Everybody always wants to see the top dog lose."
(on how fired up were they against the Ravens)
"The same [as] against any other team. They get the same attention. They get the same emotions towards them. We never get too high, never get too low. That's kind of the agenda we came into this week with. We kind of let things, like I said, get out of hand last week. Our main goal this week was just to get back on track to what we were doing. I felt like this was a start."
WR Sammy Watkins
(on what was the team's thought process coming into the game coming off a rough game)
"We practiced really hard. We practiced liked we played this week. We just brought our energy and just continued to do little things well and, you know, got off to a great start. Pat was throwing the ball around, and [we] had a good night."
(on the team overall) "I think we have the team. If we do all the right things and listen to the coaches … [If we are] just playing fast and having fun, we'll do well."
