After earning their first win of the 2023 preseason on Saturday the Kansas City Chiefs will return to Missouri to face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, August 26. Their victory over the Arizona Cardinals was a reminder of just how capable Kansas City is, even in exhibition matchups.
Andy Reid and several of the Chiefs’ players spoke to reporters after Saturday’s tilt to give the media valuable insight regarding their performance, expectations for the new season, and teammates ahead of the 2023 regular season.
Check out their top quotes below:
Andy Reid opening statement
“There’s not really injuries to talk about. Everybody came through pretty good. Listen, it was a good effort all the way around. Defensively, I thought we started fast, which we needed to do. Offensively, we had a few hiccups there early, penalties and that, so. We’ve got to take care of business with that. But I thought all in all, all of the groups came out and played good football—respectable football—and that’s what you try to get done in the second game.”
Reid on if Patrick Mahomes needed to sustain an long drive to "check a box" in the preseason
“Yeah, he actually said that. He’s the one who got in there and got some work done and he was able to get the offense in the endzone there so that’s a positive. I thought the offensive line did a nice job for him and the receivers. We had a lot of guys catch the ball, which is positive. I thought all of the offensive line held their own. They’re a brand new group here and he’s trying to establish himself and doing a nice job of that, so he can use this game to (his) benefit.”
Reid on if there was a conscious effort to feed Rashee Rice the ball
“Well, not necessarily. His number just got dialed up, but he’s a good football player and has had a nice camp for us. He can return punts too, so he gives you a lot of flexibility there.”
Reid on if he values seeing what the team does well or working on weaknesses during preseason
“I think knocking the rust off for the ones is important. A little communication and continuity there. Just bringing things together and working off of each other. I take that for the ones and then the rest of the guys are trying to make the team. They’re trying to show where they can fit. Our message from the beginning is just make it hard for (Chiefs GM Brett) Veach and myself to make those decisions, and they did that tonight so that’s a positive.
Reid on giving Shane Buechele looks with the Chiefs' second-team offense instead
“Well this was a game that (Chiefs QB) Blaine (Gabbert) wasn’t scheduled to play. Normally, the third guy goes, but both of them played great, and that’s a good thing that (they) both really played good football.”
Reid on the importance of receivers bouncing back after dropping a pass
“Yeah, it’s great to come back, but let’s try not to do it at the start. If you do then you’ve gotta come back. Let’s try to eliminate the first part of the equation.”
Reid on Richie James' role in the Chiefs' offense
“Yeah, he knows the offense. He’s been in it for a year now. He got a ton of snaps during training camp and he got enough here.”
Patrick Mahomes on his first quarter jump pass
“I was either going to throw it away or kind of give a receiver a chance. I tried to give (Chiefs Wide Receiver) Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) a chance. I don’t know if he knew I was going to still throw it since I was so close to the sideline, but it makes good work. Being able to scramble around and work that scramble drill, I thought we did a good job of that on a couple of occasions today. So you get into a preseason game and you get good work in. I thought we did a good job today.”
Mahomes on trying to keep from getting hit in preseason games
“I told my offensive linemen that I play in the preseason to get hit one time, and I literally didn’t get touched these last two games. So they did a great job. It’s a good problem to have. There were times where I sat in the pocket for a while and it was like they’re keeping everybody away from me. When I scrambled it seems like I scrambled just to try to make a play when I had too.”
Mahomes on Rashee Rice's development
“He has good feel. We keep pushing him to be better and better. You see the talent. He makes a lot of tough catches. He had the drop early and he responded well. I think that comes with the jitters of being in your first few NFL games. But I have a lot of trust in him to make those catches in tough spaces. There’s just another playmaker that we have in this offense.”
Mahomes on what he saw from Rahsee Rice after the catch
“He runs physical. I say he has a lot of what Sammy (Watkins) had when he first got here. Being able to catch the ball, be physical but still have speed and everything like that. He’s going to be a great player for us, and we’re going to keep trying too push him and be getting better. Same with some of
those other younger guys that we have.”
Mahomes on if scoring a touchdown got him in rhythm
“One hundred percent. I was telling the guys, if we don’t want to keep playing we better score. Because coach Reid is going to keep us in this game until we score, and so we had some mistakes early in the game. Obviously, the penalty, the OPI which kind of goes here-and-there. The holding penalty got us out of rhythm. Some little stuff here and there that we have to clean up. A couple of the guys did a good job playing hard, playing fast. We’ll continue to get better and better and build for the first regular season game.”
Mahomes on Chiefs' intense competition at wide receiver
“I was telling you back to OTA’s that I could see the talent one-through-nine, ten. We have guys throughout the entire roster that were making plays. You saw guys that went down with injuries that weren’t able to play this week that made plays last week. Then you saw other guys step right in and make plays. I think that shows we have a lot of depth in that receiving room. Like I said, it’s a good problem to have because, the numbers, you have to find that right group in that room to get on the roster. But I have confidence in all those guys, we’re rotating them in, giving them chances and stepping up whenever the moment is the brightest.”
Mahomes on Shane Buechele's performance
“I told him he has a little stronger build than I do. I don’t know if I’m cutting back with that safety running at me like that. He is a playmaker, you saw that last week, you saw it this week. He’s made a lot of plays happen. He’s been in the system and he’s really comfortable with it. I thought (Chiefs QB) Blaine (Gabbert) played really good as well. Two touchdown drives and (Chiefs QB) Chris (Oladokun) played really good at the end of the game, we take pride in that quarterback room and stepping in and making plays happen. I was proud of those guys.I probably played the worst out of all of them that played today. That’s a good problem to have.”
Mahomes on his third down pass to Justyn Ross
“It was a good play, we wanted to get him singled up and see what he can do. He’s been making those happen all training camp, I think you’ve all seen that. We had a slant and return playcall, and it’s a lot of trust in him that he’s going to win and he ran a great route, lost the defensive back, caught the ball
and got up the field after the catch. So he’s got a lot of talent, we’ve said it. A rookie, throwing him out there and giving him chances, and hes stepped up whenever his number has been called. He’s a different receiver out of anyone else, with how big he is, how fluid he is and how he can catch the football.”
Mahomes on if Chiefs felt pressure to win after loss to Saints
“Coach Reid said one thing, and everybody knew we needed to have better urgency. He just came in and basically said that. He said that the one’s didn’t play well last week and the young guys played well. So the young guys gave us a challenge that we needed to go out there and play better football from the get-go. The offensive penalties hurt us. The offense, defense played good though, and in better positions. Then we were able to make that touchdown drive and from there we kind of kept it rolling. Just having that urgency, we know it’s the preseason that the games don’t necessarily count, but you want to have that momentum going into the regular season. I think coach Reid is
pretty adamant about that and the guys responded well.”
Mahomes on if he was reminiscing about the Super Bowl while playing at State Farm Stadium
“Not really. We played here a lot the last few years. So you think about that stuff obviously, but we’re trying to get better and trying to work on stuff. It’s clearly a different atmosphere than the Super Bowl. The only thing that was different was I think we scored 38 points, which is exactly the same we scored in the Super Bowl, so someone said something about that to me at the end of the game. Other than that it was another football game, and keep it moving.”
Shane Buechele on the value of playing in Andy Reid's offense for multiple years
“This is the first time that I’ve ever been in the same offense for three years in a row. I feel confident in my ability and my preparation and knowing this offense in and out. Obviously, we can keep getting smarter, but just the confidence I have and the preparation in knowing this offense has really helped me be successful on the field. The coaches call great plays, and we have really good players on our side. Whenever we go out there and we execute, we’re hard to stop.”
Buechele on 17 receivers catching a pass vs, Arizona
“That’s it. Competition. (Chiefs Head) Coach (Andy) Reid preaches it. Guys are showing up all over the place. (Chiefs WR) Ihmir (Smith-Marsette) had a great game. (Chiefs WR) Cornell (Powell) had a great game last week and this week. There’s competition all over the place. That’s what makes a great
team is when guys are competing for a spot. 17 players, that’s crazy. It’s a testament to those guys being ready and prepared for the moment.”
Buechele on leading a drive that featured fellow Southern Methodist University alum Rashee Rice
“Just having him here has been great. Helping him learn this offense because it’s tough on a rookie. I’ve kind of taken him under my wing and am trying to get him up to speed in this offense. He can be a really good player, he shows that. He’s just got to start a little bit quicker, and he knows that, too. He’s a great player. That was fun having that drive and going back-to-back to him.”
Trey Smith on how he would grade the Chiefs' backup offensive line
“They’ve been doing a great job. It’s a testament to what (Chiefs offensive line coach Andy) Heck and (Chiefs assistant offensive line coach Corey) Matthaei have been coaching. It’s also a testament to those guys being prepared to go. When they were playing physical, they were doing some really good things on the field.”
Smith on his personal goals, offensive line's goals as a group
“For myself, it’s balance. It’s to be better in pass protection as usual. Being really locked in and tuned in as well. For the unit, it’s that consistency piece. Just making sure that (Chiefs quarterback) Pat (Mahomes) continues always being clean back there, always being able to do his job effectively and make sure our backs are putting in the work.”
Ihmir Smith-Marsette on what he saw on his touchdown reception
“I didn’t see too much. I just heard the play call. The corner was outside leverage. I just used one of my little tricks that I work on when I’m running that route. It worked. The deep safety was just too far inside and there was no way he was going to get to it and (Chiefs quarterback) Blaine (Gabbert) put a great ball in the air and all I had to do was just finish it and make the catch. So, that’s me taking you through that one.”
Smith-Marsette on saying that he "didn't see much" on his touchdown reception
“I can’t give away the tricks of the trade! It was just a great play call at that moment and Blaine put a great pass in there and all I had to do was finish it.”
Smith-Marsette on his mindset entering the Chiefs' preseason games
“Just go out there and give it my all because there are only 53 spots. I’m fighting for that every time I step on the field. Just go out there, put my best foot forward, and when I leave the field, I don’t give myself the thought that I left something out there. Every time I step on the field, I’m fighting for one of those 53 spots. That’s my mindset. Just going out there and attacking it. Whenever my opportunity presents itself, take advantage of it.”
