Mid-week notes from Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and his quarterback Patrick Mahomes met with the media on Wednesday, and here are some of the key takeaways:

Reid and Mahomes were both asked about the this week’s matchup with the division rival Denver Broncos.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Reid said the familiarity with the opponent was one of the biggest challenges.

“They’re a good football team,” he said. “They know us, and we know them. Both sides will have their wrinkles that they put in, so there will be adjustments that will be made there. The fact that you know each other is the biggest challenge. You’ve got to be sharp. You have to have a good scheme, and execute well.”

Mahomes said in their last meeting, the Broncos defense went out of its way to be different than the Chiefs expected.

“In the last game, they threw a ton of stuff at me — a ton of different blitzes and coverages — and being able to look at that tape and see what mistakes I made as well as the things I did well, is going to be something I can take into this next game.”

Mahomes said that despite the challenges of the last game, the win gave him confidence.

“Any time you can come back and get a win against a team of that caliber, it’s going to help your confidence going into the next game. But you still have to go out there and play the game. They’ll have unscouted stuff — a lot of different stuff they’ll throw out there — and you have to find ways to combat that and score points.”

Both Reid and Mahomes expressed admiration for the play of Kareem Hunt after his game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

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Hunt scored three touchdowns and gained 141 yards from scrimmage against the Bengals, and peppered his performance with multiple Wow! moments.

“He’s running hard and aggressively,” said Reid. “Kareem enjoys playing the game, and takes great pride in his job, and details everything to a T. He spends a lot of time making sure he studies the defense, and that he understands the blocking schemes that we’re using. He does a nice job of setting his linemen up. He’s very patient. And he’s having a good season.”

“He brings a ton of toughness,” said Mahomes. “I talk to Chad Henne about it all the time — ‘I wouldn’t want to be the guy tackling that guy!’ He runs hard — but at the same time, he’s fast and agile, and he can make people miss. We do all this RPO stuff, and sometimes I just hand it off and that dude work.”

Reporters again asked about the touchdown celebration on Sunday — the one where Mahomes appeared to be out-of-sync with his teammates.

Reid said he often doesn’t see the celebrations in the heat of the game.

“I go back to my game plan sheet or make sure the kickoff team or the extra point team is numbered out right,” he explained. “So I’m not getting to see everything until afterwards. There is some creativity. As long as they stay within the rules, I’m all right with it.”

“I didn’t get a ton of practice time,” Mahomes said. “Then I kind of came in late — you know what I’m saying? So I had to kind of try to find the rhythm as we were going. I felt like I was getting right on it, and they all took off on me. If you watched the end, I was kind of figuring it out there.”

Other notes from Wednesday’s media availability

Reid was asked about Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly, and whether that situation represented an evolution of thinking in the league about off-the-field activity. Kelly — the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly — was cut by the Broncos on Wednesday after a bizarre incident in which he arrested for criminal trespass after leaving a party hosted by Broncos linebacker Von Miller. “With media, cameras and iPhones, there’s not a lot that’s missed,” Reid said. “In the old days, there were things that were missed. But not today. There’s no better time to keep your nose clean than right now. There’s pressure on all of us — everyone in this room included. If you step out of line, someone’s going to bring you back into line.”

Reid expressed confidence in the offensive line, despite the rash of injuries they’ve experienced. Reid said that Brett Veach has done a good job of having backups available, and that Andy Heck has been careful to rotate the offensive linemen in practice sessions so they’d be ready to play when called upon.

Mahomes had some advice for anyone who is considering dressing like him for Halloween. “It’s all about the headband and the hair,” he said.