Andy Reid roundup: 4 takeaways from the Chiefs head coach

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid met with the media over Zoom conference call Monday, less than 12 hours after the team’s 41-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Listen to the full presser above or by clicking here (it’s also on Spotify).

In his opening statement, Reid highlighted specific players in all three phases of the win. On defense, Reid mentioned cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s tackling, safety Tyrann Mathieu’s guidance and the defensive front in both the run and pass game. On offense, Reid mentioned quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the offensive line, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his ability to help in a “bunch of different ways,” tight end Travis Kelce and the willingness to do the dirty work and running back Darrel Williams, who Reid said stood out with 100 receiving yards and ability to run the ball. On special teams, Reid mentioned Marcus Kemp for his tackles and reception on the fake-punt pass from Tommy Townsend.

Reid shared one injury note and then took questions for some takeaways:

Injuries

Reid noted that running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (knee) has a better shot at returning in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Reid continued to praise Mahomes, who looked to regain his swagger in the win against the Raiders.

Mahomes threw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns after several weeks of struggling to get going.

“He comes to work every day trying to get better, and this is when things were smooth, and we were winning a lot of the games,” described Reid. “He always says, ‘Let’s be great.’ He reminds the huddle of that, and he believes that. ‘Let’s be great today. Let’s be great on this play.’ He’s always saying that, and so even during the tough times, it’s easy to kind of curl up and put yourself in a corner during the tough times. But he kept that mentality. He gets here early, and he stays late, meets with the offensive linemen, he gets in there and gets everybody together, and they do their thing there, besides what the coaches are demanding from them. So that’s how he does — and that kind of stuff helps you, without him having a whole lot of down games, it helps you once you hit a little skid there, and power yourself through.”

Mahomes looked as comfortable in the pocket as he has all season against the Raiders.

“I thought he did a nice job with that,” said Reid. “I thought the offensive line did a nice job of protecting him early. Pat did a nice job of getting the ball out quick. They’ve got a good defensive front, so you know you were going to have to move a little bit — not because of any deficiency on the offensive line part, but that’s just how it goes. You kind of work the pocket against these good defensive fronts. But I thought he did a good job. I thought he was confident in the pocket. I think it helped that he was on time, and I the line did a nice job, I would say.”

Now, after three solid outings, Reid elaborated on what he is seeing defensively.

The Chiefs put up some incredible defensive numbers in their third consecutive victory.

“I think health is one thing — getting everybody on the field, that’s one part of it,” stated Reid. “The second part is the young guys maturing there quicker than you can predict. You don’t know exactly how that’s going to go, but they picked up the pace and the scheme — and then [Steve Spagnuolo] is relentless with it, so I mentioned the walkthroughs [Sunday] night. He’s going to make you do it until you get it right, and the coaches fall right along with that. Those would be probably the three things.”

Reid provided the latest on wide receiver Josh Gordon and his lack of production.

NFL communications listed Gordon with 33 offensive snaps against the Raiders, but he failed to register a target from Mahomes.

“His time’s going to come as far as production in the pass game,” said Reid of Gordon. “Right now, he’s attracting attention, which is opening up other people, which is a positive thing. His blocking’s been tremendous in the run game. He plays extremely hard. I think he’s got himself, in the last week or two here, in really good football shape. Remember, he had kind of been out of this thing for a couple years. That’s easier said than done, and I sure like what we saw in practice last week.

“I just keep telling him, ‘Be patient. It’s going to happen. Keep doing what you’re doing. This thing will pop for you.’ His time will come.

Reid commented on whether the Chiefs might use the white-on-white uniform look more often.

Hey, it worked against the Raiders.

“The skill guys (receivers, running backs and tight ends) love it,” smiled Reid. “The big fellas that have a little hanging over the belt, they’re not loving it. But that’s all right. It all worked out well.”