Andy Reid roundup: 4 takeaways from the Chiefs head coach

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid met with the media over a Zoom conference call on Monday, less than 16 hours after the team’s 20-17 overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Listen to the full presser above or by clicking here.

In his opening statement, Reid called Sunday night “a good team win.” The head coach thought his defense did an excellent job keeping Derrick Henry under control, with the exception of a couple of runs. Reid admitted the run blocking could have been better, but he thought the pass protection was “decent,” given quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw as many passes as he did (68). Reid acknowledged Harrison Butker’s “hiccups” but expressed confidence that he would get the mistakes cleaned up.

Reid then took questions, which we have rounded up in four takeaways:

Reid reflected on another dazzling performance from Mahomes.

When the Chiefs needed him the most Sunday night, Mahomes took over the game, connecting on 43 of 68 passes for 446 yards and scrambling six times for 63 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Reid explained what impressed him the most about the quarterback’s performance.

“The fact that we had like 90 (offensive) plays — and at the end of the 90 plays he’s running around like it’s play three,” said Reid, “and still being able to throw the football and control the huddle and do all the things you’re supposed to do. He’s not known – he didn’t come out being known as a running quarterback that’s fast and all that — but he’s fast enough. He just knows; he kind of knows when to do it.

“I saw all the coaches go up to him after. I saw all of the coaches go up to him after the long run and that whole series there with the two-point play and all and congratulate him and say, ‘Man, that was an unbelievable display right there.’ I think — that was one of those moments, and he’s an amazing guy that way.”

Reid presented ways the Chiefs might improve the run game on the fly.

Reid first acknowledged the Titans’ defensive front, highlighted by defensive tackles Jeffery Simmons and Teair Tart.

“Those two guys are pretty strong jokers,” said Reid. “We’ve been playing like the No. 1 defenses here for the last few weeks, it seems like, and so you know they’re giving us their best shot.”

He then explained how the running game might improve despite the opponent the Chiefs are playing.

“We can do a little bit better up front,” said Reid. “We can be a little bit more patient at the running back position — and as coaches, we can always dial up different things, you know, and try to figure something out that might fit a little bit better. So those are all the things that we kind of get in and we analyze and work with, but you know what didn’t work there worked in the pass game.”

Reid said that his teams have been preparing for referee styles “for years.”

Clete Blakeman’s crew called a combined 18 accepted penalties for 120 yards. Part of the Chiefs’ strategy, per Reid, is to keep tabs on referee patterns — whether certain crews lean soft or tight.

“We’ve done that for years, so we’ve got a booklet on each guy, and we talk to the team about what their strengths are in calls,” said Reid. “That was a pretty good crew though. That crew has traditionally been good. I think Clete does a nice job with that — of managing and normally letting the guys play.

“They’re a little high this year in calls — but in the past, they’ve been very, very good. They had a couple of new guys on their staff there — that crew.”

Reid broke down what he saw in the Chiefs’ debut of wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

More on that here.