<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=19LdAU_0vY13Czc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=19LdAU_0vY13Czc00" width="1000" height="667" ><figcaption>Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during a availability following an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)</figcaption></figure>Andy ReidOPENING STATEMENT: Alright, really the only major injury would be (Isiah) Pacheco with his ankle. We’lljust have to see – he’s having some tests done on it now, x-rays, all that stuff. I don’t have anything foryou on what exactly it is, but he came out with the ankle. Thanks to our fans, they did a great job todayand hung with us (through) the highs and lows and stayed right with us. (I) can’t say enough about(Harrison) Butker and that kick. He’s (Harrison Butker) so reliable and we just appreciate how he goesabout his business. As good of a kicker as he is, he’s an even better person, so I appreciate him all the wayaround. (Matt) Araiza jumped in and had a big punt right there at the end, which was great to see, at avery important time. Then the tackles by (Nick) Bolton, and (Drue) Tranquill and J (Justin) Reid, they werethe leaders in that area. The turnover with the touchdown ends up being huge to (Mike) Danna and(Tershawn) Wharton on the fumble there. Then – this can go on, but (Isiah) Pacheco had a big day (with)19 carries for 90 yards and five receptions for 21 yards, so, busy day there. (Rashee) Rice, again, had a niceday there (and) Patrick (Mahomes) always has a good day (and) comes through in the clutch hits and big – our best plays were called back but it was a great job by him as we went. So, what did we learn fromthis? Turnovers they kill you, they don’t give you – they very seldom give you an opportunity to win thegame. So, if you come out with a win with three turnovers, that’s a plus, but we got to take care of businessthere. Then penalties when – all of these things on the plus side of the field, those end up being pointswhether it’s a field goal or whether it’s a touchdown. We got to make sure we take care of business withthat and improve. We had some young guys that ended up with some of these penalties and they’ll learnfrom it. Kingsley (Suamataia) was going against arguably one of the best defensive ends in the league (and)it will be a great experience for him to put away in here and learn from. I ended up taking him (KingsleySuamataia) out of the game, sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. So, Wanya(Morris) came in and did a nice job, now he also had a penalty there. Very seldom are you going to get aguy like that right there (Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson) – that you’re playing against. What you want to dois learn from it and move forward. Anyways, with that time is yours.”Q: How far did you feel like you needed to get Harrison Butker into field goal range?REID: “I was like, I’d feel more comfortable around the 32 (yard line) and in.Q: But you knew he’s made field goals longer than that.REID: “Yeah, he could’ve made it. Normally when you’re at the 35 (to) 40 (yard line) you’re prettyconfident that he’s going to drill it.Q: Can you elaborate on how bad you think Isiah Pacheco’s ankle injury is?REID: “Yeah, I don’t actually know right now. I just got to see. They’re doing all the stuff right now so, Ireally haven’t had the chance to talk to him or anything there about it.”Q: What is it like to have to take a player out of the game like you took Kinglsey Suamataia out of thegame today?REID: “It’s a great learning experience. Sometimes if you get beat a couple different times and you’re ayoung guy, you haven’t quite figured out the answers to the test there on how to fix it and your coachtalks to you and then you have to settle down. That happens, so you go back and you learn from it andWanya (Morris) will do the same thing. He did a nice job jumping in there, with the exception of thepenalties.”Q: Do you think Harrison Butker thrives under pressure?REID: “I hope we all are that good under pressure (laughter). He (Harrison Butker) does a great job withit, yeah.”Q: What did you see on Patrick Mahomes’ first interception?REID: “Yeah, the guy got him (Patrick Mahomes). He was waiting on (Travis) Kelce just to break it (and)Kelce broke in there and he didn’t see that it was a cover two look and that backside linebacker,experienced guy, snuck right into the picture there. He doesn’t miss many of those…”Q: On Carson Steele fumbling the ball and then coming back in and making big plays.REID: “Yeah, he’s another young guy. You have to keep the ball up against your body in this league. Hewas down low and he had two hands on it but it starts rising up and all of a sudden you get it punchedout. Something you can learn from; you just can’t do that at this level. He came back and he ran hard forus.”Q: What is going on in your mind on a fourth-and-16 when you have the ball?REID: “There’s not a whole lot other than you want to get it. You’re hoping that it’s a completion so yeah.”Q: That’s all you can do at that point, right?REID: “Right. Yeah, I mean there’s nothing else. You’re in the mix so I wasn’t dreaming about going to theBahamas at that time.”Q: On Chamarri Conner being the spark today.REID: “You know what, I probably should have mentioned him (Chamarri Conner) because he had a heckof a game – a heck of a game. He was all over the place and he’s playing good football right now.”Q: Is your expectation to go right back to Kinglsey Suamataia next game?REID: “We’ll see, we’ll see how it goes. I’m going to go back and look at the tape and I’ll talk with (OffensiveLine) Coach (Andy) Heck and we’ll go from there.”Q: Is it gratifying when you see a big man score a touchdown?REID: “Yeah, that was good, no, he (Wanya Morris) did a nice job. I probably should have mentioned thattoo, that was a great job. When you’re that open, sometimes you can freak out if you’re not – (he) securedit and it was all good, that was great.”Q: At the two-minute warning, Harrison Butker went out to the 50-yard line, picked up some grass andthrew it in the air to feel out his surroundings and get ready, just in case. Regarding his preparation, isthat just the type of guy he is?REID: “He’ll (Harrison Butker) tell you that’s his job, I mean to figure out all that stuff. Those guys are halfweather man so they know the wind, they know the weather and all that and they’ve got to calculateeverything in. He practices kicking in our stadium so he knows exactly how it swirls and he does a goodjob with that.”Q: Do you have a name for the play where Wanya Morris scored the touchdown?REID: “No, no name. Too early in the season.”Patrick MahomesQ: How did you characterize this entire game?MAHOMES: “I thought we did a lot of good things, but obviously the three turnovers just can’t happen.The first interception – I have to find the backside linebacker and I mean, the kid (Bengals CB Cam TaylorBritt) made a great play on the second pick. We played not as clean as we wanted to and still found a wayto win. That speaks to the defense and the full, entire team. Obviously, we have to clean up a lot of stuffon offense as we go forward.”Q: Can you explain what it feels like in the fourth-and-16 situation with the game on the line?MAHOMES: “Obviously, they’re going to get in that kind of fence defense at the sticks, and so my job isto buy time for guys to get downfield. I was able to do that (and) as I scrambled to the left, I saw Rashee(Rice) open. I knew it was going to be contested, but you have to put the ball up and Rashee did a greatjob of trying to get the ball. I haven’t seen the replay or anything, but I felt like the dude (Bengals S DaijahnAnthony) was there pretty early and we got the flag. You have to give guys chances in those situationsand that’s what we did.”Q: Do you have all the faith in those kinds of moments that you’ll figure out a way to win?MAHOMES: “100 percent. Until the time hits zero, I feel like there’s a chance that you can win the footballgame. Obviously, we’ve done that in so many different ways and so we’re prepared. We come in with thatmentality that if we get the football with the chance to win the game, we’re going to do it, and we wereable to do that today.”Q: What kind of problems did Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson present for you guys today?MAHOMES: “He’s just an absolute monster. He just – his motor, the way he’s able to rush the passer. Iremember playing him in New Orleans and he was like that and then he got to Cincinnati (and) he’s beenlike that. He did a great job today. He’s great against the run and the pass, kind of an underrated guy. Itwas a good test for us, and we’ll have to get better for it.”Q: What’s the message that you’ll have for Kingsley Suamataia over these next couple of days?MAHOMES: “Just keep playing. You’re not always going to have your perfect day. I mean, I didn’t have aperfect day today, but just like any other great player, you have to trust in your abilities, you have to learnfrom it, you have to have that mentality (of) ‘I’m going to come and get better this next week.’ I have allthe trust in the world that he’s going to keep getting better and better and be a guy that I can really counton every single game.”Q: What do you see from opposing defenses trying to take Travis Kelce out of the game?MAHOMES: “They’re doing a great job of just kind of having two people for him pretty much the entiregame. That’s why you’ve seen guys like Rashee (Rice) and (Xavier) Worthy – I mean, if you look at the firsttouchdown, I’m actually looking at Trav (Travis Kelce) and the backside safety goes all the way across thefield to help guard Travis and then you throw the ball down the sideline to Rashee and that’s kind of whatthey’ve been doing. Obviously, we’ve played two opponents that we’ve played a lot, so they have a planon how they’re going to account for Travis. As the season goes on, he’s going to get his catches, he’s goingto get his yards. The leader that he is – what’s special is he’s hyping everybody up, he’s keeping everybodymotivated and that’s what you need out of your great players.”Q: Can you take us through that touchdown to Rashee Rice?MAHOMES: “It was a play where I was actually going to look at the right side first. They gave me kind ofa two-high (safety) type of look. Like I said, I was going to shoot it to Trav (Travis Kelce) down the middleof the field (but) the backside safety kind of closed in and that’s what got my eyes to Rashee (Rice) andthen he won against a great corner. That’s what you want to see. I told y’all, man, he (Rashee Rice) cando a lot of things, so I’m going to keep giving him opportunities and he’s going to keep making plays.”Q: On Rashee Rice winning on in-breaking routes.MAHOMES: “I think just – people obviously saw last week so they’re not going to let him have the freereleases and the short stuff, and he has to be able to show that he can beat people deep and he was ableto do that today. Then, we had the holding that he did again later at the end of the game – he’s (RasheeRice) a complete receiver, man. He’s getting better and better and he can do it all. I think people see theshort stuff and they get enamored by it because it’s so special when he catches the ball, but he can catchthe ball down the field, he can block, he can do whatever – everything it takes to be a good receiver inthis league.”Q: Take us through the touchdown to T Wanya Morris.MAHOMES: “Obviously, it was a great drive. I mean, running the football, getting downhill and so theyhave to bring more and more people in the game – bigger people. (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid dialed it upat the right time. Wanya (Morris) had been in a couple plays (and) blocking as that extra o-lineman. Rightwhen they thought they were going to shoot and make a play, he released him into the flat. I mean, if youlook at the play, Wanya’s open and then I threw it, and Travis (Kelce) was also wide open. That comeswith getting the run game going. You get the run game going, it helps out the entire offense.”Q: What does it do for a team to win two games the way you guys have won them?MAHOMES: “It just shows that we can still do it. Those are two great football teams (that) we’ve playedthese last two weeks, teams that we’ve played in AFC Championship Games. To be able to come out withwins, at home, that’s important. Obviously, we feel like we can get a lot better. We’re going to clean upthe mistakes, especially on the offense. It starts with me and then we’ll be a better team (going) forwardas the season goes on. It’ll be a great challenge next weekend on Sunday Night Football in Atlanta.”Q: What’s going through your mind when you see Harrison Butker go kick a game-winner?MAHOMES: “I’m nervous, but I’m not nervous, so it’s like – I’m obviously nervous because it’s out of myhands. I don’t have a chance to go out there and make a play. At the same time, when I step on the fieldon that fourth quarter drive with two minutes or whatever it is and all I need is a field goal, I just reallyknow I’ve got to cross the 50 (yard line) and Harrison’s (Butker) going to go out there and knock it through.It’s a special thing to have a kicker like that so (I’m) super appreciative of it and he’s going to keep makingthem, man.”Q: Although it was called back, can you talk about the play that you found Travis Kelce on the run?MAHOMES: “He (Travis Kelce) did a great job. You’ve got to be able to have that in the offense – beingable to scramble and make throws down field, obviously. They were doing a good job of – when Iscrambled, of covering the guys and letting me run but they lost Trav (Travis Kelce) for a second. I got himthe football and he’s like pump faking and stuff. I mean, he’s the only person in the league that can pumpfake forty yards downfield, but he will throw it, so they have to respect it. We’ll get it going. As the seasongoes on, I’m sure more of those plays will happen.”Q: How bad did you want to go for it on the first drive?MAHOMES: “I always want to go for it but obviously, with that drive we had (Head) Coach (Andy) Reidsend out the field goal unit. That’s what makes us a great team. Obviously, I want the offense to behighflying and explosive, but I feel like in years past, if I played like we played today offensively, wewould’ve lost this game, but we have a great football team. Defense stepped up (and) made plays, specialteams made plays. I’m excited for it. We’re not even playing our best football and we’re still getting thesewins against great opponents.”</div></body>

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Bengals Win Quotes: Reid, Mahomes

OPENING STATEMENT: Alright, really the only major injury would be (Isiah) Pacheco with his ankle. We’ll. just have to see – he’s having some tests done on it now, x-rays, all that stuff. I don’t have anything for. you on what exactly it is, but he...