Head coach Andy Reid:
On if they needed toughness to win the game…
“I think so. I felt like that. We needed resiliency and mental toughness. We had drops. We had guys open down the field and we weren’t quite able to get to them. We had linemen playing in different spots. These are not excuses, but there is a point where you have to bear down. Things are going to happen and you have to go. I think the guys did a heck of a job with it. They didn’t let it bog them down mentally. If they got beat, then they got beat. The got back on the horse, kept going and tried it again. I appreciated the fighting part.”
On having a perfect record on the road…
“I’m proud of them for that. It’s different when you are on the road. It’s unfamiliar territory. You still have to crank it up on the road and rally things. There were a couple of people here, but not as much red as black and gold. I thought the guys did a good job.”
On the close games…
“You are not trying to do it. You figured this one would be close. This is a good football team. They are coming off a loss, so you figured you would get their best shot. It’s like most of the teams that we’ve played. They bear down and give us what they got. I’m proud of our guys of being mentally strong and working through everything.”
On the offense handling the physicality…
“I thought they were real physical too. I agree with you on that. There back are against the wall. You have two teams that need to win football games right now. I thought our guys did a nice job to run the football like we did and throw the football like we did. We had a couple of more opportunities that let get by us. I thought the guys did a nice job.”
On scoring in the red zone…
“Things worked in the simplest form. We were able to capitalize on it. I wish we would have gotten a touchdown on the last one. It worked out the ones before. I think the guys did a nice job with execution. Patrick (Mahomes) made some really nice plays. I thought the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage very well.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes:
On the play of the offensive line…
“They battled. They fought the entire game. They got better as the game went on. The guys stepped up into their roles and found a way to get us across the finish line. Obviously, that’s a good defensive line. I thought they did a good job of battling the entire game.”
On the addition of Le’veon Bell…
“He has been a great addition. You have seen him in spurts. Big plays happen when he is in the football game. We are hoping Clyde (Edwards-Helaire) gets back quickly. We have good guys in that running back room that will step up and embrace that role.”
On his conversation with Drew Brees today…
“It is just a bunch of respect. Obviously, I watched Drew growing up. I have the same financial advisor as Drew. I have met him over the years at different things and he’s given me advice. I just show him the ultimate respect. He’s one of the best to ever do it. He is still doing it at a high level. It was a great game. Obviously, we came out with the win, but it was a great game by him as well.”
On having trust to win a game…
“It’s trust in the entire offense. A lot of times in those four minute offense you’re getting straight man-to-man coverage. When the linebackers come up to stop the run, then you have to have guys win. Kelce won today and you’ve seen guys win over the last few weeks. We have to be able to run the ball. I thought we did a great job of that all day long especially at the end. We have to execute every time we have an opportunity to throw the ball.”
On winning the close games…
“I’ve always felt it was a strength. You have to be able to win games in this league. It looks cool and feels awesome to win by 20 or 30 points. Teams that find a way to win on offense, defense and special teams no matter what the score is are the teams that make a run every year.”