Andy Reid on what he will remember from this game:
“Probably just the intestinal fortitude of the guys pounding through, not getting down when Pat went down. That’s easier said than done. Somebody asked that just about the quarterback, so just that part of it, having that trust, having earned that respect from the guys I think is big. I think we’ll all remember that—that run and the dive and then the throw. But listen, nobody got down. I mean, there was nobody that was hanging their head or moping throughout the game. Things didn’t always go the direction we wanted to go, and the guys kept battling. Then, I think that defensive stand at the end was huge. That’s a good football team. Kevin’s (Stefanski) done a great job with that team and their guys play hard. They’ve got a lot of talent and they play hard and they’ve got good schemes.”
Andy Reid on what Darrel Williams gave him in practice that led himto feed him more than anyone else:
“Listen, it was just the hot hand. Le’Veon (Bell) has done everything we’ve asked him to do and he’s a great kid, man, love the kid. You just get into these and you kind of go with what’s working, and for whatever reason, Darrel was working. Listen, I’m proud of him too because he’s never hung his head, even when he was third and fourth, he just keeps going. He’s not maybe a household name, but maybe after this game people will know him and respect the work that he does. He’s a very intelligent football player and he plays, as you saw, a very physical game.”
Andy Reid on whether or not his fourth-down calls differ based on which quarterback is in:
“Yeah, no, we didn’t alter it. I just looked at EB (Eric Bieniemy) and I asked him, ‘You ready to roll?’ and he goes, ‘Absolutely.’ Mike Kafka, ‘You ready to roll?’ ‘Let’s go.’ Joe (Bleymaier) upstairs, Joe was talking about it before we ever got there. So, we didn’t think it would be with Chad running, but there was a chance where short-yardage, Coach, you’ve got to make a decision. But there was no doubt with anybody. For Joe to think that, for Mike and EB to say what they said, to have a play ready to go that everybody liked—there was no flinch on the play. It was, ‘This is what it is. Here we go, Chad.’ We all knew it, let’s go.”
Andy Reid on the guys digging in after Patrick Mahomes went down and whether or not he had the opportunity to say anything to them on the sideline when it happened:
“Yeah, there was no time to say anything other than, ‘Let’s go.’ We were in the middle of it, trying to win the game, so there was no time. We had rehearsed all of that before, so there was no time to talk about it, the guys know. That’s the part that I think is a tribute to Chad and how he handles himself. You don’t earn that respect from the coaches and the players without handling yourself the right way every day. Whether it’s in practice, he’s the scout team quarterback, how he handles himself there. How he handles himself in the locker room, in the meetings. Nobody had any doubt.”
Chad Henne on the third down run play:
“Yeah, just going through my progressions, I kind of felt the pocket collapse after a certain amount of time, and I looked over at the sideline, felt like I had a lot of running room and just tried to make the first down as much as possible. Put my head down, this team has given me so much, so I put my body out there for them.”
Chad Henne on what was going through his mind when Patrick Mahomes got hurt:
“Yeah it’s definitely a big adrenaline rush. Obviously, you never want to see a guy like Patrick go down, obviously one of the best players in the league. But that’s why I’m here coming in prepared. There’s a lot of great players around me, they made me feel confident and just went in there and tried to take what the defense gave me and make some plays while doing that.”
Chad Henne on how much sharper he felt since he played against the Chargers at the end of the regular season:
“Yeah definitely felt a lot more comfortable out there playing the last game of the season against the Chargers. A full week of preparation, feeling the pocket especially as a quarterback is very important especially if you hadn’t been in there for a while, but felt confident. I mean there’s a lot of playmakers out there and just great opportunity for me to go out there and see some guys make some plays.”
Chad Henne on what has kept him going throughout the years:
“I just think my personality. I’m always a competitor and throughout the years if it went my way or didn’t go my way, I just felt like I loved the game still, loved being around the locker room and especially coming here just enlightened me. I mean Coach (Andy) Reid and his staff and players here just brought out a lot of me and especially Patrick (Mahomes) to see his success and he’s helped me out more than I felt like I helped him. It’s just a pleasure to be here, and this is why I play, and I prepare each and every week to be the best me and just have fun with the guys.”
Chad Henne on what was going through his mind when he completed the pass to Tyreek Hill:
“Obviously, full excitement. We knew first down wins the game. Like I said before, we loved the play, loved the match-up. For me, he won the route and just put the ball where it needed to be. We’re a smart team. Coach (Reid) is always reminding us in the headset, ‘Hey, first down is game. Don’t go out of bounds. Stay in bounds.’ Tyreek made a smart play there, and it was icing on the cake.”
Chad Henne on how getting every team’s best shot has mentally prepared him for what he experienced today with the ups and downs:
“I think a lot of the games, a lot of the close games, this team is definitely resilient. Down in some games in the fourth quarter, we come back to win, or the defense gets a big stop for us and we get the ball back and a chance to win as well. Definitely resilient. Those tough games and the best shot we got from every team is definitely going to help us push through. We face a good Buffalo team this week and we’ll be up for it. Same thing, back to the board, be prepared and we’ll give them our best shot just like they’ll give us theirs.”