OPENING STATEMENT: “L’Jarius Sneed, as far as injuries go, had the concussion and then Kadarius Toney’s ankle, he tweaked that. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s knee acted up on him from the week and then Mecole Hardman gave his best, as did all these guys. Tribute to the work ethic. Pat (Mahomes) out there doing his thing. Kelce missed the last day of practice and all that stuff. So, I’m proud of them for everything they’ve done. It’s great for the city, our fans are unbelievable. (Harrison) Butker, what a redemption story. He comes back after a high ankle sprain kind of moved his season a different direction than he wanted for a period there and he came back and knocked it out. Skyy Moore, who had the drops early, was called on to go out there and return and he did a great job with what ended up sealing (the game). MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) had a nice day, as did all the receivers. We only had three of them by the end. Our young secondary, two of them had interceptions and 6 (Bryan Cook) helped cause the interception for 23 (Joshua Williams). Chris Jones had an unbelievable game along with Frank Clark. Constantly in the backfield and just busted their tail. What a performance they had. I could keep going. I’m sure I am missing people here, but I’m proud of all of them. They did a great job. With that, time’s yours.”
Q: You didn’t mention Patrick Mahomes, how impressive was his performance coming off the high ankle sprain?
REID: “I think I did, you just didn’t hear me. We can’t replay it like the commercial. Listen, it was pure grit. He and (Travis) Kelce. For Pat (Mahomes) to do what he did and then to have that run at the end. I can’t say enough. He is the MVP in my eyes.
Q: There was a lot of conversation from Cincinnati, did the team hear all of that and what did they think leading up to the AFC Championship?
REID: “Yeah, listen, our guys did a great job of not going that direction. Their mayor said it all. So I’m glad our mayor did what he did. Some people heard it.”
Q: There was a sequence where a bunch of injuries happened, and you were still able to get a touchdown on that drive. Was that an inflection point in the game?
REID: I would say yes. First of all, that is a great football team. They’ve done a heck of a job there turning that thing around. The quarterback is a heck of a player. For our guys to grit up like that, it was beautiful. Beautiful thing to do.
Q: Was there a point this week where you not only knew Patrick Mahomes would play but would play well?
REID: He gave me no opportunity to not think he wasn’t going to play. He didn’t ever miss a snap. Our players, our team, coaches, we are all lucky to have him in that position. The mindset carries over to everybody. There was no denying that he was going to play.
Q: Was there a moment on the practice field that led you to believe that he was going to be OK?
REID: Yeah, he went out and practiced. He pushed off of that thing. He did all the stuff. He lived in the training room. Rick Burkholder and Julie (Frymyer), the job that they did with him of getting him ready and him spending all the time. I’m sure he went home, and his wife was working on him too. Everybody taking concern for him.
Q: What does it mean for you as a coach to see guys who went through struggles to come out and perform well?
REID: I mean, it’s great. The perseverance, that is important in this game. The mental toughness is such a big part of this game. To get to this level here, it’s pretty spectacular to be able to go back and quite an honor. The Hunts’ give us an opportunity to do that, it’s so important. Give the coaches an opportunity, give Mark (Donovan) and (Brett) Veach an opportunity, and myself and all the players. They put us in a position where we can go succeed and all the guys did a great job. Brett with the guys that played tonight, what a tribute to him and his staff. All the great things that they’ve done with these players. Young guys. Who would have thought this at the beginning of the year? I’m sure you all wrote about it somewhere along the line, we had a lot of new faces. And for all of that to come together like that, it is satisfying as a coach.
Q: What does it mean to you to play the Eagles in the Super Bowl and the time you spent there?
REID: “Yeah, I had a great time there. 14 years, long time, huh? I’m happy for them, I’m happy for the city. They’re passionate. They love football. I can’t wait till when Kansas City and Philly clash, it is going to be awesome. What a great Super Bowl it will be.”
Q: How do your emotions compare this year going to the Super Bowl than others?
REID: Being out there, it was unbelievable. There’s nothing like winning the championship at home. That’s just a special feeling. Not that the Super Bowl is not, I don’t want to say that. It’s a pretty good feeling, too. To be at home and do it, it’s unbelievable. So I am riding a wave right now as you guys are. I’ll calm down after I leave.
Q: What was working so well to get to Joe Burrow this game?
REID: I mentioned this to Dan after the game. The players were talking about the game plan. The defensive players and how they loved it. They just thought it was going to work and they just couldn’t wait to get out there. I just kept hearing that over and over. (Steve Spagnuolo) did a heck of a job with it. A phenomenal job as coaches and players executed it. It was fun to watch. I have a birds eye view of it and they were rolling.
Q: What do you make of the Kelce brothers facing each other in the Super Bowl?
REID: I have invested time in both those two, so I feel like I am part of the family.