Check out what Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes said after the Buffalo ending.
ANDY REID
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, really don’t have any injuries to mention. Justin Reid came out, but he went back in. So, you know, it was a heck of a football game down to the end. Very disappointed that it ended the way it did. Normally I’ll get – I never use any of this as excuses, but normally I get a warning before something like that happens in a big game. (It’s) a bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place. So, defensively I thought we played well. Offensively, you know, we’re getting better – really both sides of the ball – we’re getting better. Second half was obviously a little bit better there and so we’re actually making progress through this. That’s what’s disappointing in this. We’ve got a good team that we’re going to go play this next week and so we’ll learn from this and we’ll move on, but again, disappointed. Time’s yours.”
Q: On the offsides call on Kadarius Toney.
REID: “Normally, yeah, if it’s even close you get a warning. The head coach gets a warning, I mean that normally – I don’t know, I didn’t have a protractor out there. But it’s a bit embarrassing.”
Q: Can you give us a sense on the penalty just because it’s so rare?
REID: “I’ve been in the league a long time and I haven’t had one like that. So, not where, at least in that kind of position there where it is not given a heads up to.”
Q: Was the lateral to Kadarius Toney planned or freelance from Travis Kelce?
REID: “I can’t even believe you’re asking that right now. So, alright, next question.”
Q: What was the message to the team in the locker room after the game?
REID: “Yeah, listen, we’re getting better. I mean we’re still right in the hunt there. We’re playing better than we were a couple weeks ago so it’s a positive thing. That’s what’s disappointing, you know that somebody’s going to sleep good tonight and a lot of guys aren’t.”
Q: Did you get any explanation on the offsides call in real time?
REID: “No, I mean he’s – obviously he thought, I guess he thought he did the right thing. I didn’t give him much time to explain.”
PATRICK MAHOMES
OPENING STATEMENT:
Q: On the offensive offsides call on Kadarius Toney.
MAHOMES: “I mean it’s obviously tough to swallow, not only for me but just for football in general; to take away greatness like that for a guy like Travis (Kelce) to make a play like that, and who knows if we win. I know as fans you want to see the guys on the field decide the game and that’s why last week I didn’t say anything about the flag that didn’t get called on Marquez (Valdes-Scantling). I mean they’re human, they make mistakes but it’s every week we’re talking about something and all I can do is go out there and give everything I have and I’m proud of the guys, that’s what we did and it was a great football game that ended – another great football game that just ended like that it’s just tough – tough to swallow.”
Q: You were visibly upset after the game. What specifically made you boil over?
MAHOMES: “It’s the call. Just in that moment, it’s not even for myself or for me, it’s just I know how much everybody puts into this game and for it to happen on a flag, change the outcome of a game, in that moment – I’ve played seven years and never had that – never had offensive offsides called, I mean that’s elementary school. We talk about (it), I mean you point to the ref, do all that different type of stuff, they warn you and there was no warning throughout the entire game and then you wait until there’s a minute in the game to make a call like that, it’s tough. I mean loss for words – it’s tough because regardless if we win or lose, just for it to end up with another game and we’re talking about the refs, it’s just not what we want for the NFL or for football.”
Q: After the game you talked to the refs, did you get an explanation from any of them?
MAHOMES: “None. None from any one of them. I asked three different refs, no one said anything.”
Q: A few plays after the offensive offsides call, it looked like Bills LB Von Miller was lined up offsides. Is your message to call it both ways?
MAHOMES: “No. The thing is, I’d rather – let us play man. Let us play the game. Then whatever happens, happens like the whole throwing the flag and deciding the game one or another, that’s what hurts me. That’s why like last week I didn’t say anything because it’s just letting us play. Let us go out there and win the game. I’ve said I’d rather them let us play and go out there and see who wins, I mean that’s what you want as a competitor. You practice all week to go out there and try to win and you want it to be about your team and that team and see what happens. You never want to be talking about this
stuff after the game and that’s it. I’m not worried about if there’s a flag on the next play or whatever like not a flag. I want to go out there and play and then see what happens at the end, see what the score is and then I can live with the results.
Q: Do you think this is a league-wide frustration point?
MAHOMES: “I mean the flag today was tough. Offensive offsides, it’s something that you – like I said in elementary school we talk about it: you line up, you point to the ref (to see) if you’re good or you’re not good, if not they come to you, ‘Hey you need to get off the ball more (or) you need to be on the ball more,’ you have a discussion. That’s a ref’s job, you want to have an open discussion so that you can go out there and put the best product you can on the field. For him to throw that flag, no explanation, no anything. I mean I saw the picture; he probably is barely offsides but for him to take the game into his hands over a call like that doesn’t affect the play at all – at all. (It) didn’t affect anything. I mean it’s just tough man and I like I said, that’s a Hall of Fame tight end making a Hall of Fame play that won’t be shown because we threw a flag for an offensive offsides so it takes away from not only this game and this season but from a legendary career that Travis (Kelce) has had and that hurts me because I know how hard he works for it.”
Q: When did you see the flag for the offensive offsides?
MAHOMES: “I saw the flag first – like right when the ball was snapped, I thought it was defensive offsides because where the flag was thrown from that guy, all I’ve ever seen was illegal formation/ procedure or something like that, false start, or offsides by the defense. As I threw the ball, I didn’t see it off the snap but I threw the ball, saw the flag before I ran down to celebrate with my teammates and I was like, ‘Oh, they got something we’re going to be able to go out there and play,” and then like I said, there’s a minute left, and I’m not guaranteeing we win this football game with Josh (Allen) as the quarterback of the other team, but you might’ve taken a moment away from him as well, I mean that’s just a part of it, so it’s tough – it’s real tough. All we can do is bounce back and just try to go out there and give everything we have. We’re playing a tough tough team this next week that plays really good defense so we just have to move on and try to keep this thing going.”
Q: What was your reaction when Travis Kelce pitched the ball back to Kadarius Toney?
MAHOMES: “I mean it’s a legendary moment. I mean nothing that’s not taught, something only a couple people in this world would even think about doing and for him to make that play in that moment making the catch, making a couple dudes miss and throwing the ball up the field to another guy and scoring a touchdown in that moment, I hope they still show it whenever he goes to the Hall of Fame because that was a legendary moment that we didn’t really get to witness.”
Q: It’s never easy to lose but this loss was a little different. How do you move forward?
MAHOMES: “It’s all you can do. Just like this last week you move on, you watch the film tomorrow morning or tonight, whenever that is. You learn from it, learn from your mistakes, learn from the stuff you did good and then you move on. I mean obviously the division has gotten tighter now; we have to do whatever we can to flip the script on our season, this middle part, and that’s going to be going to New England and trying to play a legendary coach and a football team that’s playing better football these last few weeks. It’s going to be a great challenge for us but I was proud of how the guys played
today and hopefully we can just move on and keep it going and try to flip the script on the rest of the season.”