Andy Reid Shares Thoughts on Travis Kelce, Mike Danna

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid spoke from the podium after the Chiefs defeated the Commanders 28-7 at Arrowhead Stadium Monday night.

To view his comments, watch and read below:

Opening statement:

“All right, I’d like to thank the fans; they were great tonight. Wild as ever. They were lined up here. Last night, when I was over at the hotel, they were lined up and barbecuing, and they were primed and ready to go by the time those gates opened. So, I appreciate all their support.

“I thought our guys played, again, a great second half. First half, we lacked a little bit, but the second half, we came around on both sides of the ball, and special teams, and did a nice job there. A lot of individual accolades that can go out to the guys. The main thing is, we played as a team the second half. First half just a little shaky, but took care of business there.”

Q: How much pressure does it take off your offense when things might not be going well, but your defense is working well together?

REID: “It’s a great thing. They complement each other, which is – that’s a positive. At this level, you need everybody, but they stay positive. That’s a part I appreciate and even when it’s up and down, they stay and create energy with that, and we’re able to come around and make some plays on both sides of the ball.”

Q: What impressed you most about the defense tonight?

REID: “The first half was weird. There wasn’t a lot of punting going on, on either side, and there were no points on the board. So that normally doesn’t go on. But those fourth downs were big. They (Commanders) do that. They’re one of the more aggressive teams in the league, going for fourth down, and they were tonight. So, we were able to stop them a couple times, so I thought that was a positive.”

Q: On Travis Kelce tying the all-time franchise touchdowns record:

REID: “Yeah, I mean that’s a compliment to him. There have been some great tight ends here over the years, so for him to be able to do what he’s done over this amount of time is great. And still, as you guys know, you come out to practice, you see that energy. He’s got energy every day, and he’s not the youngest guy, so he just goes and goes.”

Q: How did you feel about Rashee Rice tonight?

REID: “I thought he did good, if you get rid of that little deal at the end (his personal-foul penalty). He loves to play. And he’s so competitive. But I love the way he goes about it. He just works his tail off, and then he’s so physical out there. He’s like having another running back, as a wide receiver.”

Q: On how well Travis Kelce responded to the dropped ball.

REID: “Yeah, it doesn’t surprise. Those things happen, and you know the main thing he didn’t do is hang his head on it. He was mad at himself, but he works through those things. Nothing like getting another catch. So, you get another catch, and you kind of erase that. He had some big ones there. So, a lot of production.”

Q: Did you go to Travis Kelce on purpose on that next third down?

REID: “(Offensive coordinator) Matt (Nagy) does that, and I thought he did a nice job of getting him back involved. It was great. You have a quarterback that’s willing to go back to the guy, too. A lot of quarterbacks will shy away from that if they’ve had a bad play and he goes right back to him.”

Q: What does it say about the team as a whole being able to build a lead quickly?

REID: “It’s tough to score points in this league. Any that you get, you appreciate. I like the way the guys went about it. You’re going to need mental toughness when you play in this league. There’s so much parity and you’ve got to fight through some of the highs and lows. Even with the good plays, you got to make sure that you’re bringing a fastball the next play. I appreciate the effort in doing that. It’s a positive.”

Q: Did you guys make any adjustments at halftime or was it just about cleaning up mistakes?

REID: “We always talk and go through what we’d like to do, but there are adjustments that are made, sure, yeah.”

Q: You mentioned the first half was odd. Can you remember a game where the first five drives ended in turnovers?

REID: “No, I don’t. I can’t tell you that – that was weird.”
Q: On Mike Danna’s performance.

REID: “I thought he did a great job. That was a big play there. One of those turnovers when they were driving the field and he comes in and he made it look easy. That’s not an easy thing to do. Then he had a little YAC (yards after catch) after it. He did pretty good.”

Q: On Jaylon Moore’s performance and if there was any conversation about how he started the game.

REID: “(Commanders head coach) Dan’s (Quinn) got a good defensive front there. (Defensive line coach Darryl) Tapp’s done a nice job with that crew, coaching them up. I think he (Jaylon Moore) came in probably a little cautious right at the beginning there and then he just tuned it up. You have got to give them credit. They’ve got a good front.”

Q: What’s working for the running game?

REID: “It starts up front. Then Pop (Isiah Pacheco) is getting into a grove and then Kareem (Hunt) when he has an opportunity to get in there and go, he goes. He’s (Kareem Hunt) a jump starter, so he doesn’t need a whole lot of carries before he gets going. We’ve added 24 (Brashard Smith) into the mix and try to get him a few plays a game, and he’s responded to that. He had one taken away from him; it was a pretty good run there.  “I should’ve told you the knee injuries because Pop’s one of those – hurt his (Isiah Pacheco) knee and (Nick) Bolton likewise, hurt his knee. We’ll just see how they do as we go forward here.”