QB Tyrod Taylor
Have you been saving that hat for today? "No. I didn't get a haircut on Friday, so I have a hat on."
What did it take to win that game today against a lot of odds?"Definitely. It was a big game, like you said, for us. We haven't played particularly well (in) away games this year, but for us to come in and still weather the storm and overcome adversity throughout the year and even throughout this game. Our offense started off with a couple of three-and-outs. We were able to flip the field one time early on, but for us to continue to be persistent and the defense played a great job. I just think in all phases we did enough today to get the job done. There is definitely some stuff that we can clean up, but I'm proud of the guys and the way they competed."
On the touchdown pass, Zay Jones came open late there. How did that unfold?"Yeah he was actually third in the progression on that one, trying to get Shady in the flat and the linebacker ended up getting outside out there. They had a double on J Matt (Jordan Matthews) in the back of the end zone and Zay continued to finish his route and I was able to find him. Like I said, big play for us."
Did you ever feel like this was a 'season-rescuing' win?"We take it week by week. You never want to have a losing streak, but the way that we played the last three weeks up until this one definitely just wasn't our style of football. Fortunately we were able to win five games early on so we were still in the playoff hunt, but we knew we were still in it going into this game and this was a big game for us to come get on the road. We know we have a great team coming in next week. It'll be good to get back home in front of our home fans, but got to take it week by week."
Head Coach Sean McDermott
After three bad games, your defense played tremendously today. Can you speak to that? "Well our run defense to start, we will start there. I thought our run defense was outstanding. I thought we played fundamentally good football and that is a credit to the hard work the guys have put in, the coaches included. It starts up front and then you go in from there. You talk about the third downs and the tackling and you know obviously the big take away at the end of the game was a game sealer for us. That was a good defensive effort overall and a team defensive effort. So credit to Leslie Frazier and his staff."
What did going back to Tyrod (Taylor) do? "Just overall going back to today, we played good team offense. We found the ball well. At times, I thought Tyrod used his feet, at times, and then we had some critical third down conversions on some drives. There was some good things going on there and it was not just one guy. It was spread across the offense, which is good to see."
What does it mean to you to come in a beat your mentor, Andy Reid?"I have learned a lot from him, on and off the field. Any time you can beat an Andy Reid coached football team, that is saying something. But you go back to a lot of the things we do, I learned from Andy and that is not going to change. He laid out a blueprint for me for 12 years of how to do things the right way and that is why he is where he is in terms of the all-time wins list. I think he is top 12, top 10, somewhere up there. That does not happen by mistake or by accident."
Special teams, Colton (Schmidt) and (Brandon) Tate and their efforts kind of helped you stay in favorable field position most of game.
"Yeah, that is big. Number 10 (Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill), he is a weapon back there and he is a game changer. So, I thought our special teams did a great job in terms of creating field position for our offense or not giving their offense favorable field position, in particular, in the first half. Colton had a big game in terms of the ball placement and trust with where our coverage units were going and knowing the ball would be there and he would put it right there. Then (Stephen) Hauschka had the early deal, but came back and said he wanted that kick right before half and he nailed it."
You only have six of them, but is this your signature win?"It is the next win. I am focused on obviously right now enjoying this one for a little bit, but we have a lot of work to do. The world champs are coming to Buffalo so got a lot of work to do."
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Wide receiver Zay Jones**
On his touchdown reception: "It was a keeper, almost like a negative play to the left. Tyrod [Taylor] did a good job extending the play and finding me late. That's just what that guy does. The offensive line did a great job of holding up and enabled us to get a score."
What did it mean to set the tone early in the game? "Very significant. We want to come out and play fast and get ahead really quickly. We know what type of team Kansas City is, especially in this type of environment. It's very important for us to get that early score."
On what today's victory means: "I think it just shows the resiliency that this team has and the type of character we have. All of our goals are still in sight. We see the big picture. Sometimes you lose games, but that doesn't define you. I'm really proud of this team for coming out and getting a win on the road."
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Cornerback Tre'Davious White**
Just walk us through the last play. What did you see and how did it happen?"It was just route recognition. Coach (Gill) Byrd put us in great positions to make plays. We've been watching film and formations all week. I saw that formation three or four times and he [Tyreek Hill] ran that route, but he [Alex Smith] didn't throw it. I knew at crunch time 10 [Hill] was his guy. I knew he [Smith] was going to go to him [Hill], so I just jumped it."
What was the difference overall? This was a performance similar to what we saw earlier in the season and not the past three games. "We've got a lot of guys, in this locker room, who are mentally tough. We're sticking together. I feel like Coach McDermott does a great job of telling us that we want to play our best in November and December. I feel like we're going to go up at the right time and I feel like this is the right time."
Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander
On the defense's approach for containing QB Alex Smith: "I think Coach (Leslie) Frazier had a great gameplan on him to make him hold the ball, where he had to hold it, pump and really didn't have any quick throws out of his hands. I was able to get off blocks and get a sack, especially on mine, which was a coverage sack. He was back there scrambling and trying to make a play with his legs. That gave me time to get off my block and run him down."
