David Andrews, C

(On the mindset of the team right now)

“You know we had some opportunities there. Some opportunities to put some more points on the board and we really didn’t. You know, there was some early, some later in the game and look when you are playing a good team like this, a good defense, a good offense, you’ve got to score points and score as many as you can. Just didn’t do a good enough job of that today, finishing some drives, taking advantage of opportunities. Proud of the way the team competed, proud of the way the team fought until the last minute. Things are not always going to go your way, you’re not always going to succeed but the way we are competing and stuff, I appreciate from those guys in the locker room.”

 

(On turning points in the game)

“Yeah, I mean there were things offensively too, not converting some points when we had some opportunities. And like I said against a good team, especially with an explosive offense, with that quarterback on the other side. You’ve got to take advantage of all those opportunities that you can. I thought we fought, even after the interception. We had some lulls and some three and outs. Can’t really comment on that, I’m not really sure what happened so I’ll have to look back at it and try to figure it out. But you know, figure it out and move onto Denver.”

 

(On what the defense has brought to the games this year)

“You can ask a defensive player that. But I mean, look the defense does do a great job, like they do a great job, made some big plays and we have to do a better job of converting touchdowns or points in those situations. Look, we’ve got a really good defense, and we’ve got a good football team, and we just aren’t playing up to that as a whole team, so that’s what we have to do.”

 

Deatrich Wise Jr., DL

(On the challenge of playing against Patrick Mahomes)

“I think we have some great players to meet that challenge. Yes, he is a great player, but I think we did a good job today of staying in his face, getting in the way. Like I said earlier, he did make some good plays, but we held him to a good yardage.”

 

(On the emergence of Mack Wilson Sr.)

“Mack’s been getting better every time he steps on the field. He’s been getting after quarterbacks, setting the edge, making plays, getting big hits, knocking the ball out. He’s put two great games together, and it’s great to see him blossom. He’s doing a great job out there, and he made some great plays today and great plays last game. I think he’s doing an impressive job, along with some of the other guys as well.”

 

(On the motivation of the team)

“As a defense – that’s the side of the ball that I talk about the most – we are very internally motivated. We have a lot of things that we want to accomplish individually and collectively as a defense. We have our goals that we set at the beginning of the year, and we’re still striving to meet that. I want to say we had 2.4 rushing yards [per carry], that’s something that we aim for, to stop the run, eliminate runs when going into a game.”

 

(On stopping big plays)

“I think we did a great job today, definitely stopped the run, met our goals there. In the passing game, we held him to a pretty substantial yardage. He rolled out a few times, but we were there to either take the ball away or get in his face. He had some free yards. He did make some good plays, but for the most part we played together, collectively, as a unit.”

 

Jahlani Tavai, LB

(On the team’s mentality throughout the game)

“The mentality throughout the game was just don’t quit. There was a lot of explosive plays that we gave up, but throughout the whole game we were just making sure we found new opportunities to create turnovers and find ways to get their offense off the field.”

 

(On Kansas City’s short passing game)

“It was just a lack of communication on our part. Today, we didn’t meet our standards and tomorrow, we’ve got to come back in these meetings rooms and correct those. We’ve still got three games to go, and we aren’t giving up on anything. Being out there on the field with those guys, it shows a lot of character from each and every one of them. I didn’t see anybody quit, I didn’t see anybody complain or whining. I have nothing but respect for the guys in this building and we just got to move on.”

 

(On Marte Mapu’s progress this year)

“I’m enjoying the way he’s started talking to me. But today, he took full advantage of his opportunities, and he capitalized on a great play, and I just hope that he continues to grow and develop in this defense.”

 

(On his turnover)

“I don’t even know, I just saw the ball being thrown and I was just trying to find a way to get to the ball. When he bobbled it, I had to find a way to just snatch it out of his hands, after that I was a little careless, but I was just trying to make a play on defense. It’s just the competitive nature in myself to score on defense. We have been waiting on the opportunity, Marte [Mapu] almost had it. I was trying to find a way to do it too.”

 

Demario Douglas, WR

(On how it felt to be back)

“It feels great. I love being on the field. Any chance I get to be on the field, it feels great. It felt good. First of all, being out there just for warm-ups, I feel like I got energetic. I was happy to be back out there.”

 

(On what his recovery was like)

“Long, long. Just not being on the field, those days are long. When you are on the field, I feel like the days go by fast. When you aren’t, the days are long for sure.”

(On what was different in the second half)

“Honestly I am going to go watch film. I know that we had that energy that kind of just died down a bit. I feel like us getting stopped kind of deadened the offense a bit. We got the juice back a little too late, but we are going to get it right.”

 

Ezekiel Elliott, RB

(On how the game changed in the second half despite a strong start to the game)

“Can’t really tell you, you know. We’ve got to just take care of the penalties. I mean, penalties definitely hurt us today. Just take care of the football.”

 

(On his overall thoughts on today’s game)

“I think we battled, I think we competed. We’ve just got to make more plays.”

 

(On the performance of the offense today)

“Yeah for sure, I think the Chiefs’ game plan was definitely to make it tough for us to run the football. A lot of stacked boxes, a lot of pressures That gave us the opportunity to throw the football.”

 

(On Kevin Harris behind the scenes and on the field)

“Kevin, I mean he’s been working his tail off all year. He’s a guy who for a lot of years had to take a lot of scout team reps by himself. Never complained, always came to work, always showed up. We saw him reap the benefits of that.”

 

(On what he thinks the team needs to do to stay strong in the second half)

“Just got to execute better in the second half, I think that’s the main thing, get out there and execute. Take the adjustments that the coaches give us in the second half or before the second half and go out there and execute.”

 

Marte Mapu, LB

(On if there was anything that could have been done differently on the touchdown)

“Like I said, they [Kansas City Chiefs] are a great offense but we hold ourselves to a high standard so whether it is a good play or not, we have to stop it.”

 

(On how encouraged he feels after making the interception today)

“I mean it’s good but we want to get into the end zone and we want to win for the team.”

 

(On if it’s been tough being in and out of the lineup this season)

“I mean from the beginning it’s always been a game plan team from our perspective and I just trust the coaches to put me in when I am needed. We also have great safetys, great linebackers, that have also been playing at a really high level and defense that has been playing at a high level, so I don’t really feel any way in terms of whether I am playing or not. I just want us to win.”

 

(On why there’s been such an emphasis on the defense getting into the end zone)

“I mean that’s just the side of the ball that I play on, so I know the offense has been doing the same thing too. They are working and we are working but we are focusing on the part that we can contribute to. From my perspective, when you get that opportunity, you capitalize on it.”

 

Mack Wilson Sr., LB

(On what it was like trying to keep the Chiefs offense in front of them)

“That’s tough. Obviously, they’ve got a great quarterback, MVP quarterback. He makes his share of plays, I feel like we did a good job limiting those plays. When he needed to make them, he found a way to make them.”

 

(On if the Chiefs competing for a playoff spot showed in how they played today)

“I mean, honestly it was just football being played. I didn’t see that they were extra motivated or anything like that. They made more plays than we did.”

 

Kevin Harris, RB

(On getting the chance for more carries in regular-season action)

“I mean, you know it’s hard to get carries when you’ve got Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott] and ‘Mondre [Rhamondre Stevenson] in front of you. I was given the opportunity to get in there today and I made the most of it.”

 

(On what it’s been like to play with Ezekiel Elliott and what Elliott said to him before he took the field)

“He’s played the position a lot so he helped me stay on my keys and stuff. He gave me encouragement, told me to keep going and keep running. They obviously have very good guys, so it’s good learning from him.”

 

(On his touchdown)

“It felt good. The o-line did great on that play, so I give praise to them. It was a good call, followed my blockers and I scored.”

 

Jalen Mills, DB

(On playing against the Chiefs’ offense)

“87 [Travis Kelce] was a big target. I don’t think he did too much. They kind of got to their outlet passes with the screens and things like that, so that’s good for them. But I think for the most part, we did pretty good.”

 

(On Patrick Mahomes)

“It’s definitely a challenge. It’s something that we work on every day in practice when we know we’re facing a type of guy like [Patrick Mahomes]. Mahomes is definitely special. So, it’s definitely a challenge.”

 

Alex Austin, DB

(On his assessment of his performance)

“Personally, I feel like I had a great game, but there’s always things to clean up. You’re never as good as you think and never as bad, so looking forward to coming in tomorrow and breaking down the film with the coaches and getting my coaching points.”

 

(On being in the starting lineup)

“I felt ready for the opportunity. Like you said, I’ve been grinding for a long time to get this opportunity. I just was blessed enough to be able to get out there and get that start against a great opponent, a great quarterback, a great offense. So, I felt good, and I felt confident to go out there with a group of guys that I’m battling with every day. The veteran guys made things easier for me out there with communication, and it was just fun to build that camaraderie today with the guys.”