JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Today on third down, offensively, anything that carried over, any trend that carried over that 3
of 12 the last two weeks on third down?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, the glaring thing is just our execution, right, on offense. Again, we
were in too many second and long and then it turned into third and long situations. You just
can’t put yourself, as an offense, yourself in those situations too many times. And it’s not
favorable to do that. And we got to take a look at this tape and figure that out.
Red zone last week, a lot of success. Three for three. Today, early 4th quarter, you got the ball
at the one. Last week, you went to Tank. He didn’t have a touch today. Any feelings on not
having a running back touch the ball and not have carries at the goal line?
DOUG PEDERSON: No. I mean, listen, it’s — we need to score there. I mean, that’s the thing.
And, you know, the first play, we had a run dialed up and didn’t execute well. We didn’t — you
know, we didn’t get it in the end zone. And just got to take a look at everything. But it’s not
about who’s in the game or who’s getting the touch or anything like that, Travis, Tank, D’Ernest,
all three of those guys are very capable of doing it. And, you know, so it’s not that. We just got
to look at what we’re doing and making sure we’re putting our guys in a position to be
successful.
The defense today, three turnovers. It seemed like a successful outing against a team like a
team against Kansas City. Just what did you see out there and I guess why wasn’t the offense
able to do anything with those turnovers, basically?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, defense played well. I mean, the defense kept us in this football game,
created the takeaways you mentioned. And like you said, it’s execution. We’ve got to do better.
We’ve got to execute. We got too many guys on offense, veteran players that, you know, just we
all need to do better, starting with me.
Doug, just how different was this from the playoff game last year defensively from what you
saw of the Chiefs? And the other thing I was going to ask also, was up until the very end, you
were in this game. Any score could have tied this game or given you the lead. So, you know,
looking back on that, just kind of your thoughts on that one, as well.
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I mean, last year is last year. We’ve moved forward. I mean, it’s
obviously a good football team. And, you know, they did a lot of the same stuff they did last
year to us. So it wasn’t anything that we did not expect. But, again, you play good teams, you
play well coached teams, you can’t beat yourself. And that’s what we did today. We beat
ourselves. You know, yes, the defense; yes, special teams played well. But it takes all three
phases, right? That’s what good football teams do. And we didn’t do that well enough today.
The opportunities were there and we didn’t do it. We got to look at this film and be hard and
critical of ourselves and bounce back next week.
Doug, what’s your level of surprise/concern that the execution, the offensive rhythm, and
flow hasn’t been there, despite the fact that almost everybody has come back year two in the
system?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, the guys are doing it in practice. We just got to make sure it’s
carrying over to the game. And as coaches, we’ve got to make sure we’re doing the right things
and not doing too much. Just putting our guys in positions and letting them go play. And then,
as players, we just got to execute the plays and execute what we see. We just — again, it’s
something that, you know, we all have to be accountable for, myself included, and make sure
that we get it corrected.
Doug, following up on the offensive execution: What is your concern level with the offensive
line, specifically with Anton Harrison, I know he had a tough matchup, but it’s two weeks in a
row that he’s had some troubles out there?
DOUG PEDERSON: I got all of the confidence in the world in Anton. And, you know, listen, Chris
Jones is a great player. He’s great player. I mean, he’s a very good player, right? And Anton’s a
good player. This is a great game for Anton to learn from. And, you know, I — look, it’s week 2.
And there’s a lot of football ahead of us. It’s a good football team sitting in that locker room
right now. And we’re going to get this thing fixed and turned around and headed in the right
direction.
Doug, you guys were up 3-0, you had a 4th and 5 at the KC 45. It had been, obviously, a
defensive struggle at that point. What went into your thinking to go for it there? Just were
you enough on the other side of midfield to try?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I knew their offense wasn’t, like, playing extremely well at the time,
right? I mean, we had some opportunities. But I just wanted to stay aggressive right there. And,
you know, that was just my decision. My decision to be aggressive and stay on the field. We just
didn’t execute.
Doug, I know this is the second game that Press (Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor) has
called the entire game. I know you commented last week that, obviously, there was some
things that may be a litle bit clunky. It’s a group effort. It’s a group effort. But how would you
assess his second game calling an entire game?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s fine. Listen, this game, sometimes it’s not about the plays. Now, we have
to coach the plays better so the guys understand exactly what to do and how to react to what
the defense is presenting. But, you know, I learned a long time ago that the players — you know,
players play this football game and coaches coach. We coach better, the players will ultimately
play better. So it starts with us. And, if we’re going to evaluate everything and make sure that
we’re putting our guys in the right places. But I thought Press did a nice job today.
When it was 17 to 9, about 5 minutes left, 4th and 12, was there any thoughts about kicking a
field goal there or was that just, again, another thing about staying aggressive?
DOUG PEDERSON: If the backwards pass would have put us back, maybe in 4th and 15ish, 4th
and 15, yeah, I would have kicked it there. 4th and 12, you know, you’re taking a shot to the end
zone anyway. So not a big deal.
On a day where it looked clunky, didn’t feel good, how do you avoid overreacting where
Trevor missed open receivers and offensive linemen struggled to block, and nothing seemed
to work, how do you keep a team from overreacting?
DOUG PEDERSON: It’s Week 2. It’s Week 2. I mean, my gosh. We’re 1-1. We’re in a great spot.
We lost to a great football team today. We didn’t play great. Guys know that. Guys are going to
rally. Guys are going to bounce back. We’re going to be better next week. A lot of football ahead
of us. And that’s the exciting part about it. And those guys are kicked off in there. You know,
they’re mad. And, you know, they know it. But it’s so early in this season that one game’s not
going to define who we are and it’s not going to define our season.
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Q. Trevor, you guys were really good on third down last year. The first 2 games this season I think it’s
been 3 of 12 both outings. Is there anything you can pinpoint why the situational football on third
down hasn’t been as good as it was last year?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of different things that are contributing to us not being
good on third down. We’re just not executing, really, at every position, at different times. Whether it’s
the throw at times, the protection, a drop, whatever it is, we’re all just having some mistakes in critical
situations. And we just got to play better. We got to make the plays for one another, at times. You know,
we got to make it easier on one another. And I think right now we’ve just had some, you know, obviously
some issues. And whether it’s communication or what, we got to look and we got to fix it. You know, we
didn’t play well at all, situationally, third down or red zone.
Q. You had 41 pass attempts and ran it 5 times. But only 12 carries by the backs. What went on today
as far as the lack of flow, you know, when it came to running the ball, particularly with those running
backs?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I thought we had a lot of miscues, especially early on in the game on first downs.
And I think that hurt us and that put us in some second and longs. You know, that defense does a really
good job. They bring a lot of pressures, they try to secure the edges and stop the runs and do things like
that. I think a lot of times, too, we ended up getting the ball on the perimeter on plays where, you know,
that’s basically a run. If they bring a pressure in, you spit the ball out. I think we had 6 or 7 of those
today. And those were times, too, where a run might be called and you get the ball out on the perimeter
and it makes it look like we didn’t have a ton of runs to the backs today, but, you know, that defense
does a good job of packing the box and bringing the pressure. But I’d say the biggest thing is we got to
get better on first down and not get in second and long. And, you know, you feel like you got to get
something back, but didn’t just have much success with it today.
Q. First, for you, immediate aftermath of this one, who did you talk to? What’s the conversation with
the coaching staff? And secondly, did you feel like the play calling and the order of plays perhaps was
disjointed and that led to the choppy nature of not maybe getting a fluid offense today?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: No, I think we — you know, I’d have to go back and watch the game. Obviously, it’s
fresh and a lot just happened. And in the game situations is kind of what I’m thinking about most in my
head and where we just, you know, didn’t execute. No, I think, as players, we got to execute better. We
had too many mistakes. Some fluke plays, too. You know, like, trying to get the ball to Ag and it ends up
being a fumble and they recover it at midfield. Stuff like that. We didn’t get a fourth down early on.
Obviously, in the red zone, like I said, I think we were 0-4. And when our defense is playing as good as
they are and their offense is spurting like they did today, and obviously we were, too, we got to capitalize
on those opportunities in the red zone. And we had some opportunities. We had a couple plays that
were that close, whether it’s in the back of the end zone where we make the catch and, you know, they push us out, or whatever it is. We just got to find a way to make those plays. You know, I missed a throw
or two in the red zone where we had a chance. We got first and goal on the one-yard line and end up
kicking a field goal when we’re down eight. That was a big possession when you look back at the game.
So we just had a lot of opportunities, you know, as disjointed as some of the things kind of were
throughout the game. It was just a sloppy game I think all over the place. But we had our opportunities.
We were in their red zone four times and came away with nine points. You know, that’s — you can’t do
that. You’re not going to beat good teams when you do that. So we got to be better.
Q. Trevor, just expanding on that a little bit more. What you can say about the opportunities the
defense created today and just their level of play in this game?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Played great. They were flying around. I mean, back-to-back weeks, they played
awesome. You know, kept the teams out of the end zone, have created turnovers, given us good field
position on numerous occasions. It’s just we got to be better. We got to help them out. I mean, they
were on the field a lot today. We had a lot of bad possessions where we put them — they’d get a
turnover, we’d put them right back on the field. Really, their back was against the wall the whole day.
They played great and we got to play better. We got to help them. That was just bad by us.
Q. Trevor, when you walked off the field today, how would you describe your emotion your offense
not getting into the end zone for the entire game, which is, you know, a pretty big rarity?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, it’s just we’re better than that. We’re a better team. We’re a better offense
than that. And I think that’s what’s disappointing, is when you know what you’re capable of. And the
guys that we have, whether it’s upfront, you know, myself, the running backs, receivers, like, we got so
many weapons. Like, we got to be able to put points on the board and score. And that’s just kind of
embarrassing. It’s a similar feeling, honestly, to when we played Houston here last year and just didn’t —
offensively, just didn’t get anything going. And some just bad plays, bad execution, let them hang around
all game and then our — and same thing, our defense played great. That game, too. And we just got to
help them and we got to play better.
Q. Trevor, your level of concern with almost everybody back with the offense, second year in the system, and it hasn’t just gone more smoothly? Is that a big issue for you or just more of a week-to-
week thing?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: No, I mean, it’s something we got to fix. So it is an issue. Obviously, we’re not — I
mean, we scored a lot of points last week, and we still didn’t — I don’t think we played to our standard
and how good we can play. And this week, I mean, not even close. Almost every play, every series there’s
something we can all do better. Really sloppy. So I wouldn’t say — I’m not concerned. But it’s something
we got to fix. It’s definitely an issue. We got to all look in the mirror and be accountable and be critical of
ourselves. It’s all of us. The guys talked about it after the game, just there’s plays that we all missed on
different series, different plays. Whatever it is. And we got to make them. We got to make those plays
and that’s what the good and great teams do. And we didn’t do it today. But, you know, I’m not
concerned. But we got to do it.
Q. Trevor, you used the words disappointing and frustrating. Doug said ticked and mad in the locker
room. Can you just give us an idea of how pissed off you guys are with the performance?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: This is a team that beat us in the playoffs last year. And you kind of had that fresh in
your mind all offseason. And the schedule comes out, you got week two and Kansas City. We obviously
took care of the business in week one and then we got a shot here, offensively, in week one, and then lay
an egg offensively. It’s pretty frustrating. Yeah, pretty frustrating. Especially, like I said, when you feel like
you let your defense down when they played so well. Got so many turnovers, played — were flying
around. I mean, it was fun to watch those guys. But, yeah, it’s definitely really, really frustrating when
you leave that much out there, especially being in the red zone, like I said, four times and no points. And
you just think back to all those plays. If you score on one of those possessions, the game is completely
different. If we score on that one that we got on the one-yard line, we score on that possession, get the
two-point conversion, it’s a tied game. So there’s a lot of different things. But it’s definitely really
frustrating.
WIDE RECEIVER CHRISTIAN KIRK
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
(On what is out of sync with the offense)
“Just a lot of self-inflicted errors. Obviously, that’s a great football team and a great defense, so we tip
our caps to them. But you look at it aftr, and there’s so many opportunities that we missed, and
collectively as a group, the guys that needed to make plays, there were times that the plays weren’t
made, and it just caught up with us. I think that’s what the hardest part is about this right now.”
(On if the defense playing so well adds to the frustration the offense is feeling)
“One-hundred percent. I mean, the defense is playing lights-out. They’re playing such good football.
That’s such a high-powered offense, and to hold them to 17 (points), they gave us every shot to go out
and win the game and we didn’t, we didn’t do it. That’s on us as an offense, and we’re way too good to
go out there and put together something like that with that up there. So we need to look at our
ourselves in the mirror and be very harsh on ourselves.”
(On being aggressive going for it on 4th down)
“I think, no mater what, we’re going to be aggressive. Doug (Head Coach Doug Pederson) believes in us,
and as players, we need to be better on 4th down, and 3rd down, collectively. In those pressure downs,
we need to make sure we’re all locked in. We can’t have any mistakes. There’s some penalties, some
missed assignments on all those plays, so we just need to do better. We’re the ones controlling it, and
they’re putting us in those positions to make those plays. I think that we’re going to continue to be
aggressive, and continue to be better at executing.”
(On how if he felt better about getting into more of a rhythm offensively in Week 2)
“It did. There was a little bit of ebbs and flows in the first half. “(We’re) still trying to figure things out,
still had some missed opportunities. But, unfortunately, we didn’t win the game so we need to go back
and look at where there’s better opportunities to either schematically do some better things, but I think
as players, we need to do better. Whatever I can do to help contribute a litle bit more to get us some
wins, I’ll definitely look to do.”
(On where they can be beter to come away with touchdowns in the red zone and not just field goals)
“Execution. Execution. It was hot, it was a long game, but we can’t fall back on that. We’re going to have
another opportunity next week where it’s going to be hot and we’re going to have a divisional opponent.
So we need to be better. I think it’s all pre-snap of just locking into what your job is and doing that at the
highest level, no matter how tired or how hurt you are, you’ve got to do it. And so that’s what we’re
going to definitely focus on, is just selling out on each individual play.”
(On if it’s hard to move past the Chiefs winning three games in a row over the Jaguars)
“No. We have a lot of pros in this locker room. Pros move on. It hurts right now, you digest the feelings
today and then once tomorrow morning comes around, look at the film, be hard on yourself critically
and then it’s over with. You move on. This is Week 2 of a 17-week season and we’re still very early on in
writing our story, and we’re looking forward to doing that. So, yeah, it hurts now, but we’re going to
move on and I believe this team will be ready to go next week.”
TIGHT END EVAN ENGRAM
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Have you been able to put a finger on why the offense really struggled with continuity today?
Execution. Everybody has to be better. We had our chances. The defense played their buts off.
We gave too many opportunities. We just have to execute better as a whole unit.
Did you see this coming in practice? Has the red zone been an issue in practice?
WE prepare our buts off every single week to come into the game confident. We know we can
be a lot better, it’s just that simple. We have to execute when plays mater. We never come into
a game feeling off or not confident.
Was it stunning knowing how good you guys can be?
Disappointing. This is a game we should have won. We take accountability as an offense. We
have to be better, we have to help our defense by keeping them off the field. We got to score in
the red zone. We have to do a lot of things better.
Was there anything the Chiefs were doing that caught you off guard?
No. All lack of execution on our part.
Was there coverage similar to last year or different?
No. There were pretty straight forward. We were prepared for what they presented. They were
getting pressure on the quarterback. We had some missed opportunities down the field. We got
in the red zone, you have to score six against that team, it’s that simple. [We need] Better
execution by everybody.
There were some oh so closes in the back of the endzone?
Yeah. It’s a game of inches. Every little thing maters. Every inch matters. There were a lot of
missed opportunitues.
How tough is it going against each other because you both play similar styles?
Yeah, we are two good teams. Two good teams went to battle, but we feel like we left a lot out
there today as an offensive unit. We have to be better. Two good teams. They are the Super
Bowl champs. They have the same team we saw last year. We should’ve had them today.
Is this one you say, ‘we are burning the tapes,’ or is there one you say have to watch it?
We definitely have to watch. We definitely have too. I am just speaking from an offensive
standpoint. We have to sit on this, we have to look at this tomorrow and take accountability for
our play, the things that we left out there. Everybody; myself, the rest of the unit, coaches,
players – everybody. We have to really breakdown this tape and be real critical of ourselves.
After tomorrow, we turn the page. We have another opportunity to go out against a divisional
opponent that is coming here to make it right.
How shellshocked were you walking off the field with this many weapons and Trevor
Lawrence at quarterback, that you did not get in the endzone?
I wouldn’t say shellshocked. Like I told them, we are a little disappointed. We are better than
that.
Is there a sense of surprise considering everyone that is back and adding Calvin, second year
in this system, that the offense hasn’t been in as good a rhythm as you would’ve hoped?
No surprises. Just disappointed because we are better than this.
Is it harder to move past this one with the Chiefs winning three in a row over you guys?
No. The other two were last year and last year is over. We had the opportunity to beat them this
year and put ourselves in a good spot against one of the best teams in the league. We missed
our shot. We are definitely going to move on from this. We are going to look at the tape and
move on. Just like we saw them last year at the end, there are going to get beter too as a team
and we will see them again.
SAFETY ANDRE CISCO
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY VS. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Q. When you went out for a few plays, were you coming off an injury or just trying to catch
your breath?
S ANDRE CISCO: No, I was cramping up a little bit. [I’ve got to] hydrate better. Obviously, it’s
hot and you know that coming into the game. I was telling the trainer, as I get older, I think I’m
losing more sodium faster or something like that. So, I just took a few Right Stuff, I think that’s
what it’s called, for the sodium and I was good.
Q. For you, how would you assess this one defensively, compared to the last two meetings
with the Kansas City Chiefs?
ANDRE CISCO: When I look at our plan to win the game, we held 87 [Kansas City TE Travis Kelce]
down to the best of our ability. I think when Ray [S Rayshawn Jenkins] was on him, he did really
well and minimized him. I think we didn’t take the big play away enough. At certain times of the
game, you’ve got to take the shots away from them. Because they weren’t really driving on us
at certain points of the game. In terms of getting constant first downs and earning it, I think we
lost it when they had the big play. Especially coming out of the half, we’ve got to set the tone
right away.
Q. You almost had two interceptions, can you take us through both plays?
ANDRE CISCO: Yeah, first play, I was kind of just reading the eyes and I know that he [KC QB
Patrick Mahomes] likes the close shot. I was playing half field. I think I misjudged it a little bit, I
wish I would’ve had that one. And then later in the game, back playing half field again, a few
plays, I missed. Last year in terms of when you’re playing at half-field, if you’re looking at the
front side, you’ve got to be able to finish that and I was able to finish it today. Obviously, it
would’ve been better if I would’ve had both.
Q. 17 points, three turnovers, that’s a heck of a job for this team. Are you a little stunned that
you don’t walk out of here with a win?
ANDRE CISCO: It’s hard to look at it like that. I didn’t even know we had three turnovers. It kind
of just passes you by when you look at the scoreboard and you’re not up, it doesn’t matter how
well we’re doing because you’ve got to do better, you’ve got to somehow come up with a play
and score on defense, whatever it takes. In games like this, you’ve got to have complete [focus]
in the NFL.
Q. Big picture, how much confidence are you guys playing with after these first two weeks
defensively?
ANDRE CISCO: I think it builds, it’s definitely building blocks. There’s more to do. Obviously, I
hate losing, but losses kind of expose a few things and tell you as a leader what you could do
better to bring guys along. We already talked about it, we’ve had conversations as to the
approach this week and where it has to go.
Q. What is the conversation in the locker room after this one in particular?
ANDRE CISCO: I think among the leaders, we think we need to get together more and have
more communication. I mean, we do it throughout the week, but we usually wait until the end.
So, we were just talking about starting at beginning of the week just getting right together and
talking about what we like, what we don’t like and just making sure that we’re attacking the
game plan. Understand, on game day, not everything is going to get called, so expecting calls
and playing it.
Q. Is there some animosity between these two teams that have played three times in the last
few hundred days?
ANDRE CISCO: Yeah, I mean, we’ve got dogs on defense, so a lot of guys are not going for that.
If you’re calling the guys names, or whatever the case may be. A little bit of that was going on,
so guys just have to step up to the plate and just be like, ‘We’re not backing down, respectfully.’
Obviously, we do it with class and be careful with how we approach it, and don’t get penalties,
whatever the case may be. But we’re not backing down.
LINEBACKER FOYESADE OLUOKUN
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY VS. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Q. Overall, to hold them to what you guys did, how good was the effort on defense today?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: It was good, good effort. Endurance game, I knew it was going to be a
game outlasting them. Caused a lot of turnovers, at the end of the day, we had to outlast that
team, long plays, and long drives, we had to outlast them, we didn’t come up with the W.
Q. Does it feel like a missed opportunity?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: We were right there and they knew it, the other team knew it. The other
team knew it. When they got up, that’s when they got a little chippy, they finally took a little
deep breath and decided to do what they do. They felt it, for sure.
Q. How did it feel for you guys to create frustration with Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes?
FOYSEADE OLUOKUN: Oh they were frustrated. It was good, but they were able to point up at
the scoreboard and say check the scoreboard, so that hurts. It’s plays here and there, you got to
outlast that team because it’s going to be a fourth quarter bout and you got to be able to come
up with the win in the end, no matter how it looks.
Q. But does that give you confidence moving forward in the season and maybe even late in
the season?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Yeah, we were confident in ourselves before the season started because
whatever the stats were for our defense looking last year—some reporter asked me, ‘What do I
think the defense is going to bring to this team?’ We have something to prove every week. We
were there with the turnovers, we got to outlast that team. We got to outlast other teams, be
cleaner in the game, handle hurry up in the game, there is plays left out there that we can clean
up. Confidence there for sure, we’re just out there proving what we know we can do.
Q. When you say “we” are you talking about the defense, who are you talking about?
FOYSADE OLUOKUN: The whole team. We were right there. We, together, everybody. We were
right there. Everybody clean up what they got to do, we’re right there.
Q. How much confidence do you have in the offense to find a rhythm?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Confident. They are explosive, you know, off day to day, they’ll fix it. We
got a lot of players on that team. We see it all training camp, makes us better, we know they
can fix it. We just do our job and as a team, we are going to pull out those games again.
Q. How do you think the linebacking core did with Kansas City TE Travis Kelce?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: He was frustrated and then when he was up at the end, he was able to
point at the scoreboard, but they were frustrated as a team, I think. They are going to say
whatever they say on the other side, but we we’re right there and we need to be able to outlast
them.
Q. What are you guys doing so well on defense these two weeks?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Coach Bob Sutton, taking the ball away. Shout out to Coach Bob, taking
the ball away, making teams drive the field on us. Obviously, those two drives they did score,
there was an ex-play in there I believe. So, we got to do better at that and take that away.
Everybody hustling to the ball, let’s tackle better as a team this year. Try to keep taking that ball
away.
Q. Is there still one more step to go? You guys have done so many things, but in terms of
beating a team like this, a team that has been here before.
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Of course. Like I said, we got to outlast, every play is important. Every
drive is important, when you have those opportunities, take advantage of everything. Like to be
the best of the best defensively—not every game is going to be pretty, there is going to be
some gritty-grindy games, one play here, one play there. But we got to be able to come up with
the win and we did not do that today so that’s on us.
Q. How would you evaluate the defense on Kansas City TE Travis Kelce in particular?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: I really don’t know his stats, I think we did a good job of making them
drive the field and I feel like as a team they were frustrated on offense. I mean, I’m sitting there
next to him a lot of plays and he’s over there, you know what I’m saying? But when he was up
he was able to point at the scoreboard, like I keep saying, and be very happy. We got to do
better.
Q. Do you feel like compared to last year of the two meetings, this defense took a step
forward in terms of countering their offense?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: I feel like we had a good plan, there is always a step for us to go.
Obviously there were plays out there for us to make that we did not make. I’m over here
kicking myself. As a team I feel like we did good, we forced turnovers, we made them drive the
field, were able to hold them to low points. But it was just there last year, it was basically the
same thing. Plays here and there that we have to make in order to beat a team like that.
Q. Could you talk a little about how difficult it is to keep Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes in
check the whole game?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: That’s what he does, he is good at that, that’s what he puts on tape week
in and week out. At the end of the day, when put in those positions, you have to make those
plays in order to beat that team and I did not make that play and now we are sitting here. So, I
have to get better, the team has to get better, and we are going to do it together.
Q. How much do you think that this game will not define this team?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: It’s a long season. We were fighting, that’s what you got to take away
from this game. We fight no matter who we play, all the way until the end. We got more weeks
to correct it. Houston, let’s play it.
CHIEFS HEAD COACH ANDY REID
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
ANDY REID: As far as injuries go, Kadarius Toney, left foot. We’ll check it out. Played most of the plays
that he was supposed to be in on. Justin Watson was dehydrated. He got an IV and then he was going to
come back out. Our guys really sucked it up, for lack of terms. It was hot and humid out there. You know,
I’m an offensive guy, but that was a beautiful thing defensively. Offensively we got to take care of the
penalties and the turnovers, but the battle through it shows me a little something. So, we’ll get the other
stuff fixed as we go. Defensively great to have Chris Jones back. He obviously influenced the game in a
positive way for us. McDuffie, I mean I can go on and on. The guys on defense. Steve Spagnuolo had a
phenomenal game plan. His coaches did a great job there. Offensively, Pacheco, offensive line picked it
up, Pacheco did a nice job with it after the line picked it up. We had some good things happen that
second half. Pat had a couple nice plays too, along with the receivers. The other thing is Doug Pederson
has done a great job here for the Jacksonville people. Heck of a football team and they’re very well
coached and they got a lot of toughness there, too. With that, time is yours.
Q. Did you get more out of Chris than you expected?
ANDY REID: I figured he would be able to play about half a game. We shuttled him in and out. He did a
great job. Listen, I mentioned this before, over the years here he’s learned to keep himself in shape.
When I saw him at practice he was moving around pretty good and endurance seemed good.
I felt comfortable that he would go in and be able to do his thing. Maybe not to that level. That was a
heck of a job by him.
Q. You mentioned playing through, battling through showed you something. Is that your biggest
takeaway? Obviously a lot to clean up on your offense.
ANDY REID: Well, my biggest takeaway, I thought our defense did a nice job, and then the offense battled
through it. But you had the elements. We all felt it. All you guys felt it. You got the elements that you got
to fight through. You’re not walking in the park here. Both teams are battling through some heat and
humidity.
Q. Is that how you account for an inordinate number of mistakes?
ANDY REID: No, that wasn’t the problem. Just too many procedure penalties, turnovers. We’ll get that
taken care of. That’s not the heat. That’s us needing to take care of business.
Q. Do you attribute that to Week 2 of the season?
ANDY REID: We normally don’t do this, so, you know, it got us today. We’re not a big penalty team, and
offensively we’re — we’re not a big penalty team, and surely not the turnovers.
Q. How did you feel about T Jawaan Taylor’s performance?
ANDY REID: I took him out for a couple plays. Stepped back. This is home, not only home, but also where
he played. You know, just stepped back and let’s get you back out there. He had some big blocks later in
the game there. Did a nice job finishing.
Q. How did TE Travis Kelce look?
ANDY REID: Trav did a good job. He’s a pretty good shape. He had a lot of routes in there, so looked like
he felt pretty good.
CHIEFS HEAD QUARTERBACK PATRICK MAHOMES
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Q. How would you assess the overall offense today?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Obviously too many penalties. Too many missed cues. But there is stuff that we can
learn from. Got a lot of zone coverage. Just having to find ways to execute versus zone, and driving the
length of the field. Going back it the basics, the fundamentals.
I was telling [Chiefs Executive Vice President of Communications] Ted [Crews], you play bad and win it’s a
lot beter than playing bad and losing. I was glad we found a way to get a win at the end of the day, but
obviously a lot of stuff that we have to get beter at.
Q. Can you take us through both touchdowns? Were on the same page with Travis Kelce being back?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, just getting into a check there on the first touchdown to Skyy [Moore], kind of
our two minute. Getting to the right play. Skyy running a great route, making a great play against a great
corner honestly. So just going to the matchup on that one.
And the second one, just kind of me and Trav [Travis Kelce] just doing the scramble drill and working.
Travis is great at that stuff so — wish I would have been able to find him in the third one that I missed in
that corner of the end zone.
Like I said, just stuff we have to get beter at. Litle things, but litle things in this league make a big
difference and we have to continue to get beter at that stuff.
Q. How nice was it having Travis Kelce back?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Honestly, just the fact that he played, I mean, it surprised me because that’s a scary
injury. I mean, he didn’t look good there for a litle bit but he batled over those extra days. He was in the
facility rehabbing, and to get himself out there and able to play, it talks about the competitor that he is
and the teammate that he is.
So having him out there not only he makes plays, but helps everybody else. Gets other guys open, so
truly just a great teammate to even be out there on this field.
Q. How much did the defense set the tone and keep you guys in it? Along those lines, what did you
think of Chris Jones being able to do as much as he did?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, defense was incredible. That’s a really good offense, and for them to shut
them down, they were like 0-4 in the red zone, couple critical stops after we turned the ball over and
then three and out a couple times, and they kept holding the field goals and holding them — I mean, that
win is — the defense won that game.
We have to continue to get better as an offense, which I think we will. If that defense plays like that
we’re going to be hard to beat. That’s special.
To answer your second question, Chris [Jones], crazy. Just to be able to make that impact on a game after
not being in training camp. You can work out as much as you want off the field. I know this. But to be
able to come to Jacksonville where it’s hot, humid, and dominate against a great team, it’s truly special,
and I’m glad he’s on my team.
Q. Is [Isiah] Pacheco midseason Pacheco, and do you feel like he’s still got only room to go before he is
over his rehab and is the player you remember from last year?
PATRICK MAHOMES: No, I think he ran the ball well today. There is stuff here and there, we have to get
better at as far as blocking, me making some mic calls and better executing throughout the entire
offense. Whenever I found him there, he punched it through there. He made a lot of big runs.
There at the end just tough yards. That’s stuff that you need in this offense. As we continue to develop as
an offense we’ll continue to get the run game more and it will open up the rest of the offense.
Q. What did you see on the third and six to Skyy?
PATRICK MAHOMES: They did a good job covering. They kind of ran coverage where they were doubling
Travis, and that was my first read. Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] actually got open first. He got open and I
was going to throw it to him, and the safety kind drove him really hard and I think Skyy made his guy fall
down on the other side, so was able to buy enough time, and then just get the ball to him. At that point
he was wide open. So, get the ball to him and then he made a great play after the catch, getting down
field, staying in bounds, and keeping the clock rolling.
He had a big game today, man, and I was happy for him. I think he’ll continue to build. As well as the
other receivers too. I thought there was a lot of positives with them, and they’ll continue to build. It’s a
work in progress, but you want to win games. I thought we did a good job finding a way to get a win.
Q. Talk about the litle things. Rough day for Jawaan [Taylor]. What was your message to him?
PATRICK MAHOMES: I mean, through social media he knew some of this was going to get called. He’s
going to continue to get better and better. They’re cracking down on some of the alignment stuff, but
we’re playing football, man. He’ll get closer to the line of scrimmage than I guess everyone else, but he’ll
get closer, so they don’t call it and we’ll continue to work on the snap counts.
But he’s a great player. He’ll continue to play and get comfortable. And it’s hard when they’re getting
picked on a little bit to keep playing your game, but I have all the confidence in him in the world.
Q. (Andy [Reid] went over 270 (wins) to tie Tom Landry for fourth on the career list. Just wondered
what is your basic thoughts are on what has allowed him to do this in the NFL?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I didn’t know. That’s awesome. That truly is awesome. And to be able to do it
two different places with a bunch of different teams, different quarterbacks, it’s truly remarkable.
But I think at the end of the day obviously he’s a great coach, but I think the person is what makes him
so special. The way he’s able to relate to everybody. Everybody in this locker room would say the same
thing. Ya’ll know that.
Whenever you have a head coach that you can really relate to and you know that he loves you and wants
the best for you, you go out there and give everything you have. That’s what’s makes him so special as a
coach. Obviously he has the Xs and Os, but the person is what makes him special.
Q. Patrick, can you tell me what you were feeling, and what you think the team felt at halftime? You
feel like you don’t play well but you’re still up, 7-6. Is it relief? What are you feeling at halftime?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, we’re playing a good football team. When you make mistakes, you’re not
going to have sustained drives as an offense. We were able to get that last touchdown to get a litle bit of
momentum, and then a big drive in that first drive out of half getting that touchdown to kind of get the
momentum back in our favor. Then the defense got a lot of stops.
I mean, like I said, it’s hard for us to see, for everyone to see, because we’ve been such a prolific offense
for so long and we’ve started fast. But if you don’t execute at high level in this league, you’re not going to
have success. You’re not going to score touchdowns and have sustained drives. That’s stuff we have to
get better at.
We know what we’re doing. It’s about going out there and executing it and finding the right way to do
that as far as of run and pass and all that stuff. But I was proud of the guys they kept fighting. Even at the
beginning of last year we didn’t play as well maybe after the first game that we wanted to.
You have to continue to build and build and know the process ahead, that you just continue to stack wins
no matter how you get them and try to play your best football as the season goes on.
Q. (Regarding yards.) Is there a conscious effort or will there be in the future to have more balance?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, you have to take what’s there. We had a couple run plays called, but
they — heavier boxes that threw through some of the advantage throws on the outside, RPO type stuff. I
missed some.
That is what I was saying. There are some missed reads by me. I got to handle the ball. But, yeah, we’re
going to get the run game going. I think you saw in the second half it was getting going better even
though it was tough four, five-yard carries — obviously the big one — are important.
We’ll continue to work that stuff. But we have the talent. Offensive line has the talent. We have the
talent blockers on the outside as well. But it’s a new offensive line. They had to gel together and figure it
out with the running back.
So, I’m excited because I know we can do it. In order for this offense to take the next step we are going
to have to get it going for sure.
CHIEFS TE TRAVIS KELCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
TRAVIS KELCE: We’re moving forward, man. I’ll take a dub any way we can get it, baby.
Q. Pat Mahomes said you didn’t know if you were going to be able to play this week. How iffy was it?
TRAVIS KELCE: I mean, there was no doubt in my mind. It wasn’t — it is what it is, man. I was out there
flying around. Wish I could have helped my team out a litle bit more than I did, but like I said, we came
out of Jacksonville with a win, man.
Q. Travis, can you take us through when it happened, what your immediate thoughts were?
TRAVIS KELCE: I mean, just it was a routine play. Got caught in a bad position. Just got to be more
fundamentally sound I guess and just make sure that before practice or throughout the week just make
sure everything is firing so that I don’t put myself in a position like that. Initially yeah, I was like what the
heck happened, and hopefully there is nothing severe. Once I started working out with the training staff
doing a lot of the rehab, just put full trust in the medical staff we have here, and sure enough, I was able
to get out there and help.
Q. How much of an issue was it for you today?
TRAVIS KELCE: I’m not going to say it was an issue at all. Everything that you saw out there was 100
percent what I could give. Hopefully next week we get even beter from it.
Q. Take us through the touchdown and what you saw. Looked like you saw some space. Is that right?
TRAVIS KELCE: Yeah, they got a great defensive coordinator. You get down to the red zone they really
make you find voids in the zones. With that being said, I knew once Pat kind of saw where a soft spot
was going to be, yeah.
Q. We saw how jovial you were with Chris throughout the week. What does it mean to have him back
and what was the week like for him?
TRAVIS KELCE: It’s just an interesting scenario, man, and I just want to make sure that he felt — you know
what I mean, that he’s every part of this from the jump that he’s always been. I love that guy. You know,
sometimes contracts and things like that can kind of get — I don’t know, get in the way of, or at least the
media can portray people to be somebody they’re not. I just wanted to make sure he knew we were
happy as hell to get him back out there on the field and in the building. His energy is needed, man.
Q. What did you think of his performance today?
TRAVIS KELCE: Looked like the 95 that I know.
Q. Looked like there was some frustration level with how things were going offensively the first half.
How do you balance patience in week two versus urgency and need to clean up the mistakes quickly?
TRAVIS KELCE: Still early in the season. What you guys just saw is the second game bringing all the new
pieces together. We’re going to keep building, keep growing. We got great leadership, but right now hats
off to the defense and the way they’re playing and keeping us in games. We love them for it, and we got
to stop shooting ourselves in the foot on offense.
