Chiefs 27, Raiders 20
Q. After the interception you started to talk to the defense on the way out (indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: I did not, but those guys stepped up to the challenge. Obviously put them in a terrible position off the tipped pick. Not only them getting that stop, I think it just flipped the momentum of the entire game. They kind of came back in that second half and were firing on all cylinders, and so for them to get that stop, then for us to have that long drive, it ended in a field goal, but it kind of switched the momentum and then we were able to get the win from there.
Q. Can you describe the emotion after the 4th down stop for everybody?
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, it was big time because I think the ball was on like the 3-yard line. A couple times it was on the 1. For them to not just let up -- it's easy in that situation to just let them kind of get in the end zone just because it's not really on them. It's on the offense to put them in position, but they stood their ground. They went up there and said that they were going to make them earn it. They're going to make them earn every single yard.
The defense made a big-time stop, and we were able to carry that momentum into a win.
Q. How do you feel like Hopkins did?
PATRICK MAHOMES: I thought he did a great job. Obviously 3rd down hit a big catch early in the game, and then he had a couple other big plays. I missed him on the one corner route early but still got open, and as I looked back at the tablet there was a couple times where in man coverage he was just really working and winning. Even the touchdown to Trav I threw, if you look back on his side, he's open, too, for a touchdown there.
Now that you see that, obviously I know the type of player he is, but you see that on the field, it shows that if they're going to play man coverage against him, he's going to get open, and I have to give him chances to go out there and make plays.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, honestly, it's high-level stuff just because it was zone coverage. They kind of were in the right spot. He pulled up in the right window, stuff you see Trav do a lot, you see Juju do a lot. I was able to throw the ball, and I've kind of talked about it a little bit. He has good body language when he runs routes, so you can kind of tell what he's going to do before he does it. We'd only practiced that play I think once, maybe twice, and for 3rd down in that situation, for him to run it and be in the right position, it shows that he's going to fit in perfectly in this offense.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: I think guys just do their job. I don't think it was one or another. We ran it sometimes. I ran it sometimes. We threw the ball when we needed to throw the ball. That defense has a lot of different coverages and guys were able to recognize the coverages and execute at a high level, and then I thought we played a pretty good football game offensively. Obviously the pick hurt us there in the second half, but other than that, I thought guys did a good job. We've got to clean up some of the penalties on the turnover, obviously, but I think we're building and going the right direction.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, just being able to find guys, getting them open in windows, make the throws. I thought guys came in with the right mindset. I think now if we can just kind of connect on some of those deeper passes downfield, that'll really expand the zones that the teams are playing against us.
I felt good about how we played today. They have a good defense, and I thought we did a good job of executing at a high level and getting the win at the end of the day.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, it's a rivalry. It goes back further than anyone on that football field. No matter what the records are, you come into this football game, you know it's going to be a fight. You know it's going to be a fight every single snap. There's going to be no give-up. They have a lot of guys on that team that have a lot of pride, and playing at home and playing in this stadium, we did a good job of executing, and they made some plays, we made some plays, and at the end of the day we found a way to get a win.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, Chiefs kingdom travels well everywhere, but they've done a great job of traveling here to Vegas. It's exciting to see whenever you can get into a stadium and you're in an opponent's stadium and you can see red everywhere, and it shows the support that we have and we've gotten throughout my entire career. It's a special place, and I don't take it for granted because it costs money to travel, it costs money to come to games, and people want to show that they support us, and we're going to show that same support to them when we're in the community.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Not at all. He's like the least -- if you asked anyone on the team they'd want Travis to score a touchdown more than he'd want to score a touchdown. That's just the type of guy he is. He was able to score the touchdown there. It was a tight window throw, he made a big-time catch. He had a good game. But I don't think he mentioned that natural tight end day one time. He's all about ball and all about winning, and I think you saw that the last game last year whenever he could have got a thousand yards and he sat himself out even though he wanted him to play. He's just all about winning at the end of the day, and that's what makes him such a special player.
Q. 30,000 passing yards in your career. Just talk about that.
PATRICK MAHOMES: I didn't even know about that until after the game and them telling me. Obviously an amazing accomplishment. It speaks to the organization I'm in. It speaks to the people I have around me, the coaches I have around me and the players. It takes everybody.
I think just being able to execute and get to that milestone is awesome, but we have a lot more to do, and we've had a great start to the season, and we want to keep building on that.
Q. The broader way about the defense, the last couple seasons in particular, what is it that he's done to make the team --
PATRICK MAHOMES: I think the biggest thing about the defense and about this entire team is whenever your number is called, the guy is going to step up and make the play. That goes for the whole entire team but especially the defense in situations like today. They had a good drive to start the game, and our defense, we lost all the momentum, and they were able in a bad situation and that whole entire unit stepped up when their number was called to make a big-time stop. That's what it takes from great football teams. It takes greatness from everybody. It can't be one guy. That's what's made us so great for so long throughout my career. It's not all about me, it's not all about Trav, it's about this entire team, and that's what makes it so special.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, without giving away all our secrets, we knew the coverage that they were going to play, and we knew that guy was going to be going over there to get to Travis, and if he went over there enough, we were going to get back to the backside to D-Hop. It was a good play call, and we executed and got a touchdown.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: I thought I could get him, man. You just never know. No, I was scrambling downfield. I knew I was downfield, but the guy was open. But yeah, pump fake -- I wasn't going to be able to juke him. I was like, maybe he'll jump or something. But the guy behind me got me, so I've got to be a little bit more careful with the football as I'm getting downfield.
Q. (Indiscernible).
PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I thought they did a great job. Obviously, like I said, we cleaned some of the penalties up, and they had a great, great game. I thought they did a great job pass protecting.
They did a great job when we called on them in the second half to run the football. I think that 19-play drive we were just running the football, getting five to six yards a carry. They've done a great job this entire year of being able to do that, and we're going to keep building as an offense. Hopefully, like I said, we can hit some of these deep shots and take some pressure off them to be able to run the football with lighter boxes, but whenever we call their number, they step up to the challenge, and I think we have a lot of great guys up there that are getting better every week.
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