The Kansas City Chiefs picked up their third straight win on Sunday night to keep a perfect record in the 2024 NFL season. But Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are aware that the Atlanta Falcons made them sweat until the last second.
Far from hiding from this, both the head coach and quarterback addressed the opponents’ strength after the game. Reid had nothing but praise for Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, who took the team’s reins this year.
“My hat goes off to Raheem, being a new coach here — the Atlanta Falcons are in great hands,” Reid said, via Sports Illustrated. “They played hard, aggressive, good football on both sides of the ball.”
Mahomes also made sure to praise the Falcons, a team that made things hard for him throughout the game. The quarterback was very self-critical afterwards, but made sure to give Atlanta the credit it deserves.
Head coach Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons looks on during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“That’s a good football team,” Mahomes said postgame. “I expect them to get better and better because whenever you bring a lot of different pieces in, it takes a little bit to get it going throughout the season. But, yeah, that’s going to be a team that’s going to make a lot of noise as the season goes on.”
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Reid, Morris address the play that decided the Falcons – Chiefs game
The Chiefs‘ unbeaten record looked in jeopardy as the Falcons had possession late in the fourth quarter. With the hosts trailing 17-22, Atlanta decided to go for it on 4th and 5 from the Chiefs’ six-yard line despite having four minutes left on the clock.
Bijan Robinson was stopped by Nick Bolton in a play that sealed the Chiefs’ win, but Reid defended Morris’ brave decision: “He stayed aggressive. He’s got a team that he’s training with an aggressive attitude. So that’s what they did.“
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Morris didn’t regret his decision either: “I was in four-down territory for a while there. We were going out there to win this football game. We didn’t come here to tie. We didn’t come here to lose. We didn’t come here to hope we win. We didn’t come here to allow Patrick Mahomes to work his magic. We came here to win the football game on our terms, and I lost it, so I’ll take that medicine all day.”
In the end, it was a hard-fought game in which the details made the difference. While Morris’ Falcons are a work in progress, Reid’s Chiefs are an established dynasty in the NFL. The Atlanta head coach is well aware of this, which is why he told Reid in their postgame handshake: “You’re tough to deal with.”
