KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sunday’s 45-10 victory against the Washington Redskins accomplished two things.
The obvious being it snapped the Chiefs’ three-game losing streak and moved the team closer to clinching a playoff berth.
Dec 8, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Kansas City head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines against the Washington Redskins during the first quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
“I thought it was a good win,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during Monday’s media session. “Every win you get in the National Football League is a good win.”
Indeed, each victory secured is a triumph, which includes personal feats, such as Sunday giving Reid his 150th career win, including playoffs, as an NFL head coach.
“I didn’t realize that,” Reid said when asked about his accomplishment. “You don’t look at that. That’s not someplace I go with the number of wins.”
Still, should Reid take a moment to bask in his deeds since joining the NFL head coaching ranks in 1999, he’ll appreciate the noteworthiness.
The 150 career wins made him just the 21st head coach in NFL history to hit that impressive milestone.
Of the 20 coaches in front of him, Reid joins the likes of Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin and Jeff Fisher as active coaches with 150 or more career wins.
Reid has a long way to catch the all-time leader, Don Shula (347 total wins – 328 regular season, 19 postseason).
However, Reid isn’t too far from an old friend and mentor, Mike Holmgren (174 total wins – 161 regular season, 13 postseason). Holmgren had Reid on the Green Bay Packers staff during the 1990s.
“To even be considered in the same breath as Mike Holmgren, that’s something special,” Reid said. “I think he’s a Hall of Fame football coach and deserves to be in there. He was a great mentor.”
Ultimately, Reid said he won’t dwell on what all his victories mean.
He prefers to stay focused on the present.
“I don’t look at it the other way,” Reid said. “I haven’t sat down and 150 – I didn’t even know we were at that number – but let’s get the next one. We’re on that.”
Week 14’s unsung hero
The list of Chiefs stars is long from Sunday’s contest, which was played in snowy and sloppy field conditions. But Reid took a moment to thank a staff member who does his work behind the scenes.
Reid pointed out Chiefs equipment manager Allen Wright ensured the players had the proper studs in their cleats before the game started.
“I mean it looked like an assembly line in there just taking the shorter studs out and putting the longer ones in,” Reid said. “I think that was a factor. We were able to function at a high level in bad weather conditions and a field that was, just from the weather, a bit soft and still maintain our speed, balance and moving abilities.”
Reid adds Wright personally tested the field by donning cleats before determining what the players should wear.
“Not that he is Jamaal (Charles), but he gets out there and he moves around a little bit with the cleats on just to get a feel of the surface,” Reid said. “Then he comes back and gets with players and they ended up changing them out right before the game.”
Dynamic Duo
The Chiefs special teams have come alive the last two games, including a kickoff and punt returned for touchdowns in Sunday’s game.
Asked about the success, Reid gave full credit to his coaching staff, comparing them to a famous duo.
“He understands that base principle of blocking and tackling which is very important on special teams,” Reid said of special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “And then he and (special teams assistant) Kevin O’Dea are like Batman and Robin. They work very well together. They’re both very driven.”
In the past two games, the Chiefs have received two returns for touchdowns by Knile Davis and Quintin Demps, and Dexter McCluster returned a punt for a score.
Injury updates
Reid said left tackle Branden Albert (knee), tight end Anthony Fasano (concussion, knee) and outside linebacker Justin Houston (elbow) are day-to-day.
Houston has missed two straight games since subluxing his right elbow in Week 12, while Albert and Fasano did not play Week 14 after suffering their respective injuries in Week 13.
Notes: The Chiefs came out of Week 14 with no new injuries to report … “Really nothing to mention from this last game as far as the injuries go,” Reid said … Chiefs fans had a clear presence Sunday at FedExField and Reid noticed, thanking them for support … “They amaze me that they show up in the places that they do, in the conditions that they do and they stay throughout the duration of the game,” Reid said.
