Sean Payton

On Drew Brees and the Saints offense:

“Offensively, we didn’t start real well, so it’s hard to just, obviously, you can point to one position, but I felt like our third-down numbers weren’t good enough today. I didn’t feel like we ran the ball efficiently when we tried. Give Kansas City credit. We battled back in the game, but you’ve got to be better on third down. When you’re not, you don’t have those attempts; you don’t have the snaps, the time of possession, all of the things you need against a good offense like that. We talk about time of possession in a game like this; and, that includes converting third downs. Overall, offensively, we weren’t very sharp.”

On the defense’s play:

“I was proud of how we competed. I thought that we flew around. I thought guys (played well) against a really good offense. I thought we played our hearts out. It wasn’t good enough, obviously, but I’m proud of the effort. There will be things we look at. We have a short week here before we play on Friday. Again, tip your hats again to a really good Kansas City team.”

On Michael Thomas getting placed on IR:

“That was the plan at the start of the week, getting Mike healthy when the postseason rolls around. And, I think that we are doing the right thing. The challenge is that he’s got one of those nagging injuries that you want to see an upward curve with the recovery. As long as he is playing, it’s hard for that to happen. I think that we are doing the smart thing with Mike.”

On playing the Vikings on Christmas:

“We will be smart with the walkthroughs, like we normally have been. These guys will receive some recovery work in tomorrow; they will rest. We will come back and really monitor the snaps as we get ready for a Friday game. We’ve played on short weeks before, so we will pay attention tour schedule.”

Drew Brees

On the offense’s slow start:

“Well I can tell you the first four drives were not what we want, obviously, with four three-and-outs. We didn’t really find a rhythm until the second quarter and the fourth quarter I would say if you kind of broke this down, second quarter, fourth quarter. Unfortunately, there were quite a few moments where we weren’t able to get that first first-down. In so many cases you get that and then you are able to get a drive together, convert some third downs and find some tempo and rhythm. Unfortunately, I’ll say it wasn’t really efficient in the passing game. I think it was a combination of forcing some things downfield instead of just taking a completion underneath. There were some miscues. They hit us with some looks defensively where you just had to throw the ball away to avoid a negative play or a sack. So, a combination of all those things, they did a great job, but I know we could have been more efficient. We could’ve found more completions.”

On whether he was too rusty to play:

“Listen, my first pass of the game I should have thrown a check down and if I threw a check down, we’d get the first first-down and get a drive going but I tried to sort of fit one into Taysom (Hill). And then the next play they brought another sort of all-out pressure look and I had to get the ball out sooner than I wanted to. That could’ve been a completion as well, just kind of off by a hair whether it’s split-second timing or split-second decision and just communication with the guys we are throwing to or me just throwing a check down instead of trying to force it down field. And that’s every game, every game there is stuff like that. We are a very efficient offense; we are a high efficiency passing game and we are going to get back to that.”

Alvin Kamara

On the return of Drew Brees:

“Yeah, that’s big. Obviously, (a) walking Hall of Famer, you can’t (discount) having that back out on the field. (The) guy’s played as much football as he has and been as successful as he has, been to the mountaintop. He does nothing but add another piece to the team, getting back out there and being able to command that huddle and get our offense flowing in the right direction. Like you said, (it) didn’t come to where we wanted it to. And obviously it would’ve been great to have him back out there, first game, win. But, this is something that we’ll grow from. It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson. We will continue to grow from it. And when it’s all said and done, our coaches will put us in the right positions to make plays, in the right situations to win the biggest games.”

On whether he’s anxious to get back on the field to face the Vikings:

“Definitely. I think, obviously, the shorter week, from a recovery standpoint, you’ve got to harp on that a little bit more. But all in all, listen, I know this team, I know my guys and we’re definitely going to be excited to get back out there and get this ball back rolling in the right direction. Two losses back to back, definitely leaves a bad taste in our mouths. But all in all, we’re a resilient team. We’ve faced adversity before and we’ll battle back out of this and get back to playing the style of football we’re known to play.”

Andy Reid

On the Chiefs’ offensive line:

“We scored points against a good defensive front. You are talking about one of the best defensive fronts if not the best statistically. I thought we ran the ball efficiently especially in the second half. We threw the ball well with the exception of a couple of blitzes that they had. They got us at the end, but we were clean for the most part.”

On the close score:

“You are not trying to do it. You figured this one would be close. This is a good football team. They are coming off a loss, so you figured you would get their best shot. It’s like most of the teams that we’ve played. They bear down and give us what they got. I’m proud of our guys of being mentally strong and working through everything.”

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