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Kansas City Chiefs credit mental toughness in 32-29 win over Saints

Perfect on the road, first time since 1966
Chiefs vs Saints Mahomes
Posted at 9:18 PM, Dec 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-20 22:18:25-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs 32-29 win over the New Orleans Saints Sunday means the reigning Super Bowl Champs are now perfect on the road -- for the first time since 1966. And they said it’s all thanks to the right mindset.

“It’s a mentality. I think it’s all mentality," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said during a postgame press conference. "You have to come in with the right mentality, that you’re gonna fight, you know? It's going to be a dog fight no matter where you're playing at. And we do a good job of that coming in with that mindset, knowing that not everything is going to be pretty. You’re not going to get everything you want every single play, but stepping up offense, defense and special teams and finding a way to win.”

Mahomes finished the night with more than 250 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Head Coach Andy Reid agreed with QB1 when it comes to why his team was able to power through a tough game against the Saints.

“Just the resiliency just the mental toughness," Reid said. "You know, we got linemen playing in different spots and all those things and -- not excuses, there’s no excuses -- there’s a point where you just have to bear down."

Reid picked up his 13th win this season, the first time he's led the Chiefs to a 13-win season since taking over as head coach. The last time Reid won 13 games in the regular season was in 2004 while coaching the Philadelphia Eagles.

"And things are gonna happen and you gotta go," Reid said, "and I think the guys did a heck of a job with that. They didn’t let them bog them down mentality, if they got beat they got back on the horse and tried it again.”

Running back Le'Veon Bell added to his coach and quarterback's point.

“We had to come in with the right mindset knowing that we got to get the job done wherever we need, whether we're gonna throw it or run it," Bell said.

Bell finished the night with one rushing touchdown and 62 yards on 15 attempts.

"Today, really in the second half, we were called upon to run the ball a lot," Bell said. "I think the guys up front did a tremendous job of moving guys off the ball and creating lanes for me, 25 and 31 to get in some lanes and make some plays.”

The Chiefs have now won 22 of their last 23 games with only two home regular season match ups left. One against the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday and their final regular season home game against the LA Chargers on Jan. 3.