The Kansas City Chiefs have been in Miami all week preparing for Super Bowl LIV as reporters and cameras from seemingly every corner of the globe have been there every step of the way.
Head Coach Andy Reid, members of his coaching staff and numerous players have met with the media each morning, fielding questions covering just about every topic imaginable.
Here are 10 things that stood out from Super Bowl week media availability.
1. Head Coach Andy Reid was asked to explain the Chiefs' determination to reach this moment after coming so close to the Super Bowl a year ago.
"Everybody took that responsibility to heart. We could have all done a better job. I talked to the team about that after the game, and I think the guys went out and attacked the offseason," Reid said on Wednesday. "They had a taste of getting to the championship game and losing it, and that's not a very good feeling, but there's something they could do about it. That was getting busy, having a great offseason, a great training camp and trying to maintain your focus throughout the season. I think the guys have done that and I'm proud of them for taking that approach."
A year removed from falling to New England in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs are now set to play in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. Reid acknowledged the building anticipation throughout Chiefs Kingdom on Thursday.
"I know Kansas City is on fire right now with excitement," Reid said with a smile. "We appreciate all the support we've had down here from our fans."
2. The Super Bowl inevitably brings a multitude of distractions along with it, but Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes emphasized on Tuesday that maintaining their routine was critical to success.
"I think we've kept it relatively close to what we usually do. We have a little bit more media, but with the AFC Championship Game a few weeks ago, I did media pretty much every single day. [This week], we're just trying to stay within the routine," Mahomes said. "Coach Reid did a good job of getting most of the game plan in last week, so now it's just about tweaks and little adjustments here and there. We're staying with the same workouts, the same practice schedule and we're going to keep it as close to the same as possible."
The 24-year-old Mahomes was later asked to reflect on the fact that he was playing on the biggest stage in only his second season as a starting quarterback.
"No matter how many times you're here, you have to take in the moment and enjoy it. I was telling my mom that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I hope I have a lot of times," Mahomes said. "You take in the moment, but you're always focused and you understand that the reason you're here is to win a football game. We understand that, but if you watch this team, we have fun no matter where we're playing. It's a great opportunity that I'm having early in my career and I'm excited to go out there with my brothers and to try and win.
3. One player that has been on this stage before is defensive end Terrell Suggs, who won Super Bowl XLVII with Baltimore. Suggs explained his message to those who are experiencing this stage for the very first time.
"It's easy to kind of get distracted and to get caught up in everything, but all of us – not just me – are doing a good job of realizing that there are different portions of this, but there's a reason why we're here and it's to play another football game – the last football game of the year," Suggs said. "You have to enjoy it. This is the biggest stage and there's no guarantee that you'll ever make it back again. It took me eight years to get back, so I'm just telling the guys to enjoy it."
4. Safety Tyrann Mathieu was asked to explain how the Chiefs' defense plans to slow down San Francisco's high-powered offensive attack, which has averaged 30.2 points-per-game this season including the playoffs.
"They move a lot of people around in the running game to create leverages and they have an extremely athletic offensive line, so ultimately, you have to understand that all 11 men need to be involved in the run-game," Mathieu said. "In the passing game, we have the pass-rushers to get to the quarterback. Then on the back-end, we're a top-ten secondary. It'll be a great challenge for us, but we're more than ready for it."
5. Mahomes has earned himself a reputation for pulling off some absolutely incredible plays, including the occasional no-look pass. He was asked about his ability to fire the no-look throws on Tuesday.
"It's stuff that I've worked on – that's the biggest thing. I did no-look stuff when I was in college with Coach [Kliff] Kingsbury, and he would encourage us to do stuff like that. Then, when I got to the NFL with Coach Reid, I started doing it on scout team and he let me do it," Mahomes explained. "He let me go out there, do some of that stuff and just tinker with things. He always says that training camp is the time to throw interceptions and the time to try stuff that you might not try in a game, so he lets us go out there and be who we are and it's allowed me to have confidence to do those things in games."
If Mahomes completes a no-look pass in the Super Bowl, the internet may very well lose its collective mind.
6. One of the guys who has benefited from Mahomes' play-making ability is wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who had plenty of praise for his young quarterback this week.
"He's a different guy, man. Especially when he's preparing for a game. His mindset, his attitude and just everything about him – he's different," Hill said of Mahomes. "That's why I love playing with him as a teammate."
Hill was also asked to share his excitement for Sunday and what it will be like competing in the warm Florida weather as opposed to the chilly temperatures back home.
"I'm looking so forward to it. It's going to be a blast," Hill said. "To be in weather like this is a blessing. You can catch the ball the way you want to catch it and you can run how you want to run, so it's going to be fun."
7. Sunday's matchup will mark perhaps the greatest tight end matchup in NFL history as the Chiefs' Travis Kelce and the 49ers' George Kittle go head-to-head. Kelce was asked on Tuesday about how he and Kittle have helped redefine the position.
"Everybody has their own style, and that's why you can't get too caught up in trying to be another tight end. We all can't be Tony Gonzalez, [Rob Gronkowski] or Jason Witten," Kelce said. "You just have to be yourself, find what you do well and be fortunate enough to be under a great coach like Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan that can exploit your strengths and hide your weaknesses if you have any."
That mentality has definitely worked out well for Kelce and Kittle. In fact, the duo owns the top two spots among tight ends in receiving yards, yards after the catch, receptions of at least 25 yards and receiving yards per game over the last two seasons combined.
Kelce has enjoyed immense success throughout his career under Reid, who has routinely found a way to put his All-Pro tight end in a position to succeed. Kelce was asked on Wednesday why he and his teammates want to win a title for Reid.
"We love him as person. He's like a father figure in the building," Kelce said. "In terms of being a football mind, he's changed the game not only for myself, but league-wide, everybody takes notes and follows his lead. I think this would just solidify his career even more so than it already has been."
8. Tailback Damien Williams was asked to explain the confidence that he and the rest of the offense have in Reid and the coaching staff. His answer was simple enough.
"Every time we're in meetings and we're installing plays, Andy is a confident person. Whenever he's calling a play, he knows it's going to work," Williams said. "We don't need him to tell us, 'Do this or do that.' Whatever play he calls, I know it's going to work."
Reid has certainly dialed up some effective plays for Williams over the Chiefs' last two playoff runs. In fact, Williams is one of just six players in NFL history to tally four or more touchdowns in back-to-back postseasons. Additionally, his eight postseason touchdowns over the last two years are the third-most by any running back since the turn of the century.
The guy has been incredibly effective in the biggest of moments, which is exactly what Williams said the Chiefs believed could be a reality when he signed with Kansas City prior to the 2018 campaign.
The guy has been incredibly effective in the biggest of moments, which is exactly what Williams said the Chiefs believed could be a reality - the fact that he'd have the opportunity to play on the biggest of stages - when he signed with Kansas City prior to the 2018 campaign.
9. Defensive end Frank Clark explained how hungry he is for a Super Bowl victory on Wednesday.
"You want to be able to speak things into existence. That's been my life, I've had to speak a lot of things into existence because I've never had them," Clark said. "Some of these guys have won championships their whole lives, things like national championships, high school player of the year awards and stuff like that. I've never had anything, so my fire is a little bit different than theirs. What I'm working for and working toward is a little bit different. I'm not working for the glory and the lights…I care about winning football games. I want to be a champion."
10. Finally, Mahomes was asked on Wednesday to talk about Chiefs Kingdom and why it's already so special to him.
"The people are what really drew me to Kansas City and why I hope I get to play there for the rest of my career. It's the way they accept you and the way they care more about you as a person than as a player," Mahomes said. "The passion that they have for the Kansas City Chiefs is special, and it's somewhere I want to be for the rest of my career."
Just three years into his professional career, Mahomes and the rest of the roster will try to win the people of Kansas City a Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.
