Less than 24 hours after the Kansas City Chiefs earned their sixth win of the season, head coach Andy Reid addressed the media to provide injury updates, evaluate the team win and thank the Chiefs fans, who set a world record for loudest crowd roar.
"Listen, a tribute out to the fans and the great job that they did," coach Reid said. "The place was very loud and it affected the game in areas. It was tough playing on offense for the Raiders and from a communication standpoint that showed."
The players were just as appreciative of the crowd's energy, including Chiefs two-time Pro Bowl LB Derrick Johnson, who played in his 66th-career game at Arrowhead Stadium yesterday and led the team with a game-high nine tackles.
"It's Arrowhead Stadium," Johnson said. "It's loud. I'm always surprised; it always surprises me, when I go out there and see how loud it is, especially when we make a big play, which pumps it up even more. This is how it is when you're winning, what a great feeling. I want to have this feeling every year. I'm going to cherish this moment and just play good defense."
The Chiefs secondary was successful in communicating their signals with each other, despite the eardrum-ringing noise, which it appreciated.
"I love it," Chiefs S Kendrick Lewis said. "Our fans were crazy and that's what we live for. They said that they were going to come out here, all over Twitter; it was big, about breaking that record. They came and it showed. It was our 12th man; it was our extra man on defense (because of) so many false-start penalties, so many delay of games and in a big game like that, that counts and we give full credit to our fans."
The Chiefs offense was also enjoying every decibel of noise the fans generated, especially when it was against the opposing offense.
"I've had my fair share of the games you play on the road," Chiefs QB Alex Smith said. "You know what it's like as a quarterback on offense, to go into a noisy place is tough. I don't know if there is anything quite like that (Arrowhead); it was pretty special. When the crowd was going, it was tough. I know sitting there on the sideline you could tell. That's a hard place, hard environment to execute in. Then, they got the turnovers there in the second half; that ended up changing the game."
One of those turnovers resulted in a pick-six, courtesy of Chiefs DB Husain Abdullah, who intercepted the pass by Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor, before returning it 44 yards for the score.
You might think Abdullah would want to talk about the team win, but instead he complimented those who probably don't have a voice today.
"The crowd is awesome," Abdullah said. "They were gunning for the record the whole game and they finally did it. They get all the credit in the world."
During Sunday's win, Chiefs Pro Bowl RB Jamaal Charles surpassed 5,000-career rushing yards.
CHIEFS RECORD BOOK
MOST RUSHING YARDS, CAREER
1. 6,070 Priest Holmes 2001-07
2. 6,015 Larry Johnson 2003-09
3. 5,011 Jamaal Charles 2008-13
4. 4,897 Christian Okoye 1987-92
5. 4,451 Ed Podolak 1969-77
But, like his teammates, he chose to talk more about the fans than any personal success.
"The fans came here and I was just playing through them," Charles said. "I think that's why I was playing so hard and physical, because the fans did a great job and I think we give this win up to the fans, because they came out and cheered their hearts out."
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt echoed the collective thoughts of all Chiefs fans on Sunday.
"Congratulations to our incredible fans at Arrowhead, who set a new Guinness World Record," Hunt said. "Not only were they loud, but they knew when to be loud and helped propel their Chiefs to victory. They proved what we've known for a long time - Chiefs fans are the best and loudest in the NFL."
Well done, Chiefs fans! Now, let your vocal chords recover for next Sunday's matchup with the Houston Texans at 3:25 PM CDT.
