Injury Report: DL Mike DeVito (concussion) and LB Ramik Wilson (ankle) returned to practice Monday. OL Ben Grubbs did not practice with a neck injury.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid
The Kansas City Chiefs participated in a short 10-10-10 practice Monday afternoon following the bye week. With the 45-10 win over the Detroit Lions at Wembley Stadium in London still fresh in mind, head coach Andy Reid described his philosophy during the time off.
"[I told them] to step away but not too far," Reid explained. "You want to make sure that you understand that you're only half done with the season but at the same time, get some rest and relaxation. Get healed up and get ready for the final push here in the second half of the season."
The second half of the season features the bulk of this year's AFC West play for the Chiefs, beginning with the team's second matchup with the Denver Broncos in Week 10.
"We look forward to the challenge of playing Denver coming up this weekend," Reid said. "They're the best team in the division, so they're holding that. They've had a good season to this point.
"You've got to be able to beat them to take charge of the AFC West. The important part on our side is that we take care of our business, study them, respect them but get ready to play a good football game against them for four quarters of a game."
Denver boasts a dangerous defense led by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
"They've got good players and they play fast," Reid said. "Wade's a good defensive coordinator and they've got a good scheme. They stay relatively healthy at their primary positions there and it looks like they've taken to what Wade's presenting them.
"The fact that you play them twice—there's an emphasis there. It's an important game. You've got six of those and you have to make sure you do well in those six games."
The Broncos have won the AFC West the last four seasons dating back to 2011, before Reid was head coach of the Chiefs. Reid explained how he experienced a similar rivalry while in Philadelphia.
"I kind of went through this in Philadelphia where the Giants were kind of 'that' team," Reid said. "I think you just keep building your roster is what you do. Don't start trying to work against that, that's not what you do. You know what you need to be strong in within your system and you try to build it that way and be the best you can. Then you go from there."
Reid reiterated the faith he has in his players heading into Denver on Sunday.
"They've been great all the way through here," Reid said. "They've worked hard, they've stayed focused and I think some of the younger players have grown up here a little bit. We're playing more young guys than most of the teams in the league. Then some of the guys that were banged up a bit either from last year or early in the season have come back and look like they're getting more in the swing of things. They practiced well today and they've got a great attitude.
"I've said it before—I like this football team. They've showed why over the last few weeks: they've got good character, they play hard and they're tough."
