Kansas City Chiefs' Head Coach Andy Reid spoke with the media on Monday afternoon via conference call as the Chiefs prepare to take on the Oakland Raiders this Sunday.

Here are five things that stood out.

1. What benefit do you see to the bye week being this late in the season and over Thanksgiving?

REID: "I thought it was at a good time. Not because of Thanksgiving and my waist line that goes with that, but I thought it came at a good time for our team. It was an opportunity to rest up later in the season. That can be important as you continue on and work through the stretch of the remaining part of the season."

2. What kind of interaction did you have with Patrick Mahomes over the bye week?

REID: "I met with him a couple times before he left. He didn't leave for a few days. You saw him down at the [Texas Tech] game, obviously, but he didn't leave for a couple days before he went down there. I texted with him a few times, but that was about it."

3. How much are you aware of the success your team has had in the third quarter and why do you think your team has played so well coming out of halftime?

REID: "I think whatever adjustments take place have been good ones. I would tell you that the players come out with the right frame of mind. We've had the ball a few times offensively, so there has been a challenge there to come out and try to learn from whatever mistakes we've made or whatever the defense is presenting and make our adjustments off that. I want to say it's only been a couple times here that the defense has had an opportunity and they've done a nice job with it, too. I think both my offensive and defensive coaches and the players have handled halftime the right way."

4. What were your thoughts of [Raiders Head Coach] Jon Gruden early on in your coaching careers?

REID: "He is a phenomenal football coach. He loves it. He is passionate about it. He was passionate about it when he was broadcasting. He didn't get too far away from the game. He was right there. He studied like crazy like he was still coaching. His offseasons were spent that same way - studying the game. The one thing he was able to do was study everybody and visit and see how things are done at other places. When people said it would be tough for him to come back, I knew how close he had remained to the game."

5. You've had trouble in Oakland a few times since you've been here. Is there something you can put your finger on about why it is hard to play there?

REID: "Well, they played well against us and we didn't play as well as we needed to, obviously. I mean, yeah, these AFC West opponents, they are tough venues to play at. The main thing is you need to get yourself prepared when you go in there to play against a good football team. If you can stick with that process of doing that and how you prepare, not Saturday night, but throughout the week, and do it the right way, you'll do better. I don't think there was anything necessarily. They were playing well and they played well against us."