Andy Reid Ready for ‘Excitement’ of KC Chiefs' Germany Game Against Miami Dolphins
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off an embarrassing Week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos, and there isn't a ton of time between now and a Sunday matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Adding even more emphasis to a quick turnaround is the fact that Andy Reid's team must travel to Frankfurt for the game, which doesn't make matters any easier.
Sunday's outing, which has an 8:30 a.m. kickoff time (in Kansas City), is a meeting between two of the best teams in the AFC. The Chiefs have sandwiched a six-game winning streak in between their two losses this season, whereas Mike McDaniel's offense has taken the league by storm en route to a 6-2 record in its own right. It's shaping up to be one of the best games of the 2023 NFL slate, and that's without even considering that it's also the first time Tyreek Hill will square off against his old team.
The travel component is something that multiple other NFL clubs have had to deal with this year, albeit for London instead of Frankfurt. With that said, going international is still a massive difference compared to heading across the country or hosting a game in your own backyard. When asked about the challenges and opportunities created by this game, Reid said the Chiefs have taken many elements into account and are excited to get to work.
"It's a longer plane ride, so you've got to make sure that you handle that part right," Reid said. "It's a different time zone by quite a few hours, so you've got to make sure that you handle that part and get some rest on the plane. So we take everything into consideration, from hydration on. And then how we practice once we get there. We leave on Thursday, we try to get our work done here and then get over there and still give ourselves time to kind of get in line. The game, I think, is an 8:30 a.m. game here or somewhere in that area, so it's a bit different that way. But there is an excitement to it, too, of going over there playing and then you get to play a good football team, which... we enjoy doing that."
Each team seems to take a slightly different approach to international games. Kansas City has experience with long-term travel under Reid, as a 2015 game at Wembley Stadium saw the Chiefs drop 45 points on the Detroit Lions en route to a blowout victory. That provided a bit of a blueprint for Reid and his staff to follow, and he says he'll stick with his style this week. For example, Miami scheduled its departure for Monday but Kansas City is leaving on Thursday. From a planning standpoint, Reid doesn't find that there's a particular right or wrong answer.
"Everybody kind of does it a little bit different," Reid said. "We did this a couple of years ago when we went to London. I've done it before with other teams [and] it worked, so I've kind of stuck by it. We'll see how it goes — I'm not sure there's any right or wrong way. Teams have done it all different ways but I've had success doing it this way."
This game will be important on multiple levels. Offensively, it presents an opportunity for a bounce-back outing following a downright horrific game against the Broncos. The Chiefs turned the ball over five times in Denver and simply couldn't get out of their own way. Reid teams are notorious for responding well to rough games, oftentimes putting up good performances the week after.
It's also a chance to send a statement versus an opponent that's currently viewed as a top-tier contender. If the Chiefs have a get-right game despite being far away from home and it comes against one of the NFL's most talented clubs, it would put the franchise right back on track for the rest of the season. Reid knows there are a few possible outcomes, but he believes his group will answer the call. It's just another thing to get amped up for.
"You said it, you've got to learn from it," Reid said. "There's a couple of ways you can go about it: You can hang your head, or you can face the facts and try and get better. We've tried to go about it that way to make ourselves a better team. I don't know if that ties into the wins or losses after a bad game, but that's the way we approach it. We've got good players here and good coaches. There's a small margin between winning a losing in this league. You've got to stay on top of your game all the time, every minute of it. So you start with that, then you go to the rest of it and things we can learn from."
