TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY

Opening Statement: "I will just open it up with a medical report. No injuries to report. Everybody came out healthy, bumps and bruises, but other than that we are good to go."

How emotional was that for you Mike? "All wins are emotional to me. All football games are very emotional for me."

Can you talk about how your resilient team and how you found a way to win today?"That is the team we have. That does not surprise me and I don't think you guys believe me when I say that they come in the locker room and there is a look that we are going to come back and win the game. But there is. It is on the sideline and it has been. It always has. It is this team. I wish you guys would give them a little credit for it. They stick together and they got each other's backs and they always have and came through today when we really needed it."

A lot of today's national discussion was about your job security? "Which is ridiculous. Which is ridiculous."

Did that effect how you coached today? "Yeah, I don't think it is fair to my family. So when it has an effect on my family, it has an effect on me. So yeah, I would say it had a big effect on me."

Did you feel you were secure, no matter what happened this game? "No, I haven't had any support to say that I was. No, I just assumed the worst."

How is it for you when you see your players fighting for one another? "When I am around them, I feel very good. Not that you guys are bad guys, but I feel really good around our football team. I know what I am going to get from them every week. That is a good feeling knowing how they are going to come out, no matter what and no matter how bad the circumstances are, they always give us a chance to win."

Big day for Derrick Henry: "Big runs, big plays. I think he was a man on a mission to get his chance and opportunity and now he gets another one. Again I just think the more he is playing the more experience is good for him." 

What about the play that Marcus Mariota catches the batted touchdown and how did that change momentum? "Well I thought we had a pretty good drive so life was back with that drive. Obviously, the play was something I have never seen before. But we have not had a lot of things like that  go our way in that fashion and it was good to see it happen like it did."

Did that play go off like it was designed? "Pretty much. No, it just happened. The ball bounced our way."

What about the two-point conversion and apparent fumble? How wild was this game? "I thought they did a good job of making the right calls. I am critical of them a lot, but the times that there were critical calls, they got it right and I will give them credit for that. We have to do a better job of ball security to not have an issue like that. Just drives the emotions up and down for everybody."

Were you guys talking about the game last year where you trailed 14 to nothing? "That was a topic at halftime. We were basically in the same situation last year. Down, stuck with the plan. Didn't panic and just go out and if we could get a drive, that first drive, that was going to be critical getting points. Last year's game came up at halftime."

How much changed when Travis Kelce came out of the game? "Well he is a good player. He is a player that can change the game so I am sure that changed some things on their side. We took out double Kelce coverages. He is a big time player for them so that certainly did not help them."

Can you talk about Eric Decker? "It was a big catch. We just put the play in this week. Saw something they did and they lined up exactly like we practiced it and he ran probably the best route of the week was today. It was a great throw by Marcus. Well designed by our offensive coaches, Terry Robiskie, to get that play called."

Was is difficult to stick with the Henry plan after trailing? "No, we have done this before. We have done this earlier in the season. We came out and stuck with the plan and it benefitted us and we trusted the defense. Again, calmed down a little bit from early on and they played lights out in the second half. It was a different half."

How much of a different guy was Marcus today? "I would say he tried to get more up inside than bouncing. Obviously you saw that from his style a week ago."

The third and two timeout, what was the discussion? "I just wanted to make sure we got the right call based on how they lined up. Wanted to make sure it was the right one. I mean it was a big play and wanted to talk it over."

Can you talk about how well the offensive line performed? "I know at the end we were staying on the left side. We were running the ball over there to try. We were running more effectively on the left side. They did a great job running the ball against that front."

It seemed like Marcus grew up in the second half? "You know that is another one again. Bad half, stays very even keel and doesn't let it get to him. Just like I said plays games. He came out and he didn't do anything different. Didn't need a pep talk. He knew what he needed to do."

How does it affect you to wait to see who you are going to play? "We got to wait until tomorrow to see the outcome of the Jacksonville game so see whether we play Saturday or Sunday so the schedule will all be based on that game and the players already know if we play Saturday or Sunday this is the format of practices. We know it will be in a cold weather place. We know that."

How is Marcus' will to win and his ability to pull off fourth quarter comebacks? "Well I think the whole team knows that we have that chance. It effects the whole team. Everybody on that sideline, that we have that chance with him in there."

What was your thinking for the two point conversions? "We were down four. We wanted to get into a one possession field goal game if we could and we didn't execute very well."

QB MARCUS MARIOTA

Opening Statement: "I will just open it up with a medical report. No injuries to report. Everybody came out healthy, bumps and bruises, but other than that we are good to go."

How emotional was that for you Mike? "All wins are emotional to me. All football games are very emotional for me."

Can you talk about how your resilient team and how you found a way to win today?"That is the team we have. That does not surprise me and I don't think you guys believe me when I say that they come in the locker room and there is a look that we are going to come back and win the game. But there is. It is on the sideline and it has been. It always has. It is this team. I wish you guys would give them a little credit for it. They stick together and they got each other's backs and they always have and came through today when we really needed it."

A lot of today's national discussion was about your job security? "Which is ridiculous. Which is ridiculous."

Did that effect how you coached today? "Yeah, I don't think it is fair to my family. So when it has an effect on my family, it has an effect on me. So yeah, I would say it had a big effect on me."

Did you feel you were secure, no matter what happened this game? "No, I haven't had any support to say that I was. No, I just assumed the worst."

How is it for you when you see your players fighting for one another? "When I am around them, I feel very good. Not that you guys are bad guys, but I feel really good around our football team. I know what I am going to get from them every week. That is a good feeling knowing how they are going to come out, no matter what and no matter how bad the circumstances are, they always give us a chance to win."

Big day for Derrick Henry: "Big runs, big plays. I think he was a man on a mission to get his chance and opportunity and now he gets another one. Again I just think the more he is playing the more experience is good for him."

What about the play that Marcus Mariota catches the batted touchdown and how did that change momentum? "Well I thought we had a pretty good drive so life was back with that drive. Obviously, the play was something I have never seen before. But we have not had a lot of things like that  go our way in that fashion and it was good to see it happen like it did."

Did that play go off like it was designed? "Pretty much. No, it just happened. The ball bounced our way."

What about the two-point conversion and apparent fumble? How wild was this game? "I thought they did a good job of making the right calls. I am critical of them a lot, but the times that there were critical calls, they got it right and I will give them credit for that. We have to do a better job of ball security to not have an issue like that. Just drives the emotions up and down for everybody."

Were you guys talking about the game last year where you trailed 14 to nothing? "That was a topic at halftime. We were basically in the same situation last year. Down, stuck with the plan. Didn't panic and just go out and if we could get a drive, that first drive, that was going to be critical getting points. Last year's game came up at halftime."

How much changed when Travis Kelce came out of the game? "Well he is a good player. He is a player that can change the game so I am sure that changed some things on their side. We took out double Kelce coverages. He is a big time player for them so that certainly did not help them."

Can you talk about Eric Decker? "It was a big catch. We just put the play in this week. Saw something they did and they lined up exactly like we practiced it and he ran probably the best route of the week was today. It was a great throw by Marcus. Well designed by our offensive coaches, Terry Robiskie, to get that play called."

Was is difficult to stick with the Henry plan after trailing? "No, we have done this before. We have done this earlier in the season. We came out and stuck with the plan and it benefitted us and we trusted the defense. Again, calmed down a little bit from early on and they played lights out in the second half. It was a different half."

How much of a different guy was Marcus today? "I would say he tried to get more up inside than bouncing. Obviously you saw that from his style a week ago."

The third and two timeout, what was the discussion? "I just wanted to make sure we got the right call based on how they lined up. Wanted to make sure it was the right one. I mean it was a big play and wanted to talk it over."

Can you talk about how well the offensive line performed? "I know at the end we were staying on the left side. We were running the ball over there to try. We were running more effectively on the left side. They did a great job running the ball against that front."

It seemed like Marcus grew up in the second half? "You know that is another one again. Bad half, stays very even keel and doesn't let it get to him. Just like I said plays games. He came out and he didn't do anything different. Didn't need a pep talk. He knew what he needed to do."

How does it affect you to wait to see who you are going to play? "We got to wait until tomorrow to see the outcome of the Jacksonville game so see whether we play Saturday or Sunday so the schedule will all be based on that game and the players already know if we play Saturday or Sunday this is the format of practices. We know it will be in a cold weather place. We know that."

How is Marcus' will to win and his ability to pull off fourth quarter comebacks? "Well I think the whole team knows that we have that chance. It effects the whole team. Everybody on that sideline, that we have that chance with him in there."

What was your thinking for the two point conversions? "We were down four. We wanted to get into a one possession field goal game if we could and we didn't execute very well."

WR ERIC DECKER

On his go-ahead touchdown: "Just ran a play. Post route with man coverage. Give credit to Marcus [Mariota], he thew a great ball and made a play when we really needed one.  I've let these guys down the last couple of games and got over the hump and made it when it counted."

How is your resolve, being down 21-3 and then coming back to win? "I think all season, it just shows the character and grit this team has. How much perseverance. We've won some ugly games, but we've found ways to win and that's all that matters in this league. We didn't stop believing going into halftime, we knew we shot ourselves in the foot, dropped passes getting behind the chains, turnovers. We got some bounces and made plays in the second half and the defense kept us in it. Credit to them."

On QB Marcus Mariota's performance: "Great. He took some hits. He kept fighting through it. He made a big block at the end. He made great throws. We go as Marcus goes. He has shown his personality the last couple of weeks and how tough he is and how much of a leader he is."

On being down 18 points and yet continuing to run the ball: "Yeah, I've only been in this situation once before when I was in Denver, and it just speaks volumes about the character of this team. When you're down that much against a great Kansas City team, in Arrowhead which is a tough place to play, and to come back and keep fighting play by play it shows the character and perserverence of this team."

Did Derrick Henry run angrier today? "He hit the hole. I don't want to get in the way of a 250-pound running back. The offensive line did a tremendous job of opening the holes. He hit it when he needed to and broke some tackles, and got some first downs. At the end made clutch plays for us to win it."

On Marcus Mariota's touchdown throw to himself: "That was actually designed a couple of days ago and well executed. (laughter) That's the football gods. You got to get some bounces sometimes."

WR COREY DAVIS

Have you ever seen a play where Marcus Mariota throws and catches a touchdown?"Never. Never. Only him. Only a* *guy like him can do something like that. I'm happy he's on our side and he had a great game."

What changed for you guys offensively in the second half? "Just made adjustments. We were slow in the first half and there were mistakes made by us. So we just came in here and fixed them and got it rolling."

You've been in a lot of close games this year. How confident were you that you could come back and win this? "No one in this locker room was worried. There was no panic in anyone's face. We were all confident. We all knew we had a job to do and we all did it."

C BEN JONES

What was the resolve that you had when you were down that you could win this game?"It's a team. No matter how many points we can score in the second half, we got to give it to our defense. They pitched a shutout in the second half. They played lights out and without them we couldn't have won that game."

On the RB Derrick Henry's performance: "Derrick ran lights out today. He's a tough runner and I'm loving it when he's back there grinding it. That's Titans football, we were grinding it and won the game."

On the performance of the Titans offensive line: "We're just trying to do what's best for this team. If the call is to pass 20-40 times a game, we're going to do that. If we're going to run it 40 times a game, we'll do that. Now we have to move on to next week."

TE DELANIE WALKER

How does this win feel? "It feels good. Everybody counted us out. It was us versus everybody. Everybody in this room believed. They [the Chiefs] got up on us big. But, we never gave up and we finished the game with a W. That's all you can ask for."

There was a miracle in Music City a few years ago. This was pretty close to a miracle don't you think? "I think I heard someone say that the only way the Titans could win if there's a win in Music City. There must have been a miracle then because we got it done."

At halftime you were down 18, what were you guys saying in the locker room? "We've been down before. We're the type of team that can come back. We fight to the end. We weren't worried about it. We came in [at halftime] and we were like 'they haven't done anything to stop us.' We made some adjustments. We went back out there, moved the ball, scored some points and there you have it."

Is this a team of destiny? "Most definitely. We want more. We're hungry. We're not satisfied with this win. Everybody in this locker room is going to say the same thing. It was a sweet victory, but we've got work to do."

It was a tale of two halves. What was the difference? "We just stuck with it. We didn't give up and people made plays. We were saying it all day in here. It could be anybody. When your number is called, make that play and guys started making plays."

CB LOGAN RYAN

What was the message at halftime? "Stick with it. We had nothing to lose. We were big underdogs. They were the favorite. They were playing at home. They had all of the momentum. We just had to go out there and lay it on the line. Things started to turn our way. We started making some plays and we believed. We were the only people in the building that believed in us. They had the whole crowd behind them. I think they played a little tight in the second half, conservative. And, we let it loose."

How could you tell they were tight? "They had like 30 yards receiving or something. They did nothing the second half. They didn't score a point. We had our quarterback out there making miraculous plays. We had some bad breaks, but we still responded. We played a bunch of guys who had nothing to lose – a bunch of guys who are underrated, undervalued, who came from different places, and who were trying to do something special. We believe that."

They didn't run Kareem Hunt much at all later in the game. Did that surprise you? "No. Their game plan was to spread us out and throw the ball. We've got a great run defense. We bring a lot of pressure. They tried to spread the ball out and check it down away from our pressure. It caught up with them."

You've been on a "favorite" team a lot. Now, you're on an "underdog" team. What's the difference? "There's no difference. You've got to believe in yourself. I'm always a favorite out there because I believe in myself. I'm trying to inspire guys to believe in themselves and that's what we're doing as a team. It doesn't matter. We're all out there. We've got to play the game any way and we'll see how it shakes out."

There's a lot of talk that coach Mularkey might be done. Did you all save his job tonight? "That wasn't my talk. I know we did a lot. It was the first playoff win in 15 years. It was the first playoff appearance since 2008. That's a pretty good coach to me."

Can you even think about where you're going next weekend? "No. I'm going to kick my feet up tomorrow, recover and watch the games like everybody else."

What was your advice to Adoree' [Jackson] when he muffed that punt? "He got down on himself a little bit. That's not like him. He's young. He's free-spirited. He's got a short mindset when it comes to that stuff. I told him, 'to just be you. It's just another game out there. We've got nothing to lose. You're not the only one that made a mistake today.' He bounced back and played well."

You called your quarterback "miraculous." Does he ever surprise you? "He's a warrior. A lot of people counted him out too. In these last two games, he made plays. He literally threw the ball to himself and scored a touchdown. I've never seen that."

DT JURRELL CASEY

In the second half, the defense played lights out. What changed for you in the second half? "We definitely didn't want to let them get 21 points on us. But, they did. We settled down coming out in the second half. We put our ballgame together. The offense started putting points on the board."

What can you say about the resolve of this team? You seem confident despite being down early. "The motivation, the drive around this locker room. Everybody was hungry and had the want to. When you have that, and look around the sideline and see it in their eyes, there's no reason to panic. That's what we've been doing all year long and we'll continue to do that."

RB DERRICK HENRY

On playing angry today: "I just wanted to play better this week than last week. I just wanted to be able to come out and help this team on offense."

On running north and south more this week: "I just wanted to go out and run hard. Run north, south, and forward. I had a lot of negative plays last week. I told you all that it didn't leave my head. It was in my head when the game kicked off. So, I just wanted to be better than I was last week."

On how it feels to make a big contribution in the win: "It's been a long time coming for this team to be in the playoffs and get a win in a hostile environment. This is a great team with a great defense. We stuck together even though we got down early. We came into halftime, just like last year when we came in down. We just believe in each other and came out and played Titan football by just going out there and executing the play that was called."

On whether it is hard to stick with the run plan despite the deficit at the half: "I don't ask on whether or not we are going to stick with it. I just try to go out there and execute the play that's called. I feel like as long as you do that, everything else is going to take care of itself. If you want to run the ball, or whatever you want to do, I believe it works as long as we execute the play and beat the man in front of you."

On whether he knew Mariota was down on the two-point conversion that resulted in a reversed fumble call:"I knew he was down. They can yell, scream, hoopla and holler, but that ball was coming back to right where it was."

On how it felt to have Mariota give him a lead block on the game-sealing run of the game:"I just said that he can pass, he can run, and he can block. He can do it all. He caught the ball, too. It was a great job by him and I appreciate him. The whole offense is clicking. Everybody being where they're supposed to be, everybody just doing extra stuff like Marcus making that block to seal the game. I just wanted to get a first down so we could get out of here with a win."

On whether he heard any talk on the rumors of Coach Mularkey's job being on the line: "Our focus was on the Chiefs and playing against the Chiefs. That's all we worried about. Just coming here, having a great week of practice, and coming out here to get a win."

On if he wanted to stand up for Coach Mularkey: "There's a lot of outside noise. People saying this and that. We do a good job, and he does a good job, of making sure that we stay focused and not pay attention to that outside noise. We keep doing what we're doing and quietly work, go about our business in our way, practice hard, and work hard throughout the week to make sure we can go out here and get a win."

CHIEFS HEAD COACH ANDY REID

Opening Statement:"As far as the injuries go (Travis) Kelce had the concussion and then Chris Jones hurt his knee. With that the tough part about this obviously is that it's final and the season ends up being over, you're never the same team. That's just how this thing works, but the guys coming back we'll make sure we feel this and then change it. But we have to wait awhile to do that. That's the problem with games like this. I appreciate the fans and the great support that they gave us all year. Particularly tonight they were unbelievable and deserve more than what we gave them. That's my responsibility as the head coach of the football team. We have to do a better job."

Is there any reason with an 18 point and then 11 point lead you stopped giving Kareem Hunt the ball, he only had 11 touches for 42 yards?"We can go back and I'm sure there are a lot of things that we could've done better, but we'll look at all that now."

What short of explanation did you get about the forward progress calls?"I don't really have anything good to say there so I'm just going to kind of stay away from any comments on those guys. I don't want to get fined or whatever. It's not worth it."

Can you explain your decision to go for it on fourth down?"I thought we were close in that field goal area. They had been moving the ball pretty good so I wanted to make sure that we put points on the board, give it our best shot. Didn't work out. I thought it was the right thing to do at that time."

I know you don't want to speak about the forward progress, but have you seen that before in a game where it's called that way?"I can't go there. Everything I say, those guys are protected. You can go talk to them. Question them."

What kind of impact did losing Travis in the second quarter have?"We've had guys step up and do good. We have a player down and I just expect the next guy to step up and go. That's how we've done it here and we've been successful with it. It didn't work out in our favor tonight, but there's a million things. We'll go back and there's a million things we can go back through and go over. Yeah it should've never happened the way it did. We were up and had the lead and you have to learn how to win games like that, put your foot down."

What's the biggest piece to fix this offseason to keep your fans and players from having this feeling again?"We'll go back and we'll look at all that. You have to step back and let your emotions get out of it and look at it. That's what Brett Veach does and he'll take a peak and see what we need to do to get better. I know looking in the mirror I have to make sure I do a better job. I would expect everybody in that locker room to do the same that's coming back, coaches and players."

Do you get back to work on Monday with this or do you give yourself a little bit more time?"I get back on Sunday. We have a meeting tomorrow. I'll watch the tape. I've got a long day tomorrow."

What were your thoughts on Alex Smith's performance tonight?"He did some good things. He really put together a nice year, but he's feeling as empty as we all are. These guys are hurting. Nobody knows better than the players and feels worse than those guys. They put in so much time and effort into this thing. But he had a good year this year."

You did such a nice job in the first half defensively and you did lose Chris, how much of a factor was that or did they make some adjustments at halftime?"Their third downs were better. They converted on third downs, whether he was running the ball or throwing it. He got 82 (Delanie Walker) involved in the game, which he wasn't involved in the first half. The third downs ended up being the problem there."

What was your angle when you saw Marcus Mariota throw the touchdown pass to himself?"I was looking right at it. Things happen. The ball bounced right for him."

Have you given yourself a second to think about the guys who may not be coming back next season like Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali?"I can't get into all that now. I don't know. We've got to go back and go through all of that. It's a long process and surely after that game isn't where you go with that. I know those guys are all hurting. All those decisions are way down the line."

The play calling was very aggressive in the first half and not so much in the second half. Did you take over play calling or did Matt Nagy call the entire game and why the difference in aggressiveness in the first half over the second half?"He called the good ones and I called the bad ones. We'll keep it at that."

What was your message to the team?"Just what I said here. The sick part about this is that it's final, but the guys that are coming back you have to feel this. Coaches and players, we have to change it around. It's not good enough and that's the bottom line."

With the team's recent struggles in the playoffs was there any moment that kind of crept into your minds during the second half?"No. Nothing like that crept into my mind at all. So many positive things have happened throughout the time here and so many things that hadn't happened before had been positive. So I just expect things like that to take place. I expect to win the game. I never thought anything different even down the stretch." Should fans expect more from this team and the organization?"The players expect to win the championship and the coaches expect to do the same thing. I'm on board. Everybody, let's go."

CHIEFS QB ALEX SMITH

What changed in the second half?"A few things. Obviously, (Travis) Kelce, that hurts, a player of his caliber. Not having him out there. Limited possessions in the second half, I think we only had four. The first two, you can't move the chains and you get into a short-yard situation and you can't move the chains. Hurt. Obviously the last two there, needing to make some plays. Felt like we started to get going then the same thing, couldn't overcome it."

Is this one of the toughest playoff losses?"Yeah. I mean, I felt like the opportunity we had in front of us, the talent we had, the group. When we play the way we're capable of playing I knew, yeah the sky is the limit. Obviously tonight was a good example of that. Not consistent enough. Didn't come out in the second half and then didn't make the plays we needed to."

Do you feel like this group underachieved? "I mean at the point every team's good. These are all going to be hard fought games that are going to come down to the tiny little things, there were a lot of them out there and they add up. For sure, missed opportunity."

Were you shocked by the lack of aggressiveness in the play calling and Kareem Hunt only got 11 touches? "Certainly he's a guy we want to get the ball to, he's a playmaker for us. Has been all year. There's a lot of ways to do that. I think a lot of times, the way the defense was playing, sometimes they dictate that. But certainly I feel like we're all kicking ourselves in the second half, we'd all love a do-over. But that's just not reality."

You may not get another chance here – does that add to this feeling? "I mean the game just ended. I'll get into all that here in the next couple of weeks."

When you see things happen in the game like the (Marcus) Mariota play with the deflection, do you see those like the fans see it like 'here we go again'? "No. I mean it's a freak play. Fluke play almost. Those happen though, its football, its sports. That's why we watch, that's why we play. So not so much that. Certainly some missed opportunities there on all sides of the ball. Self-inflicted things. I think, we couldn't overcome it there in the second half."

Did you see any of the forward progress calls? "I mean my view is the sideline, so not great. Listen it's not, those guys are kind of untouchable, it's hard to critique them. Especially here. But I thought he was in the pocket. I don't know how you blow a whistle on that Derrick Johnson one, I mean he came in about as fast as you can come and then hits him, and before he goes to the ground the whistle blows? I mean I don't know. That's the reason why we have replay, and some of these things built in for protection, but it's the way it is. It doesn't change, me standing up here talking about it is not going to change it."

At the end of the first half, it looked like Demarcus Robinson made a poor play by not going out of bounds and then to not call a timeout? "Obviously could have cost ourselves some shots at the end zone for sure by not getting out. Luckily, we made up for it with the next play and he made a heck of play. But certainly, that could have gone the other way. Really could have cost ourselves some shots at touchdowns and maybe would have had to settle for a field goal."

Were you guys thinking about spiking it? "Yeah that's kind of the name of the game there, do you spike or kind of try not let them huddle and take a shot at the end zone."

On the different looks the defense gave you? "Yeah I mean you just don't know. They make you prepare for a lot and they do a lot of different stuff on the defensive side. Once again, sometimes they dictate where the ball needs to go. I think (Travis) Kelce and Albert (Wilson) are very conscious of Tyreek (Hill) and helping with him, so we need to make a play."

Do you want to be back here next year? "Yeah, I mean are you kidding? I signed a contract, I'm under contract for another year. So like I said, I'm not thinking about anything else. Right now obviously disappointed. Like I said, I felt like we had a good chance, and it's gone. It's over."

Can you describe your emotions right now? "Yeah, a little bit you're in shock. It just happened so fast, especially when you get the swing from halftime to the final whistle. Definitely a shock. Didn't feel like we played up the way we're capable of playing and that's what's disappointing. Nothing against the Titans, they played great. They made the plays there to win the game. Certainly felt like we could have done better."