Brian Johnson

Q. What do you think helped the run game Monday night? (Reuben Frank)

BRIAN JOHNSON: [Inaudible]…continuing to make plays at the second level of the defense. Obviously, it was a really good defensive front we went against. I think we showed a couple things we hadn’t shown to this point in the season, which is typical at times when you have such a long season of being able to get certain things as you grow and as you continue to develop as an offense.

But I thought they did a good job of finding ways to get some hard yards.

Q. I know you’re ten games in the season at this point. When you first stepped up into the offensive coordinator role, how did you approach that change with you and your relationship with QB Jalen Hurts? (Brooks Kubena)

BRIAN JOHNSON: It’s been a very unique transition of going from being with the quarterback and with the quarterback only for two years in every meeting, and then just managing your time to make sure that you’re doing what you need to get done in your new role which pertains to the entire offense.

So just managing that I think has been obviously for me the biggest change, but I think [Quarterbacks Coach] Alex [Tanney] has done a really good job so far of handling those meetings and building the tapes that he needs to see to get him ready to play.

Q. Looked like in Kansas City they made a concerted effort to do whatever they could to slow WR AJ Brown down. Obviously easier said than done. You have another option in WR DeVonta Smith. Is that something you think about in the week, where you are like this feels like they are going to try to take him away, it’s a DeVonta week, or is it something you recognize in-game and just change it? (Rob Kuestner)

BRIAN JOHNSON: That was something that they have shown on film. We had a huge third and six conversion where DeVonta — he motioned to a bunch and got a little option route open in the middle where they actually had a double on AJ and a double on Smitty, and we found a way to get those guys freed up and they made a fantastic play between Jalen and DeVonta.

It definitely is a huge positive when teams do try to double the player or try to put their attention on the players that we have the ability to create some other matchups as well.

Q. As you introduce packages that you haven’t used this season, are these things you rep during the summer or are they kind of put in now as a reaction to obviously TE Dallas Goedert being down and things of that nature? (Zach Berman)

BRIAN JOHNSON: There is always a ton of carryover in terms of teaching and how we put things in and how we sequence things together. Now, there just may be different bodies that are doing that job, but some of the stuff we’ve done is obviously stuff that we’ve carried in our system for the last three years.

Felt like it was a good opportunity for us to pull it out based on the circumstance.

Q. The play after that third down conversion to DeVonta, I guess Head Coach Nick Sirianni had said that Jalen checked and saw that DeVonta was on single coverage, you know the 41-yard pass. First of all, how good of a recognition is that by Jalen and also by DeVonta to see what was going on? (Martin Frank)

BRIAN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was a great play by those guys, and that was something that we had talked about a lot earlier in the week and then throughout the course of the game.

So, we had a very similar play on, and there was a specific look that they got, and we talked about if we got this look then we could take this ball vertically with No. 2.

So, it was great execution by them. I don’t know if you guys remember, very similar to we had a fourth and seven in the Giants game last year. Very, very similar play versus a similar defensive look.

We always try to have answers, and those guys have great instincts as players. Jalen made a fantastic throw. Smitty made a fantastic catch. When stuff like that occurs in the game, that’s generally for the most part stuff that has been talked about and we’re waiting for the opportunity for it to happen and come to life.

The players did a great job bringing that play to life.

Q. The five sacks you allowed, most of the season, Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott are from the same kind of defensive mentality. Do you expect to see a lot of the same things from these guys this week? (Bob Brookover)

BRIAN JOHNSON: Well, yeah, I think they have a tremendous front and, obviously they kind of grew up under the same defensive tree, so to speak.

I think that’s a pretty general response, is if you see a team having trouble with something or something that caused some issues offensively is to diagnose why and see if you can replicate that.

We have to be ready for whatever they throw at us. Whether they’ve shown it before or it’s something unscouted, I have full confidence our guys will be ready.

Q. What do you think the biggest issue was last week? (Bob Brookover)

BRIAN JOHNSON: In the first half with sacks?

Q. Yeah. (Bob Brookover)

BRIAN JOHNSON: Yeah, it wasn’t one particular thing. I think ultimately it comes down to communication and making sure that we’re all on the same page, putting the guys in the best situation possible to go out there and execute and do what they do well.

So, credit to this group. It was a really resilient effort in the second half, and you try to mix some things up and do some different things to kind of help a team that’s rushing the passer really good.

We hit a couple big screens for some big plays, and got the ball out of our hands quicker.

Q. Without Dallas, personnel groupings were a little bit different, a little bit new. Is that sort of something that is game planned or is that something feel for the game in-game? (John McMullen)

BRIAN JOHNSON: No, it’s definitely game planned, and then how much of that you use is kind of dictated by the flow of the game and the success you’re having and matchups you’re creating.

So that was something that we wanted to do obviously going into the game, and I think the guys did a good job executing it.

Q. How good are the two Buffalo safeties at pre-snap disguise? (Jeff McLane)

BRIAN JOHNSON: They’re really good. They are tied together on a string. You can tell they played together for a long time, and they have a great feel for how to marry coverage.

I think when you play two guys that have as much experience as they do in the back end, they feed well off each other and make their disguises marry.

Q. In terms of finding answers and maximizing your opportunities from the offensive side, you were mentioning going from quarterback to full coordinator, do you find that you see things more through the perspective of the quarterbacks, through Jalen, and what helped you to maybe see perspective through outside positions that might be able to help you? (Brooks Kubena)

BRIAN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think everybody views the game through kind of their own unique lens. Having played quarterback, I mean, that’s really the lens that I kind of view the game through.

If your quarterback is playing well, you’re going to have a chance to win every game that you play. But I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some fantastic coaches that have taught me so much throughout my career in regard to other positions, including the staff that we have here.

So, I’ve learned so much from these guys here in the last three years and guys I’ve been with over the course of my career of how we watch practice and structure our off-season to make sure that we are really well versed in what everybody has to do.

Q. Nick had mentioned that if he wants a play called in-game, he’ll let it be known, call this play. How has that been finding a rhythm with him in-game as two offensive-minded play callers and keeping the flow, I guess? (Tim McManus)

BRIAN JOHNSON: That’s how it’s been here the last three years, so obviously Nick is the head coach, and if he wants us to run something our job is to play to his vision and how we attack defenses.

But for the most part, we’re all in this together. There is nothing that is on that play sheet that’s not thoroughly discussed and talked about before it gets to the point that it gets called throughout the week.

So, I think we have a really, really good flow, really good understanding of how we want to play as an offense and what we need to do in order to win that game.

We talk so much about like all of these games are so independent and there is a way to win them all, but you have to figure that out sometimes in the middle of it.

Or it might change course through the middle of it. So just being able to manage that and have that feel, I think Nick does a great job managing the game in that way.