Opening statement?
Another dramatic finish for you guys. A sensational finish to get that done under all the circumstances. There's a lot of them. Monday night, coming off the road, early game, all that kind of stuff people usually talk about had nothing to do with it. I loved the way we finished this game, the focus of our guys throughout the 60 minutes was exactly as we needed. We went in at halftime and got serious about fixing things up. The defense fixed some stuff up, we obviously got better on offense, and we came out to execute enough to get a win. These wins are so hard. I thought a lot of guys did cool stuff. Look at Geno (Smith) coming back and playing. Last week it was Drew (Lock) taking us down field, today it was Geno taking us down the field. It has a lot to say what the system and the coaches on what they are getting done with these guys to communicate that well. The last sequence is a cool sequence. It was 1:51 or something like that left, and we got three timeouts and the two-minute warning, and we got four downs to make a first down. That's such a mindset mentality for our guys and they know it really well. We executed beautifully in that situation, where you've got to wait and be patient to make your plays. Geno did a great job and Shane (Waldron) did a great job to communicate it. Fantastic. I think the focus goes to the big guys up front. The pass-pro that whole time and just keep them off of him so he could make the plays and the guys can make the great catches and the first downs and all that. Jaxon's (Smith-Njigba) big play, Tyler's (Lockett) big play and of course, Colby's (Parkinson) at the end was fantastic. So, it was a exciting win for us. The belief in this locker room is strong, that we can take on whatever we've got to take on. We'll have our wits together and we'll execute and function no matter how long it takes to get it. That's a powerful, powerful trait. So hopefully we can hold on to that.
You mentioned that the grind you went through to get to the end of this month really helped. How do you think that shown up on the last two drives in the last two games?
I think we've come out of those games because we didn't get screwed up from the losses, which we could have. We could have flipped out and lost our minds. We kept believing that we could get it done. And so the resolve stayed intact, and so that we can utilize all of those difficult experiences and the tough games, and the matchups, and the great personnel that we went against. And we're better because of it. So, we found a way and it was a slow start today. Kind of marred it, but we came in at halftime and we knew that it was our game to go win. And so, we got it done again.
To have that trio, all three receivers going like Tyler (Lockett), DK (Metcalf), and Jaxon (Smith-Njigba), what does that do for your offense?
I thought Geno (Smith) used everybody so well today and to go to Colby (Parkinson) at the end, it's something we've been looking forward to doing, working on. Everybody was watching him, and everybody knew it was going to him. And he came through with a great play, it was a great throw and also a great catch to win it right there. It gives us the kind of flexibility that we can really move the ball, but it doesn't happen unless the big guys protect like they did, and they did a great job.
What can you say about Geno Smith's four game winning drives this season?
You've got to be around him to appreciate the competitive mentality that he has. He's in such a good place. He believes so strongly that it's going to happen, and it's going to get done and his guys are going to come through for him. And that belief it transfers, translates to other guys, they feel him. So they go through and do what they're supposed to do, and it comes out well. He's having an enormous impact on these guys just because his mentality is so strong and so consistent.
What do you have to say about the seven sacks today?
We came in to the rush the passer, that was the focal point, and we got that done right from the beginning and all the way to the end. I think (Boye) Maye and Dre'Mont (Jones), on the last ride right there. But the guys worked hard all day long. If you look at the last two weeks, the formula has kind of been similar, not one that we are in love with, but it happened. Where they didn't throw the ball for a lot of yards, but they ran the ball pretty well. It's a little different, cockeyed from where we generally try to put ourselves in that position. But it's happened where they're not getting much in the throwing game, and we are doing a really nice to have on a back end and all that. Oh, almost forgot, the hit of a career half of the day for Riq (Woolen) and he hit the guy so hard, I think he thought he must be hurt. And so, he had to come back to his wits, and it popped up and he was ready to go again. But that hit right there, that ends the game because he knocked the guy back. It was a fantastic moment. Just as dramatic as Julian's (Love) interception last week, I thought. That was the game ending play right there, the walk-off play. I was really fired up for him to experience that. You realize you can hit somebody that hard and it's okay. He's fine.
Julian Love, to come back after not being here. The way he performed under those circumstances?
Anybody that's been through—has babies, you know. This was as challenging for Julian (Love) as could have been and took him days and days to get through the process. I know he wasn't well rested, but he got through it anyway and did a great job. There was not a guy in our locker room that would worry about him one bit, that he wouldn't be able to pull it off. He did a fantastic job.
How did Riq Woolen handle not starting last week, and then coming back today and starting and making a play at the end?
I'd need to look at film. I like that he is taking the challenge.
Is Geno Smith physically back now?
Oh, no doubt, there's no doubt. Yeah, he got whacked a couple times today, but he made it through.
What happened with Jordyn Brooks?
He got his ankle twisted again, the same one, and so he's got a sore ankle. We will see what happens, I don't know what to tell you.
Did things change a little bit? It looked like you wanted to play Devin Bush?
Yes, we did but we had to change some stuff.
The drive where they scored, you guys had some penalties on that drive.
I don't know about the PI, I didn't get a second to look at it. So I don't know about that one, but they felt like we slid in front of the receiver. That's just the way they can call that. But the one down there—that we threw a punch or whatever, that's just wrong. We can't play like that.
What does it mean to score against the number one red zone defense?
I was well aware of that. We were talking our way through it, and to score two times in the red zone against one of the best red zone defenses in the NFL was a good deal. I mean, it was a good accomplishment for us. Give them credit, they were really good at it and we found a way.
DK Metcalf's touchdown catch, what was your view of that?
I had no thought other than it was a touchdown. I don't know. The rhythm of his feet hit—we could see it right down on the sideline. So, we were really clear that we had a real shot by challenging. But obviously it was in bound.
Did you see it from the sideline?
I saw it. I saw from the sidelines. And then Tater (Carl Smith) saw it upstairs to confirm it.
What the plan to go to Colby for the for the winning TD?
Yeah that's cool. It's cool because we've been working on it for a long time and to make that play down there, and he had a good match-up and Geno (Smith) threw a great ball, ripped it to him. It's been looking good in practice, so I love that we went to that right there because that was probably the last thing they thought would happen that we'd go to him in that situation. They won't think that anymore.
What happened with Damian Lewis?
I don't know. His knee was sore. I am not sure what he did, but he twisted his knee or something like that.
What can you say about the defense?
Yeah, I thought we played way better in the second half and we improved with our fits, and we tackled better in the second half. We stopped a lot of runs. In the first half. we just got to overtrying a little bit and we were taking some shots and things we didn't execute as well as we had to. Clint (Hurtt) did a good job at halftime and got everybody squared away and we were right back to the basics of it. Yeah, it wasn't anything fancy they were doing. Derrick (Henry) is a great player, he's a great player. We had to stop him and we had to stop him by tackling him and we tackled way better in the second half.
Big picture, the playoff situation. If you win, you're in it appears with Minnesota losing.
That's a good thing. This week. That's all there is, this week.
