Q. Why was it so hard to get off the field on third down?
FRED WARNER: I'm going to have to look at it. They just kept hitting us over the middle of the field. We were in different coverages. We just got to be better about looking guys up, you know, winning the one-on-one battles, jump balls and stuff. They max protected to try and eliminate Nick (Bosa) and a lot of those guys out of the pass rush game, so we just got to be stickier in coverage.
Q. What is the frustration level with that? The game is going on and I'm sure you feel it?
FRED WARNER: Yeah, I mean, any time they're -- like you said, third-and-long situations, we got to get off the field. That's just like a no-brainer. Like it can't happen. We were in so many third-and-10-plus, third-and-seven plus situations where they converted, and I still think they -- I think they were like nine-for-16, but they just kept completing them in crucial parts of the game, especially in that second half, and that's what kept them going.
Q. ...Tannehill's run there at the end and set up the field goal for them?
FRED WARNER: Yeah, I guess just he found an opening in the middle and I've got to get him down, and that's just it is what it is, you know.
Q. Seemed like you had them on their heels the first half of the game. Anything change though?
FRED WARNER: I wouldn't say anything changed. They, you know -- like I said, like they just kept converting on third downs. Then always come down to the turnover battle. We didn't get any takeaways as a defense to help our team, and that was the difference.
Q. When they were max protecting, there is not accepting as many guys out in the route. Did you feel like that was going to give you guys an advantage in some ways?
FRED WARNER: I mean, yeah, like you said, like less guys in the route, we've got to be stickier in coverage, guys got to look guys up in those situations of how they're trying to attack us over the middle and stuff. You know, we obviously have to do a better job of that.
Q. What did you to have to say in the cornerbacks when they're giving up these plays and it's happened before in the second half? How much of that falls on you as the leader as a defensive captain or is this on the coaches to figure that out?
FRED WARNER: I mean, I'll have to go back and watch it. Felt like during the game that, I mean, especially Ambry (Thomas), he was competing his butt off. He was going against one of the top receivers in the league, and there was some of those situations where he was winning and doing a heck of a job.
You know, it's going to be a -- it's a battle when you're going against – like he's – (A.J.) Brown is a great player too, so what ultimately ended up losing us the game was the third downs and the takeaways. Like we had to have one or the other. If we won all those third downs, we're not talking about this right now.
And if we took the ball away, the third downs would've been covered up a little bit more. We lost in both those areas, and that's why we lost the game.
