On his evaluation of the offense:
"I would say offensive play – obviously, we didn't perform how we wanted to. We want to be the most efficient team out there, myself included. Didn't perform the way I wanted to. I missed a few passes that I normally don't miss. All these other things. I think there's small things that always lead up to big things, make those moments and things like that a lot bigger, that make games a lot closer. Just the small things, whether it's a pass play that I had to D'Andre Swift in the flat that I missed a little bit in front of him, whether it's missing D.J. a little bit on the end route on the backside, a little bit in front of him. All these small moments that happen throughout the game that felt like I was in the right place, the right time, and I would say I was seeing it well. Just missed and misfired and placing the ball where I wanted to. You complete a few of those. Drey down the sideline, on the left side line, they end up going coverage zero. Ended up missing him, on a different page and things like that. I think that was the name of the game today for the offense. It's just not just being on the same page passing-wise. And run game, we'll be better. Obviously, it's great to get this first win. And we're all excited, went into the locker room, celebrated. I sat down, enjoyed the moment. And just watching the other guys, I understand that I need to be better, I will be better. And then just taking in the first one. It's unbelievable."
On if he's ever 'played a game this frustrating offensive':
"I have. It was not too far down the road. I hate that you bring it up. It wasn't UCLA. Kind of same defense but not UCLA. It was the green and gold team or blue and gold team that Cole Kmet played for. (Laughter) But, no, it was a frustrating game, but the most important thing is that -- and it shows a bunch of the personality of this team I would say -- the fight, the resiliency that we had. When Coach got into the locker room, he got into the locker room and first thing he said was, you know guys, we don't -- this past how much ever time that we had, when we got into the locker room, I think it's around 15 minutes, we got in there and Coach was like, that was the most teams I've been on, all these other things, y'all walked in here and said to each other that we're not going to lose this game. We're going to go out there, keep fighting, we got this, we got this. We weren't shaming anybody. The defense was not getting on the offense, all these different things. It shows his personality, how much everybody believes in ourselves, the Chicago Bears. The defense believes in the offense, the offense believes in the defense, special teams and so forth. We're grateful and happy to get this win. Celebrating in the locker room, it was pretty cool, first time, celebrating in here."
On 'not caring about stats as long as the team wins':
"Yeah, I don't care about stats. I feel great. To be honest with you, I feel great. I understand that obviously the stats weren't where I wanted them to be and things like that, because I want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. Didn't do that today. We're going to get better tomorrow. We've got this little period, these next 15 hours or so, and then you reset. You get ready for Houston next week. So, we're going to enjoy this win. We're going to go have dinner with my family, hang out with them. Then from there get back into it and get ready to go. We're going to be better next week."
On his vantage point on Tyrique Stevenson's pick-6:
"I was actually on the bench with the coaches. And I actually called it out before, weirdly enough. I was sitting next to Ryan, and I told Ryan this is going to be a pick. And weirdly enough it happened, and he took it down the sideline. Got up and cheered. Got the two-point to put us ahead and things like that. It was awesome to be able to watch that. Kind of lost my voice towards the end of the game cheering on my guys. It was awesome. It was great. Defense for what they did today. 17 points in the first half is enough, but to be able to come back out in the second half and shut them out is unbelievable. We've got a great team. Great brotherhood building here and we're going to keep going."
On the 'speed of the game':
"I saw things well. I was a few passes that may have been dropped, may have been missed. I think it was just miscues. But speed and game-wise, it didn't, I would say, affect or change much. I think the miscues made it look that way, but miscues, misfires, all those other things, a little bit of frustration for not executing, but other than that, no."
On what is was like watching the defense:
"Keenan and all of us, we always say that we can't wait to watch these guys go out there because we know how good they are. We can't wait to watch these guys go out there, do their thing. Obviously, it shows the brotherhood, the bond they built over the past couple of years, all the guys playing here and obviously a couple of new guys -- Ryan Poles and Coach have done a great job getting the guys here. They go out, execute the way they do, the way they did. We couldn't wait, and it shows you all their hard work that they've put in."
On where he finds the 'strength in himself' to bounce back:
"I think it applies whether it's a win or loss, you expect yourself to play a certain way. You expect yourself to go out there and perform a certain way, to make passes, whether it's just -- whether routine pass or whether it's just an insane kind of whatever the case may be kind of play. So that didn't happen today. So it's enough motivation for me. We're going to somebody else's home this week too, and so it's enough motivation for me to go out there, get better this week and make sure that I perform differently next week."
On what it like to have the 'defense and special teams carry the team':
"That's the NFL for you. It's hard to win in this league. To have a team like this, to have an offense/defense/special teams, players, coaches, all the people here. It's the NFL. It's hard to win in this league. We're excited. But we've got a lot more to get better at, a lot more to progress, and get ready for this week."
On what he felt 'emotionally today':
"Emotionally, I was excited. I was really happy to be here, be a Chicago Bear. I was happy to get out there on the field finally and get this first game going and extremely happy now, extremely happy when I got to the locker room. We've got a lot more to get better at. But to get this win, the first win in the books as a rookie, a rookie starting QB is unbelievable for myself. I'm excited and ready to go."
On what he learned from the game:
"I've got to go back, watch the film, obviously, figure that out on a deeper level. But first and foremost is to keep fighting. Understand the team I have here with me right in this battle with me, right in this journey with me is the first thing I learned. They're unbelievable. Secondly, I would say getting back in the lab, getting back with the guys, mainly the wide receivers, tight ends, all these other guys, just to make sure we're all on the same page at the end of the week, making sure that we go out there, and when we have these chances, when they want to go cover zero, that we make them pay. We didn't do that today. But we're going to get better in the future, in the near future."
"Da Bears."
