The play down in the end zone. Frank Reich said you're trying to set up a screen there, did you guys tip them off somehow or just sniff it out? Can you just walk us through that?
"Yeah, they had it covered up pretty good obviously. Terrible play. Terrible play one on one, trying to find a way to just get rid of the ball and next thing you know I'm about to go down. So yeah, one I definitely want back. That one hurts a little bit."
What can you do? Are you trying to throw it in the ground somehow or just what are you trying to do?
"Trying to just dirt it. Just dirt it. Don't force it. That's what I was trying to do but next thing you know. Yeah, that one I am still mad at myself. Beating myself up over those ones at the end of the game for sure."
And then the second one in overtime, what did you see on that play?
"Yeah, I probably tried to do too much. I tried to force that one there to Pitt (Michael Pittman Jr.). He had a step on the underneath coverage, but (Kevin) Byard came out of the sky and made a heck of a play. I'm sure in hindsight I had the checkdown probably wide open, but thought I had Pitt and Byard made a great play. Those two definitely hurt for sure."
Frank is taking the blame for the first one, 100 percent his fault. But on the second one, as a quarterback in that situation knowing that you had time on the clock, so you didn't have to force it, how much of that one hurt you?
"They both hurt me. No doubt, especially they were already in field goal range. I trust our defense and I have confidence, but I put them in a bad situation. I forced that one. Hats off to them, but I have to make a better decision."
Does it feel like you guys lost more than a game today? Because you know how much it means in the AFC South and now they're way ahead. You guys had them 14-0 and you couldn't finish.
"Yeah, I don't look at it that way. It's a long season. We know where we are at. Fortunately, a loss like this we got a quick turnaround. Thursday Night Football is always tough on our bodies, but sometimes it's good for your mindset to just move on past this one. We have to learn from it. Mistakes we have to finish better. I have to finish better – no doubt about that. And we will."
Outside of the two interceptions, you guys had the pass interference calls down the field.
"I mean that's a good defense. It's a good defense and every time you line up against them you've got your work cut out. I thought Coach (Frank Reich) did a great job calling the game and early obviously scoring the way we did. But it's a good defense. We had some shots, didn't make them. I have to make some better throws, we had a couple pass interferences that were big for us, but it's a good defense and we just have to make more plays."
Did they make it look like you checked out of run calls? Did you check out of run calls?
"I'm not too sure. They disguise a lot. So, they're going to make it look one way and it will be something else. Bring pressure when it looks like static. It's a good defense, they made it hard for us. I feel like I beat ourselves. I beat us today at the end of the game – those turnovers."
Do you feel like it was different than what you were seeing first half versus second half?
"Not really, I think they mixed it up a little bit. I thought really the whole game they did a little bit differently than what we saw on tape so hats off to them. We made some good adjustments. Again, just didn't make enough plays."
How do you sort of deal with losses like this where you feel like you take a lot of it on your shoulders and how do you deal with it in the aftermath?
"Move on. Like I said, I'm thankful we have a quick one here. Quick turn around and it's at home too, which is nice. No time. I'll watch the tape tonight. I will move on from this one and it's on to the next. Same mindset I have even during a game. Make a bad play, have to go back and score like we did tonight. You've got to just move on and move past it. Keep that kind of gunslinger mentality and try to limit those mistakes."
When you walked off the field out there do you think you just squandered a chance to win the game considering where the ball was at for Tennessee?
"Yeah, I mean as a competitor and probably my hardest critic, you feel that. You definitely feel that way. You feel like you let your guys down even though I have the upmost confidence in our defense, they did a great job stopping them, but they are already in field goal range. As a competitor, I definitely try not to beat myself up too much over that, but I have to learn from that."
Did anyone speak in the locker room beside Frank Reich?
"Just a couple guys. I mean nothing major. For us it's the same mindset. Hey, on to the next. This one was tough, we all have to own our mistakes, I've got to own my mistakes. But we have a quick turnaround – there's really no time to hang our heads on."
You mentioned maybe doing too much on that last interception. When you had so much success down field as you have had the last couple weeks, is it tough to go to the checkdown sometimes?
"Yeah, I mean at the end of the day, it's always easy to go back and watch film and say, 'Shoot, I should've checked that down' or 'I should've done this. Should've done that.' But I don't want to change my mindset. I don't want to change my mindset to be aggressive and stay aggressive, own the ones that cost me. Be a little more conservative. At the end of the day hopefully the aggressive mindset that I have, hat coach has, that we all have, will pay off more."
