(on beating his former team)
Yeah, it was a great win for us. Obviously, a lot was on the line for us as a team and excited that we came out and played well, full game as a team. Obviously, this was important for me being where we're at in the season and having the opportunity to win the division, first and foremost. Just proud of our guys and the way we responded with the opportunity we had in hand.
(on what he shared with the team during the final drive regarding today's game)
I don't even know what I said. Yeah, I wanted to go finish the game. I think at that point it was still 17-3, and I knew if we got points on that drive we were going to put the game away basically. So, it was important for me and for our team, obviously, to be able to drive, run time off the clock, and we were able to get points and basically end the game.
(on the team controlling it's own destiny to get the number one seed)
It's huge. It's huge, you know, getting the win. Got a little help today, so a big opportunity for us next week to go take care of business and seal off the one seed. So, it's going to be a big week in practice in preparation for us and have to go play well on Sunday.
(on the run game and running back D'onta Foreman's performance in Derrick Henry's absence)
Yeah, he's done a great job for us. Truly all of our backs have done a great job filling in, obviously tough shoes to fill. Talking about one of the best, if not the best running back in the league, but they've done it. They've come in and ran hard, given us a one-two punch there with Foreman and (Dontrell) Hilliard. Hilliard, a little speed, has the ability to get loose as we saw way back in New England and provides us a little juice there. And (D'Onta) Foreman's been running hard. He's getting the tough yards. You see him get contacted, you know, one yard, two yards downfield and he's driving his feet, pushing the pile, he ended up with six yards. If you're able to do that consistently, sustain drives, get first downs and ultimately score more points.
(on how rewarding it is for the team to be in the position it is with all of the injuries and adversity this year)
Yeah, we've been through a lot, faced a lot of adversity. It's kind of wild when you think back through everything that we've been through, injuries and COVID and everything else along the way. I'm proud of our guys, the way we've battled through. We've been in some tough situations and found a way to win games when we were short-handed. If you're able to do that and just continue to find a way to win games, you put yourself in a situation like we're in now to control your own destiny.
(on if he talked to Dan Marino before the game)
Yeah, I talked to Dan (Marino). It was great to talk to him a little bit before the game. Talked to him when I went out there and warmed up. It was good to see him. I see him occasionally down in South Florida. Dan was always great to me when I was in Miami. It was good to see him.
(on what it's been like the last two years with division titles and another shot at playoff success)
It's fun as hell to win. I love winning. I love competing. But winning is why you're out here. I love doing that and I'm proud of our guys and the way we've, like I've mentioned, fought through a lot and continued to find ways to win. So, it hasn't always been perfect and pretty – it's football, it never is. So, the fact that we can continue to find ways to win has been a lot of fun.
(on if he feels a significant role in turning this franchise into the right direction)
I hope so. I'm doing everything I can to go out and try to lead our guys, put ourselves in position to win games and win games. Whether it's the ball in my hand in the fourth quarter or if you take care of business earlier on in the game. I think I – actually, I know I have a lot of fun doing that. So, I'm excited for what's in front of us.
(on the balance of celebrating what the team has accomplished with the bigger goal)
Yeah, that was a battle I was having in there myself. I'm thinking, try to enjoy the moment and celebrate, but I'm going around telling the guys that we're just getting started. It's a big step and enjoy it, but we're just getting started. We've got a long way to go and that was kind of my message going around to the guys. Congratulate them but thinking back of my mind, we've got a long way to go and we're just getting started. Definitely try to enjoy the moment and celebrate today for what it is, but just knowing in the back of our minds that our ultimate goals aren't done yet. We've still got a long way to go.
(on crediting Head Coach Mike Vrabel with keeping the team together)
He's done a great job. I think the vision he casts on a weekly basis, the confidence that he projects no matter who's out there, whether it's an injury, a COVID issue, whatever comes up, he gives the guys the ability to go out and play confidently and try to take advantage of their opportunity. We've had so many guys step up and play huge for us that probably didn't start the season with a big role or even during the week didn't know that they were going to have a big role. I think back to Dillon (Radunz) last week, didn't know he was going to be in the game and a couple of hours before kickoff, you're the starting left tackle. So, just that mindset of next man up and having the confidence to step in and play good football on short notice or in tough situations has been huge and it's all led by (Mike) Vrabel.
(on ifwhether he had the chance to talk to tight end MyCole Pruitt after he was carted off)
Yeah, it's brutal honestly. You hate to see it to anybody, especially to one of your teammates. It's gut-wrenching honestly. I turned and saw the ref waving over and then I looked back and saw what was going on and my stomach just churned. You feel so bad, and you hate to see it and you wish that could never happen to anybody on the football field. Yeah, I'll be praying for MyCole (Pruitt) and connecting with him and trying to support him through these next steps.
(on the possibility of running back Derrick Henry coming back)
We're starting to have a little bit of momentum and do some good things, obviously. We'll see where Derrick (Henry) ends up and hopefully we can get him back, but getting A.J. (Brown) back, we're starting to build some momentum, play some consecutive games with good football, taking care of the ball and running the football. Playing our style of ball has been huge for us to kind of finish up these few weeks of the season.
(on what the team has done since the Bye Week)
You want to play your best football at the end of the year. We kind of set ourselves up through the year to be in a good position, but you want to play your best football going into January. That's what the great teams do. They find a way to get hot and build confidence going into the playoffs, and then you've got to play your best football in the playoffs, is what it comes down to. The games are tough, the margin for error is small, but you've got to be able to play your best football on a weekly basis late December into January.
