**
HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY**
Opening statement:
"A couple of injuries here: (Taylor) Lewan went out with a back during the game and did not return. We'll know more tomorrow once we get an MRI. (Phillip) Supernaw with an ankle. Other than that, we're pretty good. Marcus (Mariota) has a little bit of a knee, but he played. It's disappointing. We probably got a little over aggressive with the pump fake in that call down there to Rishard (Matthews) on the post where they picked it. They made more plays than we did. You can't turn the ball over like we did and not get any. Tough loss. Tough loss for us. Defense played out of their mind for the whole game. Had a chance to win the game because of our defense the whole game. Special teams wasn't good enough and neither was the offense."
On if WR Rishard Matthews was in the right spot when the pass directed to him was intercepted:
"You got to run the post. You have to run across the guy's face."
On if that play was in part by Matthews not being at practice lately:
"I don't think it had anything to do with the time off. No. It's just a big mistake."
On what was wrong with the offense:
"Third down. Third down in the second half. Trying to get a drive going. Couldn't get a drive going. Tried to make some plays there at the end and just couldn't come up with one."
On how T Taylor Lewan's exit affected their running:
"I give them their kudos. They did a good job. Their safeties are very aggressive. They blitzed them a lot, which we knew. What they did, we already knew. I don't think we did a good enough job blocking them to be honest with you. They were going to try to stop the run. That was their whole intent with those guys. They pretty much succeeded."
On what happened during the second interception:
"(Mariota) didn't see 57. He did not see him."
On why Mariota hasn't gotten better at seeing defenders:
"Since you've never played that position and I haven't in the NFL, there's a lot going on when you're standing in that pocket. I'm pretty sure every quarterback has thrown a pick to guys they haven't seen. I'm pretty sure everybody in the NFL, even hall of famers."
On if the fake punt wasn't executed well:
"No, it wasn't. You know what, we should have got it. I thought we had it. Both officials had the mark as a first down. I was standing right behind them. I don't know how it got overturned. Most of those times that play with all the bodies, I don't know how they saw that. I still don't. I question that immensely, that overturn."
On if they knew they were going to call a fake punt going into third-and-one:
"No, we had a plan. On the field, it was going to be fourth-and-one or two. We were trying to get it, obviously, on third down and one. It came up, they gave us the look and we should have executed it. I'm pretty sure we did with the exception of the overturn call by New York."
On if he passed to cornerbacks because his offensive players weren't good enough to go to in clutch situations:
"I think they are. That's an end-of-the-game play that we put into the playmakers hands. I don't think anybody has any problems. I don't think anybody has any issues with putting it in (Adoree' Jackson's) hands to help us win the games.
On if the first pick was Matthews' fault:
"It could be. You'd like to see him cross the face. Where the ball was thrown, that's where the design of the play was, was to cross face. It's like a slant route, never in history do you want to not cross the guy's face. Maybe it was a broken up play, but we need him to cross face."
On if Mariota's knee injury had happened earlier in the game:
"Yes. Yeah. It was early in the game."
On why Mariota isn't showing game-to-game growth:
"Let me, again, look at the film. I'm not as astute exactly at everything as you guys are watching it from the naked eye. I like watching the tape a few times. I'll comment on it tomorrow."
**
QB MARCUS MARIOTA* *
On his knee injury and how it felt:
"It felt alright."
On how he injured it:
"Just on the run. I didn't see the defender coming. I thought I could slide in time. The guy made a good play."
On if his injury will make him change his sliding technique moving forward:
"No."
On his frustration level after today's game:
"Frustration is an understatement. Defense played lights out. Special teams did their job. I tend to—have been hurting our team, and I've got to find ways to get better and improve on it."
On what happened on his first interception and whether WR Rishard Matthews was supposed to do something different:
"No, he made the right read in coverage. That's on me."
On his second interception:
"Again on me. I didn't see the underneath defender."
On the similarity of that throw to other interceptions he's thrown and if it's unreasonable to expect him not to make those type of throws:
"I don't know. I haven't put much thought into it."
On his confidence level right now:
"It's fine."
On how much credit he gives to Arizona's defense:
"Their defense played well. They made plays when they needed to. A couple times, we just weren't able to make a play. That's on me, and I've got to be better."
On where the team's mindset needs to be looking ahead to next week:
"Bounce back."
On if he feels like the team could do that:
"Absolutely."
On whether this game changes the team's ability to be successful in close games:
"It doesn't."
On if he says anything to the Titans defense after the offense only scores seven points:
"Yeah, you say, 'It's on us. It's on the offense.' The defense played outstanding. They have been all year. We just haven't been able to put the ball in the end zone and score points."
On if the offense needs to change something at this point in the season:
"I think that's something that we'll have to look at. We'll get back to the film tomorrow, and we'll see what we can do to improve."
On being more downtrodden after today's game than other losses in his career:
"I'm just pissed off. That's all."
On why he's so upset:
"We just lost."
On whether the team thought it could march down the field and score late in the game:
"Absolutely. There was no doubting it. We felt like we were in it throughout the end. Again, defense gave us an opportunity. We were down a score; we just didn't make enough plays."
On the loss of T Taylor Lewan affecting things:
"Well, that's tough when you lose a player of his caliber. I thought Dennis (Kelly) came in and played well and did what was asked of him."
On what he expects from himself on a consistency level week-to-week:
"I expect myself to do my job and just taking care of the football and converting third downs. I haven't been up to par, and I've got to be better."
On why he thinks he hasn't been up to par:
"Not sure. Looking back on the film the last few weeks, I thought I corrected it, but I've got to get back into it and see what I can do better."
On if he's comfortable with what they're asking him to do:
"Yeah."
On how he feels about staying in Arizona for a week before next week's game:
"I haven't put much thought into it. I still think this is a good opportunity for us to come together as a team, especially with the circumstances with what happened. So, I think it's going to be good for us, and I think we can bounce back on Sunday."
**
T TAYLOR LEWAN*
*
On his injury:
"I just woke up this morning pretty stiff. I tried to do a bunch of stuff before the game. I was feeling pretty tight. Tried to play a little bit, it just really got too tight on me, had some spasms. I don't foresee this being a long-term issue. I just need to get on top of it and get ready to play next week."
On if he's had to deal with this injury throughout the season:
"Honestly, no. I felt great all season. Little ticky-tacky things here and there like everybody has to deal with when you get this late in the season. To be honest with you, I'm just really bummed out, man. Being from Arizona and having the opportunity to play in front of my family and high school friends and all that, I really wanted to go out there and get a win with the boys."
On his thoughts on the offense only scoring seven points in a crucial game:
"Obviously it's not what we want. We need to be a lot better. We, as an offensive line, need to take control of the line of scrimmage to control the game, get in there and play with relentless effort."
On if it was anything during practice that caused the injury:
"No, I actually haven't ever had back anything. It could be as simple as it just got tight and wrong day, wrong time. It might be something, but I don't see this being anything that will take away from my career, this team, or anything like that. I just have to get on top of it, make sure I focus on getting good treatment and getting this thing to loosen up and let go. I should be good for next week."
On Mariota's mistakes:
"Whenever it comes to the things you're talking about, I play left tackle. That's my job is to be the best left tackle in the NFL and play consistent. It could be a route, it could be pressure up the middle, pressure from the left or right. It's a lot easier to sit and watch and say what's going on. Marcus is a hell of a player and I don't want to block for any other quarterback."
On where he watched the second half of the game:
"I ended up going back out a little after the second half started.
On the frustration level after the loss:
"Any time you're in a situation like this and you can't go help the team, you just feel like you're letting guys down. I want to be accountable. I want to be a guy these guys can rely on. I want those situations to be on me. To not be out there, it really breaks my heart."
**
TE DELANIE WALKER*
*
On the frustration level after today for the offense:
"Oh my gosh. High. It was very high. I don't know what to say. I'm sad because the defense played lights out and we didn't help them pretty much."
On how much credit should be given to the Arizona Cardinals defense:
"Again, they won. I will not say they didn't play great. Their defense played great. They did things that we hadn't seen. They came prepared to play. At the end of the day, we didn't play very well. Our defense held them to field goals and you can't put points on the board, obviously then you can't win games."
On his mindset going into the final offensive possession:
"To be truthful with you, I thought we were going to come back and win this game. I'm still confused with it."
On the message for the team spending the week in Arizona together:
"Just sticking together. We are a team, one team. The message is stick together, overcome this, and get ready for San Francisco."
**
LB WESLEY WOODYARD*
*
On the defense's performance:
"It's always tough to lose a game like that. It's rough."
On spending the upcoming week on the west coast:
"The only thing we are worried about is getting the win. Next week is versus the 49ers; the most important game is the next one. We have to bounce back. We still have a chance of making the playoffs and winning our division. Everything is still in front of us. We let one slip away."
On what happened during the fake punt in the third quarter:
"I don't know. I'm going to have to watch the film and see what happened."
WR RISHARD MATTHEWS
On his thoughts on the game:
"It's definitely frustrating, especially on the offensive side. All you can do is watch the film, correct the mistakes, come back and be better next week than we were today."
On QB Marcus Mariota's interception in the third quarter:
"That was my fault. He was expecting me to cross the defender's face. As a receiver you always have to do that, and I didn't do that. It led to an interception."
On what was said amongst the receiver group on the need to come out better next week:
"Yeah, that's how we talk as an offense and as a team. Today, offensively we didn't get it done. The defense kept giving us the ball back, and we just weren't making the plays that we normally make. It wasn't like us, but credit to those guys, they were making plays."
On what the team has to do moving forward:
"You just stay the course. We are still in a good position. You want to win as many games as you can, but like I said this didn't go the way we expected, but it happened. Next week we have to come out and do our best to win."
On why he thinks this offense is struggling to the extent it is right now:
"Just mistakes here and there, self-inflicted wounds. Like I said, if I cross-face that's probably a catch instead of a pick, other self-inflicted wounds. We just have to do better that's all."
On if he expected to drive down and win the game on the final offensive possession:
"Yeah, definitely. My mindset and I know everybody's mindset in this locker room is the games not over until it hits zero. We even had a shot there at the end. The defense did a hell of a job out there, continued to give us the ball back. They've been playing hot all year. Offensively, we just didn't come through at the end and put the points on the board that we needed to to win this game."
On if the defense took his route away on the interception:
"No. He played inside. As a receiver, you're supposed to cross-face at all times. Marcus (Mariota) thought I was going to cross-face and I didn't, that led to an interception."
On if QB Marcus Mariota is struggling with confidence:
"No, not at all. Marcus is alright. You win some, you lose some, but that's over. Unfortunately, it didn't go in our way, but that's football. You have to be able to bounce back and have a short memory in this game."
LB AVERY WILLIAMSON
On if the game was frustrating:
"Yeah it's frustrating. We definitely thought we were going to come out with a victory, but it just didn't go our way today."
On the defensive performance in the second half:
"They got some yards running the ball, and they converted on some third downs. I feel like we did a good job of holding them to field goals at the end of the day. All we can do is give the offense the opportunity; that's all we can do."
On the defense getting eight sacks:
"It's definitely good to see us getting pressure. I wish we could've got some strip sacks, but we definitely had them out of their comfort zone."
S KEVIN BYARD
On the mindset of the team after today's loss:
"I think everybody is frustrated. I'm frustrated. I don't think there's really any other way to put it. Coming into the game, we wanted to stop the run; we didn't stop the run. We wanted to eliminate 11 (Larry Fitzgerald), but he had a couple of catches. But, it's just frustrating."
On what the team has to do over the last three games of the season:
"Even though its frustrating, we don't want to get too low on ourselves. Just like when we were winning, we didn't get too high. This definitely hurts. It kind of reminds of the Miami game a little bit. We kind of let this one get away. It's definitely a disappointing loss for sure."
On the defense getting eight sacks:
"It doesn't really matter because we lost."
The Tennessee Titans take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14 at University of Phoenix Stadium. (Photos: Donn Jones, AP)