All right, guys. Injuries from the game. Ben Bartch went out with an ankle, didn't return. Isaac Grenda went out with a foot, didn't return. Go ahead. Corenda's foot injury. We're not sure, possible foot sprain. X rays then for sure show anything, so we'll have to look into more tomorrow.
How much.
Yes, yeah?
How much? Did you guys just need that? Right off? The bats jump.
Out to the twenty four and half the lead after what's gone on the last couple of weeks a lot. I mean, losing that close one at Seattle and the last play at home was so tough, and then the following two weeks were as bad as it got. So we had to step it up today. I wanted to play well. I thought we did play well, and most important thing was getting to win, and we got it done. So I was proud of the guys the way they came out and the way they finished.
That offensive rhythm.
You think this team has been into the first half especially, Yeah, definitely, I mean that's you know, that first half went pretty well, so having I think over three hundred yards and a half and I think our defense gave up two, so I don't think anyone in the league's done that in half this year on both sides, So it was the
hell of the first half. Did you think of the way Isaac quay before he got hurt, and how consciously were you trying to take advantage of his receivings two catches obviously, I mean it's I mean, brought got to a checkdown on the on that first third down. He was waiting on Kittle to get across the middle, and that's how I was watching, and then he went underneath Isaac and they just dropped him. So that was a
huge play. But I thought Isaac looked real well, it looked real good today, ran hard, affected the game in the past game and hopefully we get some good news on his on his injury. But it was so I had mixed emotions on that last drive. It was it was nice to be able to go on a fourteen play drive to finish it with a touchdown and kind of put him away. But it was tough losing Isaac. Isaac's there different offensively, they seemed like you can waiting
to have this type of performance all season. I mean, it's just how it went. There's not like an answer on this compared to the rest of the season. Guys played well, stayed on the field on third down. Thought we got the run game and the pass game going. You know, I thought that. I mean, the defense kept getting us the ball back every second in the first half, so, uh, it was easy to stick with it. And uh, momentum
is contagious, not just on the offense, but all three phases. Oh, we were just what uh the rough in the passer were rock stood down for a bit. I mean, yeah, always when any of our players are down. But they talked to me and my headset and stuff, and by the time he got to the sideline, they told me it was good. So it was short lived. What did you think?
The kind of similar leads to what I was going to ask, But one of the things this season between you guys and the players is we need to play complimentary football. And it did seem that everybody was firing on all cylinders in all phases of the game today. And I wanted to know, did you think that that
was sparked by the offense? But you kind of just said did you feel like the defense, Well, you said they kept it going, So do you think it was sparked by the offense, and do you think that's how you keep think going for the rest of the season.
I mean, we got the ball first and we scored, and then our defense got it right back to us, and it kind of went that way the whole half. So I mean, I think maybe our second series we did punt and when the defense stopped the team three and out right after that, you get it right back. Then you quickly forget about it. When you pun and they go down and tie it up, the whole game gets changed. So it's all complimentary football and the guys
are in sync today. I think of Whopongus first came back and what does his presence do for the secondary. I was just pumped to get Huff out there in uniform. You know, we weren't sure how I was going to go this week with him being back for practice, and we thought he looked real good. And then when he told me I had the confidence he had to play on Friday, I was pumped to start him. So just to get him out there, I thought was just the
emotions of it, you know, I thought sparked. Our team looked like you played real well just from what I saw alive. I'll see more on the tape, but just the type of guy Huff is and getting him back out on the field with us throughout the week and then in that game I think fired our guys up the other day.
That before Christian got here, you get pretty plug and play with your running backs and be able to use different guys for Isaac to step up, like didn Patrick Taylor came in and got a touchdown. What if Grenda is hurting, what can Taylor do for you?
I think you guys saw the bit today when we were given Patrick runs. I mean going back to the preseason and in practice and he's a good runner. He hits the right spots, he runs hard, so he's a guy who can definitely help us. And you know, he had some big carries. I want to say verse Seattle. I think it was when JP went out and he was spelling Isaac and he had to spell Isaac today, and when he went in and did a good job on all his opportunities like a raw, raw guy.
But ever, those two tough games have three tough games. As you mentioned the Seattle game, did you feel the need to speak to your team about keeping the mood up or do you sense that it was gonna happen anyway.
You mean after the game. I mean, yeah, every time you get into a meeting as a coach, you want to figure out something that's gonna affect the players. And when I say affect him and make him practice better or play better, I you know, you you it's very rarely some special words that changes how guys play. But we did talk about the importance of this where we were at, regardless of the result. I wanted to make sure that we came out today and just showed grit.
We wanted to fight, and these last two weeks just not making it a game was something we weren't proud of. And we were ready to battle today regardless of how that win and went as good as it could. So, I mean, the win was awesome, but I just wanted to make sure our tend and how our team worked. We're ready and you could tell them the meetings last night. Guys were ready for this game, and it came out and it showed.
To the team. And do you think you can carry this momentum into Thursday night?
I hope. So, I mean momentum. You know, we feel good right now, we played well, it's gonna come fast, and the only way we're gonna really enjoy the day is if we take care of business on Thursday and then we'll have three days to kind of enjoy it and come back and deal with our last three games. But if you don't take care of business on Thursday, not much to celebrate about today. So the main message in there is how proud I am of the guys, and now let's go home, get to sleep. Those guys
take care of their bodies tomorrow. We'll put in the game plan tomorrow, and we got to come in Tuesday ready to go because we're forty eight hours a game. Once that happens, you feel like.
You were in a rhythm as a play call it to what you were calling things you haven't seen that much, like zone reads and tight end screens.
I mean called some tight end screens this year. Zone read we hadn't, But that's just more of a scheme thing that we thought it looked good and couldn't believe brocked In handed off. But once he pulled it, I think that was a good decision too. Just we had to overcome that holding call which we didn't and the score, but uh, I thought we did in the second half.
Well that's great.
Great, you said you wanted the guys to come out and play with some grit. When you think about the fact that man of us Stoppa took a heart he had looked like he was a little rattle, came to the sideline, went back in, and he was the guy that broke up their play with Ozunde or I think that's actually say when you when he broke it up. If he wasn't there, they could have been a touchdown obviously, But then also the group of behind rock party taking a heart hit coming out coming right back at a
snap later. Can you just speak to the resilience of those two guys.
Uh yeah, I mean, I mean Grid's is such a roundabout saying, but like coming we got gritty dudes all over our team, We got as tough as guys as there is. I just wanted our team. We haven't been able to battle and finish a game when things have gone bad there, and that's what I wanted to make sure this is the whole team that we're going to play with grit and show that not necessarily as individuals. I know we got gritty dudes all over, but when you have your backs against the wall like we have had.
That's when it's your opportunities to show that your team can still play with some grit, your team can have some resilience. And when we've been in those situations this year where we needed to, we haven't. I think we've done it a lot in the past, which so we know how it looks and we know what it feels like. But the opportunities that we've had this year, we haven't got that done. And I just wanted to remind them that this year is not over. And today was an
opportunity to show that. And that's not something you can do as an individual. We got gritty dudes, but as a team that's collectively and everyone's got to be kinda I mean say, like psychology is contagious and you try to think like one and play like one. And I felt that today from our team.
There's been some rivers all the webs that you could be treated to Chicago and John Calton comic halls, you have a ward to.
I mean, I don't know why they come out, but like that's I mean, I don't want to be any place in the world more than here, and my family feels just as strong, if not a lot stronger. So you know, I hope guys are gonna have to kick me out of here, so there's no way I'm making that decision.
Caffrey post and tread.
That's three captains. Do you see other.
Leaders, you know, kind of younger players emerging as somewhat as leaders.
Yeah, I think, I mean that's you know, I think we've been in that all year. Like I mean, when you want to be a leader, it starts with what you do on the field. It's it's got to be genuine. And when you have a certain way of playing on the field and you're out there and you do things, guys will start to look to those guys as leaders. And then it's kind of how you carry yourself and
on what you do in those moments. And I think we've had a lot of guys on this team going back to even Week one till now that weren't you know, that didn't expect to get a lot of opportunities, you know, maybe when we drafted them or back in training camp, and they've gotten opportunities fast. And that's I think one of the positives that there's a lot of guys, guys that we do believe in that. I do believe are getting better each week, and I hope they're gonna be
good niners here for a long time. Valuable is it to guys with that kind of speed but also enough size to run inside. I don't get how you can do one without the other. So if you could just draft track guys to run the speed plays and big guys to run the other plays, then that would be easy. But you can get hit wherever you go, so uh, you better be able to run outside inside. You've ever been able to lower your pads and take hits, And the faster you are, the better. As long as you
can do all that other stuff. Run that screen pass to Kittle the thirty three on the first track before, and then it's just how well is he able to exploit the defense? It was good, I mean kind him in a zone dog, which helps because they weren't they were matching all the guys down the field, so there's only kind of one guy looking at him. Got scarred a lot back in the day calling that because especially people like kJ Wright, they would just sit and stare
at kill every time he blocks. So as soon as he'd catch it, people and drill him. So sometimes it's hard to get screens to guys who are really good at it. But uh, you know, that was a good play to open it up. Got it verse the right look, and when you can get George the ball versus the right look, I think everyone sees how explosive he is and we just give him some crap. Furking tackled inside the five twice, but he was unbelievable to rocket bump shoulder and had to sit out and it was in
a snowstorm. I mean, it's no difficult for him. During that three games the street did he stays, It's kind of steady throughout. He sits any sort of frustration, yeah, I mean normal frustration. I mean, we we want to win, and Brocks as competitive as anyone I've been around. So you know, he was real disappointed about the Seattle game and how they got away from us at the end, and then for him to come in Monday and feel the way he did it was kind of a shock
to him and all of us. And it didn't respond very well that week, and so he wasn't able to come back first Green Bay and get that taste out of his mouth. And when he did verse Green Bay, I mean versus Buffalo. That was a very fun game
for obvious reasons. So, uh, he's been battling, he's been awesome in practice, he's been great in the meetings, and I was real happy before today because it seemed like he played his ass off and he was decisive in everything he did, and he's always a competitor of that second challenge.
Were they already in the replay review or did you throw.
The flight to try to get them to do the Which one threw the challenge flag on the second time?
The one the low catch or the fumble? The fumble? Yeah? Uh no, I yeah. Once they said it wasn't h it was an incompletion, then we saw on the scoreboard that he threw it backwards. So then I just threw it and said it was a fumble, and I think they overturned it anyways after I did that. So come a challenge right after.
A couple of cross country road trips and inclement weather.
How much did you feel the home field advantage today? I mean, we always feel a home field advantage. It's so nice to not have to use a silent count and to be able to use our cadence and tee off on the ball and everything. You know, we don't mind going on on the road. We've been able to play in loud environments, we've been able to play in cold weather. It doesn't mean we prefer it, but we always love being at home and can't wait to be here in four days. All right, thanks guys,