Press Pass: Jordan Matthews

that things are going to eventually get better. So even when things aren't going that well, I saw that same mindset. I gotta go to work, I gotta continue to be consistent, and I gotta continue to get better. So then when games like this happened, it's not like, oh my, it's the greatest thing in the world. It's okay, I did my job. It's not like some a reckless thing happened. I did what I was supposed to do today. I went out, I played hard, I made play for my team.

That's what they've needed for me this whole season. At the same time, I'm not going to go switch up anything. I'm not going to change anything. I'm gonna start sleeping in or something. We're going to continue do the same thing over and over again. It's trying to get better to day. Let feel gratifying to have that success after sticking with the play. Um. Like I said, you know, I'm not gonna lie and say it doesn't feel good. At the same time, it feels better to get to win.

You know, if you go out there and play well, but then your team doesn't come out victorious, then was it mean? It means nothing but to be able to go out there and get a win and be an intricate part of it. I mean, we played great across the board. Ryan DeMarco, Sam, I mean Zach making plays down the sideline and then to think we're able to do that without you know, our anchor and Jason Peters. That's a testament to the offensive line. To the defense

played extremely well. I thought Matt Cassell came out and had his best game of the season, you know, and our defense was able to hold them to a field goal and that lay drive and give us a chance in overtime. So I think it was a complete team effort. Another big play I think was uh, you know e J Biggers too, stopping that touchdown, you know, just getting some more time all the clock, keeping them on the

field and stead of him just running in the kick return. So, like I said, from special teams, offensive defense, it was a full team effort. So I can't sit and just thing was all me experience or anything like that. Um, yeah, yeah, something a couple of times in high school and a Vanderbilt uh, a couple of games where you know, I had like a winning catch. So like I said, it's kind of like my job. So I don't really like like it's a huge dual I'm supposed to do it.

Is this the happiest I've been in terms of what you've done in the game. I mean, it's a game winning touchdown, Like it's really not gonna it's really not gonna sink in, Like I said, I was even when I was in college, people would always be like, hey, you broke like this big record, Like it didn't sink in until I left. So hopefully twenty years down the road, I look back like, Okay, that was a good catch, but right now I got flipped the page and go back to work, you know. Um, you know, after um,

I kind of was able to throw Byron through. I mean, he played a great game against me. We were battling the entire time. He's a real aggressive guy and really athletic. Um so I knew, you know, late in the game, if I was gonna get open against him, it was gonna be more. I had to use my strength and

a little bit of deception. So you know, teams have been covered me on those overs all like all year, and he did a great job with some of those overs too, So I just kind of gave him moved to the over and was able to throw him through and get outside. And then right when I caught it, I saw a daylight. I saw Huff actually look at me and be like, oh, let me block my guy. And then once he not once he pulled the corner out,

I said, I knew we were Scott free. So I knew that chance to score after you cross the goal line you threw the football into the stands. Your emotions at that point, yeah, I was, I don't know. Right after I did it, I was wondering. I was like, I hope they don't find me. So that was a first thing. I'm an economics and major, so it happens. So I was thinking you know. But um, other than that, you know, when I got in, I heard Huff saying throw it, throw it, like just do it, just do it.

So if I do get fined, I'm coming in for part of it is a game like this for sure. Um, you know, I think it means a lot. But Sam's even killed, got two years, great pois. He never gets two up, never gets two down. And you know, I didn't really think it's as much of me just defending him. I feel like I was just telling the truth. I felt like Sam's been playing well for us all season, and we're able to come out here today and actually go out there and make the plays room we were

supposed to make. I mean, you look at some of those catching runs by DeMarco, you look at the pass down the sideline where Urgins goes up, Like that's the things that we have to do as an offense because Sam's going to give us opportunities. You know, a lot of quarterbacks when things aren't going well, they kind of clam up, they just start hitting shut downs, throwing things short. But Sam's still letting a rod and that's a testament to a quarterback who has great poison, great confidence and

all the guys around him. Like I said, we can ask for a better guy back there behind center. Jordan, how important did you see this game? You know, considering NFC East and everything and just you know, where you guys were in the standings and all that. I mean, it was very important. I think, you know, basically this point in the season. I mean, I don't even think it's cliche say every single game is important, you know, to kind of set ourselves up to make a playoff

run late. We got to do things every single day necessary to make that happen. You know. Last year was a little bit of a different story. We got hot early, but then we kind of fizzled out late. So now we can try and reverse that and finish strong. We gotta continue to get guys healthy. We just gotta continue to go out down to practice field and get better. I think coach Kelly said it best when we got in. He said, the reason why we were able to come out there and when that game was because of how

we practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So if we don't have this same feeling next Sunday, we have to go back press the reset button do the same thing next week. Or how confident. Were you on the last drive of the game that you guys are going to be able to score there? Um, you know, extremely confident. I felt like, uh, you know, once we I knew, like I said, well, when we get this, when this coin toss, we're gonna

go in and score I mean our tempo. I felt like, when, like I've always said, once he get that first first down, you know it's over with. We're able to get our drives going and we're able to get moving and then, um, it kind of felt weird. It felt like I was back in the West Coast huddle system because then when they reviewed the call, we had a chance to get in the huddle before we called that last play. So you know, Sam was like, okay, we got this. I'm coming to you like so you know you got to

make this play for me. So it kind of felt like, you know, oh, man, I've done this before. This is just college hoddle, and I've been going to make a play. He trusted me, He gave me a chance to catch a run and then you know it was game over. Sam actually predicted that or oh yeah, he knew. I felt like he was like, hey, get open, I'm coming to you, so sure