FORD FIELD
WEEK 17: SUNDAY, JAN. 3, 2021
The following are post-game notes and quotes from the Detroit Lions’ 37-35 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
POST-GAME NOTES
LIONS SCORING PLAYS
- First Quarter: WR Marvin Jones Jr. caught a 43-yard touchdown from QB Matthew Stafford to give Detroit a 6-0 lead with 4:45 left in the quarter. The extra point was no good.
- Second Quarter: WR Quintez Cephus caught a 20-yard touchdown from QB Matthew Stafford with 13:19 left in the half to give Detroit a 13-7 lead. K Matt Prater made the extra point.
- Second Quarter: K Matt Prater made a 54-yard field goal to give Detroit a 16-14 lead with 7:13 left in the half.
- Third Quarter: WR Marvin Jones Jr. caught a 26-yard touchdown from QB Matthew Stafford to give Detroit a 23-21 lead with 14:09 left in the quarter. K Matt Prater made the extra point.
- Third Quarter: RB Adrian Peterson rushed for a two-yard touchdown to cut the score to 31-29 with 3:02 left in the quarter.
The two-point conversion was no good. - Fourth Quarter: RB D’Andre Swift rushed for a two-yard touchdown to cut the score to 37-35 with 4:26 left to play. The two-point conversion was no good.
TEAM NOTES
The Lions… - Produced their 14th game of the season with at least 20 points, tied for the most 20-point games in a season in franchise history (1995).
- Had two running backs (RBs D’Andre Swift and Adrian Peterson) each produce at least seven rushing touchdowns in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
- Had two running backs (RBs D’Andre Swift and Adrian Peterson) each produce at least 50 rushing yards and a touchdown in the same game for the first time since 2015.
- Had two players produce the first sacks of their careers (DB Tracy Walker and DT Kevin Strong).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
RB/WR JAMAL AGNEW - Topped 1,000 all-purpose yards in a season for the first time in his career.
- Produced a return of at least 60 yards in three-straight home games with a 70-yard kickoff return today.
- Became the first player in franchise history to produce at least 175 punt return yards and 775 kickoff return yards in a season since RB Stefon Logan in 2011.
WR QUINTEZ CEPHUS - Caught two passes for 51 yards (25.5 avg.) and one touchdown.
- Produced his second-career touchdown on a 20-yard reception.
- Became the first rookie in franchise history selected in the fifth-round or later to catch multiple touchdowns in a season since FB/TE Ty Hallock in 1993.
P JACK FOX - Punted twice for 101 yards (50.5 avg.; 40.5 net), booming a long of 58 yards.
- Finished the season with a net punting average of 44.8, passing P Sam Martin’s single-season record of 44.2 set in 2016.
WR MARVIN JONES JR. - Registered eight receptions for 180 yards (22.5 avg.) and two touchdowns.
- Produced his 35th and 36th touchdown receptions with the club, moving into third place in franchise history for the most touchdown receptions.
- Produced his 18th and 19th receiving touchdowns in division games since 2016, the second-most in the NFL in that span.
- Produced his 15th and 16th receiving touchdowns in home games since 2018, tied for the second-most in the NFL in that span.
- Caught the 50th and 51st touchdowns of his career.
- Produced nine touchdown receptions in consecutive seasons, only the fifth such occurrence in franchise history. The only other players to do so are WR Calvin Johnson (2010-11), WR Herman Moore (1995-96; 1994-95) and WR Terry Barr (1963-64).
- Produced his seventh multi-touchdown reception game since 2017, the second-most in the NFL in that span.
- Became the third player in franchise history (fourth occurrence) to record multiple touchdowns and average at least 20.0 yards per reception on eight catches in a game, joining WRs Calvin Johnson (2011) and Cloyce Box (1950; 1952).
- Set a single-season career high with 76 receptions.
- With eight receptions today, he passed TE Jim Gibbons (287) for the 10th
-most receptions in franchise history. - Produced the his third 100-yard game of the season, tied for the most he’s ever produced in a single season. He has connected on 11 individual 100-yard games in games that QB Matthew Stafford has started, the third-most between the quarterback and any receiver.
DE ROMEO OKWARA - Finished with 1.0 sack on the day.
- Produced his 10th sack of the season, marking the first double-digit sack campaign of his career.
- Became the first Nigerian-born player in NFL history to produce a double-digit sack season.
- Joined DE James Hall (2004) as the only undrafted players in team history to produce a double-digit sack season.
- Produced his 10th game of the season with a sack (tied for fifth-most in franchise history) and 10th game of the season with a tackle for loss (tied for the fourth-most in franchise history).
- Logged his 20th -career sack, the third-most by a Nigerian-born player in NFL history.
RB ADRIAN PETERSON - Rushed seven times for 63 yards (9.0 avg.) and one touchdown. His 38-yard run also marked a season-long rush.
- The Minnesota Vikings’ all-time leading rusher, he produced his first-career touchdown against his former club. In the process, he became the sixth player in NFL history to rush for a touchdown against 28 different opponents.
- Became the fifth player aged 35-or-older in NFL history to produce a season with at least 600 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, joining Hall of Fame RBs Emmitt Smith (2004), Marcus Allen (1996), John Riggins (1984l 1985) and John Henry Johnson (1964).
- Passed Hall of Fame RB Marshall Faulk (7,701) for the second-most rushing yards in indoor games in NFL history. Only Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders (9,461) has more rushing yards in indoor games than Peterson.
K MATT PRATER - Kicked a 54-yard field goal in the second quarter. This marked his 59th
-career field goal from at least 50 yards, passing K Sebastian Janikowski (58) for the most in NFL history. - Produced his 10th -career 100-point season, the third-most in the NFL since 2008. He also extended his franchise record by scoring 100 points in six-straight seasons.
QB MATTHEW STAFFORD - Finished 20-of-31 passing (64.5%) for 293 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for a 114.0 passer rating.
- Produced his 87th -career game with multiple touchdowns.
- Produced his 42nd -career game with at least three touchdown passes.
- Topped 45,000 passing yards in only his 165th -career game, the fewest games needed to reach 45,000 passing yards in NFL history.
- Threw for three touchdowns of 20-plus yards, tied for the most in franchise history in a single game. This marks only the third time he’s done so in a single season (2009, 2017).
- Produced his eighth season with at least 4,000 passing yards, passing QB Eli Manning (seven) for the seventh-most in NFL history.
- Has 45,109 career passing yards, the fifth-most through a player’s first 12 seasons in NFL history. His 282 passing touchdowns are the ninth-most through a player’s first 12 seasons in NFL history.
RB D’ANDRE SWIFT - Finished with 12 carries for 54 yards (4.5 avg.) and one touchdown and three receptions for 16 yards (5.3 avg.) for 70 yards from scrimmage.
- Became the fourth rookie in franchise history to have 10 touchdowns in his debut season, joining RBs Barry Sanders (1989), Billy Sims (1980) and Doak Walker (1950).
- Joined RB Billy Sims (1980) as the only rookies in franchise history to produce eight rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in their debut seasons.
- His eight rushing touchdowns are the most by a Lions player since RB Joique Bell had eight in 2013.
LB JAHLANI TAVAI - Logged a career-high 11 tackles (eight solo), one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles.
- Became the first player in franchise history to produce at least eight tackles, two forced fumbles and one tackle for loss in a half of Detroit.
- Became the third player in franchise history to finish a game with at least 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles. The last Lion to do so was LB Julian Peterson in 2009.
DB TRACY WALKER - Totaled 11 defensive tackles (nine solo), 1.0 sack, one tackle for loss and two special teams tackles.
- Produced his 11th -career tackle for loss, tied with S Glover Quin for the fourth-most tackles for loss by a defensive back in franchise history.
- Logged the first sack of his career.
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Sunday, January 3, 2021- Pool Reporter Paula Pasche Interview with Referee Adrian Hill
Question: On the roughing the passer penalty called on Detroit’s Tracy Walker early in the fourth quarter, what made that a roughing the passer penalty?
Hill: “By rule, one of the categories for roughing the passer is full body weight, where the tackler lands with his full body weight on the quarterback. That’s the category this play fell into.”
Question: It kind of looked like the defender grabbed the quarterback and his momentum rolled him off, but is that not what you saw?
Hill: “The momentum doesn’t play a role and the rolling off afterwards does not play a role. It’s that initial contact to the ground. If you roll off afterwards, that doesn’t eliminate the foul.”
Question: What could the defender have done differently?
Hill: “A lot of the techniques that defensive coaches are teaching include kind of a barrel roll, where you grab the player to the side and you take him down to your side and roll, rather than coming down with your full body weight.”
Question: So, it was a clear-cut penalty to you?
Hill: “Yes, it was. The initial force was full body weight.”
LIONS INTERIM COACH DARRELL BEVELL POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
Opening Statement: “So, really an interesting game there. The thing that I just talked to the guys about in the locker room is I appreciated how those guys went out and played today. I think you could really see the heart and the respect for the game that they showed, the respect for their teammates that they showed, and you could go all the way down to the goal line stand that our defense had. We had different guys in there in situations with other players going down. (Dan) Skipper is in there, an offensive lineman is playing in there for the defensive line, a couple of defensive ends had to go in and play inside. You know, to get the stop
was great. Unfortunately, we got that call, put them back in there again and stopped them on the next play. It just showed all of the fight that those guys had. We had a lot of guys even on offense. The right tackle went down, left guard went down, but the guys that stepped up were ready to play and did a really nice job. So, just proud of the effort that those guys showed today.”
On his emotions right now: “Right now, I’m actually proud of what we just displayed on the field. We were shorthanded in a lot of ways and the guys that went in there in the game, they gave everything they had for the game, for their teammates. So I think that’s what I’m feeling right now, just proud of what those guys did. I mean it was a hard fought game and guys stepped up in many ways. I know it wasn’t good enough. We did not win the game, which is always the goal, but some of the short-handedness and guys just continuing to step up and continuing to fight, that really meant a lot to me.”
On his respect for the game: “Yeah, I’ve told these guys how much I love this game, how much I respect it. And I think it says a lot for you to go out there in situations, as you guys might say is meaningless, but there is a lot of history to this game, there’s a lot of people that have been on the field before us. And to go out, and to play continually for one another as hard as they did the whole game long, I think it speaks a lot to these guys.”
On the roughing the passer call against Lions S Tracy Walker: “The first part of the question, the explanation was bodyweight, and that he came down on him with his full bodyweight, which I want to take a look at it. I’m not quite sure that happened. I felt that he tried to roll over the top of him as he put him down.”
On the defense’s missed tackles during the Viking’s touchdown at the end of the first half: “Just a terrible misplay, misplayed play. I thought we were handling it correctly, we knew one more play, we felt they were going to try to throw it to the sideline, we had the sideline defense. You know, catch and tackle it. Instead of tackling and wrapping him up, the guys went for, to really trying to kill him and knock him out of bounds. It’s just not fundamental ball there, we have got to do a better job of wrapping him up.”
On the Vikings touchdown to end the first half encapsulating the defensive struggles of the season: “Yeah, I don’t know if I want to put it all encapsulating in one play, but definitely, that was not a good play on our part. We talk about fundamentals all the time, and that’s a fundamental play in terms of being in the right defense. But then you have to make that play. You can’t let that guy get out like that, you’ve got to be able to make a tackle, you can’t go for those kill shots or whatever, or think that somebody else is going to make the play. You’ve got to wrap him up and get him to the ground.”
On solving the defensive issues: “Well, there are definitely places all around that we can get better at. We will look at the defense, well somebody else is probably going to be looking at it, but that is definitely a place that needs to improve.”
On if he knows if he will interview for the head coaching job: “We’ll find out soon.”
On Lions QB Matthew Stafford going out there today despite recent injuries: “Yeah, it’s a cool relationship to have with the quarterback. I really appreciate what he did. The guy is out there, not 100 percent. He’s fighting for his teammates, he’s fighting for, like I said, he talked to the team last night. The respect for the game, the history, the guys that have come before us. The guy is laying everything out there on the line in a game that he doesn’t need to. I think that says a lot about him as a person, about him as a quarterback, what he means to the team. I’m not going to sit here and talk to you for a while about him, but I really appreciate what he has done for me and for this team.”- On if Stafford’s message to the team was in a team meeting: “Yes.”
On the difficulty coaching the defense after he took over: “I’ll answer it this way, I just wanted to have my fingerprint on the team, offense, defense especially, wherever it was, I think what I would like you to look at is the games that I was involved with, how they played. The enthusiasm that they played with, the heart that they played with, I mean obviously there are positions that we are going to evaluate and try to upgrade, all those things, because that happens every year, turnover in the league. But it is one thing to lay down and not finish the season, and it is another thing to play your heart out all the way until the last play. That was really my main focus because there wasn’t a lot that I was going to be able to do with other parts and I think I got that.”
On Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr.’s performance: “Yeah, I mean I don’t know what he ended up with, but I know he needed a couple hundred yards to [get to] 1,000. I mean, I love what Marvin (Jones Jr.) has done for us. A great personality, he really comes out every single day, he practices hard, he works at his craft, and again, he’s another one of those guys that loves to play the game. I think he showed his ability today. Did I want to give him the ball? Yeah, but Matthew (Stafford) has got to read it, and sometimes he is the first read, and sometimes he is the second read. You’ve got to go through your progressions, but he is definitely always in the progression, in the earlier stages of it, trying to get him the ball because he makes big plays for us.”
On if he feels ready to be a head coach: “It’s a hard thing to say. I’ve enjoyed the role, I’ve learned a lot in this role, and I’ve told you, I have loved every minute of it, but it is not for me to evaluate. I think it’s for the other people to evaluate. Do I think I can handle this role? Absolutely. Do I feel confident in this role? Absolutely. Do I want to do it? Absolutely. But the opportunity has got to come. But again, I think I will go back to my statement earlier, I just want you to look at the guys, on how they played, who we have, how they played, the effort that they showed, and that’s going to speak to, really, as a head coach, how the team plays for you, how they handle the game. And I will let it speak for itself.
On what the offense missed without Lions WR Kenny Golladay (out due to injury): “Obviously you miss his big play ability, you miss his size, you miss his catch radius, you miss his presence, just in terms of having that “big dog”, then it helps the guys in part of your offense, but we didn’t have it for most of the year. So, you have to adjust, you have to go to do other things, and I think our guys stepped up and really did a good job of that.”
LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On if he thinks this was his last game with the Lions: “Obviously can’t speak into the future, but I don’t think about it at the moment. Obviously disappointed that we couldn’t get a win today. We fought hard. I have to give a lot of credit to our team. Played their ass off. Had some guys beat up on defense, some other guys stepping in and playing. Very similar situation for us up front on the offensive line side and I thought those guys that came in fought and played really well. Obviously I can’t turn it over and hurt us like I did, so have to find a way to play a little bit better and help us get a win. It’s always better to end the season on a win. So, I
don’t care what your record is, it’s nice to walk out with a winning taste in your mouth and not getting that done is obviously disappointing, but have to move on.”
On what injuries he was dealing with today: “I don’t know. There was a bunch of stuff, but I’m just like everybody else. Just like everybody else, you know, doing whatever they can to be out there and play. I appreciate all of the guys on our team that fought back. I mean Danny Shelton getting his ass back out there and playing was awesome. I mean there was a bunch of guys that had big time efforts to get back out there and play today. So I’m proud of those guys for that. As far as me, just similar stuff as the last couple of weeks. Obviously was able to be somewhat effective, wish I could have been better, but felt like I could play so wanted to be out there.”
On Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr.’s performance today and his future in free agency: “Kind of the way it developed, but Marv was hot early and I was going to keep feeding him. Obviously I wish that third touchdown would have stuck for him, I thought it was a great catch. I’m not sure it hit the ground, but maybe there’s a better view, we didn’t have a good one in the stadium. Was just happy for him, man. He’s been a really good player for us for five years and I’ve enjoyed playing with him. We’ll see what happens and who knows, but guy’s an incredible talent, obviously a great friend of mine and a great teammate. Just happy that he had a big day.”
On what he thinks when he hears other people like former teammate Dan Orlovsky say he should move on from the Lions: “It honestly doesn’t matter if I know them or if I don’t, I really don’t pay too much attention to it. I just go about my business and go about my day-to-day and try to help this team win. All of those kinds of things, in my mind, will figure themselves out and we’ll go from there. Everybody has their right to their opinion. I know Dan (Orlovsky) well, he’s a good friend of mine, but to me, don’t pay too much attention to it.”
On how he hopes he is remembered if this was his last game with the Lions: “I’m not going to get into that hypothetical. You guys can talk to me after whatever my last game is here, who knows. Until that’s final, I’m not going to have any thoughts on that. Sorry.”
On what will go into his decision about his future: “I have two years left on my deal here, so there’s a lot to discuss. I’ll obviously keep that between my family and I and all that, but we’ll figure it out at some other date I’m sure.”
On the status of his contract: “I’m going to obviously just look back on this season, reflect on this season, hang out with my wife, my kids, cool down for a little bit and figure all of that kind of stuff out at a later date.”
On Lions Interim Head Coach Darrell Bevell mentioning Stafford’s speech to the team last night: “Yeah, I mean he asked me, a couple of other guys as well, but asked me to just talk about the game, the game of football, and why it’s important. I kind of shared my thoughts with my teammates. I didn’t realize it was that moving, but I appreciate it. I was just honest. We’re lucky to get to do what we do. We’re a part of history. We’re a part of this group of people that gets to call themselves NFL players or coaches or whatever it is, and that’s a huge responsibility. Just wanted those guys to know that I feel like every time I come to work, I bear that responsibility. I want to hold up my end of the bargain. I just wanted them to know that that’s what’s really important to me about
this game, and some other stuff, but that was kind of the gist of it.”
On if he knows yet if he needs any surgery this offseason: “I don’t think so. I don’t hope so. I mean, I hope not. I think I’m all right.”
On his thoughts about Lions Interim Head Coach Darrell Bevell’s performance in the role: “I’m not going to get into that, but I was
extremely proud of the way he stepped into that situation. It’s a tough one. It’s a tough year to be a coach in the NFL, with all of the extra COVID stuff going on, and all the regulations and all that. I thought he did an outstanding job. He’s a heck of a person and I think everybody got to realize that, I’m sure you guys did, getting your chances to talk to him a little bit more. He’s a great person and a great coach, and I was just really happy that he got the opportunity. I think everybody in our locker room really rallied around him, which was awesome. Obviously, want to win more football games than we did, but I thought he stepped in and did a great job.”
On his thoughts about the future of the offense and its young players: “Yeah, I mean I think up front we have some really talented guys and some guys that play their ass off, which I love. I love those guys, they kept me clean and did a heck of a job. So I think up front we’re in a really good spot. Obviously in the backfield we have some talented players, some young guys that can really play. And Hock (T.J. Hockenson) I thought did an outstanding job of developing from year one to year two. Jesse (James), (Hunter) Bryant, all those guys. It was like a bunch of playmakers at that position and in the receiver room. We’ll see what happens, I’m not even sure to be honest, like who has their contract coming back or not, but I know that Quintez (Cephus) did a great job stepping in and playing a big role. Kenny (Golladay) was down early in the season, and he had to fill in and did a great job. And then kind of carved a role out for himself later on and played well. We’ll see, but yeah. There’s a bunch of guys who worked their tail off, show up to work
every day ready to make plays and try and score and I really appreciate that about those guys.”
On the frustrations of not making the playoffs again this season: “No, it’s hard every time. Difficult, disappointing, all of those words come to mind. I want to win. I want to be in those games more than anything. It starts with me, I can play better, help us get there. That’s the way I look at it. I want to win just as bad as anybody, if not more so, but the thing that I can control is how I play. I could have played better to help us win some more games in some other spots this year, and maybe that gave us a chance. So, I understand your question but my focus is on what I can control and what I can manage, and that’s just doing everything I can to
make myself a better player.”
LIONS WR MARVIN JONES JR. POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On if he thought his third touchdown catch should have been overturned: “Yeah, I mean no way, right? I didn’t know at all. When
they stopped everything and they were like, ‘It’s under review’, I’m like, ‘Literally, why?’. It sucks because we’ve become accustomed to calls like that here. I don’t know why, but it is what it is. I asked them, I said, ‘You just tell me right now, why would it be overturned?’ and stuff like that. And he was like, ‘Well, you know, they said that when you caught the ball and when you hit the ground, the ball moved.’ So, I’m like, ‘OK, did it touch the ground? Just simply, did it touch the ground?’ ‘No.’ I know it didn’t touch the ground, so why did you overturn it? It’s just stuff like that. It is what it is, but yeah it took me by surprise. That’s all you can say, it is what it is.”
On if he was intent on getting his third touchdown back with his last catch in the end zone: “Oh yeah, most definitely. I was like, I said, ‘Just give me the ball again’. I wanted the ball that next play, just throw it to the end zone. I tried to get in, and I didn’t it, but overall it was a good fight. I just love the way my brothers were out there fighting and stuff like that.”- On his thoughts of his performance today and if it was his last game for the Lions: “Just the love and appreciation that I have here. Who knows? You never really know. Anything could happen, so you don’t rule anything out or whatever. But it was a great moment between nine and 11. Moments that we’ve become accustomed to, great moments with him definitely. He’s one of a kind. It was just a special moment. They tried to take it away from us, but they couldn’t.”
LIONS RB ADRIAN PETERSON POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On what he was saying to the officials during the roughing the passer call: “Just (a) terrible call. It’s probably one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. You think about the game of football, it’s a physical game. It’s such a critical situation, fourth-and-1, that was a gamechanger-type of play. I’m standing there watching the entire play, and he actually finished with his hands down and running. To say that he put all his bodyweight on the quarterback – it was just – it was just one of those calls you just can’t make, especially when you see your quarterback take a helmet-to-helmet hit earlier in the game. It’s like the eyes were closed on that play. It’s frustrating. That’s no excuse, but we can sit here and say that that was definitely a game-changer. If we get the ball right there, it’s a switch of
momentum, who knows what happens next. But instead, they get that first down – I mean, to get that penalty to put them on the half-yard line, and another set of downs, an opportunity to increase the lead by seven.”
On if Lions DB Tracy Walker falling on the quarterback was the explanation he received from officials: “Yeah. It’s like, what do you
expect? He came free, end up tackling him pretty hard, and Kirk (Cousins) – he curled up. I don’t know. I’ve seen way worse tackles
than that that wasn’t penalized, so I don’t know. That one was a tough one to swallow.”
On what he will remember about Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr. as a teammate: “Just even-keeled. He’s a guy that didn’t change. Great person to be around, he works extremely hard. So, when he gets out on the field, he shows up. It’s not surprising to me. He’s a professional. He’s dependable. Each and every time that ball goes in his direction, I automatically assume a completion. This organization – you want to keep that guy. I get it, as far as the business part of it, but he’s a big piece.”
LIONS T DAN SKIPPER POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On his practice routine for being an emergency defensive tackle: “At this point of the year, it comes down to bodies are short, guys are playing hurt. Last year, (a) similar situation came up, this year we unfortunately lost another guy. It’s the National Football League, you go out there and do the best thing that you can to do. I guess in practice – offense is always servicing O-line, so I guess I try to get a little bit better fits and things like that. But the past few weeks it’s kind of been one of those, ‘Hey by the way, this could happen.’”
On if he has a background playing on defense: “Since about my sophomore year of high school they said, ‘Skipper, you’re not a Dlineman.’ So, I stopped playing D-lineman at a pretty young point. Then I think my senior year of high school, they put in a blitz package where I played MIKE linebacker, so that’s been my extent of playing defense other than individual periods with the O-line.”
On the stress of playing defensive line during a goal-line situation: “I mean, any time you’re taking a snap in the NFL it’s a stressful situation. There’s a lot of guys getting paid a lot of money around you. It’s a job to go out there and do what you’re told to do. I was trying to go out there and hold my gap and make plays. Unfortunately, I missed a tackle, which would have been good to get that one, make a stand. But unfortunately, I ended up giving up a touchdown there, and ended up losing the game.”
LIONS DB TRACY WALKER POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On how he will remember this defense: “Definitely I don’t want to be remembered again after that. Honestly, I’m going to forget about this year to be honest with you. I’m going to move on from this year and get better from it. That’s (the) bottom line.”
On why the defense struggled from start to finish: “I just feel like we didn’t play assignment football all the way throughout the games. That just shows it, it was very evident that sometimes we weren’t on the same page. We have to be better. That’s the bottom line.”
On the play when he was called for roughing the passer: “Like you said, I definitely tried to not put my weight on him. I definitely moved out the way, but the call was made. I said at the end of the day, I can’t speak on it, but everybody saw it. It’s not for me to determine if it’s a good or bad call. I just have to bounce back and try to go out there and make another play. So that’s what I tried to do.”
