JAGUARS HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
URBAN MEYER: Just I want to thank our crowd, they were fantastic. I know Buffalo travels very well, but the vision that I have, Shad has, and there’s a lot of reasons why our guys play so hard, and number one is the city of Jacksonville and then also our owner. Just to see that locker room and to see our stadium, even though Buffalo — give credit, Buffalo is a great organization, great players, and to travel like that, but I really appreciate our fans pumping the team up. I pulled the headset off a couple times on those 3rd downs, and they were great. Our fans were great.
Q. Can you describe your pass rush today and what this win means for you guys? URBAN MEYER: Josh has been really great all year, but he hadn’t had the help inside. We have not had that — so I thought — especially Roy was hurt a few weeks, Taven Bryan came in and did a heck of a job, Adam Gotsis, and Jihad Ward gave great penetration inside, and that forced the quarterback, a lot of those sacks you saw when he was scrambling away from the interior pressure. Really it’s a combination of both, but those guys are great. But the interior pressure really set up a lot of things.
Q. Overall you’ve had games where you’ve given up 20 points plus. Now you go out there and have that kind of performance. Did you see something in practice this week that led you to believe that this was coming?
URBAN MEYER: Well, we transitioned the bye week and didn’t show up in Seattle but actually did, we held them to 220 total yards, Seattle, and 60 in the second half. We transitioned a little bit, and Joe Cullen and his staff did a really good job. We really believe we were going to be a man coverage team and we had to adapt, and we now are a pretty good zone coverage team because of the hard work our coaches and players put in. A lot of that was zone coverage today.
Q. Could you just talk about the scene in the locker room afterwards, what that was like, because you’ve described previous celebration scenes when you were at Florida. What was the one like today? URBAN MEYER: You hope to get more accustomed to winning, which I believe we will, but that’s a very — I think Shad said it one time, there’s a perception of Jacksonville, there’s a perception of this team, oh, the locker room this, the locker room that. That’s a great locker room; I’ve been saying that all year long. We’ve had some close games, they’ve stuck together, and we just beat one of the best teams in the NFL. I’ll fight for that locker room. I believe in that locker room. If someone has something negative to say about that locker room, they’re incorrect.
Q. If you could just elaborate on, number one, Matthew Wright’s performance, obviously the bulk of the scoring, the entire scoring was all field goals and then he missed the three. I know he is still taking kickoffs, Logan Cook previously took kickoffs. If you could also clarify why Matt was taking them. URBAN MEYER: Yeah, Matt, obviously we had that one where he missed one and missed like three on one shot because of the penalties, et cetera, but we have a lot of confidence, our players do. Our players love
him. I think he had a 55-yarder today. He’s part of our team now. I made the comment after London most people didn’t know who he was and now he’s a big part of this team and they enjoy him. That’s an injury waiting to happen if you have your punter kick off too many times, so Matt did a pretty good job.
Q. Did Carlos and Jamal on that one play, did those guys give you kind of what you were looking for in the running game? I think there was one called back as a penalty, but did you feel like they did a good enough job?
URBAN MEYER: Right before the game in pregame warmups, Cam Robinson’s back locked up on him, and I really thought James Robinson was going to play up until this morning. But we took him out on the field and he just didn’t feel that — we should have him back next week, but Walker Little came in, and against a top defense in the NFL really hung in there. I thought Bev (OC Darrell Bevell) was involved in that, too, that we wanted to do certain things, but the way defense was playing we’re not going to screw around. I was disappointed down in the red zone. We get down there, we get paid to score touchdowns, not field goals. I remind everybody of that. We’ve got to do better. But at times it was conservative because of the way our defense was keeping Buffalo intact.
Q. You’ve been telling us I think since training camp that Rudy Ford is not just a special teams player. URBAN MEYER: Yeah, he’s a great player. It’s hard to — when you watch him play, he’s one of our better players. He hasn’t gotten many opportunities in the NFL, but he’s a hell of a player.
Q. How good is it to put together two full halves, a complete football game?
URBAN MEYER: Well, it was complementary football and that’s kind of what we talked about in our last night’s meeting was our players is to be the best version of themselves, and if they are, they’re pretty good. If they’re not, that was awful last week. It’s not bad players; no one ever said that. But the best version of ourselves is pretty good. First half against Cincinnati, at one point you were beating a really good Cardinals team 19-10. You hold Seattle to 60 yards of offense in the second half, so the best version of yourself is pretty good. They kind of bought into it and believed it, and they had a good day today.
Q. Do you feel like it’s going in the right direction?
URBAN MEYER: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I get so upset about last week because I really felt the momentum coming, and you could see the way they played early in the year compared to the way they’re playing now. It’s not even close. Just last week — we’ve got to move on. We’ve just got to get ready for Indy now.
Q. Getting that win in front of a Jacksonville crowd, how does that feel to you personally? Jacksonville and its fans is something you’ve talked about a lot.
URBAN MEYER: All the time, and our players talk about it all the time. We have a vision that we’re building a brand new facility and we want to make this a destination spot. Our owner wants to make Jacksonville one of the top cities in the United States of America, which we already believe there’s a lot of positives about Jacksonville, but a great football team really helps. And developing this whole area, it’s one of the most beautiful areas in the United States of America with great people.
Q. What does it say about your team when you make mistakes the way you guys did with the drops and Matt Wright but you’re still able to overcome that and win a game? Does that show that the build is starting?
URBAN MEYER: Well, great defense is what saves the day. We were hoping we’d have a great defense earlier in the year, and at times we didn’t play great defense. But the last few games now our defense has hung in there and done a heck of a job. When you have injuries on offense, you have a young quarterback,
you have this, you have that, great defense is how you win games, and you complement each other. I thought today was a perfect example of that.
Q. What happened with Trevor and how is his ankle?
URBAN MEYER: Low ankle sprain. They took him in for an x-ray. He’s coming in here in a minute, but he was ready to fight me when I wouldn’t let him in right away (crowd laughter). I had to remind him I’m still the coach.
Q. How far did your heart drop?
URBAN MEYER: Oh, just like everyone in that stadium. I imagine even the Buffalo crowd because you don’t want to see that happen to a young player. But he came back — how about CJ Beathard? He practices hard, Trevor he gets most of the reps just because he’s young and you don’t give as many to CJ. I’m really proud of him. He’s a pro’s pro.
Q. I wanted to piggy-back off what he was asking because you had the touchdown and of course it was taken away because the ball bounced off the receiver in the end zone and then of course you had the fumble and gave the ball back to Buffalo. How do you keep your spirits up as you go into halftime and it’s 6-6 at that point?
URBAN MEYER: I didn’t say much. The players did. We’ve got some pretty good leaders developing in this locker room right now, and they’re a little bit of us-against-the-world mentality, which I like. I like the fact that — when you have good leaders, coaches can say all you want, but those leaders stuck together, and I just felt a real confident defense that entire day out there. I saw them coming off the field talking to them, and they were very confident. You’re talking about the No. 1 offense in the NFL.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. How are you doing?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I’m good. I feel good. It’s a lot more fun coming up here after a win than not.
Q. Could you give us an update on your ankle and how that’s doing?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I’m feeling a little bit better. We scanned it, nothing concerning there. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow and the rest of the week. I’m sure it’s going to be sore, but we’ll see. I’m just going to get a bunch of treatment and try to get back healthy.
Q. Did you feel it was worse than it turned out to be when you initially hurt it? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, no, I thought it was a lot worse, then after some time and we scanned it and it was good, and then put a little bit of weight on it, gradually I was feeling better and better. Give it a little bit of time, it helped. But man, it was cool to see C.J. [Beathard] go in there and be ready and [he] just threw a couple great balls. That one to Ag [Jamal Agnew] was a freaking dime that he threw, so that was cool to see him just go in there and be ready.
Q. What was it like for you seeing the punt roll and the time run out and then being able to get on the mic and shout “Duval” and have that interaction with the crowd? What was that moment like for you? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Man, it was awesome. Like I said out there, the fan base has been great. Obviously, the season hasn’t gone exactly how you plan it. I love where we’re at as a team right now though. But they’ve been out here every week, filling the stadium, loud, making it a great environment. And it was nice to –we won one in London, but it was nice to win one in front of the home crowd. They deserved that, it’s been a while. So, that was a lot of fun, and just proud of the guys, proud of the city. It’s a good feeling.
Q. Do you get the feeling this is –I don’t want to say turnaround, but is it the start of something when you win a game like this with guys out and making mistakes like you guys did normally? You guys haven’t been able to overcome it.
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I mean, it’s great. It speaks to the progress that we’re making. I mean, our defense today, that’s one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen, and that’s a great offense. Obviously, Josh Allen, quarterback, and their wideouts and O-line, all those guys, they’re great players, and to see what our defense did, all the takeaways, the big stops on third and fourth down. I mean, it wasjust fun to watch. Really, they put us on their back. We had a chance to put them away a couple times, I missed two throws down the stretch. I’m kind of kicking myself because I could have put them away without our defense having to go out there and stop them again, but that’s what good teams do. They make a play when you really need one, and our defense did that today. And offensively, I thought we ran the ball great. We controlled the clock. We did a good job with all that, staying in third and fourth-and-shorter and trying to
take advantage of all those. We can definitely get better. We left a lot out there, but it’s a lot more fun to look back and say what we can do better when you win. That’s a sign of a good team and a team that’s getting better when you can win games where you don’t really play your best, especially on offense. Defensively we played out of this world. So, [I’m] proud of those guys. That was fun.
Q. Coach [Urban] Meyer mentioned when you first came out of the locker room he thought you were about ready to fight him when he didn’t want to let you back out on the field. What was that interaction like with Coach? Did you tell him you were ready to go and wanted to get back out there? TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I came running out there and I was ready to go and get back in right away. Then they were just trying to— ‘Hold on, let’s see, let’s make sure you’re good, and C.J. [Beathard] was in the middle of like a two-minute drive so it was kind of a weird timing. Then they called –it was before that play that C.J. threw that deep ball to Ag [Jamal Agnew] that we almost scored on. I was wanting to go in before that, and then they called it, I’m just like, ‘I want to go in, this play is going to score.’ But C.J. threw a great ball there. But no, I was trying to get back in as soon as I could. They were just trying to make sure I’m all good, so it was good.
Q. Obviously, I know you guys would have loved to have had RB James Robinson in this game; what do you think message wise does thissend to the rest of the NFL, that you guys can win a game without him playing for you guys?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: It says a lot, just the things that we overcome. Obviously, every week every team has something going on. You’re missing guys, whatever. It’s just how football is. But to have one of our best players out, especially James [Robinson], and our rushing attack, how much better it’s gotten each week and he’s obviously the key factor in that with the guys up front, and to see us really not miss a beat.
Obviously, you miss James, he’s a great player and he would have made a bunch of great plays today, but to see Carlos [Hyde] step up and Dare [Ogunbowale] and all those guys, it was cool. And then also think about Walker [Little], left tackle, I mean, that’s a pretty big moment, playing against the No. 1 defense in the league. He gets in there today and nothing has been wrong with Cam [Robinson] all week and then boom, it’s game time and he can’t go. That’s kind of –I don’t know how much more difficult that could be if you’re a left tackle and you don’t really have any idea that you’re going to play, and then you have to go in there and play every snap of the game. Just him stepping up, being ready, it’s really cool. Like I said, that’s the sign of a good team when you’ve got things like that happening and you still find a way to win.
Q. Speaking of Walker, just wanted to clarify, was it that he backed into your ankle or do you not even know what happened with the ankle injury?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, I think so. I think it was –but I mean, it’s like he was blocking his guy and I was just kind of standing there after the throw and [it was] just one of those situations. It happens sometimes. I mean, he was blocking the guy, so it wasn’t like a free hit or anything.
Q. Have you ever played in a game where there were only field goals scored?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I don’t think so. That’s why I said, it’s such a good feeling when you can play like that on offense. I mean, we had some great moments, some great plays, and I thought we did a good job controlling the clock. But when you can miss those big plays and still find a way to win, that’s a good feeling. Obviously like I said, I’m kind of kicking myself because I know I could have played better down the stretch, and as the season goes on, I’m going to have to. Our defense isn’t going to get four turnovers or –I don’t know if it was three or four today, every game. That’s a lot to ask them to do. So, we’ve got to play better. But it’s a good feeling to go back and watch the tape after a win and you can kind of sort it out then. But right now, we’re celebrating this win and we’re pumped.
Q. Obviously great moment, great win, just like you said, but now the question becomes how do you build on this? What are you guys going to take into practice in the coming week to build up to the next game?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Yeah, it’s just not making it bigger than it is. Like I said, when we put our best out there, we can play with anybody, and we did that today. More so just playing physical, really just dominating the line of scrimmage. I thought we just honestly, I thought we attacked more this game than they did, and that was I think the difference in the end. Obviously on offense, like I said, we had some plays we left out there, but we just kept attacking. Up front the guys were just mashing them. We ran the ball really well. But I think that mindset was really what ended up allowing us to win that game. So, [we’re] carrying that forward, but nothing changes. We’ve got to keep preparing every week and we can’t think that we won a game, ‘Alright, now we’re good.’ It’s just going to keep rolling. You’ve got to still put the work in and do everything you can to get another one. I have no doubt this team will do that. You see us getting better every week, and to beat one of the best teams in the league, that shows it. It just shows we can win any way we need to. In London, we threw for a lot of yards, ran for a lot of yards, scored some touchdowns, ended up having to win the game at the end of the game on offense, had to get a first down, make a game winning field goal, and then today played great defense and just grinded it out and found a way to win. So, it’s awesome.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS DE/OLB JOSH ALLEN
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. Josh, pretty good game today against the other Josh. You got your first career interception against Josh Allen. At some point you’re going to have to tell that story to your kids and grandkids. Can you kind of think about the fact that they’re probably going to look at you and say, what do you mean you intercepted Josh Allen?
JOSH ALLEN: Ooh, I didn’t think about it that far yet. But I’ve got to make it more — it’s going to be an exciting story. I know I’m going to hype myself up a little bit more, but great team win, first and foremost. Oh, my gosh, this defense, man, I’ll tell you, when we fly around, when we don’t hurt ourselves, we can be one of the best defenses out there. To hold that team to zero touchdowns, it’s tough to do. Hopefully they score a lot of touchdowns the rest of the season so we’ll be the only team to do that.
Q. We talked to you earlier in the week about this whole Josh Allen thing, about if you get a sack on him, it’s the first time in NFL history and we were all joking about it. Could we have imagined that you would not only have a sack but you would have a forced fumble and the pick and 10 tackles? JOSH ALLEN: I mean, got to make those plays when my number is called. For me, I visualize everything. I’m a visual person. I like to speak plays. I like to speak greatness into my head, so when it happens, I’m not surprised. I know I work my butt off. We all worked our butts off in practice to get right for this week, and I feel like I had a great week of preparation. I feel like I was in a great mindset and got to go out there and play.
Q. What sort of statement does this send to the rest of the league about you and about this team? JOSH ALLEN: We’re not going nowhere. We’ve got — we’re going to build on this. I’m glad I’m not up here saying, oh, we’ve got to do better. No. When we’re on our stuff, we can be a really great defense, and it showed today. Our defensive line can go against any offensive line any time of the week, any offense, stop any run, stop any pass. We did what we needed to do. Hopefully we’ve got to capitalize on this, get better Tuesday or Wednesday, and go out here with the mindset we’ve got to beat the Colts and get better and win this game.
Q. What was the conversation with Josh like after the game? Did you guys get a chance to chat? JOSH ALLEN: No, we didn’t get a chance to chat. Kind of fist pump. I think him and Dewey grew up together, are really close, and I knew Ed Oliver really well. I went to high school with him. Definitely had blood in there, so I wanted to go holler at my boys and he wanted to go holler at his boy. That’s not going to be the last time I’m going to see him, I know that, so definitely a lot more catching up later, but ooh, good day.
Q. So no jersey exchange?
JOSH ALLEN: No. I’m going to get it, though. But I wanted to get Ed — I train with him. I’ve seen how hard he worked, he’s seen how hard I worked, and I’d see greatness in his eyes and he seen it in mine, so we
kind of bonded off that, so it’s like, it was a great experience to see him out there, and hopefully we can play a lot more games together.
Q. Does it feel cool? Does it hit you yet about the piece of NFL history about being the only guy to ever sack a guy with the same name?
JOSH ALLEN: No, right now — I’ve got so much going on in my head right now that I really can’t just think about one thing. Definitely can get better from this week. Definitely can improve and definitely grow. I’m going to go back and look at this film. The history is the history. I read the history books, not only for this but a lot of other stuff. That’s always going to be there, and I know that. I don’t want to live that; I want to get better every week and make more plays for this team and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Q. What was it like to see other guys on the defensive line kind of all compliment each other and see Smoot and Taven had a big day. You talked earlier in the week about the defensive line rushing together. How did it feel to see it all come together?
JOSH ALLEN: That’s what we’re supposed to be doing. This is our job. It feels great when we’re out there doing what we love. We’re playing with the people that we love, playing with people to the left and right of me that I know if I mess up, they’re going to have my back, or if I mess up, somebody is going to go out there and make a play. Just to have that trust, it feels great. Smoot had two or one — Smoot had two, Taven had two, I had one, Rudy had one. How many sacks did we have?
Q. You had four. You had one, Smoot had one. They didn’t count that second one. JOSH ALLEN: Really?
Q. That one at the end on like the 4th down —
JOSH ALLEN: That’s crazy. Well, we’re supposed to. But Smoot has been playing at a high level, as well, every game, and it shows. And then Taven, oh, my gosh, that’s — that’s all I’m going to say on that one. People hated on him, but he got better. He’s getting better. He’s a big asset to this team, and he’s going to continue to make a lot of plays for us in the back end, so I’m excited to see that growth, too.
Q. Three turnovers in the second half. What does that do for your confidence and energy? JOSH ALLEN: We can do it. We can do it. Go out there as hard as you can, play that play as hard as you can, good things are going to happen, and we did that every play, and good things happened. This is only just a testament for the words that we say in the meeting rooms, for the words that we say in the locker room. It’s just to finally put it together and go out there and have fun for each other. That’s a great feeling in itself.
Q. It seems like the front seven got a lot of pressure this week, and it seems like it’s been building throughout the season. Has that allowed you to give the secondary more of a chance to actually cover the guys? And what was the emphasis you guys had this week in defense compared to prior weeks? JOSH ALLEN: I’m going to start with the second one. The second one, I feel like our game plan really — they’re a tempo team. They’re going to get the ball out quick. We’ve got to line up quick, we’ve got to get the call and we’ve got to play. Our mindset up front is to get the call, line up and go play. The back end, I know it’s a little bit more challenging, but they did a hell of a job today. First of all, in tackling. The open field tackling was — I believe was one of our best performances in the back end, and we’re only going to get better back there, too, and then just up front, man, dominance. Myles Jack told me yesterday it’s going to be the best game. Like this game is meant for us to win. They’re talking about this team can throw the ball, they really don’t run the ball that much. Okay, they’re working into our hands. Myles said it earlier, man, and we went out there and just go, do what we do. This is a team that we felt like we should have
beat. It’s a team that we did beat. It’s only time to grow from here and focus on the Colts, but enjoy this one.
Q. Can you build off of that actually? You mentioned just the belief in the locker room despite the struggles, even the struggle in Seattle last week. You guys never really wavered in that confidence that you guys can go out there and win games.
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I mean, I truly believe we can go out there and win the rest of these games. If we all play assignment football and no mistakes, I don’t think nobody saying — if you’re talking about skill, we’ve got skill. You talk about this team has this much skill, okay, we got players that can match that. You talk about this offensive line got skill, one of the best in the league, well, okay, we got a defensive line that can match that. We’ve got linebackers that fly around to the ball every play. We’ve got a defensive line that gets off the stack every play. The deep end, making up for the tackles getting their dudes down. I guess I feel like we can win the rest of these games if we go out there with the mindset of dominance, to dominate every play. I feel like we can compete against anybody.
Q. I know you don’t get to see the secondary play too much when you’re out there on the field. Can you talk about Rudy Ford, a guy who’s really rising to the opportunity and growing into a role on this defense?
JOSH ALLEN: Yep, I feel like Rudy had a hell of a game today. I feel like that’s another guy that flies around, that’s fast. When his opportunity was called, he made the plays. Man, the interception, batted balls, open field tackling, oh, my gosh. I can’t wait to watch this film. Just so I can probably text him later, like damn, okay. This is the type of dude I’ve got, man, and definitely going to enjoy watching it. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities, but let’s start having fun with this. Yeah, I can’t wait to go ahead and watch that.
Q. I forgot to ask you about Taven’s sack celebration.
JOSH ALLEN: Didn’t he — what was it? Oh, yeah, that was pretty fire. Taven is like a freak of nature. He’s strong as heck. He’s probably the strongest on the team. He’s fast. He’s physical. And flexible. I can’t even do that. I can’t even bend down right now. You know what I’m saying? But man, Taven had those opportunities to go out there. They’ve been seeing him do it in practice, do it in a game last week, do it this game and do it next game, but it all starts the way we practice, man. We practice hard. We practice efficiently and we practice fast, and that’s the way we’re going to play.
Q. Did you know that that was a campfire that he was doing?
JOSH ALLEN: No, that’s — I’ve got to go home and watch it.
Q. I thought it was a yoga pose. That’s why I was like, isn’t it a yoga pose? He’s said, no, it’s the campfire. JOSH ALLEN: Campfire? I’m going to call him about that one.
Q. Then you did the Gator chomp.
JOSH ALLEN: No, I didn’t do that. Come on now. Come on, man. Tried to get me right there.
Q. When you mentioned all the visualizing you did this week, were there tendencies of Buffalo’s Josh Allen that you were focused on, or what stood out to you there?
JOSH ALLEN: Making plays, getting sacks. You know, it was kind of crazy because like the — reading the headlines, I wasn’t trying to get in the media but every time I checked my phone it was something, and it was like, Josh Allen versus Josh Allen. When you really look at it, in my position, it’s really not. It’s me versus this right tackle or this left tackle. I’ve got to study this dude to beat him every play to get to him. In my mind I’m not worried about what he does. I’m worried about what this guy is going to give me so I
can beat him every play. So yeah, that’s why I just — you know, yeah, it was cool. I’m glad we won, and I’m glad to play against him, first, first, whatever, but I was focused on winning this game and I was locked in, and I knew when my opportunity come, it was going to come. Yeah.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS DL DAWUANE SMOOT
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. Dawuane, can you talk about the performance of the defensive unit today? You guys really struggled the first 35, 40 minutes last week against Seattle and today you looked like the ’85 Bears. DAWUANE SMOOT: I feel like we just came together as a full defense today. Everybody showed up on every level. DBs really came out there and locked up everything and the pass rush really came together. On every level I feel like we all came together as a defense for sure.
Q. Dawuane, what strides have you made this year becoming a better rusher off the edge and did you see that pay dividends today? How were you able to get the sacks you got today? DAWUANE SMOOT: I was just focusing more than anything on just getting off on the ball. That’s what I worked on a lot this offseason, just my techniques and how I get off and everything, knowing I was going to have a lot more opportunities on the edge. So I just focused on getting off the ball and just being able to get that first step.
Q. Can you talk about the growth of the defense from Week 1 up until now? This is by far the defense’s best game of the season.
DAWUANE SMOOT: Yeah, I feel like we’re finally figuring it out. The back-end is finally finding different calls and different zones and different man schemes that work for them. I feel like they really came together and they really balled out today, and that’s really the full credit to all of our pass rushing attempts today.
Q. I know he’s your tag team partner, Mr. Josh Allen. Can you just describe the performance he had today, and was there any conversation coming in that this might be a historic performance on his part? DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, the way we came in today, we both were just like, we know they’re going to throw it a lot. We know they have one of the quickest releases, so we were just like, we’re just going to win. Just focus on winning, and we never know what will happen. The DBs had locked up, so we had a lot of opportunities to be able to hit him (Bills quarterback Josh Allen). We (Smoot and Jaguars DE/OLB Josh Allen) were just like, hey, we just come to work every day, me and him. We train in the offseason together. We do everything together. We train during the week and we just focus on just coming out and balling every week, and that’s what we did.
Q. I know you’ve been in the league, this is your fifth year and you obviously played college. Have you seen one player have a sack, a forced fumble, an interception that you’ve been on the field for? DAWUANE SMOOT: No, ma’am, I’ve never seen it. He’s (Jaguars DE/OLB Josh Allen) an unbelievable player. He really came out here and balled today. I’m proud of him for sure.
Q. You’ve been teammates with (Jaguars DL Taven Bryan) Taven for a while; what’s it like seeing him have a couple of sacks and be such a critical part of a victory?
DAWUANE SMOOT: Taven is a dawg at the end of the day. There’s a reason why he went first round. Really, if you just make him go forward, no one is going to stop him at the end of the day, and that’s what he did today. He had two sacks, unbelievable, and I’m happy for him for sure.
Q. What did you think of Taven’s celebration after that sack? Did you have any idea what it was? DAWUANE SMOOT: I have no idea at the end of the day. I just know he’s flexible. For him to be able to get down in Indian stance and be able to stand up with it, I don’t know how he does it. He’s unbelievable.
Q. Three turnovers in the second half; how much did that really boost your guys’ confidence? Was that big to be able to have those come in bunches?
DAWUANE SMOOT: It was huge. Just like (Jaguars defensive coordinator Joe Cullen) Joe has been saying each week, they’re going to come in bunches. We’ve just got to keep punching at it. Keep punching at them attempts. At halftime, that’s all we talked about, is we need to get our attempts up, we need to get our attempts up, the whole D-line, we were all on the same plane; just punch the ball and that’s what we did, and it was huge.
Q. Is that what happened on your sack?
DAWUANE SMOOT: Yeah, definitely. It was kind of like fit him up and just get the ball out as soon as I could, so for sure.
Q. Did you see Trevor Lawrence’s injury, and what kind of went through your head when you saw him on the ground getting helped by the trainers?
DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, it was tough seeing that. We really didn’t know what was going to happen. But the good thing is we got C.J. Beathard back there. He’s a gunslinger at the end of the day. We know we’re going to be good either way. Those two in the same quarterback room is a problem for sure.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS DL TAVEN BRYAN
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. Taven, two weeks ago you went all the way to London just to watch the game, and now I would assume you would consider this the best game you’ve played as a professional. Anything in particular, any particular reason why you think you and the rest of the guys were able to get such penetration and such good pass rush today?
TAVEN BRYAN: You know what, I’d say we probably just worked together as a group mostly. We really got our games down, which is kind of how — kind of the feng shui of how it goes.
Q. How would you rate it personally, your game, the game you had?
TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, it was good. I missed a couple things and some stuff I’ve got to clean up, but not too bad, and it’s always good to go away with a win.
Q. Can you describe the locker room scene after a win like in? What was it like in there for you guys? TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, it was good. It’s always good to win. It’s a good morale boost. Everybody is excited, ready to go.
Q. Overall the big picture, what does this win mean for you guys after what you’ve been through the first seven games of the season?
TAVEN BRYAN: You know, it’s just — we just start stacking them. There’s a lot of games left and the more wins we get the better it is. Start here, and then the next week and the week after that and hopefully we can stack them all the way on out.
Q. Take us through your sack celebration there, the first one. We haven’t gotten to see that probably enough. Is that something you’ve been thinking about for a while?
TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, the campfire? Yeah, yeah.
Q. What did it mean? What does it mean?
TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, nothing. I just thought it would be fun.
Q. Just to confirm, Taven, it’s not a yoga pose, it’s a campfire?
TAVEN BRYAN: Yeah.
Q. So is that like a Wyoming tribute or is it just —
TAVEN BRYAN: No, not really. I just thought it would be fun.
Q. Like roasting the quarterback?
TAVEN BRYAN: Yeah, kind of, I guess. It’s just like a fun deal to do.
Q. Did you consult with Josh Allen or any of those guys before you came up with that celebration? TAVEN BRYAN: I don’t think so, no.
Q. Did you see him doing the Gator chomp?
TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, yeah.
Q. Can you just talk about having a game like this and what all you’ve been through to try to have a game like this, what it means to you to get a breakthrough game after you’ve had many opportunities and couldn’t get it done?
TAVEN BRYAN: Oh, you know, I just think it’s a good start. You know, see what next week brings me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS S RUDY FORD
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. Are you okay, we saw you after the game?
RUDY FORD: I’m feeling good, feeling great. Just had to empty the tank. Got a couple IVs, a couple cramps, but great team win.
Q. You seemed to really have settled into your own, playing that kind of slot role for this defense. What’s it like for you really getting the chance to grow into that position?
RUDY FORD: I just take everything one day at a time. You know, just I love my teammates, I love Coach Meyer, this organization just believing in me and giving me the opportunity to go and to help this team.
Q. Rudy, I know we talked earlier this week about you transitioning to the slot role and I know you said you played it in college and played it in high school. In those schemes, how much were you blitzing compared to maybe how much you blitzed out there today?
RUDY FORD: You know, it was a little bit different, but I just felt comfortable today. Coach had a great game plan, and I’m just thankful for my God-given ability, and coaches and players just believing in me. Just a great team win today.
Q. Was there anything special for you guys when you sat down with (Jaguars defensive coordinator Joe Cullen) Coach Cullen at the start of the week? Obviously, you held them to six points, so was there anything you did differently in preparation this week that led to this outcome? RUDY FORD: No, we just all went out there and believed in each other and just played great complementary football from each other across the board.
Q. Just to be clear, you’re not hurt or injured?
RUDY FORD: No, just cramps.
Q. Walk us through the interception, what kind of unfolded in front of you, and how that felt. RUDY FORD: Yeah, I just kind of… just kind of going into preparation during the week, (Jaguars Defensive Backs Coach – Nickels) Coach Joe Danna and (Jaguars Secondary Coach – Corners) Tim Walton, we kind of really stuck with just watching film. And also Shaq (Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin) and (Jaguars safety) Rayshawn Jenkins, we kind of always talk and just kind of how they play, kind of develop-wise, really just being aligned on our keys. And kind of like, got a real good flow of the game, how it was going to go, and just kind of knowing that route and just kind of like get the opportunity to just seize the moment.
Q. And then finally, Coach Meyer has kind of been hinting to us since Training Camp that you’re not just a special teams player. He was telling us you’re going to make a contribution on defense. Has that been a gradual process, but did you know that that was an opportunity you were going to get?
RUDY FORD: Oh, definitely. At some point. I’m just thankful for the opportunity. When your number is called, be ready to answer.
Q. Your first career NFL pick. How did it feel in that moment?
RUDY FORD: Man, it felt amazing. It felt amazing just to do it with the guys, my teammates. We all come out blessed and serious every day, and it felt amazing.
Q. Obviously that kind of kicked off the three turnovers in the second half. What kind of energy, basically forcing Buffalo into mistakes, what kind of energy did that bring you guys? RUDY FORD: It brought us electrifying energy. It revamped our team, and just what we needed.
Q. Kind of going off that, when Shaq (Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin) was talking to us, he said he could sense the Bills didn’t have the same energy as you. Did you see that too, and when in the game did you notice that?
RUDY FORD: I mean, I just try to be focused on the next play and just kind of focused on our team. I’m not necessarily focused on the next team. As long as we bring our energy and as long as we do what we need to do, we’re going to put ourselves in the best position to help our team win.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
JAGUARS CB SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
Jaguars vs. Bills
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021
Q. Shaq, Taven wasn’t terribly forthcoming about the locker room celebration. Can you describe the atmosphere in the locker room after?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: I feel like a winner, so that’s one way to speak about it. But you talk about what we’re coming from, the losses that we had, the previous week, the comeback and to bounce back the way we did showed a lot. One thing that I said, you can tell the difference, I was just looking on their sideline, and one thing I know is I was like, they don’t have the same energy as us. I feel like if you feel like one team deserved this win, it’s us, but you’ve got to believe that. That’s one thing I kept preaching at everybody else. Look on the sidelines, watching them walking around, it’s like they don’t care. They don’t deserve this. Let’s show them why. So now we’ve got to continue that momentum. You feel like you put so much into it, you deserve this. Go get it. It feels great.
Q. Shaq, during your college time at UCF in 2015, there was that struggle season there and then you guys turned it around as a school program. Can you kind of parallel that to what the turnaround looks like and what experiences with that or knowledge of that did you use to kind of push that momentum into going into this kind of a turnaround for the season, possibility of a turnaround for the season?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Man, you took me back to my 0-12 years? Geez.
Q. A few there with your brother, too.
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Yeah. I feel like that was a different time for us, different coaches. We got that turned around, we got a new coach. My brother started to play more. I feel like the reason why that season turned around was because of No. 18, Shaquem Griffin, being the person that he is, amazing player. He was the best in the country at the time, so I think that’s the reason for the turnaround. I feel like now we just believe in each other. I feel like I speak about it a lot, but it’s true, and I feel like that’s half the battle. Trusting someone is going to do exactly what they need to do, coaches trusting the players, players trusting the coaches. And all that on same page; I feel like that’s the reason why it’s turning around, not just Shaquem Griffin.
Q. Assignment wise were you designated to be on Stefon Diggs or how did you come up with the game plan and how did it play out?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Yeah, I think I turned into a traveling corner this year. They pick a number and away we go, sideline, locker room, bathroom. It’s pretty much a thing now.
Q. Obviously he’s a perennial all-pro. How would you evaluate your performance on him in particular?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Well, I’ll let y’all evaluate my performance. I feel like I did really good, oh, with that forced fumble, if anybody seen it. Got to make sure that’s on the stat sheet. I got that ball out. But no, I feel like I did a phenomenal job on him, as well. That’s someone I’ve got a lot of respect for. He’ll tell you himself, a couple players coming up to him, I love your game. There’s something there. I’ve been battling this guy since I got into the league, so I got much respect and I love going against him. So yeah, I feel like my performance was really good, but I’ll let you guys run some stuff on media and I’ll see what y’all put.
Q. You guys recorded four sacks, hit Allen a bunch. How much did what the defensive line do really help you guys out on the back end seeing them have a game like that? How much does that complement you guys?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Something that we talked about, the D-line can’t work without the DBs, and the guys in the back end, the back end can’t do nothing without the D-line. Complementing each other. A lot of plays, a lot of sacks that we did get was winning one-on-one battles, and then also covering a little longer back end. Like I said, we play off each other, so I don’t want to discredit none of the DBs or the guys on the back end who have been covering their butt off so that guys can get sacks, and the D-line will tell you themselves they’ve got to respect the guys on the back end doing what they do to make sure we can make the plays we make, but can’t do one without the other, so it was an amazing job to feed off each other, covering well, and then getting to the quarterback and making the plays we needed to make. Amazing.
Q. Do you think that the Buffalo Bills underestimated you and this would have been a trap game?
SHAQUILL GRIFFIN: Yeah. I feel like every team does. I feel like you talk about teams, you talk about people, I feel like a lot of people doubted us. If you remember the games we put up before, you gave every right for guys to kind of doubt us, but we’ve got to prove them wrong. We’ve got to prove ourselves right, actually, and want to fix that. We’ve got to prove ourselves right. I feel like the main thing is all week out we try not to focus on the outside noise. You know the media got to do their job; we understand that, but if we focus on that, you can’t do your job. You’ve got to focus on one thing at a time, and right now I’m focusing on this team and that’s what’s going to carry us, but we’ve got some doubters. But I’ve been an underdog my whole life. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of players in that locker room who felt the same, so we’re going to run with that chip on our shoulder.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
