Head Coach Brian Flores
(Tell us about the 2-point conversion, the thought of going for two versus one?) – “We were trying to win the game, pretty much. We talked about it. We felt good about the play. It’s something we worked on all week. We thought we had an opportunity to win the game, and that was the thought process there. They made a good play. They were ready to go on it; but we’re going to try to win the game in that situation with the amount of time left.”
(I noticed C Daniel Kilgore was out for that 2-point conversion and C/G Evan Boehm was at center, and G Shaq Calhoun was at right guard, I believe. Did that influence the play call at all?) – “No. We still felt good about it. I mean we’ve actually repped that with that group in there, and I don’t think that’s what it was. They played good defense on the play, and (we) couldn’t make the catch. I think – it wasn’t a QB-center exchange or – like, the ball was outside. It’s not the right guard or the center in that situation.”
(Do you think RB Kenyan Drake would have got in if he’d have caught it?) – “No. It looked like they played it pretty well. Drake would have had to make a pretty spectacular play, break a tackle – which he’d been doing a good job breaking tackles all day. I think obviously the first part of it is a good throw (and) a good catch. If you don’t have that, then the rest of it is a moot point.”
(Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision?) – “No. We were going for two all the way. We were thinking two-point at the 10-minute mark.”
(You made the change to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. At what point did you start consider that – putting him in at the beginning of the fourth quarter? What time did you start thinking about that?) – “I felt like we needed a spark. We were down 17-3 at that point. The defense actually made a good stop to keep it to a two-score game or 14-point game. We just felt like that was the right move in that moment, the way we were going offensively. We had to get a spark going. We had to get something going. We tried to make a couple plays in the kicking game. We just felt like we needed a spark, and this team fought hard. I mean they didn’t – there’s no issue with effort. There’s no issue with trying to go out here and get a win. We just came up short at the end.”
(Was it early on in the game with QB Josh Rosen in, the five sacks; it seemed like he was under duress almost from the outset.) – “It took us a while to kind of get that under control. I think we made some adjustments at halftime. The protection was better in the second half. Obviously that played a role in the issues we had from a pass standpoint, but it wasn’t just the protection. It’s a good defense. It was hard to get the run game going, and they’ve got good rushers. I think as the game wore on, we kind of got a better feel for how they were rushing. The protection was better. We had better execution overall in the pass game, and we had more production.”
(Last week you said that the quarterback competition was settled. Is it unsettled now?) – “I think Josh (Rosen) has done a good job. I think today he wasn’t having a good day, and I think we’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team and today that was ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) going in in the fourth quarter. Josh is the starter, I would say. But as this thing – as we continue to move along – there’s always competition. I mean I think everyone needs to feel that. I need to feel that. The players need to feel that. I think we know ‘Fitz’ was ready to go in today. I think he played well. I think everyone could see that. We need players who are ready to go in and play; but as far as starting, not starting – I think today, it was just a move we felt like we needed to make. It’s no different than if a back’s not going, we put another back in or if a receiver is not going, we put another receiver in. I know it’s ‘the’ position and I understand that, but I think we’ll – Josh will continue to be the starter, and, again, if we feel like we need a spark and ‘Fitz’ has to go in, we’ll continue to do that.”
(You started RB Mark Walton. Was that because of his production, or was it something with the other backs that you didn’t see?) – “I think Mark’s (Walton) been playing well. I think all the backs are playing good football. We just wanted to see Mark, and I thought he went out there and made some plays in the run game and in the pass game. He missed a protection early to block that he normally makes. I would say in pass protection, he’s been one of the guys I feel most confident in from a pass protection standpoint; but all of those guys, we have confidence in them all. (Kalen) Ballage goes in on the goal line and (Kenyan) Drake made a lot of plays. We got the ball to those guys a lot today; so starter, non-starter, they were all in there and were all somewhat productive.”
(How did QB Josh Rosen react when you told him that…?) – “He was disappointed as he should be, as any competitor would be; but at the end of the day he was excited for ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and excited for this team as we started to come back and creep our way back into the game and give ourselves a shot to win at the end.”
(That two-point conversion play, is that something you guys have been holding for that situation or did you see something and called that?) – “Yeah, I mean it’s something we’ve run a lot in practice and felt good about it. (We) just didn’t execute it. They made a good play as well.”
