JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On what he attributes today’s redzone struggles to) “Comes down to awareness, comes
down to just execution on the field, comes down to coaching. There’s a lot of things I think
we can maybe point a finger at. But it’s definitely an area that needs to improve.”
(On the timeouts used in the first half) “Just the situation. The situational awareness. Clock
was running down. It can’t happen. It just can’t happen. Had to take the two timeouts.”
(On what happened on the safety) “Yeah, we knew what we had to do. We had to go 98
yards obviously. We had a chance to push the ball down the field at that time. It just felt like
the pocket collapsed a little bit on his left side. Just nowhere to go with the ball. We’ve just
got to clean that stuff up.”
(On what he meant by saying “the nonsense has to stop” at halftime) “Just execution.”
(On if the offensive line is good enough to execute the way they need to) “I feel they are,
yes.”
(On how he explains the teams’ performance in the first half) “Yeah, that’s something we
need to look into and find out why. We have an opportunity to play a football game. We’re
blessed to coach and play. You should be excited about stepping on the field and giving
everything you have. It’s a tough sport. It’s something I’ve got to try to figure out with the
guys and see what’s going on.”
(On how stunned he is with the lack of execution on offense over the last six quarters)
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not who we are. Guys, coaches, players work too hard during the week.
Listen, that’s a good defense. A really good defense. Probably one of the best in the league.
If there’s a measuring stick, then we didn’t measure up very well today. Something we’ve
got to look at. There’s too much talent, I think. There’s signs of it, but just not consistent
enough.”
(On what changed that allowed the offense to start getting things going in the fourth
quarter) “I don’t know. I guess we went a little up-tempo. I think just the tempo really. Just
executed with our backs against the wall. “
(On if he got an explanation from the officials on calls that were made) “No.”
(On why the team isn’t executing on third down) “We’ve definitely got to look at the film and
see why. Third down is an important down. We know they’ve got some great pass-rushers
over there. We just didn’t do our part. Maybe it’s on us as coaches, we didn’t help our guys
out enough. We’ve just got to look at the tape and figure out why.”
(On what happened to TE Evan Engram pregame and how much of a loss that was) “Yeah, it
was unfortunate. It was during his warm-up prior to pregame. It was right at the time when
we put our inactives in. We didn’t have an opportunity to make a change. It’s no different if
he goes down play one. We still have to go out and play.”
(On if he’s at a loss in figuring out why the team is performing at the level it is) “Well, I’m at a
loss because we’ve been together for a while now, right? We shouldn’t be playing the way
we’re playing. We shouldn’t be coaching the way we’re coaching. I take accountability
there. It starts with me. Then it goes to the assistant coaches and players. I just know that
we’re a better football team than what we played today.”
(On if he has to avoid hitting the panic button early) “I don’t think you hit the panic button.
There’s a long season ahead. We’ve got to figure some things out in a hurry. We’ve got to
coach some things and do some things. Each person has to look at themselves in the
mirror, me included. We’ve got to do better. It’s disappointing. It’s disappointing because
there’s glimpses of greatness out there, but it’s not consistent enough.”
(On how WR Brian Thomas Jr. has adjusted through two games) “I think he’s done a nice
job. Made a couple big plays the last two games. Has helped us score some points. It’s
good to see him coming along and doing the things that we’ve asked of him. You just see his
ability to make plays down the field.”
(On the frustration of losing timeouts in the first half) “Yeah, it’s tough.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On what broke down on the play during the safety) “Yeah, I mean, obviously just play
where even if don’t have a ton of time I’ve got to get rid of it. You’re in the end zone, and just
held on to it for a tick too long, trying to wait on it to develop downfield, and I was trying to
move away from an interior guy that kind of got through, it was a bad play by me. I thought
the O-line did a good job for most of the night holding up against a really good pass rush,
really good group. Yeah, just can’t happen. Just live to fight another down. If it’s not there
right away, get it out of your second. Second will be second down on the two instead of
making that safety and it basically ends the game. Obviously, our defense got us another
shot, but slim chances.
(On how stunned he is by the offensive performance in the last six quarters) “Yeah, I mean,
we suck right now, so I’m pretty shocked. Obviously, we had a great off-season, great
training camp, and we’ve got to figure it out. We know we’ve got a good group, we’ve got
good players, and we can be a really good offense, but clearly we’re not. Everybody has got
to take accountability, look in the mirror, and fix it. I’ve got to play better. I’m the leader of
this offense. It’s on me. The wideouts got to play better, the line has got to play better,
running backs got to play better, we’ve got to coach better. It’s everybody, honestly. But
we’re standing around, we’ve got to take charge. We’re standing around waiting on
somebody to make a play. Defense is playing their ass off the last two weeks. If a team
doesn’t score more than 20 points, we should win every week. We can’t finish in the red
zone today, too many mistakes, getting in and out of the huddle, communication wasn’t
good. It’s a lot of things. Fortunately, or unfortunately it’s what pisses you off after the
game, a lot of it we control. We control it but we’re not doing it right. Until we do it right, it’s
a different story. We know the things we’ve got to work on and we’ve got to find a rhythm as
an offense. Too many good players to perform like that, really the last two weeks.”
(On if the Browns defense showed him anything different than what he saw on film) “Not
really. This is a team that does what they do. This coordinator has been in the league for a
long time. He’s been really good for a long time. Has had a bunch of good defenses. Their
scheme is simple and they’re physical and they play fast and they diagnose things quickly.
We had what I thought was a good plan, and obviously maybe wasn’t a good plan. Who
knows? Didn’t work. We didn’t execute it great, either. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve got to go
back to the drawing board and look at. Like I said, everybody has to look in the mirror. This
isn’t the time to start getting defensive. We’ve got to stand up and say, this is on me. I’ve got
to fix it. Everybody has got to fix it.”
(On why it took so long for the offense to get into rythm) “Yeah, I don’t know, to be honest.
One of those was on me, the clock was rolling and it was after a big play. We didn’t have the
urgency getting out of the huddle, getting up to the line and seeing the play clock. I own that
one, and we took the first time-out. After that, it’s just communication. We’re getting in,
getting in late, we’re trying to figure it out, and obviously Evan [TE Evan Engram] went down
today before the game, so some things changed, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuses.
You’ve got to perform and you’ve got to be able to adjust. Know the plan. Know the plays
that are coming in. If it changes personnels, if whatever changes, we’ve got to get in faster,
we’ve got to get out of the huddle. This is a team that’s really good up front. You want to
know where you’re going protection-wise, you want to have time to communicate, you want
to have time to get out of the huddle quickly so you can communicate, and they do have
some pressure stuff that’s really good that you have to be able to diagnose, and if you don’t
have time, it makes it really hard. We played behind the clock way too much today,
especially in the red zone. We’ve got to look at it and say, hey, is it me? Am I not
communicating good enough in the huddle? Are we not getting our substitutes in fast
enough? Are we not listening enough in the huddle? Are we not tight enough? Are we
breaking the huddle and asking what we’ve got? Different things. It’s on all of us. We all
have to look at that and just put emphasis on communication. It’s day one stuff. It’s simple
stuff.”
(On not being able to get [WR] Christian Kirk going) “Yeah. It’s a great point. That’s
something where there’s opportunities where I’ve got to get him the ball, but we’ve also got
to get him the ball. We’ve got to make that an emphasis. He’s one of our best players. We’ve
got to keep him involved. I’m not putting that on anyone in particular. There was
opportunities for him to get the ball today where maybe I didn’t get to him quick enough or
didn’t find him, went somewhere else with the ball, but we have to continue to give him the
opportunities to make plays because we’ve all seen how good he is. He’s not the only one.
We can’t hit the panic button, but we’ve got to have some real conversations. We’ve got too
good of a team to come out here and perform two weeks in a row like this. I mean, these
games are precious and you don’t get them back, and we’re 0-2 to start the year and it’s not
going to get any easier. We’ve got a lot of good teams in our schedule, one coming up this
week. We’d better fix it quick. We can’t hit the panic button at the same time. We have to
stay together. We have to stay together.”
(On the balance of not hitting the panic button but recognizing that what you are doing isn’t
working) “Yeah, I think it’s holding yourself and others accountable. When we go watch this
game tomorrow, whenever we watch it, I’m not sure the schedule with the Monday night
game, we’ve got to be honest with ourselves, and if you don’t like it and if you made a
mistake and you don’t like people calling it out and talking about it, you need to find a
different job because this isn’t the one. Things matter. Little details matter. I’m talking to
myself as much as anyone, so I don’t want it to be misconstrued but that stuff matters.
Everyone had a play today, at least one, that they can do their job a lot better. You look back
at it, and all those plays add up and they affect the game and you end up losing. We played
as bad as we can play, and what was it, 18-13? We were one-for-four in the red zone. We
score one of those times, we win the game. It comes down to that. We didn’t get set on the
one play, touchdown to Christian, and then you look back at the drive earlier in the first
half, we had the two time-outs, and then after that I think I missed Brian [WR Brian Thomas
Jr.] who was open, and then after that had to scramble. It’s just little details. We were in the
red zone twice close, inside the 5-yard line and didn’t score. You can’t do that in this league.
You’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities.”
(On if he and Head Coach Doug Pederson were frustrated with each other at one point) “I
don’t honestly remember when that was. Just me and him talking to each other. Is that
what you were talking about? I honestly don’t remember. We’ve had a lot of conversations
today throughout the game, and it’s stuff where we’re on the same page. That’s what I’d say
there. We’re on the same page.”
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MITCH MORSE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On if he feels disappointed to start the season 0-2) “I think disappointment is an
understatement. Our defense put us in every advantageous situation. As an offensive unit,
we just squandered opportunities. It’s not one person’s fault, and I think we’re all going to
be mature about it and look inwards. It’s going to be tough but that’s how you grow, you
have to after stuff like this. if you don’t that’s when you can have huge swings, ebbs and
flows in the locker room and this team is too tight to let that happen.”
(On how tough it was to give up a safety at the end of the game) “We need to give our
quarterback an opportunity to throw the ball and we didn’t. We killed every momentum we
had and our defense did another good job of giving us the ball back and it was too late. We
just didn’t do well enough.”
(On if he thinks it is surprising that they are starting the season 0-2 and if he thought this
was a better team) “Of course, you hold yourself to a high standard. Everything we’ve done
we’ve shot ourselves in the foot. So, what can we do except find an opportunity to be
critical, be constructive and then when the opportunity presents itself to put our best foot
forward the next time on the field we have to or we’re not doing anyone a service.”
(On what this team has to do to have better a goal-line offense) “I think communication,
first and foremost, then it just comes down to execution.”
DEFENSIVE END ARIK ARMSTEAD
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY VS. CLEVELAND BROWNS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On if he is disappointed starting 0-2) “You know, it was a battle out there. Disappointed that
we didn’t come out with a win and we didn’t find a way to do enough, make enough plays to
beat them. So definitely frustrated starting off our season 0-2, but [the] league doesn’t stop.
We got to find a way to get better for next week.”
(On how tough it is to sack Browns QB Deshaun Watson) “Yeah, you know, he’s an escape
artist. Everyone knows that. There’s a lot of talented guys in the league, and he’s one of them,
definitely with his legs and getting out of things and you just got to keep rushing and keep
going. Know what you’re dealing with, have a plan for it and then just play. You can’t dwell on it
too much, you just give your best effort to try and get him down and know that he’s a mobile
guy and can move around.”
(On if he thinks the team will start to panic) “Panicking? No, it’s never panic. You know, for me,
I think that we have to look hard in the mirror individually, everyone needs to, to see what we
could do better individually to help our team win. It’s never a panic, because that’s when things
start to spiral. It’s cleaning some things up, looking hard in the mirror and working to get better
for next week. That’ll be my mindset and look hard at the tape, figure out the mistakes I made
out there and clean those up and try to be a better football player to help this team win.”
(On the importance of not pointing any fingers after two losses) “Yeah, that’s huge. Like I said,
everyone needs to look in the mirror and figure out what they need to do individually to be
better to help our team win. It’s not pointing a finger. You can’t sit here and blame, and start
blaming one another because the only thing you have control over is what you do. Look hard in
the mirror [and ask yourself] ‘Were you good enough today to help our team win or could you
have done more? What mistakes did you make?’ Adversity like this, there’s going to be
adversity throughout the season for everybody. You never know when it comes but adversity
should bring you closer as a unit because you’re all in it together. We’re all we got, this is going
to be our team for this season if we want to get it turned around, we have to come together,
come closer and find a way to get better.”
(On if it is encouraging that the defense was able to get off the field late in the game) “No, it’s
not rewarding because we didn’t come out with the win. This is a team sport, you know, we’re
all affected. Even if you have a good game and you do some good things, there’s always things
to improve and get better upon. It’s a 100% failure sport, no one has a completely perfect game
out there so there’s always things that you can clean up and get better. So whether you did
good or bad in this game, my mindset is to look hard at the things you didn’t do so well to help
us win.”
WIDE RECIEVER BRIAN THOMAS JR.
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY VS. CLEVELAND BROWNS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On his emotions after starting the season 0-2) “I’m good. I thought we were good as a team.
We have a lot more games to play. I mean, we’re good as a team, we just know what we’ve got
to do. We’ve got to find ourselves and just come out there next week and get a win.”
(On his 66-yard catch) “I was able to get behind my defender and Trev [QB Trevor Lawrence]
made a great throw and I was able to run under it. Just me—just trying to make a play. Reached
out for it and was able to grab it.”
(On if his 66-yard catch was the spark the offense needed) “Yeah, I was just trying to go out
there and make a play and get the crowd involved. Trying to give us that spark that we needed
to come out in the second half and push through.”
(On the offense trying to find consistency in the first half) “Yeah, it was tough. We’ve just got to
come out and execute better. I feel like we got punched in the mouth a little bit. We’ve just got
to come out from the start and execute better.”
(On losing TE Evan Engram to injury in pregame) “Yeah, it is next man up, but losing somebody
like Evan [TE Evan Engram], it takes a toll on the offense. But I feel like we’ve still just got to
come out and fight, no matter who’s out there. We’ve just got to come out and fight and do our
best with who we have.”
(On the feeling of playing at home for the first time in the regular season) “Yeah, I was able to
play my first regular season game here, so it felt amazing just being able to be out there on the
field with my great teammates. So yeah, it was amazing.”
(On what it was like to run through the tunnel and hearing his name announced) “Yeah, it was
great to be able to hear that ovation. Just being able to run through that tunnel for the first
time in Jacksonville, it was fun.”
BROWNS HEAD COACH KEVIN STEFANSKI
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(Opening Statement) “On the injury front, [WR] David Bell dislocated his hip, which is a
tough injury. He’s a tough kid. So, we’ll get him up, he’ll fly home with us, and I’ll update you
guys on him. Ogbo [DE Ogbo Okoronkwo] is getting evaluated for a head injury. I have not
heard anything there. I’m proud of the football team. We were not perfect, it wasn’t pretty,
but we fought. We needed all three phases: needed the offense, needed the defense,
needed the special teams. That play there, Corey [P Corey Bojorquez] pinning them deep,
getting a sack the next play by A-Wright [DE Alex Wright] was outstanding. A lot to clean up
and we have to stay committed to getting better. That’s what I just told the football team.
We have to continue to get better in a bunch of different areas, and we’ll work at that.”
(Inaudible) “I mean, every game is whatever it takes ‘expletive.’ But yeah, we go into it, it
was available to us, it maybe gives them some conflicts, those kinds of things.”
(On if P Corey Bojorquez gets the game ball) “He was pretty darn good. I didn’t give him a
game ball, but I will acknowledge him tomorrow.”
(On if it felt like they used everybody in this game from the very first drive) “Well, we’re light
on tight ends right now. So that’s one answer, just getting the tight ends on the field—or
excuse me, getting the offensive line on the field in some tight end spots. We want to be
able to use all of our guys. We feel strongly about the bunch of guys that we have, and a big
thing for us is who’s available week-to-week, because it changes. So, we’re going to be
without Dave, got to pivot and go somewhere else.”
(On his team’s ability to fight through adversity) “Yeah, that’s the NFL. It’s week to week, it’s
hard, it’s really hard to win. You’ve got good teams, good coaches, but we have a mindset
that we’re just going to try to do our part, do our job and try to get a win. Like you
mentioned, wasn’t pretty… penalties, injuries, didn’t take advantage of a few opportunities
there at the end of the half especially but we’ll learn from it and we’ll get better. “
(On if the weather was not as bad as anticipated) “Easy for you to say sitting up in the press
box.”
(On if possessing the ball was part of his gameplan) “You know, it’s interesting. I’ve never
gone into a game saying we’ve got to possess the ball. Sometimes you play great offense
and you end up possessing it, but we’re always trying to just move the sticks.”
(On why their offensive efficiency decreased in the second half) “I give them credit. That’s a
very good defense. And, again, it kind of goes back on not capitalizing on some
opportunities. I can think of a couple of plays in particular where we need to capitalize on
the look, whether run or pass, we just need to be better and that’s on me.”
(On CB Denzel Ward’s injury status) “Yeah, has a shoulder that he was feeling a little bit. He
was kind of in and out of the lineup, but he’ll be okay.”
(On when Ward’s injury occurred) “Yeah, he was on the injury report with a shoulder injury,
so just felt it throughout the game.”
(On his thoughts on QB Deshaun Watson’s “comeback performance”) “Yeah, I’m not going
to say comeback performance. That’s our starting quarterback out there making plays, he’s
not perfect. I got mad at him at the end there, but didn’t stay mad at him. He made some
plays and that’s who he is. I thought his pocket movement, making plays off schedule was
incredible. A couple of those throws down the field were really, really impressive and he
never blinked. That’s a tough crowd that he’s out there with and we’re backing up and
there’s penalties and the kid never blinked.”
(On if he was mad that Watson threw the ball at the end of the game) “Yeah, he should take
a sack, but I’m very, very proud of him.”
(On if he expected Watson’s performance today through the adversity of his week) “Yes,
and I thought he—and we talked about this last week, but I thought he handled the week. I
thought he made sure he was prepared for his football team.”
(On if DE Myles Garrett’s foot injury was bothering him) “Yeah, a little bit. It was also hot, so
we had to rotate the guys in there.”
(On how the team handled the scarcity on the offensive line) “Yeah, we battled. And we
knew coming down here that they were going to have to battle in the run game battle and
the pass game battle because that’s a very good front. They have some very, very good
players up front, so, again, I just go back it wasn’t pretty all the time, doesn’t have to be.
Just has to be a team committed to being better.”
(On if plays are called at the line or in the huddle) “Yeah, I’m not—I don’t want to get into
specifics, but we call the plays from the sideline.”
(On RB D’Onta Foreman’s increase in touches) “Yeah, that’s—I did a poor job of getting him
in there in that first game. He runs hard. He’s good in the pass game, understands what
we’re doing, so. I just need to do a better job and then Duce [Running Backs Coach Duce
Staley] does a really nice job on game day of getting those guys in and out, so nothing more
than just I wanted to get him going.”
(On what he said to Foreman about the offensive facemask call) “I haven’t had a chance to
talk to him yet. That was—I’m sure it was no fun for our fans to watch. It wasn’t fun from my
vantage point, either, going backwards like that. That was insane. Yeah, I would have to look
at it, but sounds like he got his hand stuck in there. He’s trying. He’s running hard. We’ll try
to correct that.”
(On what’s going on with WR Amari Cooper with drops) “No, he’s—Coop’s a pro. He’ll be
just fine.
(On WR Jerry Jeudy’s performance and chemistry with Watson) “Yeah, I thought Jerry had
some really nice moments down the field especially, made some big plays when we
needed it, but there’s—I really feel with everybody there’s room to grow. I really think we
can get better.”
(On being 1-1 in each of his years with Cleveland to start the season) “Really?”
(On the team’s ability to bounce back) “Yeah, you can only get one each week, so got on the
airplane, figured we could get one this week if we played good football.”
(On if there’s a sense of relief in getting the first win out of the way) “Got a game next week,
and that’s the point of this whole thing. The NFL, this is hard. This is a hard league and
there’s tough games every single week. We have to continue to get better and try and get
one at home next week. “
(On what he attributes Watson’s second half to) “I think we had trouble. I wouldn’t say the
quarterback had trouble. We had trouble, so I’ve got to look at what I can do better to give
those guys an opportunity to go move the ball.”
(On how tense the last quarter was) “Yeah, that was one I won’t forget. Just the different
things that came up, a safety, an onside kick after a safety, just some very strange things,
but I thought the team handled them well. Obviously not ideal to be whatever it was, fourth-
and-26. Wasn’t ideal in some of these situations we put ourselves in but I thought the guys
battled like crazy.”
BROWNS QB DESHAUN WATSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On whether today was about doing whatever it takes offensively) “Yeah, that’s every week.
We started off pretty good, we had some opportunities to continue drives, but, you know,
the penalties, holding calls, mistakes, illegal formations, motions that that cost us
especially when we got in that red zone to get back in field goal range, put us in a tough
situation and then the second half, we just got to continue to keep pushing forward. We got
to put a little more points on the board to help our defense and special teams out and if we
can continue to do that, then we’ll be a hard team to beat.”
(On blocking out distractions this week) “Yeah, just keep everything the main thing the main
thing. Like I told you guys before, I know who I am. The ultimate, I have a job to do, that’s the
play quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and be the best I can be when I step on the
field, so, you know, just keeping my Lord and savior first, keep my support cast, the people
that’s around me super tight and then just keep more glory and that’s the ultimate thing.”
(On his emotions after losing the first week and bouncing back this week) “That’s the job.
That’s part of the NFL. The job is to be 1-0 each and every week. If we can be 1-0 each and
every week that mentality, you won’t focus on last week or the week after, so, you know,
after we watch the tape on Monday, we flushed the Dallas game and got focused on
Jacksonville. We’ll do the same this week. Tomorrow, watch the tape, correct the mistakes,
fix everything we need to fix and then when we come back Tuesday, Wednesday, we get on
to the New York Giants.”
(On if he and WR Amari Cooper are struggling to get on the same page and what it will take
to get it going) “Yeah, sometimes it takes time and it depends on how the defense is going
to scheme against certain situations but when those opportunities come up, we got to
capitalize and that’s on both of us, but there’s nothing to get frustrated with. That’s part of
the game and once we find our way, we can be very explosive.”
(On his confidence with WR Jerry Jeudy) “You know, I have confidence in all the guys and
Jerry does a great job and he’s been to my side a lot lately whenever I do scramble. The
biggest thing I tell all of them, wherever I get outside the pocket, just the play’s never dead
until they blow the whistle so just keep working with me and I’ll find you and if I can, I’m
going to get you the ball and if I can’t, I’ll make something else happen.”
(On the comfort for a quarterback to have a jumbo formation option) “Whatever is required,
you know. If that’s what the offense needs to be able to move the ball and get positive
yards, then that’s what we’re going to do, so that was part of the game plan, especially
being short on tight ends and we just keep pushing forward and whoever is in the game,
they all battle and make sure we execute that plan.”
(On how the jumbo package helped open things up for the offense) “Yeah, we just run the
ball, I think. It just depends on what play call is getting called and what scheme we’re going
against, so, you know, some schemes you get the tape and with that scheme the jumbo
package might not work against it. It just depends on the read.”
(On how it felt to have the support of his teammates) “Man, it feels good. These guys see
me each and every day, the work that I put in, the character I carry myself with yeah. It’s
amazing to have a locker room, coaching staff and organization that has your back and
keep you supported and let you know that you’re their leader and you’re their quarterback,
so. It definitely motivated me to come out here and put a full game competing and get the
W.”
(On how he feels being 7-0 against the Jaguars in his career) “Appreciate that. (Laughter) It’s
amazing. You know, I was thinking that all week, actually, but I didn’t want to jinx myself so I
didn’t tell anybody, but I kind of knew that I had a pretty good record against Jacksonville so
going into this week, I felt really, really confident but I appreciate you bringing up that stat.”
(On QB Jameis Winston coming in and picking up fourth down conversions) “Yeah, like he
always tells me, whatever’s required. So, you know, he came in, did what he needed to do,
made the right calls on those fourth down plays which was huge to keep the drives moving
and, yeah, it was a specialty that can help this offense.”
(On if the opening drive gave him some confidence) “Most definitely, I mean, just from
getting on the bus, driving over to the stadium, getting dressed, everything was just a
beautiful blessing and great opportunity for me to just come in and just be me, have fun,
enjoy these moments, you know? Never let anymore steal your joy and that’s the ultimate
thing and I think, you know, having, again, my support cast, my teammates, this
organization, family, friends, everyone keeps telling me that it was major, it was big for me
to, you know, feel that energy and that’s what I needed.”
(On his thoughts on QB Trevor Lawrence’s last pass was in the air) “Just don’t complete it.
Yeah. That’s it.”
(On how nerve wracking the last couple of plays were) “It was tough. I mean, some of those
penalties was kind of crazy, but I guess that’s how the game can go sometimes and, yeah, it
was just, we just couldn’t get that, whatever it was, they try to overcome it and, yeah, that
really, really hurt us in the long run, but defense did what they needed to do to get a stop
and we finished it out, so we got to correct those because that could have really put the
game away.”
(On how they hung in there the last few minutes of the game with all the craziness) “Kevin
always preaches always the next play. Whatever happened the previous play, the play
before, we can’t focus on that, whatever that situation is on that play that’s about to get
snapped, that’s what we got to lock in on. Overall, we did a heck of a job of focusing on that
play and not giving up and playing until the final whistle.”
(On if they thought the Jaguars would challenge the WR Jerry Jeudy catch on the sidelines
on the last drive) “It was close. I didn’t really get to see it because I kind of got pushed, but I
think Kevin and the staff thought they were going to challenge so we just got on the ball and
ran a play in case they wanted to do that.”
DEFENSIVE END MYLES GARRETT
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024
(On if he knew about the TrEverBank signage around the stadium) “Yeah, we had heard
about it and, you know, just adds a little fuel to the fire. If that’s going to be the main guy, we
got to take him out the game.”
(On how much he was battling his foot injury during the game) “Didn’t feel great. Been
battling it, and, you know, there were some ups and downs with it, sometimes it felt a little
bit better and sometimes it felt a little bit worse, but that’s part of the game.”
(On defensive end Alex Wright making a big play in the game) “That was huge for us. We
needed that kind of cushion and got the ability to (indiscernible) that next possession, but,
you know, us being able to work together, rush together like that. Him working off me, me
going high and then him coming underneath to make that play, that’s exactly how we draw it
up and he’s going to make many more of those plays.”
(On quarterback Deshaun Watson being scrappy and fighting through adversity) “I mean
he’s a leader. He’s a leader for a reason, not only because of the person that he is on the
field but off the field and keeping his head held high and always being around the guys in
the locker room encouraging guys and doing his best and putting his best foot forward. You
expect great things happen when people, you know, go the extra mile for the people around
them, so it’s great to see him getting the job done, but also excelling and he will continue
to.”
( On what he was thinking when he saw that punt go out of bounds at the 2-yard line) “Hey,
backed up equals points. That’s our motto, so looking forward to someone making a big
play and I was looking forward for myself but he stepped up and he stepped right into Alex’s
arms and I couldn’t be happier for my guy.”
(On how what kind of relief there is to get that first win and not be 0-2 going back home) “I
wouldn’t say there’s any relief. We have got to go 1-0 next week. There’s no time to relax or
feel like, you know, you got the monkey off your back. Right now you got to look at the film
and we definitely have a bit of an issue staying on sides at this moment, so we got to do our
best to be keyed in on the ball. I don’t know about that first call. I don’t know about that
one, but, we got to stop eliminating rushes and big plays off the board for us and that’s on
us up front and we got to take accountability for that, so. There’s no time to feel good about
ourselves. We got to a lot to work on and a lot more to achieve.”
(On how satisfying the defensive effort was today) “Yeah, it wasn’t perfect. The first half was
a lot better overall than the second. We let some big plays happen and let it get close so we
got to make sure that we’re down there all throughout. We can’t let those big plays slide,
him get time in the pocket like that and just making sure that we do everything we can. If a
guy goes up, makes a play, they get paid, too, but if we allow them to do that whether it’s by
our communication or by, you know, a missed assignment or lack of attention to detail, we
can improve on that and we had a couple of those and we can continue to sharpen that.”
(On if his foot injury seems like something he will have to fight through and if he will
downplay it) “I’ll downplay and play through it.”
(On how important those red zone stops were today) “A couple of big ones, a couple of big
red zone stops. We got to be better all across the field. We’re good in the red zone and then
we gave some big ones for them to get there a little bit easily but we bowed up and we
made sure they didn’t put six on the board so that was huge. We needed that especially late
in the game like that so we got to continue to stand firm, know when our backs are against
the wall and keep on moving that line of scrimmage and the guys behind us will take care of
everything.”
(How were you feeling when he unleashed the hail Mary at the end) “No worry at all. I knew
the guys had us. Got as much pressure as we could and he was off balance trying to get
that ball up and I knew they would take care of it from there.”
