JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On losing how the locker room is after the close loss and all the injuries) “They’re
devastated. They’re heartbroken. They’ve battled their tails off. They fought until the end
quite frankly. That’s all I can ask for. But I also want them to understand too that these
games come down to about two plays, three plays. Can’t give the ball away like we did late
deep in our own end. We didn’t tackle very well defensively. There are some things that we
need to clean up and continue to clean up if we want to get back on track.”
(On QB Trevor Lawrence’s 87-yard drive to tie the game) “I think, yeah, he did a nice job. I
give credit to those receivers and those tight ends and the offensive line. Those guys, they
made plays for him, right? Now, he made some really good throws and all of that, but those
guys that were playing at the end of the game when you are down your top three receivers
and you’re playing in your 12 personnel for the rest of the game, that’s tough. But the guys
battled their tails off. Got us back to tying this football game with a chance to potentially
win it there late. Hats off to those guys.
(On what the strategy was at the end of the game and if he meant to let them score) “Look,
I mean, the only way for us to get the ball back was to make decision that could let them
score. They’re going to be in church mode. It was almost inevitable. You are playing the
game, and you’re trying to do what you can to save time, get as much time back on that
clock as you can. They did a great job. We would have done the same thing. Get the first
down. You go down, make your opponent — in this case myself — burn your last time-out.
Things of that nature. Honestly, it’s smart on both sides to play it that way.”
(On WR Christian Kirk’s injury) “On the injuries, guys, I haven’t talked to Ferg [Vice
President of Player Health and Performance Jeff Ferguson] yet. I came straight in here, but
I’ll probably have something later and know more tomorrow when I get the updates.”
(On Trevor being able to shake of the fumble) “That’s our sport, right? It’s that mental
toughness I talk about with the team. We can’t turn the ball over that deep. Obviously we
know that, but the resilient part of that is how we battle back and got ourselves in position
to tie the football game. That’s the mindset. That’s the mindset we have to have in the first
quarter. That will be something that we can I think learn from moving forward.”
(On if he thought of going for a two-point conversion at the end) “Not with the time
remaining. If there was maybe 20 seconds or less potentially go for it there, but with the
amount of time that was left in the game and a couple of time-outs, no, kick it and tie it.”
(On how disappointing it was to see the Packers have a big offensive play at the end of the
game) “Well, I mean, it’s disappointing that we gave up that. I look at it too. It shouldn’t
have necessarily come to that, but again, it just goes back to what I said too, right. You
never know which two or three plays are going to be the ones that decide football games.
You just have to be ready. Make the ones that come to you and credit them. They hit it, and
put them in position to win the game.”
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On how the last drive resulted in a touchdown to TE Evan Engram) “Yeah. I honestly can’t
even remember all the plays that led to scoring. I know the one we scored on, Evan did a
great job at the line of scrimmage, won early, and then went up and made a great play. But
yeah, tough day. Really on all levels. Injuries, didn’t win the game. It’s unfortunate. So
definitely bummed and hate it for some of the guys, and we’ll see. I don’t know. It’s not my
job to do injury stuff, but hopefully we can get them back soon. Just hate it for guys that are
battling through stuff and seemed like just guys kept going down today. It’s part of the
game, but it sucks when it all kind of happens on the same day. Just praying for those guys
that they get back quick and can heal up quick, so we’ll see. But, yeah, obviously it’s 12
personnel, and you are in no huddle. It’s not something you really practice much. Usually
you’re in 11, and you have your receivers out there. We didn’t have any left. We had two left,
and those guys, hats off to Parker and Tim. They did a great job just staying ready. You never
know when something like that can happen, and those guys did an awesome job of making
some plays down the stretch and just being ready for their opportunities. So that’s a bright
spot if there is one, just those guys playing well.”
(On the performance level of having practice squad players in future games) “For sure.
Obviously I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what the future looks like, but
those guys have been working really hard. They’ve done a nice job. Obviously if that
happens and we do have to bring some guys up, then it’s about kind of getting that
chemistry going again because it’s been a little bit since throwing with those guys and work
some stuff. It will be a big week if that is the case, if that’s what happens. But those guys
have been working really hard. They’re prepared. It’s something that we preach is just to
stay ready because you just never know when your number is going to be called. Who
knows? This could be the week for some of those guys, and I have faith in those guys and
how they can play.”
(On if the ball was far enough from the defender to avoid moving it on the fumble) “Yeah, I
was just obviously disappointed and turned the ball over there, backed up, and giving them
an easy touchdown pretty much; definitely affected the game, so it’s disappointing. I
honestly thought I was going to break the tackle and scramble, so I kind of moved it to the
other hand to get out so I could use my off hand to try to get him off me. He made a good
play and made the tackle, and somehow I don’t know what hit the ball. Something hit the
ball, and just got to take care of it in that situation. Even if I throw it away or check it down
and we don’t get it, we punt, it’s still better and puts our defense in a position where they
can get a stop and prevent them from scoring. I didn’t help them out there.”
(On timing for the play prior to the field goal) “Yeah, something happened on that. I think it
hit one of our guys during the motion so I’m not sure exactly. It’s kind of hard to tell exactly
what happened. It happened quick. Yeah, same thing, just another error that we have to fix.
I don’t know if it’s the timing, if it’s my cadence, time out that motion better. Obviously, like I
said, we have a lot of injuries, and we have guys going that are doing stuff that they haven’t
done before. We’re trying to figure it out on the fly. It’s no excuse, but we have to play
cleaner.”
(On if the Green Bay Packers showed something to affect the Jaguars success)
“Yeah. Honestly, they did a few things a little different. I think that’s every game, though.
There’s going to be a plan for their defensive plan for us and what we do and what they see
on tape. They have a plan just as we have a plan to play them. There’s always a couple of
things, but it wasn’t anything crazy. We just didn’t execute. I missed a couple of throws on
third down throughout the game. There were some other ones where it just felt like the
details weren’t good enough, whether that’s being on the same page in the perimeter or
whatever. It just seemed like some of the details we were lacking a little bit early and some
of the third downs. They made some good plays too. But we got to be able to convert on
some of those third downs. I think we had two or three three and outs in a row to start the
game and put our defense in a tough spot, and they were playing great. So yeah, we’ve got
to be better on third down. We’ve been better the last few weeks going into this game, and
we weren’t good today.
(On the difference of the team from two years ago versus today) “That’s what kind of sucks
as a player and being a part of the team is you see the team coming together, and where
we’re at the last few weeks, we really have, I felt like, come together and we’re playing more
complementary, and we’re giving ourselves a chance. Obviously there were just too many
mistakes today, and we didn’t make enough plays at the end of the game to go win it. I do
feel the team coming together but we just have to find a way to get to 3-6 and go win next
week. We can’t worry about what’s going to come after that. We just gotta go take it one
week at a time. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of the hole that we’ve put
ourselves in. I’m honestly not really thinking about two years ago. It doesn’t help you now.
Obviously the experience. Maybe guys have a little bit of confidence from that, but it’s a
new team, and we have to go do it. We can’t say we’ve done it before, it’s going to happen.
We have to go find a way to make these plays at the end of the game to go win it, so yeah.”
(On if the team scored too quickly and would’ve liked to have more time on the clock) “No.
You’ve got to score. You try to mess around, and you don’t score, and you don’t have a
chance. We were down seven. You got to score. If you have an opportunity, you punch it in.
So no, I don’t think that we scored too quickly. I think it’s ideally, yeah, of course you would
love to take as much time, and you get down inside the five and maybe you can run it, run
the clock and make them use time outs. Who knows? Whatever it may be. That wasn’t
really the situation we were in. I felt like we were playing aggressive. We were moving the
ball great. I was seeing it. Guys were getting open, making plays. We got our opportunity,
our match up with Evan, and we took it. I think it’s not the same as when you need to kick a
field goal to take the lead or whatever. When you have to score a touchdown, you have to
take them when you can get them, so yeah.”
(On if having multiple injured will ramp up less of a margin for error) “No. Guys just have to
step up, including me. It’s the same every week. Playing quarterback in this league, if you
don’t play well, you’re not probably going to have a great chance to win, so it doesn’t really
change. It’s any position. You just have to play well. Doesn’t matter who you are playing,
you have to play together. You have to execute in critical situations. Just all stuff that we’ve
talked about, and we have to continue to get better at it and I think we have in some areas.
It’s one thing. The team has to stick together, and we can’t be totally dejected by the result
today. I do think we’ve come a long way, and we are continuing to come together and
become a better team, but we gotta find a way to win next week. All the work is not in vain.
We’ve come a long way, and we just have to go find a way to win.”
JAGUARS DEFENSIVE END JOSH HINES-ALLEN
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On how he’s processing this loss) “This definitely hurts right now. We had every
opportunity to win this game and again it comes back down to those little mistakes. I don’t
know what happened on that last play. I think [Andre] Cisco got hurt or something, so
hopefully he’s feeling alright. This ones is definitely going to hurt because I feel like we had
a great game defensively, special teams, offensively. I think we all made big plays when we
needed them the most, but we didn’t get this victory. This one really hurts.”
(On if it’s frustrating when the good plays to come at the same time on offense and
defense) “Complementary football. I think that’s what it all is. We both have moments, big
plays here and there to capitalize, defense gets a stop or the offense gets a touchdown,
how do we respond as a defense? I think that’s what we need to be better at because
obviously play good football on both sides of the ball, we just have to complement each
other a little bit better.”
(On what complementary football looks like from previous experience) “I think it’s just
having that confidence of everyone doing what they are supposed to do and everyone doing
what they are supposed to do when somebody makes a play when the balls comes to them
and vice versa. I feel like, personally, when a big play was made and something happened
to them, we had to respond. We’re not trying to figure it out, we’re just playing ball, but
we’re not making…that one person at that particularly play is not making it. I don’t know.
I’ve got to watch this tape. I know this one hurts and we’ve got to correct it.”
(On if this one hurts more than the others because we’re halfway through the season) “Very
disappointed that we loss. Hurt more, hurt less? A loss is a loss at the end of the day and
they all sting the same way. Obviously we had a goal to win every game moving forward and
we didn’t get that done today. It definitely stings a little bit. A loss is a loss and it doesn’t sit
right for myself or anyone else in this locker room.”
(On how important is it to have confidence heading into week 9) “I feel like we have
confidence. You can see the way we competed today. The confidence is there. I think it
was probably one of our best games defensively, just from what it felt like, not watching the
tape, just how it felt, the energy we played with. I felt like we competed really well. We got
off the field on third down. We had the takeaway. We stopped the run up to a certain point.
We’ve got to tackle better defensively, especially in crucial moments, especially toward the
end of the game. So that’s one thing we need to focus on, that we need to just dial into. It’s
a four quarter game and like we said previous times, the game doesn’t stop until there’s
0:00 on the clock.”
JAGUARS TIGHT END EVAN ENGRAM
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On if younger guys can step up with the injuries that took place today) “I mean, yes.”
(On if he thinks the younger guys are capable) “Definitely they’re capable, they wouldn’t be
here if they weren’t. It’s going to be all hands on deck. So, obviously very unfortunate that
we have to get to that point but it’s the NFL and guys have to step up. I don’t know exactly
how we will move forward but we’ve got to move forward.”
(On if it means something that the team was able to rally back and tie the game) “I think it
definitely speaks to the young guys getting called on and stepping up. So, at this point of
our season, you can’t really bask in the moral victories but yeah, it’s good for our team.
Good for the young guys to step up in that moment. We’ve still got a lot of football left, so
we’ve got to keep going.”
(On if he felt like he knew QB Trevor Lawrence was going to throw him the ball in the
endzone before the play started) “Yeah, Trevor has a really good sense of guys winning at
the line of scrimmage and there are a lot of plays in the past that he’s thrown to me off of
great releases. I threw a great release on the guy, so I knew Trevor would see it. So, I knew
the ball was going to be up there for sure.”
(On the timing of the jump during his touchdown reception) “I just went up and caught it. I
just went up and got it. Definitely everybody was talking about that it was up there floating,
but yeah, I just went up and got it.”
(On how much of a gut punch it was to ultimately lose the game) “Yeah, they ran a great
play on offense, that little sneak play. That gets everybody. So, very unfortunate in the
moment. But our guys fought, we believed that we could win this game, and we were right
there. So, we’re definitely trending up and at this point we’ve got to fight for our legacy.
What kind of legacy do we want to leave as individuals and for our team as a team? So, we
can throw the record out at this point, what legacy are we going to leave on the field moving
forward? I think today gave us a good glimpse of what we can do. Still just got to finish so,
got to keep moving forward.”
(On how tough it is to see WR Christian Kirk go down due to injury) “He’s one of the best
teammates I’ve ever had, ever been around, one of the smartest players I’ve been around.
One of the best leaders I’ve been around. You saw him cut up today too, he was rolling, he
was getting going. Just a very unfortunate event. God doesn’t make mistakes, there’s a
plan. His will is better than any of us could imagine, so he’ll be just fine.”
(On if he is saying that the season is over) “Hell no, the season’s not over. You know what
happened here. We were in a way worse spot later in the season [in 2022]. I think today, we
were that today. Everybody was playing their asses off, leaving a legacy for themselves and
for our team. That brought us down to the wire against a really good team. So, I’m saying
that we’ve got to continue to do that and continue to build on that. If we have the outlook,
we’re going to get the best out of our guys for sure.”
(On if he looked around the huddle and wondered, ‘Where is everybody?’) “Yeah, I didn’t
even realize. I was so locked in I didn’t even realize Gabe [WR Gabe Davis] was out, I didn’t
realize BT [WR Brian Thomas Jr.] was out. Obviously, I was front row for Christian, then I
came off to the sideline and they were like, ‘We have to go 12-personnel for the rest of the
game’ and I was like ‘Ok.’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, shoot’. But it’s football, got to step up, make
plays and keep going.”
(On if the trade talk regarding Jaguars players is discouraging for the team) “That’s way
outside of our building. Way outside of our building. We have no control over that, and we
truly love each other in here. So, we don’t even think about that, we don’t even fathom that.
At the end of the day, a business is a business, and things might happen, but I don’t even
want to sit here and answer that question, respectfully. But that’s just something we don’t
think about or talk about.”
JAGUARS LINEBACKER FOYE OLUOKUN
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On the importance of having confidence) “How important is confidence right now? It’s
really important, and I think that we do a good job week in and week out coming in with
confidence. I think we came in ready to play. We didn’t execute down the stretch on some
key plays here and there. I think whoever you roll out, I think we always have confidence
and we’re preparing the right way to win games. We’ve just got to win those plays within the
game that end up winning the game. First quarter through fourth quarter, every play is
important. Confidence in winning, confidence in preparation is definitely there.”
(On the frustration of losing despite having confidence) “Is losing frustrating? Every time.
It’s tough. It’s tough. You’ve got to go there, prepare, see what you’ve got to do a little bit
differently in order to get on the winning side of these plays in order to win the game.
Definitely, losing is frustrating.”
(On if it’s frustrating to do positive things but be unable to piece together a win) “That’s the
NFL. You can win the first quarter, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to win all the way
through the game. Back when I was a child, I think I saw the Rams win a whole Super Bowl
and lost to Tom Brady. You’ve got to win the first, second, third, fourth, all the way through.
Good teams are going to win critical downs. That critical down could come in the second
quarter. It’s big plays and complementary football that we’ve got to continue to improve on
and continue to learn how to play. That’s when the wins will start rolling. We’ve got all the
talent. I know you guys are tired of hearing it, but we’re right there. We’ve just got to execute
when execution matters the most.”
(On if the team thought the Packers were going to let it go to overtime) “No, no, no. I think
they came out with the run… I think we all thought it was the boot play they showed us two
times earlier in the game, maybe three times, we kind of all automatically went for it. It’s
good chess game on their part, went for the ‘oh crap’route, we call it. It was open. Got to
see it. Don’t assume that’s it.”
(On if it’s a gut punch that they came back from a 10-point deficit and could not finish
things out) “For sure. It’s a gut punch. I just don’t like losing any game. It’s a gut punch.
When we were right there, we played so hard. Obviously, there were times we played better
and times we didn’t play as good this game, but we were right there ready to win it, and we
didn’t. So, that’s tough. That’s tough.”
(On how he felt in his first game back from injury) “I’ll talk about that tomorrow.”
DEFENSIVE END TRAVON WALKER
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Sunday, October 27, 2024
(On the level of frustration on being in it then losing at the last second) “It’s frustrating,
obviously. We just have to find a way. We just have to find a way to continuously get over that
hump. Obviously, we have those ebbs and flows during the game. Me, personally, I just have to
make a 100 percent of the plays that come my way, like one of the missed sacks, I feel like that
would have been critical if I would have got that one. You know what I am saying? We just have
to find those small little details to get over that hump that we need to be great.”
(On if it’s one or two breakdowns in the game that keeps them from finishing) “I feel like just
about every game that we have lost, besides one, I feel like it always comes down to one or two
of those plays. You never know which one it is, so that’s why I say you just have to go in and
capitalize on 100 percent of the plays that come your way.”
(On what needs to change for the defense to get that extra step to finish) “I wouldn’t say
anything has to change, it’s just the sense of urgency has to ramp up. From the start to the
finish, obviously, I feel like we didn’t come out to how we were supposed to come out fast,
physical and things of that nature. We have to amp up the intensity coming out and finishing as
well.”
(On if there is anything else they need to do to get over the hump) “That is definitely part of
getting over the hump and just execution and all three phases coming together like we did last
week. Obviously, it was very clear that all three phases came together last week and that’s one
of those things that we have to try to continuously come together with each other as a team
and do.”
(On doing good things, but the end result is still a loss) “It just goes to show you that this game
is all about the inches and within those inches you have to dig into that small details like I
continuously keep saying. It’s always going to come down to those one, two or three plays.
Obviously, there will be ebbs and flows in the game, but once we starting executing the majority
of those plays, as a collective, as a group, everyone, all 11 on the field, that will be us getting
over the hump.”
(On if he thinks the momentum shifts back and forth with them not playing complementary
football) “I wouldn’t even say that. This is football. Obviously, there will be ebbs and flows in
every football game, no matter what. Nobody is perfect. Obviously we want to go out there and
be perfect, but nobody is perfect in this game. It’s a hard game of football. They get paid just
like we get paid. Like I said, we just have to find those small details.”
(On if the Packers surprised him when they threw at the end of the game) “No, they did
everything we excepted them to do. They came out and tried to continuously run the ball and
run out the clock. We just have to try to get off of the field.”
(On what it meant to see the guys who stepped up due to injuries) “It says a lot. It’s the NFL so
that is how it’s supposed to be, it’s next man up. I mean it’s nothing that you can do alone.
Tomorrow, Monday, we have to come in to get treatment. The ones who are banged up, we
have to come and it get healthy and then it’s on to the next one. It’s a week-to-week league.”
PACKERS HEAD COACH MATT LAFLEUR
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
MATT LaFLEUR: Obviously, really proud of our guys. Just, I mean, it wasn’t our cleanest
game, I would say, but I thought just the ability to find a way to get it done and ultimately,
that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s always tough to go on the road and win in this league,
and our guys, we had multiple guys step up and have to go into the game that maybe not
necessarily were planning on going into the game. I thought our coaching staff did a nice
job making a lot of adjustments. Ultimately, the players themselves going in and making the
plays necessary to get the “W,” give Jacksonville a lot of credit. We knew this was going to
be a battle. There’s too many good players over there, too many good coaches. They’ve lost
three games now, four under five points. I’m just really happy with our — the effort of our
group, the resiliency of our group. It’s tough to do when the momentum’s swinging one way,
and it’s a crazy phenomenon. But the ability to go in there at the end of the game and make
a humongous play to Jayden Reed there. Got to give our guys a lot of credit, the guys up
front blocking for him, Tucker Kraft coming around, Jayden Reed making the play. To be able
to win on a walk-off two weeks in a row is kind of crazy. I don’t want it to continue to happen
that way. I’d like to win outright because it’s taken years off our lives. But, no, just really
happy for our guys.
(On if he knows the significance of QB Jordan Love’s injury) “I do not. No idea. But,
obviously, high level of concern any time a guy’s in there. He did it early in that first drive. I
think you guys, I think everybody could see him struggling to move around. It got to a point
where we didn’t feel like and he didn’t feel like he could protect himself. So we went with
Malik, and can’t say enough great things about Malik Willis. The job that he’s able to do to
go in there. You know, the moment’s never too big for him, and he made a lot of big-time
plays in this game, not only with his arm but with his ability to — had a big pickup with his
legs. Just really proud of our guys.”
(On QB Malik Willis’s performance) “Just kind of going through the plays he’s most
comfortable with. It’s always hard when you turn to your backup quarterback because all of
their reps are in practice, running the scout team. And so he didn’t get any reps with the
plan. You know, Sean Mannion, Connor Lewis do a great job staying with him post-practice
to work on getting reps on air. But there’s nothing like going out there and doing the real
thing. And I thought he played as well as we could ever expect him to. I thought he did a
really nice job.”
(On if the last play was a ‘can’) “Yes, it was. Well done, Pete. I’m impressed. Very well done.”
(On if that’s what gave your offense confidence) “Not only was it a canned play, but it was a
play we didn’t have up in the game plan. We talked about it on Tuesday. We thought there
my be something there, decided against it. And then, you know, we ran the keeper earlier in
the game, and Vrable [ Passing Game Coordinator Jason Vrable] suggested it. He’s like, hey,
looks like the play is there. And so we put it in on the sideline. So no reps in practice. I think
that’s a big-time credit to our guys to be able to go out there and execute it. Jayden Reed,
Tucker [TE Tucker Kraft], the O-line, the backs, everybody’s selling it. And then, ultimately,
Malik making the throw. So that was a pretty cool one. Probably one I’ll never forget.”
(On his thoughts during the big play at the end) “Yeah, I was just looking for the rotation.
Rotation came down. We ran the — it was the exact same play, essentially, two plays in a
row, where we didn’t get the look. They brought a nickel pressure on the first play. Didn’t get
the look for it. And then the second play, they showed strong rotation. Got the look, and the
rest is history. But I’m so impressed by you, Pete. Really impressed. Great job.”
(On if he thinks the Jaguars were surprised with the shot downfield) “I’m sure. I’m sure
they’re thinking, like, what the heck are these guys doing? They’re going to play for overtime.
I was just hoping there was going to be strong rotation. Had a pretty good idea, with the
amount of single safety they were playing throughout the course of the game, that there
was a chance we could get it. And we got it.”
(On RB Chris Brooks scoring his first career touchdown) “He’s a selfless guy. He does what
we ask him to do. We told him in the situation that it was — we call it a Rolex situation. So
no matter what, you know, that you’re going down. The clock’s got to run. Obviously playing
for the field goal right there. And he did a good job of executing and not scoring. He’ll get his
time. I’m confident of that. I think Chris Brooks has been a huge asset to our team, a great
pickup. Got to give Gute [Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst] and his group a ton of
credit for that one to be able to identify that guy, and I know Campanile [Packers
Linebackers/Running Game Coordinator Anthony Campanile] was super fired up when we
brought him in. He was with him last year in Miami. And just said a ton of great things about
the guy, and it’s been — it’s holding true, and, you know, he’s starting to get more and more
time on offense. He’s obviously contributed on we-fense and just lucky to have a guy like
this.”
(On LB Edgerrin Cooper being in coverage downfield and if he was impressed) “Yeah,
absolutely. I think we were in Tampa 2 right there. It’s just a mike run-through and the mike
is responsible for taking the middle run through. It looked like they were going to get a big-
time completion. I think that was third down, if I’m not mistaken. I didn’t see it — I saw it
live. It happened right in front of me. I just saw the ball come out. Sounded like from the
guys upstairs that he might have punched the ball out. I sure as heck hope Christian Kirk is
all right. That looked like a really hard fall. Obviously concerned about him.”
(On what he thought about the defense as a whole) “I’ll be honest with you. The amount of
time that I was spending with the offense and trying to make a lot of adjustments, I just kind
of saw the results. So, I mean, like I said, I think that’s a good football team. They’ve got a
lot of playmakers. They’ve got three, I think, really good receivers. They’ve got a stud
running back a stud quarterback and a stud tight end. So we knew they were going to get
their shots in. It was just about staying resilient. Obviously, the sequence, when we had the
sack fumble and the recovery on the 5-yard line or whatever it was and our ability to go in
and score, you can argue that was the difference in the game. Twice our defense set us up
with great field position, and we were able to capitalize. I believe the other one, did we get a
field goal out of? Yeah, so we got ten points off those two takeaways.”
(On WR Christian Watson blocking during RB Josh Jacobs touchdown run) “I think Christian
Watson does a great job. He’s always there for us. We want to obviously get him involved. I
think there was a couple opportunities. We’re going to look back and wish the ball maybe
had gone to another place especially when, you know, they lost a corner. But that’s
football. You can’t always pick where it’s going to go, and our quarterbacks are trained a
certain way. We probably didn’t communicate as well as we should have as a staff —
myself, I’m blaming — to let them know when that happened, hey, let’s try to take advantage
of this. That’s why the ball didn’t go there. I’ve got to do a better job with that.”
(On QB Malik Willis and what he’s accomplished) “It’s been pretty damn impressive so
that’s — impressive is the word.”
(On RB Josh Jacobs making plays) “Oh, he’s a stud, isn’t he? The physicality that he runs
with. He looked a little gimpy at the end of the game right there and still wanted to stay in.
But I just thought it was best to get him out and get him checked out. But, yeah, he’s just a
pro’s pro. I can’t say enough great things about him. We’re lucky to have a guy like that. The
way he comes in and communicates and works and demands it of himself and demands it
of others as well. Thanks, guys have a great night.”
PACKERS QUARTERBACK MALIK WILLIS
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2024
(On what he saw in the play to WR Jayden Reed and if he had any reservations about
making a change in a big moment) “No, we try to just take it one play at a time. We were
looking for a certain look and we didn’t get it the first time. Actually, we ran it twice. We just
ran the first play. And then we ran it again and we got the look we were looking for and we
just canned right into it. It was perfect. Love to see it.”
(On if that’s the guy he expects to come free on that route) “It’s a mix. You’ve got different
looks and you try to read it true. And I feel like J-Reed popped up, and I’m glad we got it to
him.”
(On his thought process seeing QB Jordan Love go down and getting ready to enter the
game) “You try not to even think those thoughts. You just try to stay in the game, one play at
a time. I was just trying to stay focused and stay composed and stay in the game as far as
what plays are going in, what are we getting from the defense and just staying locked into
the game. That’s the route I wanted to take.”
(On how many snaps he gets with the 1s in the week) “Yeah. It’s none. Yeah. The starter
needs all the reps. You get your reps on scout. You get your reps in Indy, and you do what
you can, use those mental reps and do whatever you can to be ready if called upon.”
(On what he’s done for this team in producing three wins in three appearances) “It doesn’t
have anything to do with me. I’m just grateful for the opportunity given to me by God. Jesus
did way more than I did. I just lean on that thought. This is a game at the end of the day. I
just lean on that fact. It helps me get through and not stress over it. It’s differently
important, a high-stress job. At the same time, the Lord blessed me with this ability. I’ve got
to utilize it, have fun with it.”
(On his running ability and how his mobility helps the run game) “I’m not sure. We’d have to
look at the film and check it out and see if it worked. More than anything, I just try to take
what they give us when given the opportunity. If not, try to up open holes for the guys,
carrying out fakes and whatnot. Just doing all the things I can.”
(On his mindset going down the field with under two minutes left to win the game) “I mean,
it’s two-minute drill just like every snap that you get in camp, like you get in each week
when we go two-minute. Even though I didn’t get those reps this week, taking those mental
reps, seeing how Jordan operates and how Matt [Head Coach Matt LaFleur] is calling it,
trying to understand that he’s calling each play with a purpose and try to think on the same
page as him as far as what we’re trying to do with whatever play we call. Just continue to
stack positive plays and get a drive going. All we needed was three at that point. We could
possibly kill the clock a little bit once we get in field goal range as we did. You love to see an
execution of the situation of whatever we call that situation. I’m not going to tell you.”
(On if two-minute in practice is 1s versus 1s) “Yes.”
(On if he’s ever done two-minute with the team in practice) “The weeks I’ve started. Yes,
sir.”
(On if doing the two-minute drill in practice made him more confident) “Oh, most definitely.
Even though they’re not the same system as far as defense goes, just the operation and
getting in and out of the huddle, getting comfortable with the play calls. And, like I said, the
mental reps, watching Jordan go out and do it every week, he does a great job, as you see in
the last game. We go and get that drive that set up the game-winning field goal. So that was
awesome.”
(On RB Josh Jacobs’ 38-yard touchdown run) “It looked nifty to me too. It was awesome. I
love to see him go out and do his thing. He’s a great running back. He’s doing a great job for
us. I’m glad he got his first receiving touchdown last week.”
