CHARGERS QB PHILIP RIVERS
(On how it felt playing today) “Yeah, it felt good. It felt good all around. You know, a bit too little, too late in terms of our postseason hopes and our expectations coming into the season, but we still talk about finishing strong and you’ve heard me say many times that ‘Everything matters, every game matters’, even though there’s no playoff implications. So, it was good to get a complete team win and a lot of the guys touched the football and contributed. It was good, all around good day.”
(On whether he anticipated the blitz) “Well, the long one that [RB Austin Ekeler caught] was screened, it was kind of a screen, we had a screen and a pass option, and they just gave us a perfect look for it so that was great. Heck of a call by [Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen], a lot of great calls by Shane. And then yeah, a couple of looks that we anticipated, but then some of the others we just – it was just getting it to the guy that was hot, with the hot read on that one. And the guys up front did a heck of a job handling their front. You know, I got hit a few times, but that’s part of it when you go against that front. But really only the one sack which was early on the third and long long and it was nothing’s there. It was good, you know, obviously the run to start the game. The first run was awesome. You know, we scored three plays and then we scored two plays right before the two-minute [warning] and then get another opportunity there. We scored 10 points in a minute and whatever it was, so that was huge. It was a fun day. I had a fun day. Again, we’ve shown spurts of this this year. I’ve thrown the ball the same way this year, we’ve just had some incredible turnovers and some other misses, but we’ve shown spurts of this. We just were more consistent today and didn’t have the negative plays and obviously the explosive plays helped and the defense was great. So, it was a solid day.”
(On RB Austin Ekeler’s 100 yards rushing, 100 yards receiving record for the first time since 1985) “Yeah since ’85 right? Yeah, awesome, awesome. And that was our longest touchdown pass, or my longest one. You know, we’ve had a couple of 75 getting the touchback and I think we had one in Pittsburgh right at 80 or 78, no that was Tampa, that was against Tampa. Awesome day by Ekeler, getting the first quarter of the game and then we came back with that play on the first play of the two-minute drive. So, we ran that play twice for a total of, I don’t know, 70 yards rushing on that one play – which was awesome. But, just to see what he’s done, a lot in a year, and that was cool for him. And we all kind of knew it there. He was, at one point, he was 7 rushing yards and 2 receiving yards, so in the scheme of things Shane is definitely trying to get it to him a few more times.”
(On DE Joey Bosa’s 10.5 sacks this year and what he means to the team) “He’s an awesome player. You know he’s never [going to] quit, so the one sack late in the game was – again, we’ve got to give a heck of a lot of credit to the coverage when you throw the football. And he doesn’t ever stop. If I beat him on the first move, then maybe I’ll get there, but if not, then I’m blocked. Some guys rush that way and he just doesn’t stop. As long as you’re back there with the football, he’s coming and I think too, the way he plays the run. Both of our [defensive] ends, he and Melvin [Ingram III] both get a ton of credit for rushing the passer and a ton of notoriety for how they can rush, and they can. But the way they play the run game, the way they hustle and the way they compete, like all of our guys, we’re going to fight ‘til the end. Certainly, Joey is a perfect example of that.”
(On how Joey Bosa has grown since he was a rookie) “Well, I think he’s also been healthy this season – he’s been out there every week. He’s pretty awesome of a guy here. But I think the consistency, learning, I’m sure adding some new wrinkles to his game and then growing in the defense and playing to be that complete end every down. I wouldn’t want to block him or run in his way either. The way he does the pulling, does all those things, he’s disruptive as well in the ring. He’s got a bunch of tackles for loss, if I’m correct, or at least causes some problems for the backfield in the run game. So just an all-around heck of a player. That’s why he’s wherever he is. It’s not just because he went to Ohio State and people know him and his brother. They are really good.”
(On what it is about Jacksonville and his success here) “I don’t know, I really don’t. I have great respect for that defense and those players up front and all those guys. What’s so great, two years ago here, went into overtime, played pretty decent but went into overtime, threw an interception and got beat. So, it’s certainly never easy. I know the numbers may say otherwise, but it’s never – it’s a team effort. I mean, I threw a screen and got 181. I threw a post that was a pretty good throw, but Mike [Williams] makes a heck of a catch. There had been a couple big plays. You know, I’d get it to our guys and guys up front blocking. So, it’s certainly a team effort every time. But for the most part, good memories here. Even started back to 2002, college season ended here on January 1st against Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, so that’s kind of where it started here.”
(On whether the Jaguars changed anything in their defense during the game) “They blitzed a little bit. They did. Early in the game they had some fronts, some front structure in certain formations that were a little bit different than we anticipated. A few times, some change, like ‘guys this didn’t look like what you’ve show for many weeks.’ They did have some wrinkles for us. They played a little more man at different times. I think they did. It’s games like this, and we’ve been on both sides so I’m sure this defense has been on the other side of it too, I’ve seen them be on the other side when they’ve shut out teams here and been a 9-6 game and played great. But it just felt like we were play ahead, it just felt like one of those games that we were play ahead. Shane was play ahead with the call, we were play ahead and those games are fun. I think, don’t take away from what that defense is and the players they have, it was just one of those days.”
(On how happy he was to see WR Mike Williams get a touchdown) “Yeah, gosh, it’s been long overdue. We’ve been talking about it. We’ve had stuff up for him every week. And what a catch, too, just to add to his big play list for the year. And he extended his yards per catch average and he’ll stay in the lead on that one. Still low volume number of catches, you know, just the way the first half went. I don’t think anybody at the end of the first half said, ‘I can’t believe you’re not throwing Mike the ball.’ I say everything’s working, it’s just the way the half came up. And then we started the second half wanting to give it to him right away early and we did with the play action and then he was doing a great job of making the play on the post. So, when he has two for whatever it was, 2 for 65 or whatever, just his big play-making ability and just making the catches in traffic like that are awesome.”
(On a possible comparison of WR Mike Williams to wide receivers Tyrell Williams or Vincent Jackson) “He’s to me, he reminds me of a little bit of Vincent [Jackson] and a little bit of Malcom [Floyd] at different times. But he’s Mike Williams. I think you’ve got to keep him, just like Vincent Jackson and Malcom are their own guys. I always get nervous comparing guys because I think they’re their own guys and they’re unique in their own way. But certainly, this year, especially, and even last year – he’s made, to me, maybe even a few more Malcom-like catches this year – if I can draw from a guy. He had the one last week, a few of those. But at the same time, it’s different, it’s different the way he does it. His physicality is different than Malcom, which is a little more like Vincent. But if I had to draw from my past years with guys, certainly those two are probably the two that come to mind.”
CHARGERS HEAD COACH ANTHONY LYNN
(Opening statement) “Well that felt good for a change, not a nail biter. We knew coming in here we had to slow down their rushing attack, and I thought we did a good job defensively of slowing them down, kept them under 100 yards rushing. Our protection scheme went really well. I don’t think we gave up one sack today. Ran the football well, offensively. We put a lot of things together, took away their strengths, and some of their weaknesses I felt like we took advantage of them this afternoon. I was very pleased with what I saw on the field, and I think it’s what we’re capable of when we’re a healthy football team. Moving forward, this is what we expect to see from this football team. These guys, they signed up to play 16 games. We’re out of it, some people may take their football and go home, but these guys – they’re gonna play all 16 games, and this is what you’re gonna get.”
(On if his team’s effort today was indicative of how important it is to finish strong) “Yes, this is exactly what we’re expecting, and this is the character of this football team. Like I said, we signed up to play 16 and these guys are going to play all 16, and they’re going to play them hard.”
(On how he thought Phillip Rivers played) “I thought Phillip played fine. He took care of the football. He got us in the right place when he needed to and that’s the biggest thing – taking care of the football.”
(On how comfortable Rivers was behind the offensive line) “We had a good protection plan for their rushers. This group can get after the passer. I think they’re one of the top three teams in the league in sacks right now. We did a hell of a job in blocking up front and chipping with the backs and the tight ends helping as well. He felt very comfortable. He should’ve been.”
(On how he prepared for the Jaguars’ blitzes) “We studied their blitzes and we know where they’re coming from. We had hot throws and balls down the field that we could get to. We picked a lot of the pressures, but he does those things well and that wasn’t a surprise to see him operate that way. It was just good to see everything come together at once.”
(On Austin Ekeler’s 100 yards rushing and receiving today) “Yeah, I just heard about that. I think that’s awesome. That just speaks to Austin’s versatility and what he’s done all along.”
(On if he was aware how close Ekeler was to 100 rushing yards at the end of the game) “Well at the end of the game, they told me something about 100, 100 – whatever. I was like guys, ‘just call plays and win the game,’ I don’t care about no stats. He ended up getting his stats anyway, so I was happy for him.”
(On how hard it is to achieve what Ekeler did today) “I think he’s the first person to do it in how long?”
(On Ekeler being the first Charger since 1985 to achieve 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game) “So I tell you right there, if a guy like LaDainian Tomlinson come through here and don’t do it – I think that’s pretty hard to do.”
(On how it felt to get explosive plays) “I mean it felt good. It definitely helps your scoring and moving the ball down the field and getting the ball in the end zone. We’ve had explosive plays, but we’ve always ended with turnovers – there’s been turnovers, too many turnovers.”
(On if he felt he could exploit the Jaguars’ secondary) “If we could protect, we felt like we could move the ball through their secondary, and that’s a big “if” because those guys can rush the quarterback. With [Calais] Campbell inside and Josh [Allen] and Yannick [Ngakoue] outside, it’s as good as it gets.”
(On Phillip Rivers not turning it over) “I think that is the most important stat. When we take care of the football this is what we do.”
(On why Jerry Tillery was inactive today) “I wanted to see Sylvester [Williams]. Sometimes it’s a matchup deal. They were going to run the football, I mean, Leonard is having a breakout year, and so I needed a bigger body in the middle of our defense, and that’s why Sylvester was up. Jerry’s done nothing wrong, he’s working his tail off, I like his development – it was just a matchup deal.”
(On why Denzel Perryman and Roderic Teamer didn’t play) “It was a coach’s decision.”
(On if he could elaborate why Perryman and Teamer didn’t play) “Not really – it was just my decision not to play those guys.”
(On if Perryman and Teamer were with the team today) “No. I sent them home.”
(On Derek Watt scoring his first touchdown) “That surprises me – a fullback of his versatility. I’m happy for him. He does all the dirty work and the blocking, tough yards inside. That’s what he’s done all along.”
(On if Perryman and Teamer broke a team rule) “Coach’s decision.”
(On if Perryman and Teamer made the trip with the team) “They were here. Yes.”
