JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022
Q. Doug, could you just start about your evaluation of QB Trevor Lawrence and why you think he had
trouble getting going today?
DOUG PEDERSON: I mean, I think that we as a staff have to figure out a way to kind of get him settled
into the game, number one. Then, obviously, Trevor has to, obviously, make sure that he is in a good
spot. The thing is he sees everything. He sees the field well. We just have to continue to keep throwing
and keep putting him in situations like that. He is going to get better. He will get better. I’m not worried
about that at all. We have a lot of faith and trust in him, and he can definitely do the job. We’ve seen it
this season. We just have to keep working on him.
Q. What was your perspective on Trevor’s interception in the end zone?
DOUG PEDERSON: I think he would tell you and I’m going to tell you, that you just can’t do that that
deep in the Red Zone like that. That was just unfortunate. Turnover right there—just can’t do it when
you are about to score.
Q. Where does LB Travon Walker’s rag doll throw down there rank in terms of in even all the
bonehead mistakes you’ve seen guys do?
DOUG PEDERSON: Again, those are unacceptable plays that come up. I keep telling the guys that a game
usually comes down to three to five plays. You just never know which ones are going to be those plays.
Trevor’s interception late, that penalty late in the game like that, I mean, those are hard to overcome.
Again, they’re all valuable lessons for us as a staff to teach and correct. A lot like the week before, Tyson
[Campbell] running into the kicker in Philly. Those are all moments where we can’t take things upon
ourselves. We just have to go do our jobs.
Q. Did LB Travon Walker apologize in the locker room after that?
DOUG PEDERSON: I don’t know.
Q. Doug, do you have a good sense when you walk out there on game day after the last two weeks
what you are going to get out of Trevor?
DOUG PEDERSON: I do. I do. I really do. I feel comfortable and confident. He always has a good week of
preparation. He is always in a good spot. I do feel good when we go out there and the way we start the
game and the openers. Again, it’s just how we start. And that’s part of the quarterback too, getting him
comfortable and settled down into the game to where he can get himself into a rhythm.
Q. Is he [Trevor Lawrence] being too aggressive at times and not taking some of those shorter throws
and check-downs?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, if you are looking at the game, it was a cover-two game today by Houston. They
played extremely well. That’s a staple of [Texans Head Coach] Lovie Smith. Their defense played it
extremely well. There are some opportunities as check-downs, but at the same time, honestly, until I go
back and watch this game, it’s hard to say. A couple of times we did try to check it down, we dropped
them too. There [are] some plays being left out on the field.
Q. We know what type of defensive mind Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith has been in this league for a
very long time. What did he present specifically to you guys today that made it so difficult and
especially in terms of converting on third down in the red zone?
DOUG PEDERSON: He comes from the traditional four-three style of defense, play that cover-two, the
old Tampa Bay scheme back if the day. He has his guys flying around. That’s what I saw on tape all week.
This is a team that plays extremely hard. A lot like our guys, they play extremely hard. A style of defense
where those guys, they’re executing it well. You have to look at their five games now –or four games
leading up to this. They were pretty much in every football game with chances to win. This is a good
football team that came in here. I still believe we’re a good football team. It just comes down to
execution and just understanding where you need to be on any given play.
Q. How do you help a young quarterback develop consistency? We’ve seen the highs for two weeks in
a row, and now you’ve seen kind of lows for back-to-back weeks. How do you help Trevor?
DOUG PEDERSON: You keep working. You don’t pull back, and you don’t add on. You just keep working
every single day. That’s the only way you get through it. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and trust in
him. He is our guy, and we’re going to keep working through it. We’re going to work through it together.
He’ll be better down the road for it.
Q. It seemed like RB Travis Etienne Jr. was having a pretty good first half, I think around 60 yards.
What happened in the second half? Why wasn’t he able to get the ball in his hands a little bit more?
Would you have liked to see the run more aggressively rather than passing?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, that’s on me. Play caller. Got to call more plays to him. We’ll figure that out.
Q. How much can that take off the pressure in terms of Trevor Lawrence, you know, when he is having
that kind of day? How much can having that run game take the pressure off him?
DOUG PEDERSON: Sure. [If] you run the ball, it can take the pressure off your whole team. Yep.
Q. Also, in reference to the running game, again, you had some good success with that in the first half.
Especially in that second quarter. What made you kind of go away from that in the second half, or was
it something that they adjusted to at halftime?
DOUG PEDERSON: That’s on me. Got to call more runs.
Q. In terms of other than LB Travon Walker’s penalty, what did you see out of your defense? It
seemed like a pretty strong effort from that group.
DOUG PEDERSON: I thought they played well. Gosh, that long drive they had, there were some missed
tackles on that one, but I thought overall it obviously kept us in the football game and did some nice
things. There [are] still some things we have to clean up. These guys battle. They play hard. They’re
physical. It’s a physical group. They cleaned up some of the mistakes from a week ago, but we still have
some work to do. We have to get some stuff corrected.
Q. Did they do a really good job defensively taking away WR Christian Kirk, or do you have a reason as
to why Christian wasn’t really that involved?
DOUG PEDERSON: Really not until I look at the tape to see. Other than that, it’s hard to tell until we get
back to looking at it.
Q. The interception right there at the start of the third quarter, how much does that take out of just
the momentum, the intensity or whatever? How much does that take out of a team when you feel like
you’re down there about ready to take the lead, and it just doesn’t happen?
DOUG PEDERSON: Still there’s a lot of football game left, and so it’s unfortunate. We know we can’t do
that, but there was no waiver. Our guys were confident. They felt good even going back out on the field.
Defense was, obviously, putting it kind of back on them to get a stop, but it could take a little bit out, but
for the most part, our guys did a nice job of staying in there and staying together and sort of rebounding
after that.
Q. You mentioned some drops earlier. I think there were five last week too, maybe. Is that playing on
maybe Trevor’s mind at this point? No, you don’t think so?
DOUG PEDERSON: I don’t think so, no.
Q. We’ve talked a lot about the confidence in this group early in the season. How do you keep the
confidence on this team high now that they have back-to-back losses?
DOUG PEDERSON: You just go back to work. You entrust these guys with a lot. We ask a lot of them. You
just keep working. You keep putting them in these situations, and they’re going to learn. We’re all going
to learn together, and we’ll be stronger and better for it.
JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022
Q. Why was today such a struggle offensively?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: It was a rough day offensively. [I’m] just frustrated obviously. It’s frustrating to
watch the tape. Like I always say, I like to watch the tape before I say too much. But really, I’d say I had a
few plays out there that I want back, missed a few, that one play in the red zone. Obviously, [it was] just
a bad decision, put us in a bad spot, and then just didn’t capitalize. As a unit, we didn’t take advantage of
the opportunities that we had and really played into what they wanted us to do, make those mistakes
and get in third and long and get us to punt it or a couple of times turn it over on downs. [We] just didn’t
play our style of football, didn’t play well. This one stings, and everybody feels it in there, as you should.
It’s a division game. It’s a game where we feel confident and thought we had a good plan and just didn’t
execute it. We have to be better.
Q. What did you see on the interception in the end zone?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Honestly, I just forced it. The field shrunk down there. We were in the boundary,
didn’t have James [Robinson] in the flat. Then I thought I might have had a shot at the back baseline and
just [Texans DB Derek] Stingley [Jr.] fell off the corner there. It was just a bad decision. That’s one you
just throw away, maybe try to run it in, live to play another down. I think it was first and second and
goal, just can’t do that. Our defense held them, what, to 13 points. You have to score more than 13
points if you want to win. For us offensively, that’s the standard. We have to play better, help them out.
We didn’t finish drives. We got in the red zone multiple times, most of the game. We had a couple of
three and outs. We were driving the ball successfully, we had a lot of big plays and we would just stall
out. We have to fix that. We have to all look in the mirror and be accountable. Myself, I have to look at
the things that I have to do better. Obviously, the turnover, can’t let that happen and then just beyond
that, though, a couple of throws that were close. We just have to make the play. It’s like we talked about
in the locker room, like I told the guys, we can’t all have an off day on the same day. You can have one
guy, you can pick them up and go make a play for them, and that’s fine, but we all just have to be better
collectively.
Q. Did you know it was a bad decision as soon as you released it?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: [It was] just bad. [I] just forced it and tried to do too much there. [It was] just a bad
decision, like I said.
Q. There have been seven turnovers in the last seven quarters. How do you keep from pressing, and
how do you not lose a little confidence moving forward?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I mean, I haven’t lost any confidence. Like I said, it’s that one and really the last
play of the game, it wasn’t a good throw. [I was] trying to scramble around, buy some time, let them get
down there. Obviously, that’s a turnover, but the one, like I said, early is the one that’s just — you can’t
let that happen, especially in the red zone. The type of game it was, points are really valuable, and you
have to get something out of there. We needed to score, but you know we got a field goal. We’re down
there inside the 10 [yard line]. We should score on that possession. Yeah, I haven’t lost any confidence.
You look at some of the stuff we did. We moved the ball great. Guys made plays down field. I thought I
was confident, ripped a few in there, had some good plays, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t win. At the
end of the day, we have to finish games. We’re going to learn from it. It hurts. This is a division game. It’s
a big game. It’s frustrating, but we’re going to get better, and that’s the thing, w can’t panic. We’re a
good football team, and we believe that, and we just have to play like it. We didn’t play like one today.
We played bad.
Q. It was not a great day today for you guys offensively on third down and in the red zone. Did the
Texans present anything different to you than what you saw all week in your film study that gave you
particular difficulty in those situations?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Not necessarily. I think just they played a lot of two-shell, a lot of two-Tampa.
That’s what they did to us last year, so it’s not necessarily a surprise. They did it more to us this game
than they have in the four games prior to this season. I guess, yeah, they played a little bit more shell,
but at the end of the day we have plays that we feel great about that put us in position to succeed
against that and just missed too many opportunities. Early in the game I think I was forcing a few down
field instead of just taking the underneath throws that they were giving us. Then I think I settled in late
in that first quarter, especially late in the second or in the second quarter. But like I said, we just didn’t
finish drives. We kept stalling out. We had a couple, like we didn’t convert on a fourth down early in the
game, and then we didn’t convert on a fourth and half a yard later in the game right at midfield. Those
are huge plays, and we have to convert some of those. There’s a lot of stuff that we have to do better,
but that’s definitely one.
Q. Coming into the game did you feel like there were particular personnel matchups that you would
be able to take advantage of against that team? Then on the flip side of it, during the game did you
find that there were any particular personnel matchups that you guys had difficulty dealing with?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Not necessarily. I don’t want to get into necessarily the whole game plan, but just
we had some things that we thought we had schemed up and really from their side of the ball they just
played a lot of Tampa. They played cover-two most of the snaps. They mixed it up towards the end
when we started to move the ball more and more and hit some plays. They adjusted a little bit, but that
was really I think their game plan, and they stuck to that. Like I said, we kind of played right into it. We
put ourselves in second and third and long, and then when you get in that situation, that defense, that’s
kind of what it’s built for; keep everything in front of you, rally, make the tackle, get you in fourth down.
They did that and did a good job of that. Really, I think we shot ourselves in the foot too much all the
way around. That’s the thing, you have to play well to win, obviously. I just didn’t think that we definitely
didn’t play well, but just weren’t consistent enough throughout the game. Obviously, we had some plays
here and there, but you have to play a complete game to win in this league no matter who you are
playing, and [we] didn’t do that.
Q. Head Coach Doug Pederson mentioned the staff needing to do something to try to get settled into
the games a little quicker. Why do you think maybe some of the starts have been slower this year?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I really can’t answer that question right now. I don’t want to just try to think of
something right now to say to you guys. I think there’s been times where we’ve started well. We’re only
five games in, so I’m not going to blanket [by saying] we’re not starting well this year. I would have to go
back and look at all of that. There’s definitely been some games where we haven’t, so I would agree with
that. I think it’s always a combination of multiple things. Yes, of course, it’s a little coaches, but it’s us
players too and I think our team does a good job of looking in the mirror. You have to hold yourself
accountable and you can’t point fingers. We’re all in it together. Coaches aren’t always going to call a
perfect play. We have to make them right. They do a really good job of putting us in good positions and
getting us in the right play a lot of the time. When that doesn’t happen, you’re never going to go 100
percent, but we have to make them right. We have to make the play or don’t make a bad play worse,
like for instance, on the goal line, you know, my play, the turnover. There’s a lot of things. Like I said, we
all just have to look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable and get better. It’s the fifth game of
the year. We got, what, 12 games left. No panic, but we have to get better for sure. You can’t play like
that and expect to win.
Q. Did you get a sense after five games that there’s still kind of a sense of urgency to fix whatever?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Definitely. Definitely. There should be now for sure. You know, the last two weeks
games that we feel we should have won and we didn’t, so that definitely stings. Yeah, there definitely is
a sense of urgency. We have to have a great week of prep. Another division game this week in Indy.
They’re going to be fired up to play us after the first game here a few weeks ago, so they’re going to be
ready, and we’re going to get everything they have. We’ll be prepared, and we just have to have a great
Wednesday. That’s our main focus. Come in here tomorrow, clean it up, and start the week off great on
Wednesday and get ready for them.
Q. The Tampa-two, compared to where you were a year ago to now, how do you feel you are going up
against that personally in terms of reading that defense and then exploiting it?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: I think just specifically on that we did some good things today. We had some plays
down the field. Like I said, they did the same thing to us last year and I thought we settled in earlier this
year. I know the first game of the season we played there. Really just being a young player, I think I
forced a lot down field, just kept making the same mistake, played into what they wanted us to do. I
thought this year, or today, we settled in. We had a couple of those early, but then settled in and started
taking what they were giving us, finding our matchups, finding our holes in the zone. But [we] just didn’t
put those together consistently enough. Then we would hit those, and then we would stall out. So, at
the end of the day it’s not good enough to win, but I think we handled it better than we had in the past.
Q. Is there someone that you lean on when the going is getting tough and there is the inconsistency
out there?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: [Quarterbacks Coach] Coach [Mike] McCoy is, obviously, our quarterback coach, so
we’re always talking. We’re on the sideline together. He does a really good job of not panicking. No
matter how good or bad it’s going, he’s just kind of always the same. He’s a guy I trust, and that’s helped
a lot just as far as the confidence and the mindset of myself and the offense and everything. He does a
really good job and [Head Coach] Coach [Doug Pederson] is the same way. After that play, like I said in
the red zone, really bad decision by me, Coach Pederson came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you’re better
than that, but let’s move on. Next play.’ Everybody does a good job of that, but like I said, we just have
to be better.
Q. Coach Pederson was in here earlier and said you’re seeing it on the field. It’s just from that point on
sometimes here and there. Can you kind of talk us through maybe why it’s a little bit off?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: Obviously, there’s always a few plays that you go back and look, and you wish you
would have gone somewhere else with the ball, taken a throw here or there. I think really I missed a few
throws today more so than anything. Early, like I said, I forced a couple down field that I could have just
kept us on schedule and got settled into the game. I could have done a better job there. Really seeing
the defense, I thought I did a good job. I think I just missed a few throws. Like I said, we just didn’t make
the plays that were there all the way around. There’s a lot out there. When you watch the tape, it’s
going to be frustrating because you leave a lot out there. Like you said, I’m seeing it. I feel good about
that. I work hard during the week to be prepared and to see the looks and to be able to react whenever I
see certain coverages. I thought for the most part I saw them, but I’ve got to be quicker in some of my
progressions and just be more accurate overall.
Q. On the fourth and ten on the next to last possession, it looked like you looked at RB Travis Etienne
Jr. very briefly. It was kind of a check-down in the right flat. Did you feel like Travis was too far back in
the sticks to be able to get that?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: He is kind of the flat control guy there, and it’s fourth and ten. The one thing you
can’t do is throw it short and get tackled short and not give yourself a chance. In my mind, I wanted try
to give us a shot down field. [Houston DB] Derek Stingley [Jr.] played it pretty well on Evan [Engram]. I
didn’t throw necessarily a catchable ball there, which is a mistake, again. [I] got to give him a chance to
go make the play. I’ll have to go back and watch it. I saw it on the tablet, obviously, on the sideline. If I
get it to him, maybe he makes the play, but in my mind that’s a risky decision there on fourth and ten. If
he gets tackled short, that’s the one rule is you want to try to give yourself a chance. That’s not really
necessarily one that I’m kicking myself over, but definitely wish I would have given Evan a better shot to
make the play down field.
Q. What statement do you think this game does say, if anything, about where this team is?
TREVOR LAWRENCE: We have a lot of room for improvement. Like I said, we’ve played some really good
football this season. We’ve played some bad football too. The only thing it says is we’ve got to get
better, and that’s the message whether we win or lose, but especially when you lose a game like this
and you don’t play well, especially offensively. Like I said, we’ve got to hold each other accountable, hold
ourselves accountable and get better, and we all just have to do our part. Our team does a good job of
staying together. No one is going to point fingers, but we do have to step up and make the plays that are
there and really just be more consistent all the way around. That’s the message is just it’s early. We have
plenty of time, but we have to make improvements.
TEXANS HEAD COACH LOVIE SMITH
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022
LOVIE SMITH: Whenever you go on the road. It’s normally hostile environment. I thought we had a lot of
fans. Before the game, they showed up, they were vocal, so it was kind of good to get that first win, not
just with our football team but with them, also. It’s hard winning in the NFL. I know that’s kind of coach-
speak a little bit, but it is, especially going on the road, division game. It’s hard to beat someone nine in a
row. There’s a lot of things that we had at stake, but as much as anything, for us to be able to finish a
game, we talked about it. We’re getting better in a lot of areas. I thought the guys just play after play,
defensively — I think [the Jacksonville Jaguars] were 0 for 3 in the red zone, 0 for 3 on 4th downs, the
takeaways, just playing hard. We rotated more guys. You get here, you see it’s a little bit warmer than
normal. That was good. Offensively we made the plays that we needed to. When you don’t turn the ball
over, and I thought Cam [Cameron Johnston] did some good things punting the ball, pinning them back
down, and Imi [Ka’imi Fairburn] stepping up and kicking the kicks when we needed him to. Team effort,
it’s good to see what you’re supposed to do after a win. Hopefully it’s the first of many.
Q. How do you describe Dameon Pierce’s impact on this team? What was coming on your mind on
that 20-yard run when he was breaking tackles.
LOVIE SMITH: I’d say he’s had a consistent impact on our team, from when he came into the building.
We know that he’s going to finish. He’s going to show toughness. He’s going to make plays. He’s going to
make you miss in the open field. He’s doing what a one running back in the NFL should do, and on a day
like today we needed to lean on the run, and I thought he was outstanding.
Q. Derek Stingley [Jr.], pass breakup, also the interception in the red zone. Is that why you bring a
player like that in there?
LOVIE SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. Stingley is going to be a great player. I’ve talked about how smart he is
knowing the game. He learns something every snap. I thought he competed hard. Steve Nelson did. I
thought our backs, secondary did. We knew who we were playing coming in, and as you can see, we
kind of leaned on one coverage a little bit more. You guys say that all you do is play cover two. Well, we
played cover two quite a few times today, and we got some results from it.
Q. What was the process and the thinking behind your decision to punt it on 4th down?
LOVIE SMITH: Well, the way we had been playing defense through the day. I felt like we didn’t need to
make a move like that. Played the odds, which we did, and it worked out, right? I liked the call, and it
worked out.
Q. How would you describe how your defensive line played today? They didn’t get any sacks, but were
able to pressure the quarterback 14 times.
LOVIE SMITH: I think exactly what you said. First thing, how many sacks did you get? We didn’t. I
thought he was on the run quite a bit, and a lot of those passes that were incompletions had a little bit
to do with some of the pressure. You know, it’s about rush and coverage, especially today. It’s tough
duty for our defensive line today because we weren’t blitzing a lot. So, when the offense pretty much
knows it’s a four-man rush, you can gang up on those four guys, but they fought hard.
Q. You’ve seen a lot of football; how special was that run by Dameon Pierce from what you’ve seen?
LOVIE SMITH: It’s fitting that he would — when we needed a play like that, that he would be the one that
showed up. We’re a running football team. He’s our tailback. The toughness that you want to bring,
especially in a game like that — I mean, it’s late in the game. Somebody has got to make a play. There’s
no such thing as fatigue then. You know I can talk about Dameon quite a bit. I just believe in the guy.
Q. It was the first win as the head coach of the Houston Texans for you. What does it mean to you
with the way the guys competed?
LOVIE SMITH: Well, I mean, it’s big, because I do know how hard it is. We’ve been battling for four
weeks, and haven’t been able to finish it. That’s all we’ve talked about. I know how the guys have been
responding behind the scenes. They’ve been just, belief, faith, that eventually it’s going to get done. But
now that we have taken care of that, I’m just anxious to get that second win now.
Q. When you play a game, a lot of times, guys lose games because of nerves. They had a crucial
penalty where their guy swung down Davis [Mills]. What do you think when that happens and
extends the drive?
LOVIE SMITH: Well, I’m thinking good thoughts. It is tough when those things happen, but we have rules
on how we play the game, and that was obvious that should have been called. A timely penalty for us.
Q. Stingley got his first interception. What did you see from that, and obviously took it out at the 2.
What was that whole situation like?
LOVIE SMITH: Well, big play. Whenever you can take the ball away in the end zone, that’s huge. They
have a chance. 14. Look at it, at least 10 — for a fact you’re taking away seven points probably, so that
was big. That was a good play. The play that they ran was the same one that the [Los Angeles] Chargers
ran on us on 4th down last week. We were ready for it this time.
Q. The 3-and-10 with [Davis] Mills to [Jordan] Akins. Obviously you get a guy to come up. What type
of impact do you feel that particular play had on you guys? If [O.J.] Howard hadn’t been able to
convert, would you do it this time?
LOVIE SMITH: You know, tight game in the end. Somebody has to step up and make a play. And a great
play. Again, when you’ve been close, you need somebody at the end to do something like that. So I just
know it was a huge play. He’s capable of that. All we’ve seen from him is just good play each week. We
shuffle that tight end position around a little bit, but [Brevin] Jordan can do some things like that.
TEXANS QB DAVIS MILLS
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022
Q. How does it feel to get that first win today?
DAVIS MILLS: Big win, obviously. It was a close game, and I felt like we did what we needed to do late in
the game in the fourth quarter to finish it out and get the win. I thought all three phases played really
well today. DP (Dameon Pierce) ran extremely hard behind the offensive line, who I thought blocked
really well, and we didn’t turn the ball over, so we did what we needed.
Q. The Pierce run there, what was your initial reaction to seeing that run?
DAVIS MILLS: He wants to win the game. I think I probably counted at least six broken tackles that run. I
looked at LT (Laremy Tunsil) after the play and I was like, this guy is the real deal. He’s trying to win
games and he’s helping us out a lot and we’re moving the ball down the field behind him, and we
finished that drive with points, and that’s all we wanted to do.
Q. How would you describe his (Dameon Pierce’s) impact on the offense?
DAVIS MILLS: Just the energy he brings day in and day out, it rubs off on everybody on the team, and we
want to rally behind that, and we want to fight for him. I know the offensive line does especially, and the
defense, they stayed on the sideline, see how hard we’re fighting and playing out there, and they want
to do the same and try to get the ball back to us so we can continue driving the ball down the field and
get points.
Q. It seemed like a lot of your plays today came out of play actions when people expected runs, runs
when they might have expected passes. How do you feel you were keeping them off guard today?
DAVIS MILLS: Yeah, we’ve just got to continue to mix it up throughout the season. If you show
something one game, you’ve got to come back and potentially run it the next game and try to execute,
and if you don’t want to run that, show something else to keep the defenses guessing. I think we kind of
found our identity today, being a run-first football team downhill, and we did that efficiently. And then
we had to make some plays in the passing game when we needed to, and our guys stepped up and
made some plays on the edge. Defense did, as well. It was a good team win.
Q. You talked with Nico (Collins) on the sideline there. What is it like to see him make plays like that?
DAVIS MILLS: It’s great. We kind of felt that at the end of last year when he was stepping up and making
some big-time plays, and really this year, we’ve really emphasized find a way to get 12 the ball because
he’s going to make a play for you, and he showed that today. He’s going to go up and win those 50/50
balls. I don’t think they’re 50/50 balls when you throw it to Nico. That’s big for him, and I mean, he
converted those big-time 3rd downs when we needed him to.
Q. Do you think the 3rd and 10 play to (Brevin) Jordan that you saw there — how important was that
for you at this point of the season, finally getting over that hump?
DAVIS MILLS: Yeah, that was huge. That was one of the plays where we go up to the line without
anything truly called out of the huddle. We tried to send an indicator out with the running back to the
edge. They ended up showing man, and then we ended up calling a timeout, and we ended up going
back to the same play. They showed man again, but ended up falling out to a Cover 2. The way we teach
that route that he ran, obviously, it’s a man route where we’re trying to set picks for him and have him
run to the sideline away from the guy who’s covering him, but they fell off into Cover 2, and we teach
get width away from the defense before you start building your depth, and he did that. I gave him a
chance to get the ball before the corner got to it, and he ended up converting the 1st down, and it was a
huge play.
Q. An important play in that drive I think was the same drive when (Jaguars linebacker) Travon Walker
kind of beat you down. Were you surprised that that happened there at that moment? What was your
reaction?
DAVIS MILLS: I mean, I wasn’t too surprised. Obviously didn’t really have much time to react to it. They
jumped offsides, and then he ended up throwing me down after the play. (He was) probably a little
frustrated. We’d been running the ball well all game. I mean, it’s a divisional opponent. There’s always a
little bit of chippiness throughout the game. I guess his temper kind of broke. That was a big play for us
because it allowed us to get back ahead of the chains, got another 1st down from it. But I mean, that
kind of set off that drive and allowed us to go down and score.
Q. You mentioned finding your identity today. Five games in, you spent the offseason really trying to
get together as a team. How do you describe pushing through finally and entering the bye week with
this? What’s the feeling?
DAVIS MILLS: It’s a great feeling all around. We’ve been close every game up to this point. We feel like
we could have more wins than we do right now, but really got to find the momentum that we had when
we strained and fought through the finish of this game to get the win and carry that momentum into the
rest of the season. It takes a little bit, but a football team needs to find ways to win the game, and we
did that today, and hopefully we can do that moving forward this year.
TEXANS RB DAMEON PIERCE
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2022
Q. Take us through the 20-yard run. What was going through your mind?
DAMEON PIERCE: Go country boy, go. It’s all about getting that touchdown, man. And I know I had them
big boys coming defensively. They were going to rally behind me at some point, so I just tried to fight
and get in the end zone.
Q. You played in this stadium as a Gator. Did you have any memories of being back here today?
DAMEON PIERCE: Man, every Georgia-Florida game, it’s kind of nostalgic. You think back to the days of
your alma mater. Go Gators. I put out, put that on film, a little Gator talk. But like just I said, like every
game, it’s a surreal moment. Been dreaming about these moments since you were little, and just being
in an NFL stadium alone by itself is a blessing, and I just try to take advantage of all those opportunities I
have and just try to play my heart out every game.
Q. Lovie (Smith) said that it was fitting that you were the one to get the play when they most needed
it. After that run breaking those tackles, what was it that you felt in that moment?
DAMEON PIERCE: What I really felt, I was tired at first. We be tired at first. But after I caught my breath a
little bit, man, like we just needed a surge, man. We were just looking for somebody to make a play
because Nico (Collins) play the play a couple drives before. We was putting together a drive, but we
wasn’t quite finishing them and punishing them and playing our type of football. We got back to playing
our style of football. When we’re playing our style of football, we’re usually a great offense when we get
things rolling, and just that play, that play kinda surged everyone up, got our spirits up and led to a
touchdown.
Q. Lovie (Smith) just a second ago was talking about how not just the impact you had today but the
consistent impact you’ve had day in and day out. What do you think has enabled you to do that for
this team? Obviously being a rookie, but day in, day out, game in, game out, why do you think you’ve
been so prepared for the moment so far?
DAMEON PIERCE: Because I’ve got a great group of guys around me on this team, from the veteran
leadership to the coaches, to the support staff, training room, weight room. It takes a village, especially
with me being a rookie. I’m a young guy. It takes a village to kind of groom me in the right direction. I
need to be to be a key factor on this team and be an eventual leader on this team and take the roles of
some of those veteran guys as they end their careers, as they move away from football. They are doing a
great job of putting me in that role to enable me to be one of those leaders and step up for this team.
Q. Did you know you were down on that play (the near-fumble close to the goalline)?
DAMEON PIERCE: Yeah. Yeah.
Q. Can you just take us through the 20-yard run? At least five guys have a shot, and particularly
there’s somebody hanging off your back at one point. How do you run through that?
DAMEON PIERCE: Initially, it was a great block by A.J. Cann. To finish a play, you’ve got to start a play.
A.J. definitely started the play for me, great block up front, right in the slop of the defense, right in the
heart of the defense, I sprung out to the right. That’s kind of why I flourish, getting on smaller guys, kind
of like DB types, safeties and corners, guys who aren’t used to tackling, and I just try to take advantage
of that. Every time I get to the secondary, I always try to get some YAC (yards after contact) yards, and
that’s just what it was, man, just me playing ball.
Q. When you’re tied up like that, what are you even seeing? How do you know where (guys are
coming at you)?
DAMEON PIERCE: It’s all about contact, like if you feel somebody — you just spin out. You got somebody
on your leg, pull out. Somebody coming, dip your shoulder, double wrap the ball, just get YAC (yards
after contact) yards, man. It takes time. It definitely comes with time. Like I wouldn’t tell you to go put
no pads on and try to go spin out of something, but it comes with time. But there’s ways of
maneuvering. There’s a right way to do things. I think what it comes down to, when me and (the) DB go
at it, the only thing (the) DB going to be worried about is me double-wrapping the ball, and that’s what I
was really focused about. And the YAC yards are going to come. As long as I’ve got that ball wrapped up,
I’m good.
Q. This was the first win. You guys have been close before. Does this feel like now that you’ve won a
game, you have that off your back, that you guys can start playing more (like this)?
DAMEON PIERCE: I wouldn’t say we are in the clear yet. This is the first of hopefully many. It’s always
hard to get that first one, and hopefully we just build off of this and keep playing Texans football as we
know it. Like today was a wonderful showing of all three phases of the game coming together for us,
special teams, offense, defense. Everybody made plays when they were supposed to. No matter what
happened before, it’s just play your next play, and I feel like we did a pretty good job of that. Overall, I
base our win based off all 11 guys on the field playing their heart out, and I feel like we did that today,
and that leads to victories, and hopefully we can continue on that.
Q. Top five in rushing in the NFL. How does that make you feel knowing that you’re in that type of
category?
DAMEON PIERCE: Blessing. Shout out to them big boys because they always like, ‘DP (referring to
himself), we’ve got — we’re going to keep rolling.’ Nico (Collins) always come, ‘DP, you fitting, keep
throwing that thing, baby. He ain’t about to — even when it’s a down day, they always keep me up like I
said before, man. It’s really a village coming in, helping me as a rookie, especially as a rookie, like you
don’t get that out of most locker rooms. They kind of let the rookies kind of fend for themselves, but I’m
blessed and grateful to be in the locker room with such camaraderie and brotherhood that those guys
lift me up in the moments and they push me along, help me develop.
Q. How much more does it mean to you to have a big game but this time around you guys won?
DAMEON PIERCE: Like I was saying, man, it was really about everybody making plays. That’s how you
write it up. This is the NFL. We try to — we’ve got to let our guys shine. I feel like everybody shined
today. Like I was saying earlier, I feel like everybody was playing hard-nosed football. This was a — what
it was it, top 3, top 5 run defense? So those guys, they were biting, man, it wasn’t a pretty game. It was
just iron sharpens iron, every play, man, they’d get their plays, we’d get our plays. It just came down to
who wanted to fight more and who had the will to win, and I’m just grateful that we come out with a
win. Hopefully we can build off of it.
