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REDSKINS QB KIRK COUSINS
On the final few minutes of the game:
"I think that rollercoaster is what the NFL is like week-in and week-out. That’s why it is such a special league and why there is such an attention on the games because of how exciting and you never know what is going to happen down the stretch. The margin for error in this league is so small. You know if you leave any time on the clock in this league anything can happen. It was a rollercoaster but again as a quarterback and player in this league I think it’s important to stay steady throughout no matter what stretch of things are going and just stay boring and consistent and that typically leads to best results.”
On the offense:
“I think the points on the scoreboard weren’t what we wanted. I thought we did do some good things on offense and moved the football at times but penalties set us back. Speaking off the top of my head not having watched it yet, it felt like the penalties that put us in long-yardage situations, we had a hard time overcoming. But when we stayed in manageable third downs or manageable first and second downs, we were able to stay on the field and move the football and got into field goal range several times but couldn’t continue the drive. It was those times when you weren’t able to stay on the field in field goal range that we look back and we’ll be tough on ourselves and think 'How can we be better moving forward?’ But I think a lot of those were penalties that made it tough.”
On if he gained something positive from the last two minutes:
"I love that question because you’re thinking positive, and that’s the way we need to think around here. There is something positive to take from that. The results-based business, the result wasn’t what we wanted but in the process we did some good things. We can build on that and start to create something long term that could be pretty special if we continue to find ways to plan and give good effort. I appreciate that question and thank you for staying positive."
On being in a good position to compete for the division:
“I think we’re in a position to compete for the division. It’s all there in front of us. We made it harder on ourselves tonight by not winning. We do have a tough road here in front of us; it’s the fourth quarter of the season. Three quarters in the rearview mirror, and the fourth quarter ahead of us. Won’t be an easy road but it is still meaningful games where we’re playing for something. It’s all out there in front of us. Now we look towards Chicago with fierce preparation.”
On how he remains positive after a loss:
“I think in this league tough losses are not foreign to us, and close wins aren’t foreign to us. You kind of expect it to be an up and down deal all the time. We’re prepared to face moments like this. We’ve got guys that are going to keep battling. You look at all the positives that you were able to do and you gain confidence from that. You gain experience, whether it was a win or loss. You always gain experience. Because we have so much to play for, I think it’s easy to get back to work and have a lot of motivation for the next week.”
REDSKINS WR DESEAN JACKSON
On the final minutes of the game:
“It was a rollercoaster, just one of those games. It was a rivalry game and trying to do any and everything to pull out a victory. We just fell on the short end of the stick this time. It was very frustrating, a lot rode on this game and we knew what was at stake. So personally I’m very frustrated. I’ll take that one on my chin. I’m a veteran in this league and I know I need to protect the ball. It just got away from me, but once again - it was very frustrating.”
On the pressure to make something happen in the return game:
“You know, it’s the nature of the game. I feel like I’m a big threat in this league. I’ve been proving that for years to come and it’s just one of those things where I’m trying to make a play for my team. Once again, like I said, I’ll take that on the chin. I fumbled and I know better than that. Protect the ball under any circumstance and get down. I kind of felt I was as close to being down, but they ruled it how they ruled it. Once again it’s on me and I’ve got to protect the ball better than that.”
On if there was frustration with the offense early in the game:
“You know, we felt the defense played hats off. They played great defense – Redskins football – did a great job of taking the ball away from the Cowboys and things like that. So ideally we felt we should’ve put more points on the board and we [weren’t] able to do that off of turnovers. I think we scored only three points, maybe six, at the most. As an offense, we have to do a better job than that collectively. You know, Coach Gruden came in and said, 'The opportunity we’re given, you have to take better advantage of that.’ It’s not the first time that’s happened this year. A couple of games previously when we had turnovers and we never got points off of that. As a team and as a veteran player, you know, doing everything we can to force that into being points for us and not just field goals - scoring touchdowns.”
On what Head Coach Jay Gruden said to him postgame:
“He said I’m one of his guys that he trusts and if he had the chance to put me back there again, he’d do the same thing. I’m glad he has that trust in me. I have that trust in myself, and like I said, the best thing I could say was, 'I messed up and I laid an egg.’ We had the chance to come back in the game and make a play for my team. Unfortunately it came down to us losing by a field goal. We give credit when credit is due. They played a great game regardless of the records and our division. They played prime-time football and beat us tonight here in our home. We’ve just got to figure out a way to go next week to Chicago and get a win.”
REDSKINS NT TERRANCE KNIGHTON
On how they limited Dallas’ offense:
“We knew we had to stop the run. We knew we had to force turnovers. We did that on defense. We just didn’t do enough as a team to win the game. It’s that simple.”
On the number of days for preparation:
“It is what it is. Football is football. Whether you have three days to prepare or five, you’ve got to be ready to play.”
On tonight’s loss:
“It’s a team loss. Our offense didn’t turn the ball over. We forced a lot of turnovers and we still came up on the wrong side of the sticks. The good thing is - we play them again and we’re still in a good position for where we want to be.”
On the message he shared with the team:
“We need them all. We need them all and a sense of urgency. Right now, it’s playoff football and if guys don’t understand, then they can’t be on that field. That’s exactly what’s going on with our team right now. Every team in our division now has a chance to win the division. We’re still in the driver’s seat. We’ve just got to go on the road and play a tough team in a hostile environment — a team that has a lot of tradition. It’s another demon we’ve got to conquer — winning on the road.”
REDSKINS CB WILL BLACKMON
On not being able to capitalize on three turnovers:
“I know the offense is busting their tail to do what they can. Obviously, as a team, we’d like to capitalize on turnovers. But, our mindset as a defense is if they don’t, hey, let’s go back out there, get the ball back and give them another chance. Like I said, it’s a team sport. So we try to do everything we can to try to get the offense as many opportunities as possible.”
On if he had to adjust to how tightly officiated the game was:
“You’ve got to play. Everything is a judgment call and it’s tough when you see something so obvious. When DeSean [Jackson] was down, the ball came out. It’s tough when you don’t understand. They made an interesting decision. You know, but we’ve got to line up and roll with it.”
On Jackson’s punt return:
“Well, I mean, he’s capable of doing that. I was on the opposite [side] when I was in New York and he had that punt return against us when he was in Philly. He went back there and his whole thing is he just wants to win. You know, he wasn’t going out there to make it all about himself. I mean, he has plenty of money. He has all the accolades. We’re tied for first place, so, hey, this is his chance to get us back in the playoffs and that’s why he went back there. You saw him back there and we were excited. He’s fast enough where he can reverse field and do all those things so he tried to make it happen.”
On the mentality going into the last drive:
“Try to keep them out. Try to keep them out of field goal range. Very, very difficult to do when they get that long return. We just had to try to do what we do and try to lock in.”
REDSKINS DL CHRIS BAKER
On how they prepared for Dallas this week:
"We just had a chance to really get separation in our division, we just had to come out here and take care of business and stop the run and get after them when they passed the ball. I think we did a good job on defense today keeping them out of the end zone. That last opportunity we had, we just didn’t make the plays that we needed to, to keep them out of the end zone. But we prepared well, we prepared well enough to win. We’ve just got to go out there and execute when it’s time to execute."
On preparing for Chicago:
“We’ve just got to get healthy, get ready to go, we’ve got a short week. We have another must win game to keep at the top of our division. We still have everything that we want that we started off the season working for, and that’s to win the division. We’re still tied for first… So we just have to continue to handle business as usual for the rest of the season.”
On what they were able to take advantage of on Dallas’ offense:
“I don’t know if it was anything we were able to take advantage of, but we just had to play assignment football. And when the Defensive Coordinator called the plays, we just had to make sure everybody was in the right gap. We did a good job of playing solo-gap football and making the plays that we’re supposed to make.”
REDSKINS LB MASON FOSTER
On his fumble recovery:
“Just hustling to the ball, you know what I mean? I felt like as soon as he caught the ball, I was going to go after the ball anyway. I was the second man in. Just always try to do that and try to hustle but we’ve got to get more so we can win.”
On how he feels the defense played in the game:
“I felt like we played well. Guys were definitely playing hard but at the end of the day, we’ve got to stop them. You can’t let them score — no matter what it is. No matter sudden change, no matter what. You make the stop, we win the game. You know what I mean? We’ve just go to keep playing, man, and go watch the film and build on it, man, because any time you lose, there’s always a couple plays here and there that we could have did better – changed the game. We definitely played hard but we’ve got to watch the film and build on it.”
On if they prepared to force fumbles:
“Coaches harped on it all week. I felt like when you’ve got guys hustling to the ball, the second man in – the third man – in is always ball searching. You know what I mean? It definitely showed up. Something that we practiced - hitting the ball. Just got to keep it going, try to get more.”
On if they saw something specific in how Dallas players carried the ball or if they try to go after the ball anyways:
“Anyways – no matter what. Every team has different things that they do for the ball but it’s about getting there, second man in, really hustling and getting your hands on the ball and you never know what could happen.”
REDSKINS K DUSTIN HOPKINS
On his missed field goal:
"It felt smooth, I hit a straight ball right down the hash. So I guess I didn't come through quite fast enough. It was clean, it just went right.”
On the final kickoff:
“Sure, well that [a touchback] is always the goal. That's another thing. If we stop them at the 20, then it’s a whole different game. We would go into overtime. There are a lot of things I could do better but I didn't.”
On the last extra point:
“I know I had to slow up a little bit for him to get the ball down. That's so rare. Nick Sundberg and Tress Way have done awesome all year long. On my miss they were perfect, it was all me.”
On looking forward after the loss:
“I don't think you forget about it. I think you learn from it. I learn from makes but you definitely learn a lot more from misses. I think the same can be said from losses. We don't want to lose anymore. I want to learn from wins just like everyone else in this locker room does. They deserve better from me and I know we can improve in a lot of areas.”
REDSKINS RB CHRIS THOMPSON
On the Cowboys’ run defense:
“You know, the record just doesn’t show how good that defense really is. They have a really good defense. They know our scheme of course. You know, Coach [Bill] Callahan just came from over there. So I think that’s one thing on how they were able to get a step up on us. Then as the game went on, they were able to know our cadence too, so they were able to get off the ball pretty quick. They just did a good job.”
On using screen plays to move the offense:
“It’s one of those things where they try to get me out in one-on-one matchups. Put me in situations where we would hope that instead of blitzing, they see me in the game and they drop back into coverage and stuff. The screen game has been one part of the game that we’ve been trying to work on and get better. We are going to continue to try to get better with it. If we can be great with doing screen passes and stuff, that’ll help our whole offense.”
On the team’s mindset:
“You know, just getting ready for them [the Bears]. We can go to Chicago, get our first road win and get this bad taste out of our mouths. It was a tough loss today. We just have to focus up this week, everybody get healthy and we got to make something happen.”
On the final few minutes of the game:
"I think that rollercoaster is what the NFL is like week-in and week-out. That’s why it is such a special league and why there is such an attention on the games because of how exciting and you never know what is going to happen down the stretch. The margin for error in this league is so small. You know if you leave any time on the clock in this league anything can happen. It was a rollercoaster but again as a quarterback and player in this league I think it’s important to stay steady throughout no matter what stretch of things are going and just stay boring and consistent and that typically leads to best results.”
On the offense:
“I think the points on the scoreboard weren’t what we wanted. I thought we did do some good things on offense and moved the football at times but penalties set us back. Speaking off the top of my head not having watched it yet, it felt like the penalties that put us in long-yardage situations, we had a hard time overcoming. But when we stayed in manageable third downs or manageable first and second downs, we were able to stay on the field and move the football and got into field goal range several times but couldn’t continue the drive. It was those times when you weren’t able to stay on the field in field goal range that we look back and we’ll be tough on ourselves and think 'How can we be better moving forward?’ But I think a lot of those were penalties that made it tough.”
On if he gained something positive from the last two minutes:
"I love that question because you’re thinking positive, and that’s the way we need to think around here. There is something positive to take from that. The results-based business, the result wasn’t what we wanted but in the process we did some good things. We can build on that and start to create something long term that could be pretty special if we continue to find ways to plan and give good effort. I appreciate that question and thank you for staying positive."
On being in a good position to compete for the division:
“I think we’re in a position to compete for the division. It’s all there in front of us. We made it harder on ourselves tonight by not winning. We do have a tough road here in front of us; it’s the fourth quarter of the season. Three quarters in the rearview mirror, and the fourth quarter ahead of us. Won’t be an easy road but it is still meaningful games where we’re playing for something. It’s all out there in front of us. Now we look towards Chicago with fierce preparation.”
On how he remains positive after a loss:
“I think in this league tough losses are not foreign to us, and close wins aren’t foreign to us. You kind of expect it to be an up and down deal all the time. We’re prepared to face moments like this. We’ve got guys that are going to keep battling. You look at all the positives that you were able to do and you gain confidence from that. You gain experience, whether it was a win or loss. You always gain experience. Because we have so much to play for, I think it’s easy to get back to work and have a lot of motivation for the next week.”
REDSKINS WR DESEAN JACKSON
On the final minutes of the game:
“It was a rollercoaster, just one of those games. It was a rivalry game and trying to do any and everything to pull out a victory. We just fell on the short end of the stick this time. It was very frustrating, a lot rode on this game and we knew what was at stake. So personally I’m very frustrated. I’ll take that one on my chin. I’m a veteran in this league and I know I need to protect the ball. It just got away from me, but once again - it was very frustrating.”
On the pressure to make something happen in the return game:
“You know, it’s the nature of the game. I feel like I’m a big threat in this league. I’ve been proving that for years to come and it’s just one of those things where I’m trying to make a play for my team. Once again, like I said, I’ll take that on the chin. I fumbled and I know better than that. Protect the ball under any circumstance and get down. I kind of felt I was as close to being down, but they ruled it how they ruled it. Once again it’s on me and I’ve got to protect the ball better than that.”
On if there was frustration with the offense early in the game:
“You know, we felt the defense played hats off. They played great defense – Redskins football – did a great job of taking the ball away from the Cowboys and things like that. So ideally we felt we should’ve put more points on the board and we [weren’t] able to do that off of turnovers. I think we scored only three points, maybe six, at the most. As an offense, we have to do a better job than that collectively. You know, Coach Gruden came in and said, 'The opportunity we’re given, you have to take better advantage of that.’ It’s not the first time that’s happened this year. A couple of games previously when we had turnovers and we never got points off of that. As a team and as a veteran player, you know, doing everything we can to force that into being points for us and not just field goals - scoring touchdowns.”
On what Head Coach Jay Gruden said to him postgame:
“He said I’m one of his guys that he trusts and if he had the chance to put me back there again, he’d do the same thing. I’m glad he has that trust in me. I have that trust in myself, and like I said, the best thing I could say was, 'I messed up and I laid an egg.’ We had the chance to come back in the game and make a play for my team. Unfortunately it came down to us losing by a field goal. We give credit when credit is due. They played a great game regardless of the records and our division. They played prime-time football and beat us tonight here in our home. We’ve just got to figure out a way to go next week to Chicago and get a win.”
REDSKINS NT TERRANCE KNIGHTON
On how they limited Dallas’ offense:
“We knew we had to stop the run. We knew we had to force turnovers. We did that on defense. We just didn’t do enough as a team to win the game. It’s that simple.”
On the number of days for preparation:
“It is what it is. Football is football. Whether you have three days to prepare or five, you’ve got to be ready to play.”
On tonight’s loss:
“It’s a team loss. Our offense didn’t turn the ball over. We forced a lot of turnovers and we still came up on the wrong side of the sticks. The good thing is - we play them again and we’re still in a good position for where we want to be.”
On the message he shared with the team:
“We need them all. We need them all and a sense of urgency. Right now, it’s playoff football and if guys don’t understand, then they can’t be on that field. That’s exactly what’s going on with our team right now. Every team in our division now has a chance to win the division. We’re still in the driver’s seat. We’ve just got to go on the road and play a tough team in a hostile environment — a team that has a lot of tradition. It’s another demon we’ve got to conquer — winning on the road.”
REDSKINS CB WILL BLACKMON
On not being able to capitalize on three turnovers:
“I know the offense is busting their tail to do what they can. Obviously, as a team, we’d like to capitalize on turnovers. But, our mindset as a defense is if they don’t, hey, let’s go back out there, get the ball back and give them another chance. Like I said, it’s a team sport. So we try to do everything we can to try to get the offense as many opportunities as possible.”
On if he had to adjust to how tightly officiated the game was:
“You’ve got to play. Everything is a judgment call and it’s tough when you see something so obvious. When DeSean [Jackson] was down, the ball came out. It’s tough when you don’t understand. They made an interesting decision. You know, but we’ve got to line up and roll with it.”
On Jackson’s punt return:
“Well, I mean, he’s capable of doing that. I was on the opposite [side] when I was in New York and he had that punt return against us when he was in Philly. He went back there and his whole thing is he just wants to win. You know, he wasn’t going out there to make it all about himself. I mean, he has plenty of money. He has all the accolades. We’re tied for first place, so, hey, this is his chance to get us back in the playoffs and that’s why he went back there. You saw him back there and we were excited. He’s fast enough where he can reverse field and do all those things so he tried to make it happen.”
On the mentality going into the last drive:
“Try to keep them out. Try to keep them out of field goal range. Very, very difficult to do when they get that long return. We just had to try to do what we do and try to lock in.”
REDSKINS DL CHRIS BAKER
On how they prepared for Dallas this week:
"We just had a chance to really get separation in our division, we just had to come out here and take care of business and stop the run and get after them when they passed the ball. I think we did a good job on defense today keeping them out of the end zone. That last opportunity we had, we just didn’t make the plays that we needed to, to keep them out of the end zone. But we prepared well, we prepared well enough to win. We’ve just got to go out there and execute when it’s time to execute."
On preparing for Chicago:
“We’ve just got to get healthy, get ready to go, we’ve got a short week. We have another must win game to keep at the top of our division. We still have everything that we want that we started off the season working for, and that’s to win the division. We’re still tied for first… So we just have to continue to handle business as usual for the rest of the season.”
On what they were able to take advantage of on Dallas’ offense:
“I don’t know if it was anything we were able to take advantage of, but we just had to play assignment football. And when the Defensive Coordinator called the plays, we just had to make sure everybody was in the right gap. We did a good job of playing solo-gap football and making the plays that we’re supposed to make.”
REDSKINS LB MASON FOSTER
On his fumble recovery:
“Just hustling to the ball, you know what I mean? I felt like as soon as he caught the ball, I was going to go after the ball anyway. I was the second man in. Just always try to do that and try to hustle but we’ve got to get more so we can win.”
On how he feels the defense played in the game:
“I felt like we played well. Guys were definitely playing hard but at the end of the day, we’ve got to stop them. You can’t let them score — no matter what it is. No matter sudden change, no matter what. You make the stop, we win the game. You know what I mean? We’ve just go to keep playing, man, and go watch the film and build on it, man, because any time you lose, there’s always a couple plays here and there that we could have did better – changed the game. We definitely played hard but we’ve got to watch the film and build on it.”
On if they prepared to force fumbles:
“Coaches harped on it all week. I felt like when you’ve got guys hustling to the ball, the second man in – the third man – in is always ball searching. You know what I mean? It definitely showed up. Something that we practiced - hitting the ball. Just got to keep it going, try to get more.”
On if they saw something specific in how Dallas players carried the ball or if they try to go after the ball anyways:
“Anyways – no matter what. Every team has different things that they do for the ball but it’s about getting there, second man in, really hustling and getting your hands on the ball and you never know what could happen.”
REDSKINS K DUSTIN HOPKINS
On his missed field goal:
"It felt smooth, I hit a straight ball right down the hash. So I guess I didn't come through quite fast enough. It was clean, it just went right.”
On the final kickoff:
“Sure, well that [a touchback] is always the goal. That's another thing. If we stop them at the 20, then it’s a whole different game. We would go into overtime. There are a lot of things I could do better but I didn't.”
On the last extra point:
“I know I had to slow up a little bit for him to get the ball down. That's so rare. Nick Sundberg and Tress Way have done awesome all year long. On my miss they were perfect, it was all me.”
On looking forward after the loss:
“I don't think you forget about it. I think you learn from it. I learn from makes but you definitely learn a lot more from misses. I think the same can be said from losses. We don't want to lose anymore. I want to learn from wins just like everyone else in this locker room does. They deserve better from me and I know we can improve in a lot of areas.”
REDSKINS RB CHRIS THOMPSON
On the Cowboys’ run defense:
“You know, the record just doesn’t show how good that defense really is. They have a really good defense. They know our scheme of course. You know, Coach [Bill] Callahan just came from over there. So I think that’s one thing on how they were able to get a step up on us. Then as the game went on, they were able to know our cadence too, so they were able to get off the ball pretty quick. They just did a good job.”
On using screen plays to move the offense:
“It’s one of those things where they try to get me out in one-on-one matchups. Put me in situations where we would hope that instead of blitzing, they see me in the game and they drop back into coverage and stuff. The screen game has been one part of the game that we’ve been trying to work on and get better. We are going to continue to try to get better with it. If we can be great with doing screen passes and stuff, that’ll help our whole offense.”
On the team’s mindset:
“You know, just getting ready for them [the Bears]. We can go to Chicago, get our first road win and get this bad taste out of our mouths. It was a tough loss today. We just have to focus up this week, everybody get healthy and we got to make something happen.”