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REDSKINS QB KIRK COUSINS
On the comeback in the second half:
"I’m just really proud of the way our team kept playing. It really does take all three phases. That onside kick really made a big difference in our ability to comeback, so it takes all three phases to be able to do that. I was proud of the resiliency and the character. That’s what we need week in and week out. The last drive was nothing fancy, it was just getting completions and trying to gradually move the ball down the field and not run out of time. Thankfully there were great play calls along the way, great individual one-on-one route running, and good protection. I just needed to get the ball in my hands to find those completions and next thing you know we scored. It was definitely a great moment for us as a team."
On the change in the second half:
“It’s no miracle speech, it’s just us understanding we had a job to do, and we didn’t get it done the first half so it’s now or never to get this win. We knew we were running out of time and we didn’t have a choice. Again, the onside kick and the great stops by the defense and that kind of thing is what gets the offense a chance, gave us a short field. The guys started making plays and winning their match-ups. I’m just really proud of the way we kept playing. It was a good lesson — just keep playing and you never know what could happen.”
On winning the game:
“Getting a win is a great feeling. You don’t want to sit on a loss in a bye week, that’s always tough. It was a step in the right direction. We’re going to need a lot more than three wins this year, but it was a good step and we just have to keep learning and keep growing. There were certainly a number of plays that we want to learn from and improve upon. We just have to keep playing, but certainly feel good about this win.”
On the winning touchdown:
“We had four to one side, and Jordan [Reed] on the other. They played man coverage from what it looked like to me. Jordan [Reed] did a great job winning his one-on-one match up and we scored. That was it. Great job by him, great play call, and great execution all the way around.”
On what makes TE Jordan Reed an effective receiver:
“He’s a talented player. He’s wired to be able to separate, he’s got great hands, he’s a competitor, and he makes a big difference. He’s a great teammate and great person. I’m looking forward to it again. He’s a young player, and I feel like we all need to just keep developing, keep growing, and keep working. I’m excited about his future and I think it’s very bright.”
On the calmness of the huddle in the final drive:
“Well, if there’s a sense of panic in the huddle then we’re in trouble, so I hope there’s calmness and confidence at all times. That’s the way we operate. We try to always say one play at a time — try to find a completion and execute your job and we’ll see where we are after this play and then we’ll talk in the next play. I would agree there’s calm and confidence and that’s what you need and how it should be all the time.”
On bouncing back from a close interception:
“Just go to the next play and do what the play calls for you to do. You have to execute the best you can. As I said many, many times there’s tight windows in this league and there’s really good coverage and if you are afraid to let one go it’s going to be tough to move the ball. So you have to be able to see stuff quickly, get the ball out of your hand quickly, and make quick decisions. If you want to be an explosive offense you’re going to have to live with some setbacks now and then, turnovers and that kind of thing. We’re certainly always trying to cut down on those, learn from them, and continue to try and make good decisions as often as possible.”
On boos in the stands after the second quarter:
“You certainly don’t want to hear them. If they pay for their ticket they can do what they want. I heard cheers at the end, and that’s all that matters.”
On the team’s improvement today:
“I think that that’s a great question for Sean McVay or Jay Gruden just because they’re the ones calling the plays, but I feel like we can get out on the edge and not feel like the pass rush is getting to us on that edge and it gives us a chance. It was great play calls all day long, keeping them off-balance. Just keep going and learn from this one”
On his last four passes:
“I really can’t remember all of them. We hit the one to [Jamison] Crowder in man coverage. Great job by Jamison, going down the sideline and going up and getting the ball. Again, a very talented player, made a great play. I think we through a fade route to Jordan [Reed] in the corner, just overthrew it a little bit. He could’ve gone up and gotten it if I had left it in bounds a little better. It’s certainly a throw that I’ll go back and look at critically. The next one, it’s a bang-bang play. They played too deep and I tried to hit it on Crowder quickly. I didn’t feel like I had his eyes quickly enough, and so I kind of tried to throw to a safe spot over his head, but the safety was in play there too. It all happened so fast. I’ll go back and look at it, but definitely a play you want to learn from, try not to make that mistake, in terms of throwing into coverage, going forward. And then the last play, like you said, Jordan won his one-on-one matchup. It was a great play call, made it easy on me and we won.”
On his apparent lack of excitement following the win:
“I try to stay like this. I don’t hit the panic button when things are going bad and I don’t feel like we’ve got it all figured out when we win. It’s a step in the process. It’s Week 7, we’ve got a log ways to go. We’ve got to learn from the plays that didn’t go well, just as much as we enjoy the ones that did. Am I going to enjoy this one tonight? Yeah, absolutely. It’s probably unhealthy to just always be stoic, but at the same time it’s not like all of our problems are solved and we have everything figured out, but at the same time when I throw two interceptions and we lose I’m not going to freak out and hit the panic button either. And if I start to do that, I won’t last in this league very long. I try to stay like this even within the game. Just stay like this and see where we are at the end.”
On the onside kick:
“Typically you want to tip your offense, 'Hey, this is an onside so be ready, we might get it and you don’t want to be caught off guard.’ You do get tipped off on it. It takes great execution by your kicker, but also by your coverage team, and they’ve got to make the play. Great job by our special teams coaches to scout that all week long and see that play there. So that’s something that takes a lot of film study and preparation and walking through and running through. It turned out to be a very crucial, pivotal play in the game.”
On heading onto the field for a potential game-winning drive:
“I think the lesson I learned from the drive a couple of weeks ago was just you don’t have to get it all back in one play. Just find completions. I don’t believe we had any long, deep throws in that two minutes it was just tough, five to 10 yards down the field and guys right after the catch. Sometimes that’s all it takes. You don’t have to try and do too much. Just try and execute the plays that are called and get completions and next thing you know we were in the red zone and it felt like we got down there quickly. You’re always trying to learn. After every drive I’m going to come off the field and look at the pictures and say, 'OK, what do they do and what do I need to do better and why didn’t it work?’ You’re always trying to be hard on yourself and see how you can do it better. Whether it’s in game or post-game or postseason, whatever it is.”
On the fumble returned for a touchdown:
“It was a play where they did a good job getting to me and didn’t sense him there the level that I should have, I guess you could say. In that sense, I’m looking left so my right side became my blindside, can’t feel him behind me and when I take two hands off the ball to go throw it, it’s exposed. That’s why we talk about avoiding sacks and getting the ball out of your hand and that kind of a thing because when you hold on to it you never know who’s coming from behind you. It was a huge play because that’s a seven-point swing right there. We have the ball somewhere near midfield, makes it tough. Again, a play that we’ll go back and look at and learn from and say what can we do differently, how can we be better and go from there? You can’t hit the panic button. You just keep playing and say, 'Alright, that happened, next,’ and go from there. Thankfully there was still plenty of time left and we had a great defensive stop. We had special teams, all of that contributed to this at the end.”
On the improvements throughout the season:
“I feel like there’s a long ways to go. It’s not my job to say how I’m playing, I think it’s your job, you guys like to do that and I think it’s my coach’s job and our scouts’ job to say how I’m playing. I know it’s my job to work really hard, prepare really hard, to never quit, and to be tough minded, just keep going. And I’m going to keep doing that regardless of what our record is, what the results are, just keep playing and keep learning from every time out there.”
On the momentum going into the second half:
“I think that even the three-and-outs on some of the drives we had even before that where we weren’t moving the ball, we never felt like, 'Oh boy, this is going to be a long day.’ I think we felt like there are plays there that need to be made, executed, and we need to stick together, but we can do this. Again, after that drive, like you said, I think there was belief in a sense from out play caller to our offense. You know we can move the ball on these guys, we just need to settle in and execute. Usually it comes down, everybody just doing their job and doing their part.”
REDSKINS WR JAMISON CROWDER
On being able to make tough catches in big moments:
“It’s really just showing my athleticism. You know I’m a smaller guy, but I’ve always been very athletic growing up and everything. When I saw the ball, I just went to make a play and I was able to come down with it and we were able to score.”
On the wide receivers from whom he takes advice:
“It’s a lot of receivers. We got D-Jax [DeSean Jackson]. You know smaller guys like that. A lot of the guys I just try to watch and just try to take stuff from and just incorporate it into my game. At the end of day, it’s all about having confidence in myself and confidence to come out here each week and perform.”
On the team being able to complete the come-from-behind victory:
“It really shows what kind of team we have. It’s never good to get down 24-0, but at the same time, just to keep that fight and battle them back. It kind of shows what kind of team we have. You know if we can put that together for a full football game, we can be a really good football club.”
REDSKINS WR RYAN GRANT
On catching his first career touchdown:
“It’s an awesome feeling, but I’m just glad we came away with the win no matter what the stats are. It’s about winning.”
On his best attribute as a wide receiver:
“I don’t know. I guess just getting open and keeping the chains moving.”
On being able to consistently get open:
“I feel it’s just about how quickly I get in-and-out of my routes and how well I run my routes.”
On the importance of this victory going into the bye week:
“Going into the game we knew it was a must-win. Unfortunately we came into halftime down by a lot of points, but we kept fighting. We were strong minded throughout the game and came out with the win.”
REDSKINS TE JORDAN REED
On the way he prepared this week to face the Buccaneers:
“I just worked hard in practice every day. I took it day-by-day and most of all I just believed in myself.”
On what was seen in this team in the come-from-behind victory:
“That we’re a resilient group. We stick together and we fight together.”
On what can be expected after the bye week before going to face the Patriots:
“A focused player that’s ready to keep building.”
REDSKINS DT TERRANCE KNIGHTON
On what it means to play in his 100th career game:
“It means that I’m just living the dream, man, that I’ve been wanting to achieve since I was a child. It’s a blessing to play in this league. I didn’t even know that, but it’s a blessing. I’m just happy that it’s a win. I mean, I’m just proud of this team. My heart rate up, down, up, down. It’s crazy. I told y’all when I signed here, 'We were going to be the hammer, not the nail.’ We kept fighting.”
On his feelings during the Redskins’ final offensive drive:
“Confident. Confident. Everybody on the sidelines was standing up and ready to celebrate. Nobody is looking to see what’s going to happen. Everybody was standing up getting ready to celebrate.”
On the importance of holding Tampa Bay to field goals in the second half:
“You know, people can look at the stats. People can look at how many rushing yards they had, how many passing yards they had, but when the team makes a goal line stand to win the game to set the offense up to win the game — that’s what a defense looks like. That’s how you label a defense based on adversity.”
On the message to the team heading into the bye week:
“Everyone be safe, relax, spend time with your family, refresh your mind. Take your mind off the first seven games. It’s time to roll. The second half of the season is crucial. We’re trying to take the franchise back to where it belongs.”
REDSKINS DE RICKY JEAN FRANCOIS
On the difference from the first half to the second half:
“Every man in this locker room trusting each other. Every man in this locker room looking at one another knowing you can trust the man next to you, knowing that he’s going to make the play, If he doesn’t make it, you’re going to make it. Whatever it took to win this game, that’s what we did.”
On players stepping up in the second half:
“Everybody. You can just pick out anything from special teams to offense to defense, we were picking from everywhere that somebody was making a play. Making something happen to get Kirk Cousins that ball back, to make sure the defense gets a stop, to make sure we only hold them to three. We did everything we could to get that W. It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t at all. There are going to be a lot of things we hear tomorrow in that meeting room. We got a W and we got a bye week on top of that.”
On if the way the team came back was outstanding:
“It was hard but it was something we needed to do. It was something we needed to show everybody in the NFL just because we were down a few touchdowns didn’t mean we were going to lose. I played with the Indianapolis Colts. I was down five touchdowns, ended up winning that game, going to the next series. To see this team do the same thing, you see the character coming together. You see the love. You see the friendship. You see the family coming together. Anytime we get in a game at any point we’re down and we’re down bad, we’re not going to blink. We’re just going to keep playing football.”
REDSKINS WR PIERRE GARCON
On their success in the third quarter:
“The guys stepped up when we needed them the most and we got the ball into the end zone. That’s the only thing that matters, no matter what they say, no matter what you do.”
On how the offense ignited in the second half:
“You know just converting third downs, getting tough yards and just staying consistent plus making plays when they count.”
REDSKINS RB MATT JONES
On being the leading rusher:
“I feel good just being there when my team needs me to run the ball, just going down there and scoring on that last drive. I feel like our two-minute offense is great. We’ve shown the last couple of games that we have a good two-minute offense. I think we did well.”
On being able to execute the two-minute offense effectively:
“Like I said on the two-minute offense, we work on that every day in practice. It’s not a day that we don’t work on it. In the two minutes, I just love the way that we just be calm. We don’t panic. We get up and run the next play. Even when we drop a ball, we come back, run the next play and convert. So I think we’re real confident in our two-minute offense.”
On the team’s mindset going into the bye week:
“We definitely need this going into the bye week, so we can get our team healthy. And going against the Patriots in two weeks, we’re definitely going to need that motivation. We’ve got a new motto now that we’re going to finish our second halves like we did today.”
On the effect TE Jordan Reed had on the running game:
“A lot, regardless. I just knew when he came back that they were going to have to account for him. If you don’t, like you saw, you’re going to have to pay for it. He did a great job today.”
REDSKINS LB PRESTON SMITH
On the message to the team going into the second half:
“We’re always told to keep our head up. It’s not over. We’ve got to keep playing. We hadn’t been playing our football. We stepped up in the second half when we came out.”
On watching QB Kirk Cousins drive down the field for the game-winning touchdown:
“We support Kirk when he’s out there. We believed in him. We believe he can move the ball. On the winning drive, we believed he could score when the time comes.”
On holding Tampa Bay’s offense to only field goals in the second half:
“It means we’re doing our job. Made some mistakes, they got in range for scoring. We stopped them. We picked it up and we stopped them and kicked field goals which is a plus for a defense — holding them to a field goal — so our offense could come down and score.”
REDSKINS S DASHON GOLDSON
On how he led the team going into the second half:
“Tell everybody to settle down. That’s the thing about this team, everybody knows what’s expected and knows what’s going on. It’s not like they needed a pep rally, a pep talk. It was more like, 'Man, alright, they gave us their best shot. Let’s go out here and play our ball — Redskin ball.’ And that’s what we did in the second half.”
On seeing the entire secondary battle through adversity:
“Considering that we’re playing with not the full squad and the guys that everybody expected to be out here, it says a lot. We fight every day. We come back to work. We lost some tough games but there is no finger-pointing, there is no blame. There are no guys moping around at practice. We come in. We work. We correct the stuff that we’ve got to correct and we go out there and work. When you have a team like that, with that mindset, man, the sky’s the limit and things like this happen. 24-0 at halftime. We come in and put up 31 points in the half. Hold the team to what? Two field goals in the second half. That’s big. That’s adversity for you.”
On the Buccaneers’ second-to-last offensive drive:
“We got them to a third-down situation, third-and-five and they converted. I mean that was a dagger in our backs right there but we came back. We came fighting. We got them again, down to a third down or I believe on their second down they got a long run with Doug Martin and he got a crease and got open. No quit in our defense, [Bashaud] Breeland came up the side of the field and ran him down the side of the field and caught him at the three. Our defense made a good stand — three downs on the goal line. That kind of stuff right there — that’s something to build off of, I think. We’re going to continue to get better, correct what we’ve got to correct, but when you’ve got a team that can fight like that, that’s big.”
On the third-and-goal play when he stopped RB Charles Sims:
“You know what? The thing about it was that was a copycat play. That was the same play I made against the New York Jets last week, man. They must have seen something on film that they thought they could get in there. I don’t know what it was but it didn’t work against them. They tried to run that play. I came free and made sure I put my face on the running back.”
On the comeback in the second half:
"I’m just really proud of the way our team kept playing. It really does take all three phases. That onside kick really made a big difference in our ability to comeback, so it takes all three phases to be able to do that. I was proud of the resiliency and the character. That’s what we need week in and week out. The last drive was nothing fancy, it was just getting completions and trying to gradually move the ball down the field and not run out of time. Thankfully there were great play calls along the way, great individual one-on-one route running, and good protection. I just needed to get the ball in my hands to find those completions and next thing you know we scored. It was definitely a great moment for us as a team."
On the change in the second half:
“It’s no miracle speech, it’s just us understanding we had a job to do, and we didn’t get it done the first half so it’s now or never to get this win. We knew we were running out of time and we didn’t have a choice. Again, the onside kick and the great stops by the defense and that kind of thing is what gets the offense a chance, gave us a short field. The guys started making plays and winning their match-ups. I’m just really proud of the way we kept playing. It was a good lesson — just keep playing and you never know what could happen.”
On winning the game:
“Getting a win is a great feeling. You don’t want to sit on a loss in a bye week, that’s always tough. It was a step in the right direction. We’re going to need a lot more than three wins this year, but it was a good step and we just have to keep learning and keep growing. There were certainly a number of plays that we want to learn from and improve upon. We just have to keep playing, but certainly feel good about this win.”
On the winning touchdown:
“We had four to one side, and Jordan [Reed] on the other. They played man coverage from what it looked like to me. Jordan [Reed] did a great job winning his one-on-one match up and we scored. That was it. Great job by him, great play call, and great execution all the way around.”
On what makes TE Jordan Reed an effective receiver:
“He’s a talented player. He’s wired to be able to separate, he’s got great hands, he’s a competitor, and he makes a big difference. He’s a great teammate and great person. I’m looking forward to it again. He’s a young player, and I feel like we all need to just keep developing, keep growing, and keep working. I’m excited about his future and I think it’s very bright.”
On the calmness of the huddle in the final drive:
“Well, if there’s a sense of panic in the huddle then we’re in trouble, so I hope there’s calmness and confidence at all times. That’s the way we operate. We try to always say one play at a time — try to find a completion and execute your job and we’ll see where we are after this play and then we’ll talk in the next play. I would agree there’s calm and confidence and that’s what you need and how it should be all the time.”
On bouncing back from a close interception:
“Just go to the next play and do what the play calls for you to do. You have to execute the best you can. As I said many, many times there’s tight windows in this league and there’s really good coverage and if you are afraid to let one go it’s going to be tough to move the ball. So you have to be able to see stuff quickly, get the ball out of your hand quickly, and make quick decisions. If you want to be an explosive offense you’re going to have to live with some setbacks now and then, turnovers and that kind of thing. We’re certainly always trying to cut down on those, learn from them, and continue to try and make good decisions as often as possible.”
On boos in the stands after the second quarter:
“You certainly don’t want to hear them. If they pay for their ticket they can do what they want. I heard cheers at the end, and that’s all that matters.”
On the team’s improvement today:
“I think that that’s a great question for Sean McVay or Jay Gruden just because they’re the ones calling the plays, but I feel like we can get out on the edge and not feel like the pass rush is getting to us on that edge and it gives us a chance. It was great play calls all day long, keeping them off-balance. Just keep going and learn from this one”
On his last four passes:
“I really can’t remember all of them. We hit the one to [Jamison] Crowder in man coverage. Great job by Jamison, going down the sideline and going up and getting the ball. Again, a very talented player, made a great play. I think we through a fade route to Jordan [Reed] in the corner, just overthrew it a little bit. He could’ve gone up and gotten it if I had left it in bounds a little better. It’s certainly a throw that I’ll go back and look at critically. The next one, it’s a bang-bang play. They played too deep and I tried to hit it on Crowder quickly. I didn’t feel like I had his eyes quickly enough, and so I kind of tried to throw to a safe spot over his head, but the safety was in play there too. It all happened so fast. I’ll go back and look at it, but definitely a play you want to learn from, try not to make that mistake, in terms of throwing into coverage, going forward. And then the last play, like you said, Jordan won his one-on-one matchup. It was a great play call, made it easy on me and we won.”
On his apparent lack of excitement following the win:
“I try to stay like this. I don’t hit the panic button when things are going bad and I don’t feel like we’ve got it all figured out when we win. It’s a step in the process. It’s Week 7, we’ve got a log ways to go. We’ve got to learn from the plays that didn’t go well, just as much as we enjoy the ones that did. Am I going to enjoy this one tonight? Yeah, absolutely. It’s probably unhealthy to just always be stoic, but at the same time it’s not like all of our problems are solved and we have everything figured out, but at the same time when I throw two interceptions and we lose I’m not going to freak out and hit the panic button either. And if I start to do that, I won’t last in this league very long. I try to stay like this even within the game. Just stay like this and see where we are at the end.”
On the onside kick:
“Typically you want to tip your offense, 'Hey, this is an onside so be ready, we might get it and you don’t want to be caught off guard.’ You do get tipped off on it. It takes great execution by your kicker, but also by your coverage team, and they’ve got to make the play. Great job by our special teams coaches to scout that all week long and see that play there. So that’s something that takes a lot of film study and preparation and walking through and running through. It turned out to be a very crucial, pivotal play in the game.”
On heading onto the field for a potential game-winning drive:
“I think the lesson I learned from the drive a couple of weeks ago was just you don’t have to get it all back in one play. Just find completions. I don’t believe we had any long, deep throws in that two minutes it was just tough, five to 10 yards down the field and guys right after the catch. Sometimes that’s all it takes. You don’t have to try and do too much. Just try and execute the plays that are called and get completions and next thing you know we were in the red zone and it felt like we got down there quickly. You’re always trying to learn. After every drive I’m going to come off the field and look at the pictures and say, 'OK, what do they do and what do I need to do better and why didn’t it work?’ You’re always trying to be hard on yourself and see how you can do it better. Whether it’s in game or post-game or postseason, whatever it is.”
On the fumble returned for a touchdown:
“It was a play where they did a good job getting to me and didn’t sense him there the level that I should have, I guess you could say. In that sense, I’m looking left so my right side became my blindside, can’t feel him behind me and when I take two hands off the ball to go throw it, it’s exposed. That’s why we talk about avoiding sacks and getting the ball out of your hand and that kind of a thing because when you hold on to it you never know who’s coming from behind you. It was a huge play because that’s a seven-point swing right there. We have the ball somewhere near midfield, makes it tough. Again, a play that we’ll go back and look at and learn from and say what can we do differently, how can we be better and go from there? You can’t hit the panic button. You just keep playing and say, 'Alright, that happened, next,’ and go from there. Thankfully there was still plenty of time left and we had a great defensive stop. We had special teams, all of that contributed to this at the end.”
On the improvements throughout the season:
“I feel like there’s a long ways to go. It’s not my job to say how I’m playing, I think it’s your job, you guys like to do that and I think it’s my coach’s job and our scouts’ job to say how I’m playing. I know it’s my job to work really hard, prepare really hard, to never quit, and to be tough minded, just keep going. And I’m going to keep doing that regardless of what our record is, what the results are, just keep playing and keep learning from every time out there.”
On the momentum going into the second half:
“I think that even the three-and-outs on some of the drives we had even before that where we weren’t moving the ball, we never felt like, 'Oh boy, this is going to be a long day.’ I think we felt like there are plays there that need to be made, executed, and we need to stick together, but we can do this. Again, after that drive, like you said, I think there was belief in a sense from out play caller to our offense. You know we can move the ball on these guys, we just need to settle in and execute. Usually it comes down, everybody just doing their job and doing their part.”
REDSKINS WR JAMISON CROWDER
On being able to make tough catches in big moments:
“It’s really just showing my athleticism. You know I’m a smaller guy, but I’ve always been very athletic growing up and everything. When I saw the ball, I just went to make a play and I was able to come down with it and we were able to score.”
On the wide receivers from whom he takes advice:
“It’s a lot of receivers. We got D-Jax [DeSean Jackson]. You know smaller guys like that. A lot of the guys I just try to watch and just try to take stuff from and just incorporate it into my game. At the end of day, it’s all about having confidence in myself and confidence to come out here each week and perform.”
On the team being able to complete the come-from-behind victory:
“It really shows what kind of team we have. It’s never good to get down 24-0, but at the same time, just to keep that fight and battle them back. It kind of shows what kind of team we have. You know if we can put that together for a full football game, we can be a really good football club.”
REDSKINS WR RYAN GRANT
On catching his first career touchdown:
“It’s an awesome feeling, but I’m just glad we came away with the win no matter what the stats are. It’s about winning.”
On his best attribute as a wide receiver:
“I don’t know. I guess just getting open and keeping the chains moving.”
On being able to consistently get open:
“I feel it’s just about how quickly I get in-and-out of my routes and how well I run my routes.”
On the importance of this victory going into the bye week:
“Going into the game we knew it was a must-win. Unfortunately we came into halftime down by a lot of points, but we kept fighting. We were strong minded throughout the game and came out with the win.”
REDSKINS TE JORDAN REED
On the way he prepared this week to face the Buccaneers:
“I just worked hard in practice every day. I took it day-by-day and most of all I just believed in myself.”
On what was seen in this team in the come-from-behind victory:
“That we’re a resilient group. We stick together and we fight together.”
On what can be expected after the bye week before going to face the Patriots:
“A focused player that’s ready to keep building.”
REDSKINS DT TERRANCE KNIGHTON
On what it means to play in his 100th career game:
“It means that I’m just living the dream, man, that I’ve been wanting to achieve since I was a child. It’s a blessing to play in this league. I didn’t even know that, but it’s a blessing. I’m just happy that it’s a win. I mean, I’m just proud of this team. My heart rate up, down, up, down. It’s crazy. I told y’all when I signed here, 'We were going to be the hammer, not the nail.’ We kept fighting.”
On his feelings during the Redskins’ final offensive drive:
“Confident. Confident. Everybody on the sidelines was standing up and ready to celebrate. Nobody is looking to see what’s going to happen. Everybody was standing up getting ready to celebrate.”
On the importance of holding Tampa Bay to field goals in the second half:
“You know, people can look at the stats. People can look at how many rushing yards they had, how many passing yards they had, but when the team makes a goal line stand to win the game to set the offense up to win the game — that’s what a defense looks like. That’s how you label a defense based on adversity.”
On the message to the team heading into the bye week:
“Everyone be safe, relax, spend time with your family, refresh your mind. Take your mind off the first seven games. It’s time to roll. The second half of the season is crucial. We’re trying to take the franchise back to where it belongs.”
REDSKINS DE RICKY JEAN FRANCOIS
On the difference from the first half to the second half:
“Every man in this locker room trusting each other. Every man in this locker room looking at one another knowing you can trust the man next to you, knowing that he’s going to make the play, If he doesn’t make it, you’re going to make it. Whatever it took to win this game, that’s what we did.”
On players stepping up in the second half:
“Everybody. You can just pick out anything from special teams to offense to defense, we were picking from everywhere that somebody was making a play. Making something happen to get Kirk Cousins that ball back, to make sure the defense gets a stop, to make sure we only hold them to three. We did everything we could to get that W. It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t at all. There are going to be a lot of things we hear tomorrow in that meeting room. We got a W and we got a bye week on top of that.”
On if the way the team came back was outstanding:
“It was hard but it was something we needed to do. It was something we needed to show everybody in the NFL just because we were down a few touchdowns didn’t mean we were going to lose. I played with the Indianapolis Colts. I was down five touchdowns, ended up winning that game, going to the next series. To see this team do the same thing, you see the character coming together. You see the love. You see the friendship. You see the family coming together. Anytime we get in a game at any point we’re down and we’re down bad, we’re not going to blink. We’re just going to keep playing football.”
REDSKINS WR PIERRE GARCON
On their success in the third quarter:
“The guys stepped up when we needed them the most and we got the ball into the end zone. That’s the only thing that matters, no matter what they say, no matter what you do.”
On how the offense ignited in the second half:
“You know just converting third downs, getting tough yards and just staying consistent plus making plays when they count.”
REDSKINS RB MATT JONES
On being the leading rusher:
“I feel good just being there when my team needs me to run the ball, just going down there and scoring on that last drive. I feel like our two-minute offense is great. We’ve shown the last couple of games that we have a good two-minute offense. I think we did well.”
On being able to execute the two-minute offense effectively:
“Like I said on the two-minute offense, we work on that every day in practice. It’s not a day that we don’t work on it. In the two minutes, I just love the way that we just be calm. We don’t panic. We get up and run the next play. Even when we drop a ball, we come back, run the next play and convert. So I think we’re real confident in our two-minute offense.”
On the team’s mindset going into the bye week:
“We definitely need this going into the bye week, so we can get our team healthy. And going against the Patriots in two weeks, we’re definitely going to need that motivation. We’ve got a new motto now that we’re going to finish our second halves like we did today.”
On the effect TE Jordan Reed had on the running game:
“A lot, regardless. I just knew when he came back that they were going to have to account for him. If you don’t, like you saw, you’re going to have to pay for it. He did a great job today.”
REDSKINS LB PRESTON SMITH
On the message to the team going into the second half:
“We’re always told to keep our head up. It’s not over. We’ve got to keep playing. We hadn’t been playing our football. We stepped up in the second half when we came out.”
On watching QB Kirk Cousins drive down the field for the game-winning touchdown:
“We support Kirk when he’s out there. We believed in him. We believe he can move the ball. On the winning drive, we believed he could score when the time comes.”
On holding Tampa Bay’s offense to only field goals in the second half:
“It means we’re doing our job. Made some mistakes, they got in range for scoring. We stopped them. We picked it up and we stopped them and kicked field goals which is a plus for a defense — holding them to a field goal — so our offense could come down and score.”
REDSKINS S DASHON GOLDSON
On how he led the team going into the second half:
“Tell everybody to settle down. That’s the thing about this team, everybody knows what’s expected and knows what’s going on. It’s not like they needed a pep rally, a pep talk. It was more like, 'Man, alright, they gave us their best shot. Let’s go out here and play our ball — Redskin ball.’ And that’s what we did in the second half.”
On seeing the entire secondary battle through adversity:
“Considering that we’re playing with not the full squad and the guys that everybody expected to be out here, it says a lot. We fight every day. We come back to work. We lost some tough games but there is no finger-pointing, there is no blame. There are no guys moping around at practice. We come in. We work. We correct the stuff that we’ve got to correct and we go out there and work. When you have a team like that, with that mindset, man, the sky’s the limit and things like this happen. 24-0 at halftime. We come in and put up 31 points in the half. Hold the team to what? Two field goals in the second half. That’s big. That’s adversity for you.”
On the Buccaneers’ second-to-last offensive drive:
“We got them to a third-down situation, third-and-five and they converted. I mean that was a dagger in our backs right there but we came back. We came fighting. We got them again, down to a third down or I believe on their second down they got a long run with Doug Martin and he got a crease and got open. No quit in our defense, [Bashaud] Breeland came up the side of the field and ran him down the side of the field and caught him at the three. Our defense made a good stand — three downs on the goal line. That kind of stuff right there — that’s something to build off of, I think. We’re going to continue to get better, correct what we’ve got to correct, but when you’ve got a team that can fight like that, that’s big.”
On the third-and-goal play when he stopped RB Charles Sims:
“You know what? The thing about it was that was a copycat play. That was the same play I made against the New York Jets last week, man. They must have seen something on film that they thought they could get in there. I don’t know what it was but it didn’t work against them. They tried to run that play. I came free and made sure I put my face on the running back.”
