Everything the Dallas Cowboys said after beating the Houston Texans
Everything the Dallas Cowboys players and coaches said after beating the Houston Texans 27-23 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
All quotes courtesy of the Cowboys and Texans media relations staffs.
Coach Mike McCarthy
On the final offensive drive
“I think it really was part of the message. You talk about the finish last week, obviously we know what that looked like. I think today is clearly a fourth quarter finish that will pay dividends during the course of the season. I’m talking about December, January football. This is why you do two-minute every day, just the composure. We had a number of guys get injured today. Just a lot going on, on the sidelines. I thought the communication was excellent. I thought the players that had to step up, stepped up. Guys just kept fighting. Yes, we can sit here and talk about all the things that didn’t go right and I get it, but at the end of the day you have to go win the game in the fourth quarter and we did that today with the stops on defense and obviously the two-minute drive with the offense.”
On if there was a point in the game he thought the team wasn’t ready
“I just think it’s the reality of the National Football League. That was really a part of our message this week, don’t take the cheese. And don’t take the cheese, a big part of that is the expectation of everybody else because of the way you played the week before, because of your record versus their record and that’s where you get in trouble. I’m a huge believer in preparation and the path through that and how it takes you into the game. We’ve all been there, I’ve seen preparation that was not so good, and then we played great, and I’ve seen preparation that was outstanding and then didn’t play so good. So, there’s no absolutes there. We had a really good week of preparation. I would measure this week better than last week. So that’s that. I just think the thing…we had a couple chances early. I think when you get into these types of games, if you can make the big plays early, I think the game goes down a different path. Every game has ebb and flow. This is how we coach it, talk it, walk it. You’re always going to have counters, there’s always usually 30 big plays in a game. They had nine, we had eight at halftime. So, we were minus one in that area, to me that was really the tale of the tape. I just think with the injuries and the ways our guys kept battling and it came down to the situation that we put a tremendous amount of effort into. That’s why we talk about resiliently, adversity, advancement, all those things. Sorry for a very long answer but I’m just so disappointed you guys aren’t still talking to Jerry (Jones), I just can’t get it out of my head.”
On Dak Prescott’s first 56 minutes and his last four
“We had some situations in passing game that we’ll obviously go back and clean up. Kellen (Moore) and I were just visiting shortly. You get what you emphasize. When things aren’t quite what they need to be, maybe we got to spend a little more time. We’re still going to have the same amount of time to prepare each-and-every week. Our drop back passing game is something that we’ve done very well. We’ve been very successful running the football, we had some moving parts today offensively, our run game quite wasn’t what we like it to be. I think we had the three negative runs, three minus runs there in the first half, actually Malik (Davis) I think all three were his plays. You know this is football, I’m not trying to make excuses. I get what’s on my chest and the expectations, I get that. It’s about winning, and we got it done today.”
On if the Colts and Texans records had any impact on the Cowboys the last two weeks
“I wish I could help you out with a quote, I just don’t see it that way. I see a team that works and obviously you know we measure everything into physically, their emotional you know state. You always try to be in touch with that. They put the time in. I think Houston, I thought they played well, they’re a challenge to play, their defense, with two quarterbacks. There’s some herky-jerkiness to that, they hit their big plays. If we hit the big play on the second play of the game, you know maybe the first half is a little different. That’s our league. That’s why we focus so much on the generation of big plays because they always factor into these games. When the other team has a couple more than you are, you’re usually in a dog fight.”
On how much Houston’s two quarterback rotation impacted Dallas
“We transitioned very well. We’re familiar with Jeff Driskel, we actually brought him in for a free agent visit a few years back. We played these guys in preseason last year. I thought Dan (Quinn) and the staff and the players handled it seamlessly on the communication. You know every time they swapped, communication was clean. I didn’t see the substitution of it as the issue but it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge because you know it is concept thinking as far as your play call and staying on your script, getting into your Rolodex and all those things. I thought Dan and his staff and most importantly the players did a good job.”
On this win keeping Dallas in the hunt for the NFC East title versus what a loss would’ve done
“I understand your question, but we didn’t (lose), we won the game. That’s really all that matters. I’m more concerned about the health of our players right now. This was a tough day in that area. We’ll rally and get ready to go get Jacksonville. Did Philadelphia win? Oh, they did, see I’m focused on winning. So, hey it’s all in front of us. We just got to keep playing.”
On the goal line stand by the defense before the long drive at the end
“Obviously it was a good call, just the penetration of the line. You had two or three hats there too. Obviously, a big play, and just talked about the big play production. We made the big plays in the fourth quarter, and we won the game. That was clearly probably the biggest.”
On if Houston’s defense showed different looks than Dallas had seen
“It’s a matter of more of. As far as the type of coverages, it’s more quarters than I’ve ever seen a lot of people play. Lot of combinations to that. He’s a vision defense coordinator and does a great job of it. I thought they played with good vision, and they were on our hip every time the ball was thrown and caught. We have to take a good look at it, make sure the last two weeks our passing game versus a vision defense. If I was the Jacksonville defense coordinator, I’d play us a vision defense based off the last two weeks. That’s how my mind works and that’s why we’ll look at it. We’ll just make sure we’re clean in what we do. We don’t need to change plays. We just got to be cleaner about doing things.”
On the last drive of the game for Dallas and if it felt like there was no doubt the Cowboys would win at that point
“Yeah, and it felt that way on the sideline. I think every time something doesn’t go right everybody wants to go, oh their energy is not good. I’m with these guys every day. We’re not the high-pitched cartwheel option some people are. That works for some people. The focus was good. I think the biggest challenge for us was the number of players going in and out of the game. I think when your boundary operation is clean going through that, that’s a big plus. That’ll definitely be something that we can continue to build off of. These games, everyone of these games is going to be a dogfight really. The playoffs are getting ready, have already started because you got to, it’s starting to be real clear what’s in front of us. I just think you got to stay focused on that.”
On Terence Steele and going to Jason Peters at the end
“I do not have an official diagnosis on Terence. I think the biggest thing is you try to play to your reps. Obviously Josh (Ball) has had a tremendous amount of work over there. Jason Peters has not. I thought Jason really did a hell of job going in there and playing in that situation. Jason’s been in that two-minute situation you know for a couple decades compared to Josh Ball. I think just the utilization of personnel was done very well. At the end of the day Josh he had a good experience out there, I’m hoping it’s not serious for Terence.”
On Leighton Vander Esch
“Can’t say enough about Leighton. If you’re looking at what’s going on, particularly in our league - you’re having guys that are going in and out. Leighton was sick all week. Really until today, I wasn’t even sure he was going to be able to play. For him to be able to go out and perform at that level speaks volumes. I thought he played his tail off, especially with what he’s been through the last four or five days. What a great performance.”
On Johnathan Hankins injury
“I didn’t go to the training room before I came in here.”
On Kelvin Joseph
“I thought he played well, we knew going in that he was going to get some opportunities. He had the one catch that we challenged. I thought Kelvin did a good job. He felt good about it in the locker room afterwards. After we look at the tape I’ll have better answers for you. “
On Jayron Kearse
“He just had a situation with his knee and just went inside and got it checked out but obviously he was fine. He just didn’t warmup.”
On Dalton Schultz
“Dalton was huge, huge down the stretch. I think just the biggest thing is the way they were playing. Dalton does a great job of finding his own soft spots, you know finding the quarterback’s eyes. Obviously, that was huge for us. I think there’s a number of things we could talk about what we didn’t do, we definitely want to do them better. When it came down that final situation we played our best football.”
On what he got told on his challenge
“They said New York’s involved.”
On if he thought players took the cheese the last two weeks at all
“No, I don’t think so, I think it’s just like anything. We have to talk about it, you know what you’re going to ask them. That’s part of the journey. I can honestly tell you when they’re in the meetings, when we are on the practice field, because to me the real evidence or indicators are in the walkthroughs, the meetings, you know does the practice start the right way. You know and last week we didn’t start the week the right way. This week they came in and they were really conscientious of the Monday and Wednesday practice. You know we didn’t have a padded practice on Thursday. If anything, the guys probably went too hard. So yeah, there was really no indicators. At the end of the day, we won the game and I understand what Houston’s record is but you know they have a lot of good football players over there and I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff.”
QB, Dak Prescott
On what he said to the team heading into the final drive:
We are going to go win this game. Honestly, I said it after the interception. We just needed to have faith and trust in the defense, knowing that those guys were going to go out there and make a play. Then once they did that, we had the opportunity to take it one play at a time and to heighten our focus. That is something I am always reminding the guys. Hey, we are going to win this game, don’t blink, and none of those guys did. You could see it in their eyes, they believed it. A couple of them said it themselves. It was a great win. Obviously, it’s the NFL it was a tough game and didn’t play our best by any means. We had an opportunity right there at two minutes left and went and got it done. It’s all about capturing wins and we were able to get this one.
On the energy of the team headed into the final drive:
Zach was smiling. You have got to love it. You have to love these moments and being in this position. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be there or be in that huddle with the guys that we have. Zach was smiling. I was excited, we were all excited. Who cares about what’s happened these last 58 minutes of this game? We have two minutes to get a win and erase everything before this in a sense. It took everyone to do their individual jobs and be high in their focus as I said. That is what we were able to do, and it was a great finish.
On the Texans defending differently than prior teams:
I think that is just part of what they want and what they are trying to do. They played self-zones and made me throw in tight windows. Guys know that, so they are more heads up to jump and try to get hands on the ball. That is their whole deal, getting turnovers. Obviously, we gave them a couple and it made it hard for us. I made it hard for the team by giving them a couple. But when you are able to go two minutes right there, something we practice a couple of times a week. Everybody was focused and understood that that’s what we are going to do and need to do to win this game. It’s the NFL. After the game they asked me about taking the cheese, I said Hey Mr. NFL give this team credit. One loss or not, those guys came out there and they played hard, all four quarters. We were just able to give our best in the last two minutes and finish it.
On the coverage they hadn’t seen before:
We knew that they had a decent disguise coming into the game. However, they were going to get a couple coverages and I feel like they added a couple more tonight. When you do that and haven’t shown it on film, it gives you a heads up there. Whether it be the play calling that wasn’t the best at the time or my reads were a bit slower because they disguised it well and got in something they hadn’t been in. But for us, it’s about understanding, yeah, we may get more like coach said. Just understanding that we have to execute. Sometimes I have to not try and fit the balls in tight windows and create those tip passes. Too many balls up in the air, that’s what they want so I just can’t give them that opportunity
On first time having nine interceptions in eight games:
Yeah. I am damn sure not a fan of that and I am sure you guys know that. It’s frustrating, it’s very, very frustrating. If you go back some of them are miscommunications in the past games. Tonight, the first one I tried to fit in too tight of a window. I don’t know if Noah Brown necessarily saw it and tried to get a hand on it, but the ball pops up in the air. On the second one, my arm got hit. Unfortunately, I’ve got to find a way to take better care of the ball. Damn right, it is frustrating. It is not something that I’ve ever been okay with or will be okay with. I am not going to not be aggressive. I’ve worked too hard, and this team has worked too hard. We have created too great of a chemistry for me to not be aggressive and not try to make the throws I know I can make. Damn sure, I have to be smarter and just weigh the risk versus reward in a split second. It is just part of my preparation and something I promised I would clean up.
On what Jason Peters presence meant coming in as a right tackle on the final drive:
It was awesome. That guy comes in and hasn’t played right tackle since ’05. But he is a veteran, a gold jacket veteran, so you have no worries when he comes in. Wherever he has to fill in and do his job you know that his expectations and his standards are the highest. He is going to go give it is all and that’s all you can ask for a guy like that. He has contributed so much to this team just in his presence throughout the locker room and the games that he had come in and played. The series that he has come in and played, we have scored on the majority of those. Obviously, coming in right there as right tackle on the final drive, he did exactly what he needed to do to give me some time and allowed us to take some opportunities down the field. Just credit to that guy. He is a hell of a player and hell of a tackle, right or left. I am thankful to have him on our team, especially in this situation.
On what Noah Brown means to this team:
You know when you talk about Ezekiel Elliot, a guy that is physical and the epitome of what this team and offense means. Noah Brown is the exact same way. He’s a guy that’s been here what, six years now, and has done everything you have asked him to do. Earlier in his career he was more of a blocking guy, you would bring him in, and he would get in the fullback or as an extra tight end. He would make plays. He took care of himself and got his body in a position for him to be an every-down receiver. Obviously, it’s just showing growth more and more each week. I am so, so, so proud of the guy. I have a lot of confidence in him. When the defender has his back, and he’s got to lead, I am trying to throw it down field. I probably need to wind up my arm a little bit more to get it out there. When you give that guy an opportunity, he is going to make the play. That catch in the corner route in the two-minute drive was another big one. I have trust that he is going to be there and do his job. That is who Noah Brown is. The more guys on our team that can follow him, we will continue to create this winning culture and get where we want to get.
On the last play handoff to Ezekiel Elliot:
Ezekiel Elliot is the epitome of this team. Right there on that play, I told the offensive line, hey I am giving this to Zeke no if, ands, or buts about it. Y’all come off the ball and if there is one guy left over, don’t chase it, Ezekiel Elliot will handle him. Maybe some other words but let’s go finish this game off. That’s exactly what those guys did. Credit to Ezekiel Elliot, credit to that offensive line and credit to the team for not blinking, staying focused, and coming out with this win at the end.
On how influential a win like this can be:
When you win a game like this, late in the game, obviously down then turn the ball over and these guys have the ball within the five-yard line with three or so minutes left with a chance for them to go up 10. Our defense goes on a goal line stance, and we get the ball back on the two-yard line. We were able to put a drive together. I think this will serve us more to us than the Minnesota game or even the way we finished last game. We are going to play some tough games as we get going. You have to play one score games, here in the back end of our division or in the playoffs. Just for us to have that confidence and trust in one another is something we are going to need. That was for Mickey’s [Spagnola] 70th birthdays if you guys didn’t know that so we didn’t want it to be a sad one for him. Happy Birthday Mick.
On how important the first chunk play was:
Its huge. Obviously, you are backed up, your back is close to your own endzone. The drive before I actually turned the ball over, should have done it in back-to-back plays. We then created some space where we could get into our offense and didn’t have to be conservative or worry about pressure. We got back to the things that we’ve practiced twice a week, if not more. That is who we are, being comfortable with one another and communicating all throughout the board. The guys stepped up and made some huge catches. Noah Brown down in the endzone with a play that wasn’t necessarily made earlier. Just showing our connection and trust in one another as an offense and Jason Peters stepping in at right tackle. A lot of things on that drive came from us wishing because we weren’t our best earlier in this game. That was huge for the culture of this team and where we are going.
On how the defense never blinked facing two rotating quarterbacks, something they have not done all season: The defense is special. Just understanding that as you just said, those guys got into a two-quarterback rotation with Driskel – a guy in my draft class, knowing how athletic and how fast and how talented he is, and the problems that was going to serve our defense – but those guys, not blinking. Being able to communicate, being able to stay focused and trust one another, whether it be the running quarterback, the passing quarterback. Then being able to get down there and make a goal line stand, they are resilient as hell. It’s a special defense. I go against them week in and week out, obviously. That two-minute drive we put together at the end, you can credit our defense just as much. Because that is the group we go against during the week and they make it hard for us and there is a lot of back and forth. Iron sharpens iron. Thankful for that group on the other side.
On three straight games when the team has figured out a way to win a close game, and how the team ensures that doesn’t come back to bite at some point:
Obviously, we have to clean it up. We just have to be our best, keep our focus at a high level from the beginning to the end. But let’s give these other teams credit. This is the NFL. We don’t care about records. They damned sure don’t care about their record when they come and they are trying to play us. Obviously, everybody wants to beat the Cowboys and they are damned sure trying to knock us off of what we got going. We get everybody’s best shot. And we are thankful for that because it is only making us better and better as we go. You have to give credit to these other teams. At the end of the day, it’s about finding a way to win, whether it be getting to the fourth quarter in a two-point game and then stretching it to a 30-point win or whatever that was, or it be tonight, where it took the last two minutes for us to go and get it done. I think that just more speaks on the resiliency and the connection of the team – offense, defense, special teams, and guys staying together and not blinking, having belief in one another. And as I told Scott, it was a faith check. A faith check. Everybody on that sideline, everybody within this organization knew what we were capable of and knew we were going to win that game. It was a check, and we obviously went out there and got it done.
On spending a lot of time in practice on the two-minute drill and what it does for games like today:
It just allows you to revert back to your preparation. As I said, when you are going against our defense in those situations, guys that disguise the hell out of looks, guys that can play every coverage in the book, and really good at it, as I said, it is iron sharpening iron. Both sides are ready for those moments because we practice it. We practice situations ad nauseum. But that is something that we take a lot of pride in, and we all focus on the moments when we are in those moments in practice, and it results in wins when you do that. I think that is a credit to the way we are being coached and the way that our practice schedule has been set up. It’s a credit to the guys focusing in on practice; when we are in the moments, we don’t blink. We say this is what we do every Wednesday, every Thursday, every opportunity that we have to do this in two minutes. Went out there and executed. And that is all you can ask. I’m proud of the guys for that one.
On the chance to get to get double digit wins in back to back seasons, and whether it is an indication that they are building on the success of a previous year:
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we have a great culture. Obviously, we had a good solid winning year last year, we didn’t get done what we wanted to get done. We are trying to take it to another level this year. This locker room is full of a bunch of guys who aren’t complacent. Damn sure aren’t satisfied with just 10 wins. It doesn’t mean that we have done something. Everybody in that locker room knows we have to get ready and buckle up again and do it against Jacksonville. That is part of it. That is part of the NFL. They are not going to give us the win easy. Just credit to the culture that we have, the locker room, the coaches as I said, the bar that they have. The connection from those guys to us and all the way throughout the building. It’s special. It’s a special group to be a part of, and I am just proud as hell to be a quarterback of this team.
RB, Ezekiel Elliot
On the defense making the stop before the game-winning score…
Talk about resilience man. The way they got down there, the defense got a big goal line stop and then us taking it 98 yards, it just shows what this team is about. There was a lot of big plays that happened in between all of that and I’m just glad to be on this team.
On any given Sunday any team can win…
You know every week is going to be tough. I think you guys got used to seeing us blow guys out but it’s still the NFL. You’re not going to blow people out every week and most games are going to come down to one score and we did what we needed to do towards the end of the game to pull this one out.
On the game coming down to the last seconds and what he was thinking…
I knew we were going to go down there and score. Dak taking charge of us in that two-minute drive, there’s not a quarterback I’d rather have in there on those drives. He was ready to go, and he made all the plays he needed to to get down there.
On how the Texans challenged them…
They’re a tough team. Their record may say otherwise, but that defense came out and played really hard. They’re fundamentally sound. They don’t make many mistakes, so it came down to the wire.
On the pressure of the game-winning drive benefitting later in the season…
Yeah, I think we need that, we need that as a team. We can’t get used to blowing guys out and winning by multiple scores especially with playoff football coming up. We have to have games like this, we have to see how we respond when we’re put in tough moments.
On the frustration and how they responded late…
It was frustrating. We kind of went through a little lull and it was tough. But like I said, every team in the NFL is going to be a good team. They’re still pro’s too and they get paid just like us. Every week isn’t going to be a blow out. We got the challenge, we accepted it, and we passed. Now its time to get back in the film and figure out what went wrong and what went right and get ready for next week.
RB, Tony Pollard
On the game-winning drive…
It just showed the type of team we have - a resilient team. Never giving up no matter where we are in the game and always feeling like we’re in it. We did a good job finishing today. We made it a little harder then we had to, but we did a good job finishing.
On still winning despite making it harder on themselves…
I mean, it’s big. Big for the confidence of the team. Even with us starting slow and having a few turnovers and self-inflicted mistakes, even with those we were still able to come out with a win and it shows the type of team that we have.
On what made the Texans defense so good…
They have a lot of good guys up front on the defensive line. They do a good job of running stunts and switching things up, trying to confuse the offensive lineman. They do a good job as far as run stopping.
On what has clicked this year…
Just being in the system, being here and getting my feet under me. Knowing things and knowing what I have to do so I’m not really out there thinking and just being able to get into a rhythm. Being more involved into the offense.
On the game-winning drive…
You could feel the confidence. I wasn’t in on that last drive but the play before when I was in you could feel that the offense was confident. We knew the defense would come up big for us and we would have a chance to come out and get the victory and that’s what we did.
WR, CeeDee Lamb
On silver-lining of this game…
We won. The best thing out of it, obviously we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds and a couple of penalties here and there. But obviously, at the end of the day, when it counted most, we won.
On wins are hard and the Cowboys thinking on the game-winning drive…
We don’t really care for the record. Every team comes out and gives us their best opportunity. Us as the Cowboys, we have to understand that and get used to being that target for everyone. I feel like in a situation that we could do better, no matter what time we play, no matter the situation just coming out for a twelve o’clock game, just coming out early.
On having a quarterback who has had 18 game-winning drives…
We’re prepared every week, week-in and week-out especially in training camp with situational football and understanding that if our backs are against the wall, he’ll lead us and that he’s very comfortable in those situations.
TE, Dalton Schultz
On what’s keeping the offense from being consistent…
That’s a good question. When we watch the tape, hopefully we’ll have an answer. We have a line that’s been playing together a lot so when one of those guys goes down it adds a little bit of a wrinkle to it. We’ll see how that kind of worked out on film. I think the most important thing is we just have to execute and play together just a little bit better. They had a lot of line movement, and we knew that going in. I think just the minute details of executing on those types of stunts is going to be big for us going forward.
OL, Tyler Smith
The defense came up big. We knew that was a defining moment for this team. We knew what we had to do. Everyone was locked in at that point, we were on a mission. There was no fear in that huddle. There was pure drive, guys knew what needed to be done in order to win that game and keep us on the track that we want to be on. We just came together in a way we never have before and executed.
On how teams stick around…
Any given Sunday. This is the NFL. You’re going against the best every week. You’re going to get their best every single week. It’s not always going to go swimmingly. You’re not always going to set NFL records, but at the end of the day you have to win the game, you have to play to win. No matter what happens throughout those four quarters, for those 15 minutes you have to be locked into whatever you have to do to win the game. It’s adversity. Every good team faces it. We came out on the right side of it.
S, Jayron Kearse
On the defensive performance today
We won the game. It doesn’t matter how much we win by, we’re here for a win. We got that done.
On defensively, fighting through some illnesses and some injury.
I just hyperextended my knee or my cartilage outside of my knee. If they don’t take the whole knee off, then I’ll be alright. As long as they don’t take it from me.
On the Texans not quitting
Yeah, we are all grown men in this league. There are no kids in his league. It’s just as simple as if we were on the other side of it and we’re getting blown out. We’re going to go out there every play and still fight. You know, a huge shout out to them, they fought. Lovie [Smith] had those guys ready to play, but like I said, we come in this game to win and we got that done today.
CB, Trevon Diggs
On coming back after leaving the field
It’s just whatever. I’m just going to fight through it, get through it, even though it hurt. I just got to go.
On hard to catch with your thumb
No, I got nine fingers to catch with. It’ll be alright.
On the very last play, the interception
Just saw the ball, went up there, and just high-pointed the ball to try and make a play. My guy did a good job of boxing everybody else out so that there was no one there.
On the fumble recovery, how long do you think you returned the ball
I probably ran about 120 for 17 yards. But, it was a good 17, it was worth it.
On was there a point on the fumble return when you ran out of gass
Yeah, I’ve seen two big linemen coming. I know they were mad because I was running around the field. I noticed like, ‘when I get a hold of him, I going to crush him.’ So, I just went out of bounds.
On how do you balance how you feel about a game like this
It was a good game for us, like as far as like, adversity-wise. You know, we need games like that just to see how are we going to respond to a little adversity. Games are not going our way, things are not going our way, so you know how we’re going to respond. And I think we did a real good job of that. Playoff time comes around, it’s going to be games just like that. So, you know, we just got to fight. All players in the NFL are good players, regardless of their records. Teams like to win on Sunday, anybody can lose on Sunday. So, let’s go out there and compete, and let’s fight and it will just show what type of team we are.
On your secondary dealing with moving parts, what can you say about the unit and Kelvin Joseph
Yes, Kelvin Joseph, I’m proud of what he did today. You know, he had that big third-down stop that we very much needed. He’s young, and you’re going to have to go through things just like I did. When I was little, I was going through stuff, little stuff like I am being close right there, close to making a play. The more that he plays, the more that he’s in the game, he’s going to be just fine. He’s a great player, a great kid. So, I’m not worried. The other young guys I’m not worried. I just got to do a good job of leading. I’m like the old guy.
On feeling comfortable in that role, mentoring.
Yeah, for sure. You know, I’m not really a vocal person. I have to lead by example.
On the mentality as a defensive team to hold off until they can get in rhythm
You just go to hold off, you know that’s what we got to do, we’re a team. Offense, you know it wasn’t clicking in the beginning. But we weren’t clicking in the beginning. I know the offense will have our back just like we will have their back. We are a great team. We know we’ve got each other’s back. So, just us being there for them and them being there for us. We got that stop and I knew Dak was going to take care of business.
On why you think it was such a slow start for you guys
I don’t know. it was one of those days.
DE, DeMarcus Lawrence
On leadership towards the end, using experience to make a play, make a stop
I love when the emotions are high. When it’s situations like that, it’s a must-stop. It just brings the greatness out of you. It’s either you’re going to bend or you’re going to stand straight tall. So, I’m just glad that I got 11 guys that are willing to stand tall with me.
On the importance to get a win when you don’t play
Yeah man, like I said earlier, the battle of Texas. Houston was going to come out with their guns firing. But, it’s just a testament to you know, my character, being able to stand up through that fire, just to get our jobs done. That’s what we were able to do tonight.
On having the offense’s back tonight
We always have their back no matter what the situation is. Whether it is 40 to three or 23 to 20. You know, we are going to live up to the moment and have their back.
On being battle tested before playoffs, is it important to be frustrated
S**t yeah. You know what I mean? I feel like playoff football there’s more about you know, running the ball and being able to control the time of possession. But it is really just about us continuing to grow as a team. Being able to play complimentary football and bounce off each other. So, we know we’ve got a long way to go. We will continue growing.
LB, Micah Parsons
On how relieved he is to be standing in the locker room after a win
We’re obviously frustrated, not playing very well today. Not how we want to come out and perform, but we got a tough one this season. You know, that’s big and super excited for the team.
On struggles during this game
I don’t want to say that we came in sleepwalking, I just think that they made some really big plays with the fumbles and interceptions. They came in like it was their Super Bowl and gave us their best shot. I’m just glad that we fought through adversity.
On multiple sacks every game, why was it hard to get to the quarterback
I mean everything was run, screen; I mean if it was passed it was quick. It’s a tough way to play.
On takeaway from frustration, the team not being able to rally and come back
Any time you fight through adversity, and you overcome a deficit in the last two minutes, it obviously brings camaraderie and the team together, and it brings humility too. Anything can happen in this league at any time.
This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 6:01 PM.