Opening statement:
"Obviously really exciting to get a win. To show that kind of fight in a game where we had to claw our way back into it was everything that we needed to see from our football team and we've been waiting to see for a couple of weeks now. The ability to make the plays when it mattered to help us win a game. Those guys fought like crazy tonight. It was a superb effort all the way around… awesome to see. Just the resilience of the team, the fight that they showed with the way things have gone for us early on this year… to come in and fight the way they fought. Even though it didn't look good in the first half, we kept battling. That's all that we ask of those guys and they did a great job. I think individually, some individual efforts… (DT Jeffery) 'Jeff' Simmons continues to play at what I think is a defensive player of the year level. He's been phenomenal in every game he's played. I thought (CB) L'Jarius Sneed's effort on that short yardage ball… he was there chasing it down. That's incredible effort to make a play and sometimes you have to have things go your way a little bit and that was great to see and have happen. I think (QB) Cam (Ward) made big plays when we needed him too. Both tight ends, Gunnar (Helm) and Chig (Okonkwo), and (WR) Calvin (Ridley)... when we needed the plays to be made, they made them. I think that's the critical part (and) what we've been searching for the first month of the season is guys making plays when they need to make the play. I'm really proud of the team, really proud of the fight. It's good to get a win. Now it's just one and we're going to try to keep rolling and keep stacking but I'm proud of what we showed today."
On the trouble getting (QB) Cam Ward settled into the game:
"I think he had some struggles early and fought his way through it which is what you have to do as a quarterback in this league. Not every quarter is going to go your way. Not every half is going to go your way. He just got reminded at halftime to put your eyes where they're supposed to be and make the throws. That's what he did in the second half. He worked his way out of a particularly slow start of the game and made the plays when we needed it."
On how important this game was for (WR) Calvin Ridley and his catch on the final drive of the game:
"Huge for Calvin (Ridley)... Everything that we've been hoping to see from him. Making those plays in critical moments when we need them to be made. To see him make that catch and put us in really close range for the field goal to win the game was a huge, huge play. You can't undersell how big of a play that was. It was a high degree of difficulty on the catch and it was great to see."
On the goal line fumble and the interception turned touchdown and how that gave them hope:
"It was everything in the game. I mean those two plays… things just have to go your way sometimes. We feel like we haven't had a lot of that so far this year and haven't had a lot of bounces that have come in our favor. Sometimes you need that. Really though, I think the fumble out of the end zone… the highlight was (CB L'Jarius) Sneed's effort to go chase it down and be in the guy's body frame as he's crossing the goal line was awesome to see. Sometimes when a guy makes a pick and fumbles the ball back to you… I mean, great, we'll take it."
On what he says to the defense to keep them going:
"I think that's the thing I love about the team. These guys play really hard for each other and they knew it wasn't going to be perfect. They knew they had to play really good football for us to win the game. They felt that we were struggling and they didn't blink. They played the next play and kept going. They picked each other up, kept moving down the sideline… that stuff is good to see. That's the mark of a team that has the right makeup. I've said that all along, we just haven't had much to show for it but knowing the kind of game we were in, the struggles we had offensively, particularly in the first half and even defensively, we struggled in the first quarter for sure… But they kept fighting. They kept playing the next play and finding a way to get it done and we just sort of kept chipping away at it at every turn we had and the guys made plays when we needed them to. I don't think we allowed a score in the second half… a great effort in the second half defensively to calm it down."
On how much he hopes this will boost the team's confidence:
"I'm incredibly hopeful of that, that's what we've been searching. To prove to ourselves that we're capable of winning a fourth-quarter football game. We've been in every single one of these games in the fourth quarter. As the clock turns into the fourth, we've been in striking distance. To show our ability to go close a game out is a tremendous step for us, for a young team, (and) bunch of young players making plays. (WR) Chimere Dike on a huge return, (TE) Gunnar, Cam... these guys all made plays for us, and I think when you get these moments where you have a chance to show your mettle in a tight game at the end, it does wonders for your confidence."
On how much of the two-minute drill was relying on instinct vs. practice:
"It was really well done. I think both schematically in the play selection and Cam's execution of it were spot on. That's what you need in those moments. Everything has to work together. The scheme has to be right, the answers have to be right, and you have to make the throws and catches. We did that and did it enough to win the game."
On whether they utilized analytics to make a decision whether to punt the ball or go for it in the fourth quarter:
"In that particular set of circumstances with what the time was on the clock, handing the ball back to them if you don't get it in field goal range is the end of the game. It kicks the game out of reach, so that's what we had talked about. If it was fourth-and-less-than-one, then we would probably go (for the first down). Anything later than that, we were going to punt it because our defense was playing so well, we felt like we could flip the field back and take advantage. (We) didn't want to just hand them three points in their field position."
On the relief of ending a losing streak:
"I don't think about those things. (It's the) same thing we preach to the team. Our goal this entire week… It's cliché and coach-speak and all that, but it's how you have to work when you're in these situations. You're just trying to go 1-0. That's all we're worried about. You go 1-0 each week and you keep trying to fight and find your way into it. You don't worry about all that stuff. Half of these guys weren't even here last year so that doesn't count on them. You just narrow your focus. You don't listen to the outside stuff and you don't worry about what's happened previously; you just push forward. Our guys do a great job, they just keep swinging. It certainly isn't the end of the season by any stretch. We have a lot of football left to play and we're going to keep doing that."
On how much of a relief this win is for him and the rest of the coaching staff:
"For us, just to be able to see our team come through and play that way, with that kind of resilience, that kind of effort, and make the plays needed to win the game… It's huge for us. Again, just like every loss, it's still one game. We have a lot of games left to play. I'm very proud of our staff and very proud of the way they've responded in the face of some adversity over the course of the early part of the season. (I'm) excited for what's to come. We just keep trying to stack and keep moving forward. Again, one win is one win, one loss is one loss, and we try to go out and win next week."
