As always, I would like to start off by giving all glory, honor, and praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a win for us. I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to win. Last week we had to come back and win a game, and we were down a lot. This week again, we put ourselves in a hole, but man, we had a great two-minute drive. I'm just proud of the way we're finishing. We weren't finishing games really good to start the season, but how we're finishing games now and finishing with a win, that's all that matters. I'm proud of our guys for that.
What do you think particularly of the job that Mills did all that drive, third and 16 to come up with the play to Nico?
They just did a great job all day of protecting the football, making great decisions. No play bigger than him connecting with Nico (Collins) there when we needed him most, two-minute drive, that was such a huge play for us. Nico and Davis (Mills), that connection really took off in the second half, which we needed. We needed a spark. We start getting the ball to Nico, and we saw he made play after play after play. So did outstanding job putting us in position there to make that field goal a lot easier.
What are you thinking in that moment when Mills throws that ball and then when Nico keeps his feet in?
As calm as can be. Nice and easy. Know they're going to make the play. You just trust your guys, right? And that's what Davis (Mills) has shown. Davis keeps me calm, because he's so calm in the moment, but who we're going to with the football matters. When Nico (Collins) is out there, he's getting targeted. For the most time when he gets targeted, he comes down with the football.
How clutch was it for Matt Wright to come through?
Yeah, it was huge for Matt (Wright) to step in and make that kick for us. He's been great for us since he's been here the past two weeks. We needed him most to close the game out. He did an outstanding job. Can't give credit to him without (Austin) Brinkman and Tommy (Townsend) doing a good job with the snap, with the hold, the protection, everybody, all 11 guys working together, and Matt kicking it through to get us a victory.
When you look at Will Anderson Jr., he's made these kind of plays all year. For him to do it today, when you've got to have this game…
Will (Anderson Jr.) is a dynamic playmaker for us, and that's what we need in a game. It's about the players making plays, and our playmakers showed up. Will is definitely one of those guys. For him to take the ball to get us in the short field right there, something we've been harping on and talking about, and Will comes up with another sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery. Huge play for us.
You mentioned being able to finish. What do you feel like it took to get to that point to learn how to finish?
It's really about executing in the moment. Remaining calm and whatever it takes to close out the game, being diligent and doing your job the right way.
Davis, even-keeled from the first quarter and even on that last drive. Did his emotions change?
His emotions never change, which is great. I love that about Davis (Mills). I think his calm, his demeanor really gives everybody — he has that quiet confidence about him. Davis knows what he's doing. He's a competitor deep down inside, and he wants to make those plays. Our entire sideline, our team feels that from Davis. We feel his confidence when he's out there knowing that he's going to go to the right spot with the football and make a play.
What has allowed the defense week in and week out to continue to play at such a high level?
The guys are playing together. I thought we did a good job on third down early on, and later in the game, we let some third downs get out that are unacceptable. I feel like we can still finish better. Even there at the end, we can't allow them to get a touchdown and drive down the field. We allowed two big penalties. We allowed the quarterback to escape the pocket again. We have to do a better job of not allowing them to be in that position.
What does it say about your squad that you don't have CJ (Stroud) and you can still get a big win like this?
It's team football, and that's what we're about. My number one rule is it's a team-first mentality. Everything that we do is never about one guy. It's going to be collective, collectively coaches, players, staff, everybody working together. That's what we have here with the Texans. Our support staff is outstanding. Our coaching staff has done a great job, and our players, they're the ones who step up and make the plays we need to make to put us in position to win these games. Can't thank those guys enough for the grit that they've shown and their will to finish.
Obviously you switched the offensive line combination a little bit. How did you like how that group performed?
We'll look at the film and see how we looked on the offensive line, but again, we felt like our best five guys had to go out there and play, and for the most part, I feel like we held up well.
The last two weeks you have been able to win. How much confidence does that give you against Buffalo?
It's always good to go in with that great feeling of coming off a win, right? And understanding what it took to win those games. You just keep plugging along. When Thursday comes, whatever it takes. We know it's going to be a great battle versus a really great Buffalo team. So, whatever we have to do to win the game, that's all that matters.
When you see what your team — guys filling in, what does that mean to you about the depth of the team?
Again, it's all about the team and guys have to take advantage of their opportunities. It really doesn't matter when your name is called. You just got to be ready when it's called because here you can get an opportunity. You never know what can happen, so are you ready? Are you in the moment? Are you ready to seize the moment and not look back? I'm proud of all of our guys, all the depth that we have from guys who are on the practice squad being called up and counted on to play meaningful snaps in the game. I thought all the guys did a really nice job.
You guys started 0-3 but since then, you're 5-2. Why have you guys been able to turn things around?
For us to turn it around, it's just about being laser-focused. Like, focus on the task in front of you. Can't do anything about how we started, but again, it's the mentality about our season, about each game. It's all about how you finish, and if you finish the right way, you are going to be in a good spot. It's just remaining focused on the target and the task in front of you.
