On what made the offense successful in the fourth quarter
"I think the way teams are playing us and the way the offense is built, it's death by a thousand cuts. Taking what the defense gives me and then finally, after you hit a big play or when a big play comes is when everything opens up. I feel like that's what happened."
On how much the 37-yard pass to WR Nico Collins in the third quarter rejuvenated the offense
"I think it did. [T] Tytus [Howard] came up to me and was like, 'be happy bro, it was a big play.' Then the sideline was turnt up, that stuff will bring energy, big plays like that. [WR] Nico [Collins] did a great job, I have a lot of respect for [Tennessee Titans CB L'Jarius] Sneed, he's a good corner in this league, one of the best. I thought him and [WR] 'Nic' [Nico Collins] battled, and he got over the top, [I] just tried to give him a shot. But big plays like that definitely give us energy that we need going forward."
On what he hopes this win can do for the team going forward
"Sometimes it's that one play that kicks it off to get everything rolling. We had that my rookie year. I want to say week three against the [Jacksonville] Jags. I hit [WR] Tank [Dell] on a post, and after that it seemed like we were just rolling. Sometimes it just takes that one play, that one drive, that one point of emphasis to finally hit, to finally get things rolling that we know that we can do. So, I think that's the cool thing about playing football. It's different every year. It's different every game. You just got to find the niche. I think maybe, hopefully, I did that. We got to go back to practice and continue to get better."
On the performance of the run game
"It's huge, especially in this style of offense. Running the ball is huge. Anything positive on first down helps. I think [RB] Woody [Marks] and [RB Nick] Chubb did a great job. Even in the pass game, they did a really good job. That's what it's going to take to win, is just having a balanced game. I thought [Offensive Coordinator Nick] Caley did a good job keeping it balanced, just trusting me in some areas to get us in the right looks and checks and things like that. Every game that's huge. You got to be able to run the ball in this league. Chubb and Woody complement each other really well. Our O-line did amazing, both run blocking and pass blocking. Then also, our tight ends stepped in there and did their job. Receivers as well in the run game."
On rookies RB Woody Marks and WR Jayden Higgins scoring their first career touchdowns
"I was a really big fan of [RB] Woody [Marks] in college when he was at USC. Really elusive, really crafty. I thought he did a good job since those days in that Lincoln Riley offense. I thought today we used him in that light: spread him out, gave him some familiarity running ball and some plays he's ran before. He's a very dynamic pass catcher. [WR] 'Higgs' [Jayden Higgins] is a dog. Somebody who is very elusive, great route running. Him one-on-one a lot of times he's big, fast, tall; that's a mismatch. So, he did a great job on that touchdown play. He just continues to get better every week. I think [WR] 'J. Noel' [Jaylin Noel], same thing. A lot of rookies are doing great. [T] 'Tae' [Aireontae Ersery] had a great game. A lot of the guys that are doing big things in their first year, it's going to be huge for us."
On what he saw on the touchdown to WR Jayden Higgins
"They were in man and on film they showed this man where they can help the best player, best receiver. So, I felt No. 50 [Tennessee Titans LB Cody Barton] was about to go help [WR] Nico [Collins], so I just signaled in a route concept I thought would work. We executed it very well. They did a good job of executing the route plan, but I just seen something and I called it, and it worked. It's going to go that way sometimes; sometimes it's going to go the other way. If we're all wrong, we're right, and that was a big thing there. We were right that time and made them pay."
On if he was discouraged during the lack of offensive production in the first half
"No, I don't believe in that. That's a terrible way to think. You'll be really bad if you are thinking 'here we go again.' I don't look at myself like that, I don't look at my teammates like that. I don't think we even played really bad in the first half. We just got to score points and get better opportunities on second down to be in third and manageable. I don't believe in that."
On if how important this win is for the division race
"We focus on one game at a time. When we play another division opponent, they're always important. Every game is important in this league. We're focused on one game at a time. When you big scale things too early is when bad things happen. So, I'm just 1-0, trying to get 1-0 every week."
On if today's performance was reflective of Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley's philosophy
"I thought [Offensive Coordinator] 'Cales' [Nick Caley] did a good job of mixing it up: run, pass, play-action, misdirection. I think at the end of the day it's all about execution. He can call anything, but we got to go out there and make the plays work. We handled it better today with route detail, me being good on my reads. Of course it's never perfect. There are plays we always want back. The overall big picture, we kind of hit that point this week in this game. I think we're going forward, and that's what you want to see."
On how he battled through the hits he took today
"I don't know if I ever told this, but my dad, I remember we were at this basketball practice. I was really young, probably seven or eight. I remember I got hit somewhere, probably in my face or something, and I was on the ground. I was looking for attention kind of. My dad gave me a new one, told me off. I needed it. Since that moment, since I've been a little boy I always remembered that moment and always tried to…it's not like playing tough. There is a difference between being hurt and injured. I think I can push past being hurt; injured you can't play. My dad's voice always rings in my head every time I'm feeling…they hurt. Don't get me wrong. I think it's something that's instilled in me by my parents, by God, something that spirit in me that I don't like quitting.
But thank you for saying that. I don't try to like, 'oh, I'm tough,' because I don't think I'm that tough. I lift a lot of weights with [Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach] Clint [Martin]. Shoutout Clint and [Head Strength and Conditioning Assistant Coach] Mike Eubanks and our strength staff."
On the defense's performance
"Our defense played amazing. Starts with [LB] Azeez [Al-Shaair], his play calling with [Head Coach] DeMeco [Ryans]. Thought they did a great job mixing coverage and stunting with the D-line and things like that. Man coverage was sticky. [CB] Kamari [Lassiter] played a great game. [S] Calen [Bullock], [S] M.J. [Stewart] stepped up and did a great job. I think when you hold a team to zero points in the NFL, that's big time. That doesn't happen a bunch. Shoutout to them boys. They're doing a great job. Very grateful to have a defense like that."
On how today's win can help the team moving forward
"That's the game plan every week, is play three phases of football, special teams, offense, defense. Try to play as one. I thought today was a right step in that direction. You got to go do it again. That's the thing about the NFL. You got to forget your failures and forget your successes and try to move forward. It's easy to say but hard to do, and we got to be able to do that. Flush this and go move on and try to win another game."
