TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on if he considered trying field goal near the end of regulation)
(It was) about 59 yards, you know, too much time left to leave them the ball there. And even if we make it, again if he makes it, they get the ball and still have a chance to do something, but I just thought it was too far at that point. As it turned out, again, we still had a chance if we can stop them on a third down … We get the ball and have a chance to win before regulation (ends). The worst case is it's overtime like it was. It was just too far.
(on explanation he received on the fumble play late in regulation)
They can't review that. It was inside two minutes. That's just a bad call. You can't challenge. He (the official) says he thought the play was over.
(on the impact of the play not being ruled a fumble
We win the game right there. Obviously we get the ball right there. So, it's a huge play at a huge time in the game. You wish the play had gone the other way where he let the play go then they could decide if he was down by contact or not. When you blow forward progress, you can't review the play.
(on if he thought forward progress had ended)
No.
(on if he was frustrated at looking at three or four plays that could have led to different outcome)
That was my point. It was disappointing. I told the team, it's not one play. We didn't make enough plays to win the game. You have to score more than 13 points to win. We had plenty of opportunities to do that. We had a chance to make plays to give ourselves a better cushion in that game. We didn't do that. They made the plays when they had to. That's what happens when you don't put teams away, put points on the board when you have good drives going. It comes back to haunt you and that's what happens. They came back at the end to beat us. They made big plays. That's what happened. They stayed close and made the plays, big plays at big times. Like the play at the end of regulation, it's third and seven. If they don't make that, we have a chance to get the ball back at midfield. We can kick a field goal with a couple of plays. There are a lot of ways we could have won it. We did not and that is what it comes down to. We didn't make enough to win.
(on what he tells the team after the game and if he worries about it coming back to bite them)
That part we can't worry about. We are mid-way in the season. We are obviously not happy at 3-5. We thought 4-4 is where we would be right at this moment. But, we didn't play good enough to get it done. They (the team) know where we stand. It is going to be disappointing and going to hurt for a while, it should. But we have half a season to play. A lot can still happen. We thought we were getting momentum. I thought we would make more plays than we did today. I thought we would play a little better than we did. We didn't. This is the outcome. This is the NFL. Week to week it is tough to win. If you don't play your best this is what happens.
(on if the second-and-nine play to TE Jared Cook was a called play)
I think they came with a full blitz. There was a chance to make a big play there. There were plays to be made. This is a game we lose in overtime. There is going to be a lot of plays to say if we did this or that. There are a lot of things that could have turned the game in a lot of ways. That's what is upsetting. We had a lot of opportunities to do that and we didn't do it. They did and that's why they won.
(on the play of the defense)
(Indianapolis) made some clutch plays on third downs. Even on that last drive, they converted a third down with pressure. There was pressure on that quarterback quite a bit and he made some great throws. Guys got open and made tough catches. That's hard to take. The guys were working hard. There is nothing with effort. Guys are trying to do the right thing and trying to make plays. We just didn't make them. The defense did a lot of good things. (Michael) Griffin blocks the field goal before the half. Then Griffin has an interception in the end zone. Guys were making plays. Again, we didn't put enough together—13 points again. It's hard to win with 13. We had opportunities to do better than that. We missed a field goal on our own. Every phase contributed to us not playing as well as we needed to play.
(on not calling a timeout on fourth-and-one)
We had some substitution problems there at the end. I think making sure we had the right guys in there. That was a problem there so we were trying to get a timeout. The problem was we were all the way down. Obviously, the ball was on the five-yard line. It's one of those plays were the players would have to call the time out. We didn't have a chance to get that done.
(on some of the offensive interference calls)
I don't know. It's rare. You usually don't see something like that. Again, we could sit here and bash the officials for not getting calls. You've got to overcome that. It's not why we lost the football game. We have to make plays. On a couple of them, I talked to the officials. A couple of times the guy was right there didn't throw the flag. It was someone else throwing it. It's hard to understand all that. One guy thinks it's clean. The other guy thinks it's not. The flag goes and there's not much you can do about it. Maybe one of them looked not clean. The other two looked like hand fighting. Usually those things are ignored, but unfortunately they got called today.
(on if QB Jake Locker will be ready for next week)
I don't know yet. We'll have to see. Again, he'll get reexamined again this week and we'll kind of see where he is at and have to make that decision next week.
* (on the injury of G/C Leroy Harris)*
We don't know how about Leroy's knee is. He got caught right early in the game. I think it's one of the sacks. He was on the ground. They ran a TT and his leg got tangled up I think. Hopefully, it's not bad. We just don't know yet. He'll be looked at today. A lot of times it's hard to tell with an exam. So, he'll get some pictures done with an MRI tomorrow and we'll see. I thought Mike Otto did a great job. Kevin Matthews came in and had to play the whole game. The guys did a good job. That's a good pass rushing team. I thought Otto like we thought he would played against a very good football player and did a lot of good things for us. And Kevin Matthews did the same way. That's what is exciting about it. That's what your team has to be able to do. You have to have guys go in when there are injuries. We did that today. I thought we plugged some holes very well. I wish we had a win to show for it so we could enjoy that a little more.
(on taking some positives from today's loss)
When you lose like this, it's hard to enjoy anything at this moment. Again, life goes on tomorrow. We'll look at the tape and know we've got to improve quite a few things. It'll be disappointing when we see all the plays that we probably could have made that would have made a difference in the game. That's for all of us. That's the players, coaches. We are all in this thing together. We all didn't do our best job today to win this game.
TITANS QB MATT HASSELBECK
(on throwing the ball well but only scoring 13 points)
Yeah, I felt like we should have been winning by more. It is too bad, we needed it.
(on yardage needed on the last drive of regulation for a field goal)
We needed to get at least to the 35-yard line. It was a windy day so we wanted to get closer if we could, but we wanted to get to the 35-yard line for a field goal attempt to win the game.
(on the big play opportunity to Jared Cook)
The ball was overthrown. We had everybody running slants and they were coming on a blitz. I hand-signaled Kenny Britt on the left, he was one-on-one. The corner adjusted his coverage noticing what we were trying to do. So I tried to hit one of the slants on the right side, and Jared realized nobody was in the middle of the field and I had a late throw. If I had taken my time with the throw I could have probably hit him but I didn't and I wish I could have it back.
(on offensive pass interference calls being frustrating)
Yes, it was frustrating. Particularly three in a row that we hit on go routes were called back. So it's frustrating but the lesson is that we have to keep our cool a little bit more.
(on the frustration of not getting a shot in overtime)
Yes, definitely frustrating. I am still a little stunned and shocked; still don't see how we lost the game. I am still at a loss about that, but we let them hang around. It was a seven-point game in the fourth quarter and anything can happen when you give them a chance like that and they tied it up. They had some huge third-down conversions that they were able to convert on. We didn't get any breaks, I felt like things were going against us today. There is nothing we can do about that, but overcome it.
(on recent games coming down to the last drive)
I am fine with games coming down to the last drive like that. We were in position to win, we had a chance. We should win in those situations. We have the confidence in ourselves offensively that if the game is on the line we can get it close and give our special team guys a chance; we just didn't get it done today.
(on how well the offensive line did)
I felt they did a good job. We could obviously be better but I think they did a good job. We lost a few guys but I give our guys a lot of credit because they have good pass rushers and we were able to manage. We just have to score more.
TITANS RB CHRIS JOHNSON
(on if it was hard losing in overtime)
Oh yeah. It was a crazy game. We had a lot of opportunities to win and we gave them a lot of opportunities too. They stepped up and made the plays that they had to make.
(on if the offense could have scored more)
Yeah, we left some points out there. When we get close to the end zone, the red zone, we have to get seven instead of three. You can see that came back and bit us in the end.
(on if he was wanting more touches on the last drive)
Yeah, but it just didn't work out right. We ended up not being able to get the first down and got behind the chains a little bit. So, it was just a situation that didn't work out. When we went into overtime, I was hoping to get a chance to get out there and make some more plays. But, it just didn't work out for us at the end of the day.
(on if he was impressed with the offensive line)
I am very impressed. Those guys went out there and fought hard. We had a couple of guys go down and those guys stepped up and held their own. So, in that situation, we had a chance to run the ball a little bit and make a couple of plays.
(on this game being the third straight game with 100 yards at the line of scrimmage)
Basically at the end of the day, it's stepping up and making plays. I have to give the offensive line some credit for keeping those guys off me and giving me some holes. So, it's a situation where the coach is just believing in it and [continuing] to give me the ball. So, there are situations to step and make plays.
(on if he is frustrated with missed opportunities)
We had some chances right there in the enad. I think we went over the 50-yard line. Then, our next three plays we didn't make any plays. We just kind of stopped right there. It's a situation where we had a chance to end it right there and not even have to go to overtime. We just need to step up and execute the plays. We could have easily had the game.
(on not getting a chance to touch the ball in overtime)
It's crazy just knowing that we haven't had another chance to step up as an offense and go make plays and not even have an opportunity to get the ball in our hands. They went down and they made the plays they had to make. It's a situation where we just have to continue to work. You get in certain situations towards the end of the game where you have to make it work.
TITANS WR KENDALL WRIGHT
(on the Titans' loss)
It's real bitter. It's going to stick with us for a while, but we've got to find a way to get over it and come back tomorrow and work hard. I almost knew that we were going to get down there and score (near the end of the game), but it didn't happen that way. So I mean, we had plenty of chances. This loss is going to stick with us for a while. We have to find a way to get over it and come back and work hard. Me, coming from Baylor (after a loss), all our coach did was say, "Clear it," so it's going to stick, but I'm going to clear it pretty fast.
(on the controversy at the end of regulation )
You can't depend on anything. We just have to win out right. In the game, we had too many penalties as receivers. We had too many pass interference penalties. But we just have to find a way to dig deep and win. We as receivers are battling for position and the refs saw what they saw and called it.
(on his touchdown catch)
I work hard every day at practice. Matt (Hasselbeck), he trusted me, and I just had to make the catch. It was good, but I'd much rather have the win.
TITANS S JORDAN BABINEAUX
(on the loss)
What's most disappointing is the fact that defensively, for the most part, we really controlled that football game. But those guys (Colts), are a very resilient team. They knew what it was and knew what it took to make some plays in the fourth quarter, with that rushing touchdown. And ultimately, driving the ball 80 yards on us in overtime for the game-winner. You know, that's unacceptable as a defense, especially when you have that kind of lead and that kind of cushion. Kind of controlling the game for most of it, but that's why you play 60 minutes. Just a series of events that happened.
They popped a few long runs, we got a penalty and you know, we just didn't play as sound as we needed to. As tough as we needed to, and as stingy as we needed to at the time, as it called for at that part of the game. So you have to credit those guys and the way they performed and the way they handled the end of the game.
(on what Titans must do to move past this loss)
You have to evaluate yourself , and evaluate the film. Certainly got to get better. We've got two more football games to play before the bye week. With that being said, we're a 3-5 football team looking to make improvements. Looking for our next win. Fortunately for us we've got a home game next week against Chicago and we have to find a way to see exactly what it's going to take for us to actually finish the game.
*TITANS LB AKEEM AYERS
(on the controversial play near the game's end)
I thought it was a fumble. I saw Colin (McCarthy) wrap him up, and so I just went for the ball. I just felt it was a fumble. I really didn't see the whole play, but from my point of view, it was a fumble. Things happen. It shouldn't have been that close, anyway. We made a lot of mistakes and had penalties early. It should never have come down to that point, if we had capitalized on the things we needed to do early on in the game.
(on the Titans' defensive play today)
We need to finish. You can't just play a game for a half. It's a full game, and no matter how much you are up by, the other team is going to try to come back. Nobody gives up in this league and we just need to finish games and close them out and not make the game close. We don't have a choice, we have to move on. We'll watch film and fix our mistakes, as we always do. I feel like we played a game. We just have to clean up the minor mistakes and capitalize on big plays and get points. We just can't leave points out there. We have to get off the field when we really need to. Everyone knows this. It's not something you have to remind us, as a team. Everyone is pretty upset with the loss. Everyone felt we should have won this game and it just leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. So when we get back to work this week, everyone is going to be ready.
TITANS C FERNANDO VELASCO
*(on the Titans' last offensive drive in regulation)
I had all the confidence in the world that we were maybe even going to score a touchdown. But at least get in field goal position. That was tough. That hurts. We can't put our defense in the situation to go to in overtime to have to stop them. Offensively, we've got to be able to somehow, someway, go down there in field goal range at least, to put some points on the board and not even have to put our defense in a situation where they have to stop them. To not even make the game go to overtime.
(on watching Colts offense drive down field to win the game, while Titans offense was on sidelines)
It was very frustrating. It wasn't nobody's fault but the offense. We can't put our defense in that situation. We had opportunity there in the end of regulation to close out our drive and get in field goal range, or something. We have to make it happen offensively.
(on how Titans rebound)
It is what it is. We're 3-5 right now. The hard thing about it is we can't feel sorry for ourselves because the Bears come in here this week and they sure not going to feel sorry for us. So somehow, someway we have to pick ourselves up and have a good week of practice and be ready to roll come this Sunday.
COLTS INTERIM HEAD COACH BRUCE ARIANS
(opening statement)
Obviously we are extremely excited to get the monkey off our back. We had to learn how to win on the road, it's never easy. This team fought through some really dumb things early but we fought through it. The defense stepped up and started stopping them. Offensively I thought we had an excellent day other than the one turnover and a couple of stupid penalties. With all of that, you couldn't be prouder of a group to take the ball against the wind and just drive it down their throats and win the ball game. You play the game to win, and we're not about to kick to take the win. We were going to take the football from the giddy up and take it down the field.
(on finishing drives)
We talked about it at halftime. The game should have been out of hand with the way we played in the first half. We only had one punt and that was after the penalty, but we had a 13 play drive and we were only on the 50 yard line because of a penalty. We had to finish, we had to get it in the end zone. Today they focused, and we were able to run the ball. The running backs played their tails off, so did the offensive line and the tight ends, with a bunch of injuries as we went along. Guys stepped up. Joe Reitz stepped up as a tight end and had no practice at it but blocked his tail off. There's enough credit to go all the way around. Andrew (Luck), I thought, was fantastic.
(on how the ability to run effects the team)
It does everything. It really has nothing to do with time of possession. Time of possession comes from third down conversions and we were doing a good job of that in the first half. Andrew (Luck) was on fire on third downs. It just takes the heart out of the defense when you can run it down their throats, especially when you are running it in on the goal line and you don't have to do anything else. I give credit to, I don't even know what college team I was watching, but when I saw that play three years ago, and we talked about it Tuesday so I said I'm going to put this play in and see what it looks like. Every time we ran it in practice it looked just like that. So we called it.
(on what the play is called)
It's called fake-toss-39-taxi-naked-right-screen-left.
(on playing man-to-man to cover Chris Johnson)
We have to play eight in the box to stop the run. It puts our corners on an island and they fought all day. Good job, I thought, by the referees of keeping it fair with the pushing. That was a well-refereed ball game and a well fought ball game by both teams.
*(on limiting the big plays and the tackling by the secondary)
*It is yards after catch. Kendall [Wright] made a great catch down in the end zone and kept his feet in bounds. He is a great young player. But [the secondary] did a great job of it all day.
(on Andrew Luck's performance and him being similar to Ben Roethlisberger)
I don't think there is any doubt. He is a big, strong young man and he can throw the football from any position accurately. He did a good job of avoiding rushes and making completions, especially on third downs.
*(on the decision to call the game-winning play at that particular moment)
*It was the time of the game and the place on the field that we had it dialed up, and it looked so good in practice. You just roll the dice and go with it.
*(on if it surprises him when the offense doesn't finish drives)
*It does. I think we have scratched all of the youngness off of us. That is not an excuse anymore. The way we were playing the first half, we were playing really well, we just weren't scoring any points. It was the same old story of losing on the road. You had to change it at halftime and get it fixed. Defensively we had to get off the field on third down. We started doing that. Offensively we had to finish drives. The one bad play we had all day was the interception. We were trying to take a shot with the wind while we had the wind. You just have to throw the ball outside of the numbers. You can't throw it inside.
*(on if the team is ahead of schedule at this point of the season)
*No, I think we are behind schedule. We gave one game away that we should have in our pocket. We are just starting to scratch the surface of how good we can become if we all believe it. I think we'll show up in practice Wednesday with a lot of enthusiasm.
*(on his thoughts as the game-winning touchdown was scored)
I obviously couldn't see that sideline. The guys in the press box were saying it was a touchdown. There were so many things about the play that had to be reviewed – where was the ball when he hit the pylon, and those things. Once I saw it on the big screen I knew it was a touchdown.
(on the athletic ability of running back Vick Ballard on the final play)
*That is a great play. That is a highlight reel right there. I'm sure you will see that on SportsCenter a few times in the next week or so.
(on Ballard scoring his first career touchdown on the game-winner)
That is big time. That's what you dream about as a kid. Give me the ball when it's crunch time and you make the play to win the game. I'm sure he'll sleep well tonight.
COLTS LB PAT ANGERER
(on not giving up many points)
We gave up little plays here or there, but for the most part I thought we played great. I am really happy with the way our defensive line played, it was really good for us.
(on if getting the first road win will help this team)
I hope so. It can only help. There are still mistakes and things that we shot ourselves in the foot with but I will just learn from and move on and build from it.
(on if the team is ahead of where people thought they would be now)
We got four more wins than everyone thought we would have, so that's good. We always knew we could be a good football team. We are getting there, we are still not there yet but with a little improvement here and there we can be alright.
COLTS LT ANTHONY CASTONZO
* (on getting his first road win)*
It feels great. It's my first career win on the road so it's going to be a blast. It's going to be a fin trip home.
(on staying in the game despite mistakes)
It seemed like everything was going wrong. In the first half we were just blowing opportunities left and right and we just weren't clicking. We just kind of banded together and hung on and our playmakers would make plays and our playmakers would come through at the end.
(on having and 80-yard drive to tie and to win)
We just kept our nose to the grindstone. There wasn't really a switch that got flipped. It was just doing what we do and we knew that it would be successful eventually. We just stuck to it and we ended up coming through in the end.
COLTS S ANTOINE BETHEA
(on the winning play)
It's going to be all over ESPN. It was just a great call at that time and a great effort by him taking off at the five-yard-line and making that play, we have been saying that some young guys have to step up and make some plays. (Andrew) Luck made some plays, DA (Donnie Avery) made some good catches, and then Vick (Ballard) at the end of the game making a hell of a play.
COLTS DE CORY REDDING
(on being ahead of where they are supposed to be)
If we were to believe all of the writers and all of the naysayers we would be 0-5 or 0-7 right now. Nobody picked us to win this game, but we don't give a crap about none of that, man. The men in this locker room are going to fight every week. We are going to fight every week. We are going to go out there and play great team ball today, and we got one on the road. Tough environment, hostile environment, but we didn't break. We might have bent a little bit, but we didn't break. We had an opportunity, got the ball in the overtime, and went down there and scored. It showed the heart of this team and I am very proud of my teammates right now.
(on getting the first road win)
Every week is crucial. We have to win whether we are at home or on the road. We didn't get a road win this year and we knew that going into this game. The focus was extremely high. All of the men were all about going out, silencing this crowd, going and getting a win, and going back home and stack another win. You have to stack wins in this league to be the team that you want to be in January and we have to learn how to win on the road. It was tough. No one said that is was going to be pretty, but we got it done. It was great team ball. No one wavered when we came in here at halftime. We came back in there and got our energy back up and said that the second half is our half. Let's go out there and win this game and go back home with a win.
(on what went through his mind on the last play)
Touchdown. Touchdown. First of all, gutsy call by BA (Bruce Arians). I love that man. It was a gutsy call. I love his fire. It was a gutsy call, but great effort on that play by beating that guy to the end zone. I'm telling you guys, yall seen our heart today and we are going to keep showing it. We are going to keep showing it because that is the kind men that we have on this team and that's the kind of team we believe we are. The best is yet to come man, better keep up.
(on Vick Ballard's athleticism)
That is the kind of mindset, the kind of effort we need to play winning football. Do whatever it takes by any means necessary.
COLTS RB DONALD BROWN
(on what it means to have the running game going)
It's huge for our offense. It's more of a guessing game and takes the pressure off of our quarterback. The offensive line is doing a great job right now so we are just going to keep it going.
(on having surgery two weeks ago and playing today)
It felt good and I am feeling good right now. Just keep treating it and keep working hard.
(on running the ball in overtime)
That's what we need to do. When our number is called we need to make the most of those opportunities. The offensive line did a great job and that will help open up the passing game. We are just trying to help this offense and help this team any way we can…It's important because when you can run the ball you control the game and that's a huge momentum swing. It demoralizes the defense. The offensive line did a great job.
COLTS RB VICK BALLARD
(on scoring his first-career touchdown in overtime to win the game)
Oh yeah, I've done it twice in college and never been successful in getting a touchdown but I guess the saying is third times the charm. It just worked out for me.
(on his game-winning touchdown)
We put it in this week. The first time we ran it, it looked good. The second time we ran it, it looked good, so we knew we were going to go with it. We had run the ball all the way down the field, so it was a fake toss and a screen left back to me. It was set up well, and as soon as I saw Andrew (Luck) turn around I knew it was game time.
(on what he was thinking when he started to dive for the end zone from the five-yard line)
Had to go get it—the game was on the line. I just knew I had to get in, and the only way I could get in from the five was to jump, and that's what I did.
(on what the plane ride back to Indianapolis is going to be like after their first road win since 2010)
I don't know, I might get some sleep but it's going to feel good. This is the first road win since before last year because they didn't win on the road last year. I am pretty sure just getting the first road win for the whole organization is big.
(on if the team can rest easy after getting a road win)
No, we've got the Dolphins coming up next week, so we have to get ready for them.
(on what it's like being in a huddle in overtime as you are trying to get the game-winning score)
Just to keep fighting. We were fighting the whole time through the game—we were behind the whole game before we scored the touchdown to tie it up. Like I said, we just kept fighting and kept believing in ourselves and it worked out for us.
COLTS CB JERRAUD POWERS
(on what he was thinking when he was watching Vick Ballard run up the sideline for the potential game-winning touchdown)
I actually was not expecting him to dive from the five, and do a backflip and his head hit the pylon and win the game. That's not how I envisioned it, but a (heck of) a play by Vick—he and Donald (Brown) ran the ball hard all day. Great call by B.A. (Bruce Arians). That was a (heck of) a screen call, and Vick is one of those guys who feels like when the ball is in his hands he can go all the way and make a play, and that's what he did. Big road win for us.
(on holding the Titans to 13 points)
As a defense, that's all you worry about. It's the NFL, with today's league you're not going to go out there and just stop everything they're going to do, but you can prevent them from scoring points. That's sort of been our downfall on the road is not stopping the offense at home, but whenever you can go on the road and you can hold a team to one touchdown and the rest field goals. If you can hold a team to 13 points on the road and win in overtime, that's huge. Especially because it's like two wins, a big AFC win and a big division win so we're 1-1 and we're sitting alone in second place in our division. 4-3 kind of puts us ahead of some guys who lost today who were sitting at 3-3 or whatever the case is—big road win for us. We have to take care of business against Miami next week.
(on if he remembers the Colts' last road win)
The last road win, was…who was it, Oakland? Yeah, it's too long. It feels great. After the Jets game everybody was like, 'We've got to play better on the road if we're going to consider us a playoff contender team, or whatever the case is.' In the Jets locker room, I remember it like it was yesterday, all the vets said, 'Next time we're on the road we're going to make sure we play better.' Was it perfect? No. Did we do enough to win the game? Yeah. I am pretty sure if you ask (Andrew) Luck, he wanted to put up more points and if you ask us (the defense) we wanted to stop them. It wasn't a perfect win, but whenever you can win on the road we'll take it.
COLTS QB ANDREW LUCK
(on the game-winning screen play that went for a touchdown in overtime)
A little bit (of a throwback screen) yeah, but there was also an option to throw it on a traditional-naked bootleg as well, so that didn't happen, obviously. I turned around and threw it and saw a Titans' uniform flash and I said, 'Oh God, this may be the end of the game in the wrong way.' I saw Vick (Ballard) catch it, and I saw somebody—I don't know who it was just driving a guy in a block and what a wonderful individual effort by Vick Ballard to get it in there.
(on what it does for an offense when you're able to run the ball like the Colts were able to run the ball today)
I think it's great. It makes dropping back a little easier; guys aren't just pinning their ears back. I think it's great to get first downs on consecutive runs—it does so much for the offense, and allowing B.A. (Bruce Arians) to open it up and call some play action stuff, open the passing game up as well. I think just a great job by the O-line—and wide receivers and tight ends, everybody blocking down field today.
(on OL Anthony Castonzo saying during the drive in overtime he could hear the Titans' defenders calling out what play the Colts were going to run and still not being able to stop it)
I did not hear that, but again it's just a testament to the O-line—really coming off, using their technique and creating holes for the running backs, and then the running backs running hard, running strong and holding onto the football.
(on how difficult it was to not get frustrated when they moved the ball well most of the day but weren't getting points)
You realize it's a long game, and if it's in the second half and something stalls you know you still have one more opportunity left and to make sure we take care of that opportunity. It still is a little frustrating not being able to finish those drives off. I think I'm the main culprit. Losing focus and certain things not falling our way, but that's something we're going to have to improve upon if we to continue to win football games.
(on what it feels like to finally get a road win and Interim Head Coach Bruce Arians saying it was a big monkey off their backs)
I would agree. Especially being in the division and what those games mean. To come down here, against a very good team, a great rivalry within the division—to get a win is big, and to get two wins in a row is big as well. It's something we've talked about, stacking wins together, getting one on the road and we'll come back next week with more focus, more intensity and hopefully get another one.
(on if he was confident that they would score a touchdown on the game-winning play)
Yeah, I thought it was a really neat play design by B.A. (Bruce Arians). When he called it I wasn't too surprised because it had worked in practice, and with the way things were going I thought it was a great call and I'm glad it worked out.
(on what makes the throw-back screen so hard to defend)
I don't know. There is a lot of moving parts. There is a fake left and a roll right, an option to throw it over the middle of the field, to the edge or throw it back to the left side of the field with lineman blocking. I thought it was well executed by all the guys and, again, I'm just glad it worked out.
(on if the Colts are ahead of schedule)
I don't know. I'm just trying to take it week-by-week. I don't think we've earned the right to look ahead and say we need to be here. Take it week-by-week, try and stack wins together and at the end of the year if we have enough wins to be in the playoffs that'll be great and go from there.
(on RB Donald Brown's performance today)
Unbelievable for him to come back and show as much pop and explosiveness as he did so short after that injury that was great. I think that provided a great lift, a great spell for Vick and Mewelde (Moore) and Delone (Carter) and he's a big part of our offense. It was a big boost to have him in there.
(on how he was able to have a lot of success under pressure)
I think when you're getting blitzed or pressured, it's an opportunity for a big play and the lineman are scratching and fighting their butts off to push a guy by or what have you. Receivers understanding they might have to get out of their break a second sooner, and I thought they did a great job and I just had to put the ball in a place where they could try and catch it.
