Head Coach Brian Daboll

Opening Statement:

Daboll: "Tough hard fought game on the road. That's a division team that we obviously played a few weeks ago, we just made a few more plays than they did. Thought we protected the ball well and then some critical plays there at the end that we made. I was proud of the guys and the way they competed, so it was a good win."

On the locker room being pretty lively for only an 'okay' win:

Daboll: "Beats the alternative."

On getting good information to challenge the fumble:

Daboll: "Yeah, I'd say that again really all year I've mentioned these guys before, but [offensive assistant/game manager] Cade [Knox] and [director of football data and innovation] Ty [Siam], they're really two guys that I lean on a lot during the week in terms of management, clock management, 4th down decisions, overtime decisions. That 4th down that we went for there that was already – we knew that we would go for that in that particular situation on Wednesday after the morning meeting I had with those guys. So everyone contributed to the win. Those two guys were certainly a big part of it. Two Ivy Leaguers, so try to listen to the Ivy Leaguers."

On OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux's performance:

Daboll: "I think he has consistently improved throughout the year. I've said this before, I'm glad we drafted him. I'm glad he is a part of the team. I think he has gotten better each week. He's a big part of our defense."

On Thibodeaux's performance tonight:

Daboll: "I thought he gave obviously a lot of juice. That play that he made down there when they were backed up kind of changed the tide a little bit in the early part of the game. He is a very talented player and he played like it."

On him just trying to keep the one game at a time mantra:

Daboll: "Yeah, try to stay consistent. You know, enjoy this one here on the way home then get ready to go play another good team. That's the way you gotta be. I mean, I just don't believe in riding roller coasters in this league. I did when I was younger a little bit, I rode it. It doesn't do anybody any good. The only thing you can control is what is right in front of you. So, the outcome of last week or two weeks ago really has no bearing on what you need to do for the upcoming week. Just like this really will have no bearing on what we need to do next week. I know it is not flashy but that's just what I believe in."

On the goal line stand at the end:

Daboll: "It was awesome. Great play by [CB Nick] McCloud. [He] got some pressure. I mean they did a great job. I'd say the whole team did a really good job from the coaches to the players executing. The players fought, competed hard. Thought the coaches and the coordinators did a really good job of calling the game the way we needed to call it. And again, I talked about this last week, it is 4 or 5 plays that it comes down to and our guys, I give them credit, they made those plays."

On Thibodeaux saying he likes to play in primetime:

Daboll: "I mean he's played in two primetime games in the NFL. We will kind of slow the roll on that one."

On there not being a penalty called on the final play:

Daboll: "That was a good play. Good play."

On how badly he thought his team needed to win this game:

Daboll: "I think it's really just week-to-week. There's ebbs and flows of every season. I've said it before, it beats the alternative. You know it was good to see smiles on the guys faces and that's why you do this, to compete and try to get the outcome you are hoping for and sometimes you don't. But that's not for a lack of doing things the right way, coming in, practicing hard, preparing the right way. So, obviously you enjoy the result of winning, that's why we all do this, is to try and win. But these guys have worked hard since we have been here. To try to remain consistent during those times, that's not always the easiest for 25, 24, 23 year old's. But I'm proud of the way they competed and just played the next play tonight."

On if he has learned anything about his team fighting through adversity:

Daboll: "Yeah, that they just focused on today. Again, we still have a ways to go here. We are building as a team. I think they try to do everything the right way that we ask them to do and stay consistent with their approach and come in with positive attitudes and get ready for the upcoming opponent."

On if K Graham Gano got hurt on the final kickoff:

Daboll: "He's fine. From what they told me he is good."

On him being questioned on his confidence in QB Daniel Jones after the first game against Washington and on going for it on fourth-and-nine:

Daboll: "I was questioned on my confidence in Daniel? By who? [Media says: "By us."] Oh, I have confidence in Daniel. I have since I have been here. No, I mean each game is different. Decision-making processes are different. We talk about those things on Wednesday and Thursday. I'd say we spend a lot of meeting time. So, when we get to the game, I can live with those decisions because we've studied them, discussed them and it's what we believe in to do for that particular game. If they work, it's a great call and if they don't, they don't. But I can live with the process of how we try to come to those conclusions each week because of the time spent. And I'd say those two guys do a great job, Ty and Cade. And they spend a lot of time on it. We have a lot of good discussions. I might not always agree with them on Wednesday and Thursday but we keep on talking about it and going through certain situations. We try to be as detailed and thorough as we can."

On RB Saquon Barkley's performance:

Daboll: "I saw an explosive, downhill, powerful runner. And I was proud as heck of the kid."

On the 98-yard drive:

Daboll: "Just a lot of good execution. I mean we made some big 3rd downs. I thought [WR] Richie [James], and [TE] Daniel [Jones] stood out on a couple of those. They had some guys coming off the edge and Daniel made some really tight throws. Richie made some good 3rd downs, we hit the 4th down and 9. I thought [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka] called a really good play there. The one to Saquon right? Thought that was good where he kind of shifted and Daniel [Bellinger] went out. So, I'd say a lot of good design by the coaches, good play calls by Mike. But always the credit goes to the players and executing. Hard to have those drives. I don't know how many plays it was. 18? Yeah, I mean that's hard to do, so credit to the players."

On what it means to guarantee a winning season after the franchise has not had one since 2016:

Daboll: "I don't know. Just get ready to play Minnesota this week on Saturday. Doesn't mean anything right now. I'm just happy we won this game. Just get ready to play Minnesota."

On if he can elaborate on the meeting earlier in the week where he decided they would go for it on 4th-and-9:

Daboll: "We do that every week, every single week. So, you don't know when those things are going to come up or how things are going to evolve. Do you go for it on 4th-and-3 or do you do this? There are so many different things that come up. Do you have discussions during the game? Yeah. I have a line that goes to special teams. I have a line that goes to offense. I have a line that goes to defense, and I have a line that goes to Cade and Ty. So again, the amount of discussion and research that I'd say the two of them do [Cade and Ty] and then sit down with me, we spend a lot of time on it. There's a lot of numbers and percentages, and there's also real conversations about the players, or the matchups. You kind of combine everything and I don't think you just take one thing and say this is what you do. I think you have to have a feel for the game, you gotta have a feel for your opponent, you gotta have a feel for the matchup, you gotta have a feel for the weather if somethings different. So, we are always in constant communication and we just try to do what's best for us."

On what this win says about the makeup of his team:

Daboll: "I'm just happy to win the game. I think I got a feel for the make up of our team since we've been here in OTA's, training camp, and all the games we've had. I think they just try to play the next play. They are group of hardworking guys that focus on what's in from of them. That's a bunch of good guys to work with."

Quarterback Daniel Jones

On the Giants 98-yard touchdown drive:

Daniel Jones: "It was consistent execution, play after play. I thought it had a good mix. I thought [Offensive Coordinator] Mike Kafka did a really good job on that one, keeping them guessing on what we were doing. The guys did a good job executing it."

On if he was surprised they decided to go for it on 4th and 9:

Daniel Jones: "I think with where we were on the field and how it was going, I anticipated that a little bit. Yeah, it was a big play [WR] Richie [James] did a really good job winning on that route and getting some separation for us. So that was, obviously, a big play on that drive."

On if he likes Head Coach Brian Daboll going for it on 4th downs regularly:

Daniel Jones: "Yeah, I mean that's where you want to be as players, you want to be in those positions. Big plays with a chance to deliver, chances to execute and do what you've got to do to sustain a drive or make a play, and as players we love being in those situations."

On what it's like waiting on the sideline for the defense to get off the field:

Daniel Jones: "There are definitely some nerves there, but a lot of faith in our defense, they did a really good job all game, really, holding them and came up really big at the end. Some big time plays by those guys, so, hats off to them."

On RB Saquon [Barkley]'s performance on the second to final offensive drive:

Daniel Jones: "Yeah, it's fun to watch. Fun to watch for sure. Yeah, he took over there, and like you said, a bunch of key runs, and that's what you expect out of your best players, to take over in the fourth quarter and deliver. Real big time for him to do that. Offensive line did a great job giving him some seams, and that's all he needs to make some big plays, so hats off to him."

On if he saw anything in RB Saquon Barkley in the huddle to indicate strong performance:

Daniel Jones: "Yeah I think so, I think you could tell as soon as we got into that drive talking in the huddle, he's ready to go, he's asking for the ball, he's asking for those chances and having spent as much time with him as I have, it's no surprise to me that he loves being in those situations, he loves the opportunity to potentially close the game out and make a lot of really good plays."

On how far he thinks the Giants have come in one year:

Daniel Jones: "I think last year, the circumstances were very different. We've improved every week this year, and I'm proud of where this team is at this point, we've got a lot we still need to improve on and still need to sharpen up, and that's what we're going to focus on doing this week, but we've certainly improved a lot."

On what he liked most about the way that he played tonight:

Daniel Jones: "I think I made some good decisions for the most part, some key conversions that kept drives going in critical points of the game, and I thought I saw the field pretty well, so, I'll look at the tape and see what I can improve on, but, a big win for us, a lot of guys stepped up."

On taking a big step towards playing in his first playoffs:

Daniel Jones: "Well, it feels good to get the win, it's a big win for us. You know, playing meaningful games here in December is where you want to be, but we still got three more important games for us, and we haven't achieved that goal yet, we still got to play well, and we'll take it one game at a time."

On his reaction to DE Kayvon Thibodeaux's strip sack and touchdown:

Daniel Jones: "It was a heck of a play by him, he had a similar one a couple of weeks ago and got the sack on that one, and then the sack, fumble, touchdown this week was an incredible play, he's playing at an extremely high level right now."

Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

On how his eye is feeling:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "It's alright, it's got a little wink to it."

On if he did anything differently or learned from the prior matchup:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "I didn't do anything different. Honestly, it's manifestation. I had a talk with my mom before the game. She said it was on her heart to tell me that you can do anything that you put your mind to. For me, I had to say it and believe it, and I was able to do it."

On his touchdown:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "This game was gritty. If I had to tell you about it, it was a game that you knew you had to dig deep. It's cold, it's freezing, you're hurting. Everything is an issue. I think us as a team, took it upon ourselves to call our fights. As a defensive line, there was no dodging. Everybody called out who they wanted and it was a battle. I think we were able to execute and everybody was able to make plays and if you ask me what happened - when I seen him, I was like shoot, he still got the ball, so when I hit him, I can tell you what happened after that, I just seen it and kept going."

On stopping the touchdown in the fourth quarter:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "I was in coverage right there. Sometimes it's hard when you're playing man coverage and you gotta look back. But when I seen him coming, I'm just like strap up. That was one of the fourth and one moments. It's actually funny, I thought about this - I went and told Dave, 'put me in on fourth and one. If it's me against anyone, I'm coming out victorious, so once again, that's me not being a liar."

On what the performance says about the team:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "We're gonna battle. I think our coaches are resilient and I think they call the game with fire, with passion, and players see that. It helps us build because we do it together. Every team, they speak about this 'we're family', but come on. Everybody knows that. Let's be real and see it. It exudes out of how we play. I think for us, we gotta continue to stick together, continue to keep our bodies healthy and keep moving."

On if he had a good angle on his stop on the potential Heinicke touchdown run on the final drive:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "When you look down and you see him running, and you look down, and you see the goal line right there - that isn't about angles, that's about making a play. I couldn't tell you if I had a good angle. He saw me and I saw him. That's it."

On if he had been waiting for a game like this:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "No, you never wait. You just keep working. It's gonna come. That's one thing that the vets have been imparting to me that 'how many games have you went without a sack' and it's New York and the people asking how do you feel. That's it, that's the life. I didn't get here because I was waiting or sitting back or wanted to see what was going to happen. I take everything that's been given to me. I take everything that's in front of me. There's nothing that's given."

On his strip sack:

Kayvon Thibodeaux: "I'm gonna be honest, I made a joke on the sideline and I said if you're playing football you can't think at the same time so you've gotta let my adrenaline come down. I'll be able to tell you what happened."

Running Back Saquon Barkley

On his mindset during the last drive:

Saquon Barkley: "Just trying to finish the game. The O-Line did a great job, leaning on them all game. We knew stuff was going to start popping, it was only a matter of time and it timed up at the right time. [Offensive line coach] Bobby [Johnson] and [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka] did a great job calling plays. I guess looking back on it, I really wish we would have ended up with six there and ended up with the ball in our hands, but we were able to get points out of that situation and our defense had our back."

On wanting to be the guy to end games in the 4th quarter:

Saquon Barkley: "It's not really on your mind. You realize the moment. You want to be the guy. You want to make plays in that moment. Kind of just relax, take a deep breath and let your body take over."

On what if felt like to get a heavy workload in tonight's game:

Saquon Barkley: "It felt pretty good. We got the run game going at the end. The O-Line, kept leaning on them. We knew it was going to pop at some point. We kept trusting it, and [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka] and [offensive line coach] Bobby [Johnson] and all those guys did a good job of continuing to trust the run and make the right calls."

On his touchdown run:

Saquon Barkley: "Great play call, great design by all the coaches. Once I did the motion, I knew we had numbers and it was on me to make it work and the O-Line did a great job with blocking it up for an easy walk-in."

On if he's hitting his stride at the right moment:

Saquon Barkley: "Yeah. You go through strides. You go through ups and downs through the season. Started off really fast and had a little stretch where the run game wasn't really going, but it only takes one game. Hopefully this game will catapult us to continue to get the run game going for the rest of the season."

On what changed on the last possession:

Saquon Barkley: "Nothing really changed. We just stuck with it. We kept trusting it. We didn't abandon the run. Obviously, that situation we kind of treat it like four minutes already. I know there were like five minutes on the clock, but the O-Line did a really good job. Just continuing to lean on them throughout the whole game. The holes popped open and I gotta make reads and cuts and get low on the safeties and make some other guys miss."

On if he felt like he took over the game late in the fourth quarter:

Saquon Barkley: "You gotta be yourself if you are your biggest critic. So we didn't end up with six in that situation. Gotta find a way to end up with six in that situation or the ball in our hands and just end the game right there. That's the beauty of football. Defense and special teams had our back."

On QB Daniel Jones' performance:

Saquon Barkley: "He's done it all year. I kind of knew he was going to play really well this game. Ball just snapped off his hand pregame. It was a big game, a big moment and we needed our big time players to make big plays and you see a lot of those guys stepped up. You see [QB] Daniel [Jones], [RUSH] Kayvon [Thibodeaux], [DT Dexter Lawrence], [DT Leonard Williams]. All those guys stepped up and made big plays."

On if needing big time players to step up also includes K Graham Gano:

Saquon Barkley: "It's in. It's money. We know we good. Whatever landmark we have to get to, we're trusting [K] Graham [Gano]. He's been doing it for a very long time. Every time I see Graham, going back to my rookie year when he beat us with a 63-yard field goal. A kick or two, he's one of our leaders, one of our captains. One of our big-time players and he made a big time kick too."

On Thibodeaux's performance:

Saquon Barkley: "The biggest thing for me that stood out, outside of his performance was before the game a rookie stepped up and called everyone up and got us going. And that's big. He showed his leadership qualities, showed the type of person he is and it's every single day. He comes to work every single day, he grinds and works on his craft and gets better. Like I said, big time players need to step up in this game and our guys gotta be the guys. And he's one of those guys, and I think that's just the start. He showed what he's capable of doing and the future is really bright for him."

On what he meant by Thibodeaux calling people up before the game:

Saquon Barkley: "Before the game on the field. After we stretched, we all call it up, we all get in. Usually it's [inaudible] or one of the defensive guys. He didn't shy away from the moment."

On what that says about Thibodeaux:

Saquon Barkley: "It's big when a rookie steps up in that moment in a big game. Just shows you his character, his leadership qualities and that's big. Not only did he step up and talk about it, he was about it on the field. He let his play do the talking too."

On this being his first non-losing season as a member of the Giants:

Saquon Barkley: "It's been a lot of ups and downs throughout these past couple years. What does it really mean? It means we give ourselves a better chance of accomplishing our goals. That's one day at a time. Come in, we got a quick turnaround Saturday against a really good team that just came back from being down 33 points. None of us are shocked in this locker room. We knew what we were capable of doing, and we put ourselves in the driver seat to control our own destiny. Gotta take it one day at a time to win games."

Defensive Lineman Leonard Williams

On the forced fumble in the fourth quarter:

Leonard Williams: "I seen the ball and I seen a lot of space, and I actually tried to pick it up and run, but I tripped somehow. Big feet, something, I don't know. I was able to recover the ball and get on it, and they reviewed and gave it to us and you know, it was a big-time play."

On the second goal line stand:

Leonard Williams: "Yeah, they had a penalty and I think we took advantage of that; backed them up a little bit. You know, Azeez [Ojulari] got a hit on the quarterback, then Dex [Dexter Lawrence] got a hit on the quarterback. I think the D-line and the defense was doing a good job of just pressuring them. Then Darnay (Holmes) made that big play to end the game. I think the defense showed up big-time today."

On the defensive mindset after the Dotson catch:

Leonard Williams: "Exactly, we knew how much was on the line. We knew that we still had time left on the clock and a lot of field left to go. They didn't score yet, so the job wasn't finished. And we finished the job. We were bending. We didn't fold though."

Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence

On if he knew right away that he had forced the fumble when he did:

Dexter Lawrence: "I felt it come out, but I didn't really think about the review. But that was a good review. I felt it come out, I was just trying to hurry up and play the next play, because I know how critical the red area is."

On the fumble recovery:

Dexter Lawrence: "No. I made the sack, got up and tried to get back to the line. Then I saw the red flag and they challenged it, and yeah."

Safety Julian Love

On the last play of the game:

Julian Love: "Man, it's just hope. Nah, this defensive backfield, everybody in our mind they're like, 'I want them to throw to my guy.' That's the kind of guys we have in the locker room. And, yeah, it was a tough situation. I was in coverage just trying to stay on my guy, and you see the ball, and you see an aggressive finish on the play. That's a great stop. That's what you've got to do."

On the playoff chances:

Julian Love: "I think it's a good feeling. I think this is a big game, on the road, against a division opponent. Winning this game or losing this game didn't mean anything guaranteed for the playoffs, regardless. And so, it just gives us an opportunity, and that's all you want. 91 percent is better than zero, I'll tell you that much. And so, we're going to stay consistent. We are going stay locked in. We've got a big game next week, but we are going to enjoy this and analyze what we did right and what we did wrong and correct things."