Head Coach Brian Daboll

BRIAN DABOLL: Tough game. Competitive game. In the end just didn't make enough plays to get the outcome we want. Gave up some big plays there, right before the two minute (warning) and at the end of the half. Those are game changing plays that we need to make.

Q: On those plays with a third down, they have the long passes out there. Is it technique, is it just blown coverage, what was your take on it?

BRIAN DABOLL: I'm not going to get into the particulars, but we didn't end up making them. So, that's the tough part about it. Those are some big plays. But make no excuse, they made them and we didn't.

Q: What did you say to your team in there at 2-7 now at this point in the season?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, I just talked about this game. There's opportunities that we had that we didn't capitalize on and that's why we got the results we got.

Q: The first half was unusual, you guys ran very well. At times you seemed very hesitant to have (quarterback) Daniel Jones throw the ball. Is that…

BRIAN DABOLL: No, we were productive running the ball. (We had) like seven yards a carry, so we kept doing that. We had the one touchdown on a play action pass on the goal line. We threw two screens. But we were productive moving the football. We turned the ball over on the one screen. So, that was part of the plan. I thought the guys did a good job of executing, being physical at the line of scrimmage and controlling the line of scrimmage. That was the reason.

Q: With all that, though, it was only seven points… You were down 14 points.

BRIAN DABOLL: We gave up that one (touchdown) where we drove down and then we had one punt. I think we punted.

Q: What was your take on the (wide receiver Darius) Slayton pass interference call?

BRIAN DABOLL: I don't know, you would have to ask the officials.

Q: What did they (the officials) tell you?

BRIAN DABOLL: It was penalty.

Q: With how well you were running the ball, any regret about calling a pass play there, when you were getting chunk run, chunk run, chunk run and then finally a turnover on the pass play?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, it was a screen. We had a huge play, but they made a play on it. It would have been a pretty good play.

Q: On the two-point (conversation) attempts, is that an analytics thing?

BRIAN DABOLL: That's something that we talk about during the week. If we get in that situation, that's what we're going to do. But it's analytics-based.

Q: You guys haven't been very successful with those two-point plays, at what point does that take over from the…

BRIAN DABOLL: I felt good about what we had and they did a good job of stopping it.

Q: You had the three timeouts there. Why not use the timeout on the front side of the two minute warning?

BRIAN DABOLL: It was 42 seconds (remaining), so they had to snap the ball. We'd save them after that. If it was underneath a certain amount, we would have used it. If it was over a certain amount when the ball hit, we weren't going to use it, let it go.

Q: Thinking when you don't really throw the ball down the field in the first half, I know you were productive, but it only produces seven points, right? The thinking is that, 'Hey, it shows a lack of confidence of some sorts in your quarterback to make big plays down the field in that regard…

BRIAN DABOLL: We were averaging seven yards running the ball. We felt comfortable. That was the plan coming into the game. We wanted to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. It has nothing to do with Daniel (Jones) throwing it or not throwing it.

Q: Why don't you think the pass rush got home today the way it has been?

BRIAN DABOLL: I don't think we had… We didn't have any sacks, right? We didn't have any sacks. We didn't have any turnovers. So, not good enough.

Q: What happened to (kicker) Greg (Joseph)?

BRIAN DABOLL: He got hurt.

Q: In practice?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah.

Q: There's been a lot of kickers that have been injured in practice lately. Is there anything that you can do about that, that you see, on why that keeps happening?

BRIAN DABOLL: No.

QB Daniel Jones

Q: I know it wasn't the result you expected. Could you talk a little bit about the touchdown that you ran for it?

A: Yeah, just a zone read play there. Thought it was a good call down there and just try to do what you can to get in the endzone in those situations.

Q: What do you hope to improve before the next game?

A: Well, I mean I think obviously the turnover was critical. So, look to see where we can do a better job there and I thought we moved the ball well, ran the ball well, our action game and some of that stuff in the second half was productive. Obviously, a couple three-and-outs, so look to see where we can improve those situations. Just overall, have to be better.

Q: When you score on that running touchdown what's going through your head as you spike the ball?

A: Just excited to score. Big point in the game where we needed a touchdown and just excited to get in.

Q: How frustrating is it to have yet another loss and just can't close it out?

A: Yeah, very frustrating. I think yeah, tough, tough position. We've got to find a way to make some more plays and win these games. So, yeah very frustrating.

Q: Were you surprised by the run pass balance in the first half? You guys were running the ball well but hardly passing at all. What did you think about that mix of play calling?

A: I knew we wanted to run the ball in this game, that was part of the game plan. I think the way it played out, maybe didn't expect to run it that much, but we were running it really well and effectively moving the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage, and Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll) obviously felt that was working for us, and it was. So, we stuck with it and I thought it was pretty good.

Q: I know the coach is in charge of arguing with officials, not you, but what did you think about that call on that pick play on WR Darius Slayton? Did you see what—

A: Yeah, I haven't really seen it yet. I'll go back and watch the film. When you're on the two-yard line right there, the rule (is) you can make contact with them within one yard of the line of scrimmage. So, we'll see what it looked like on film, but Slay's pretty good, Wan'Dale's (Robinson) pretty good in those situations, so we'll go back and look and see what it looks like.

Q: Does running the ball that much that early take away anything from the rhythm that you might have needed later for the pass game?

A: I don't think so. I think if anything it helped later with some of the play action stuff that worked, controlling the line of scrimmage. Yeah, we were running the ball well, so we stuck with it.

DL Dexter Lawrence II

Q: How frustrating was it for the defense when you needed it a few times, just couldn't quite get the stops?

A: Very. We got to be better. It's situational, knowing what's going on during the game and how we got to perform during that time of the game and understand the importance of it. And that's where you got to be at your best. We weren't.

Q: When they punted one time all day, as a defensive player, what does it feel like?

A: I mean we didn't do good on third down and they went on some fourth downs too. They just outplayed us.

Q: Did you feel your offense gave you a chance in this game?

A: I think the offense played well enough for us to win. Defense just got beat up today.

Q: What happened? Why? The past few games, you guys have been able to get to the quarterback with no problem. Today, you guys weren't able to touch (Commanders quarterback) Jayden Daniels.

A: They had a lot of chippers. He catches the ball at seven (yards deep), sits back at 12 and they were chipping. He's gotten very comfortable real quick with the game. He did a good job evading the pressure.

Q: When you were sitting here with (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns), you looked very frustrated. Is that how you feel?

A: Don't worry. If I'm talking to my teammates, it's nothing for you to be concerned about. We're just talking about the game and what we're going to do to be better.

Q: When you look at the big picture, at 2-7, where do you take this from here?

A: We've got to be more precise. I think as a team and as individuals, we've got to understand the game a little more, understand why certain things are being called, understand the importance of situations in the game and momentum shifts in the game. We haven't been good at that and that's the thing.

Q: How do you keep the guys hungry and motivated?

A: Just understanding your 'why', why you play this sport and who you do it for. We're grown out here. We got to be able to motivate ourselves and just play a simple game of football. That's it. My message is you're just playing organized, backyard football. That's the approach that should be taken. Just to ease, if there's any anxiety or anything like that, just to ease it and come ready to play.

Q: Do you feel in this game, the way the offense was coming back in the second half, your offense, that you guys were maybe one stop away from winning?

A: They gave us a chance to win, and we didn't take advantage of it.

Q: That's hard, right?

A: They gave us a chance to win, and we didn't take advantage of it.

OLB Brian Burns

Q: You said last week 'This team needs to grow up'. How did you feel like you guys did with that this week?

A: Grew up in ways. Not so much in other ways.

Q: How so? Where did you see the progress, and where did you see not enough?

A: I've got to watch the film to dissect that.

Q: How frustrating is it to be in this position again, answering these questions?

A: Very.

Q: You and Dex (nose tackle Dexter Lawrence) are over there after the game – 30, 40 minutes after it's over – still in your uniform and stuff. What are you guys going over there? Are you just kind of expressing your frustrations to each other there?
A: Just talking over the game – things that happened, things we need to change for this week coming up. That's pretty much it.

Q: What do you think needs to change?A: I'll probably keep what me and Dex said (un)disclosed, respectfully.

Q: Last week, you said a lot of the details, small things, need to be cleaned up. Was that still part of the issue today?
A: Yeah. I tip my hat off to the Commanders. They played a clean game, good game. They executed well. They made more plays than we did. It just comes down to the details and taking a step further in your preparation. I feel like those are the things we're missing.

Q: I know it's just one week later, but why do you think that's still an issue with the details?
A: I don't have those answers yet.

Q: Are you kind of searching for answers in general? Do you know what needs to be fixed? Or is it tough to put your finger on it?
A: You know what needs to be fixed. Like I said, it's the details. But at the same time, it just comes down to making more plays than the other team.

Q: What did you think of Jayden Daniels today?

A: He's impressive. The game has already slowed down for him to a certain extent. He seems very poised. He seems like he's in control. They did a good job of trying to slow down our line with the chips and the other stuff they did. They had a good game plan. They executed well.

WR Malik Nabers

Q: There were quite a few times today where you guys try to get the pass game going, but it didn't look like there was a lot of room to operate in their secondary. What were they doing?

A: What quarter are you talking about?

Q: In the second half, you guys were able to get a couple touchdowns, but it didn't seem like there were a lot of yards after the catch in most cases because they were pretty close to you guys.

A: That's their defense. We made plays when the ball got handed to us. We scored touchdown. We passed the ball good. Of course, it's the NFL. It's going to be 'bang bang' plays.

Q: How frustrating was this for you just to lose this many straight – just not finishing?
A: I think it's frustrating for everybody. I mean, nobody wants to lose. We play this game so we don't lose, but it comes with the territory. With the game that we play, we're going to lose. Just got to find a way to win. It's as frustrating as it gets. You've still got to find a way to win.

Q: How are you finding it as a rookie, just coming from a program (Louisiana State University) of success?
A: It's new. I would rather want to be coming up and trying to win than going to somebody who's just winning and not producing (myself). You've got to get it from the ground up – I'd rather come from the mud like I did regularly. It feels better when you come from the mud and you start winning successfully.

Q: The second drive, you guys did a lot of running and went over 70 yards, I believe, on the drive.

A: What do you mean? First quarter?

Q: First quarter – correct. What kind of emotional lift was that at that point? Did you think it was going to be a better day for the offense from that point?

A: I don't call the plays, so I mean, I don't know. When you run the clock out in the first half, you're scratching in the second half to try to score points, as many as possible. As an offense, you've got to be versatile. You've got to be able to run. You've got to be able to pass. You can't pick between half and half what you want to do. But like I said, I'm not the play caller.

Q: You mentioned you'd rather be with a program that's coming from the ground up. Do you think where things are at now that you can still do that here?
A: Yeah, you've just got to build. You've got to build up. You've got to put the right people in place to be successful. You've got to get the right keys. You've got to get the right guys on the team to win. Obviously, the Commanders have done that. They've got the right guys that they want to be on the team, and they're winning.

Q: You and (Washington Commanders quarterback) Jayden (Daniels) had a long talk after the game. Were you catching up?
A: Yeah, catching up.

Q: What did you think of how he played today?
A: I know how he played. Nothing different. Leading his team to win – he's going to do that every time he steps on the field.