Head Coach Brian Daboll
BRIAN DABOLL: Tough loss. I thought our defense played very good football. Missed the quarterback run early on a rush lane. But they played winning football, to hold those receivers to what we held them to in the pass game. I think (Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe) Burrow had about 50 yards rushing. But hats off to the way the defense played. Missed two opportunities in the kicking game. And then didn't score enough points offensively. That starts with me. It's hard to win games when you score seven points. That's the reality of it.
Q: Why do you think the offense struggled so much tonight?
BRIAN DABOLL: It's probably a number of things. I'll go back and watch the tape. I thought we had some opportunities throughout the game. Whether it be run, whether it be pass. We turned the ball over down there on that drive, which was a good drive, to come away with no points. I think we were 5-of-15 (on third-down), somewhere around there. Now we were aggressive on fourth down, because I thought we needed to be against this offense. We just couldn't generate any explosive plays. We had the penalty. Then other than that, we didn't hit many explosive plays. That's in a nutshell, before watching it.
Q: On that first series of the second half, where you did go for it on fourth (down) on the 38, didn't make it and then come back… Is that just a matter of you're just trying to jumpstart your offense?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we didn't have any points. I felt good about the stuff that we had. We were going a little bit up tempo and our defense did a great job after that of holding them, getting the ball back and then going down and scoring. But it's hard to win football games when you score seven points. That's reality of it.
Q: Can you explain what happened on that interception?
BRIAN DABOLL: (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) was getting pressure and tried to throw it out of the back of the end zone. Not what we want to do. So that was a tough one. I'm sure he'd like to have that back. I'd like to have certainly the play call back when you get a result like that.
Q: Were you trying to hit (tight end) Theo (Johnson) on the back side there or did you want him to take (running back Tyrone) Tracy in the flat there, and that's…
BRIAN DABOLL: With the pressure, they looped around (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor). We had a chance at (Tyrone) Tracy or throw it at his feet if we don't have him. That was a shot type of play to Theo (Johnson). If we got sacked, we got sacked. Obviously, we don't want to turn the ball over in that situation. You can put that on me.
Q: It seemed like a similar decision to the one against Cleveland, where (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) batted it away. Is there anything that you can say about him just tossing it up there, multiple guys have a chance to bring it down?
BRIAN DABOLL: I don't think he was trying to throw it to complete it. But, certainly a decision that I know that we'd like to have back. But you can put that on me.
Q: What about on (tackle) Andrew's (Thomas) penalty there on the long play to (wide receiver Darius) Slayton?
BRIAN DABOLL: He was downfield.
Q: What's that a product of?
BRIAN DABOLL: It was an RPO. Run-pass option, read the defense, usually get out of your hands quick. I thought he did. Andrew (Thomas) was blocking the run and it looked to me like it was the right call. That was two penalties for nine yards, but that was a 60-yard gain that totally changed field position.
Q: You mentioned the third down struggles. Did they do anything differently that you had to adjust to?
BRIAN DABOLL: No.
Q: Is there anything you can you put your finger on… Offensively, you've had one touchdown in three games at home, but you have had a lot more success away…
BRIAN DABOLL: It starts with execution. So, seven points won't get it done.
Q: What led to it being such a polar opposite from a week ago, when the offense really seemed to be working against Seattle to now?
BRIAN DABOLL: Every week, I tell you this, it's a week to week league. Every week's different. We didn't execute as well as we executed last week. Overall, I'm saying everybody. And that starts with me.
Q: Was there anything on offense you felt you could lean on? Obviously, in the first half, you couldn't run it. Second half, you were able to run it a little better. Was there anything that you felt, 'Okay, at least I can lean on this?'
BRIAN DABOLL: There's some good things that we did and obviously not good enough. But, we'll go back and we'll look at it. Again, the ultimate deal is scoring points. Whether it's run, pass, whatever it may be. When you're inconsistent with the things that we're inconsistent with right now, the result is seven points. That all starts with me.
Q: We talked a lot a couple weeks ago about the deep balls not connecting. You had a couple last week and feels like it's gotten back to not being able to connect tonight. What do you think was the problem tonight?
BRIAN DABOLL: We'll take a look at it. Every week's different. We hit them last week, we didn't this week, and it's…
Q: How much is that holding you back, not being able to hit those with any level of consistency?
BRIAN DABOLL: Look, you're not going to be an 80% completion rate when you throw deep balls. You're going to hit some, you're going to miss some. Obviously, they help a great deal in terms of ending drives in points when you hit them. Whether that's catch and run, like it was on the one we got called back, or a downfield shot to (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) on the crosser. Whatever it may be. We'll keep working at it.
Q: Did you consider a 54-yard field goal out of (kicker) Greg (Joseph)'s range or were you just reacting to the miss prior to that?
BRIAN DABOLL: I thought it was right on the cusp. We felt like that was the best thing to do, was to go for it on that fourth down there. The one to (Darius) Slayton?
Q: Yes.
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, felt good about the call. Still feel good about the call and they made a good play.
Q: Why did you kick a field goal on second down rather than taking two shots at the end zone and then kicking it?
BRIAN DABOLL: We have a situation there that we've practiced. Go ahead and kick that field goal. Get it back with a little bit more time. We needed two scores. So, field goal and touchdown. We didn't want to waste any more time. We felt we were going to go ahead and kick the field goal right there. Unfortunately, didn't make it.
Q: When you say you still feel good about that call, the incompletion to (Darius) Slayton. What makes you say that after…?
BRIAN DABOLL: I mean the decision to go for it. I would do it again.
Q: Do you think any of issues with the two missed field goals tonight could they be attributed to just to a new holder?
BRIAN DABOLL: He's held for a long time. We felt comfortable with him out there. We're not going to make an excuse for that.
Q: You had to use a timeout on one of those fourth downs. Did you have a headset issue or what?
BRIAN DABOLL: I did.
Q: Did you get it fixed after that one play?
BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, it was after that one. Then they grabbed it and switched it up.
Q: Any significant issue with Andrew's (Thomas) ankle?
BRIAN DABOLL: Don't have anything for you.
Q: What's your optimism level on Malik (Nabers) returning this week?
BRIAN DABOLL: I don't know. We'll ask the doctor and see where he's at. Day to day.
Quarterback Daniel Jones
Q: Daniel, after some of the success your offense had last week, how disappointing is it that you score seven points in this game?
A: Yeah, it's very disappointing – just couldn't sustain drives, execute, get into a rhythm and frustrating – I feel like we've taken steps and progressed as an offense. Obviously, we didn't do that today, so we'll get a look at what we need to do better and clean it up.
Q: What happened with the interception, is that a play you'd like to have back?
A: Yeah, absolutely. Trying to get the ball to the back of the endzone, got hit, got to throw it earlier or get the ball down.
Q: It look like you took a lot of hits tonight, many of them you initiated yourself. Did you make it out of this okay physically? Are you concerned about it long-term?
A: Yeah, I feel good. No, I'm not, I feel good.
Q: Is there any added frustration that the Cowboys and Washington lost today and Philly (Eagles) didn't look that great. This could have put you right back in the race.
A: We're trying to win every game, every time we play, so regardless of what's going on across the league or in our division, we're always trying to win the game we're playing, so it's frustrating for that reason.
Q: Did you guys make a decision at halftime to be more aggressive with going for the fourth downs offensively?
A: I think that was something we had talked about throughout the week, is being aggressive in those situations. Some came up there in the second half and some we executed well and then some we didn't, so we've got to look at where we can clean those up.
Q: How frustrating is it on a day where defense plays like it did to not be able to score more than seven points?
A: Yeah, it's very frustrating to not score more than seven points.
Q: You mentioned you've made progress like in the game with Seattle offensively. It's frustrating not to keep that rhythm. How do you avoid not kind of riding the wave of this and keeping it going in the right direction?
A: I think we've just got to execute. We've got to execute throughout the game, take advantage of the opportunities we have and convert them. It starts from the beginning of the game, help you get into a rhythm and sustain it throughout. Like I said, we'll look at the film and see where we could have improved that.
Q: How difficult is it to not have big explosive plays and have to execute play after play after play?
A: It makes it tough. It makes it tough when you have to do that in this league. I think credit to their defense, their scheme and their plan is to prevent some of those plays, but we've got to execute and find a way to generate some of them.
Q: Did they change it up on the back end as far as coverage-wise from what they usually do to try and take away some of the plays?
A: I think they had a good game plan, some different things here and there, but it was largely what they do and we've just got to execute. It's about what we do and making sure we're doing what we've got to do to move the ball and score points.
Q: What can you guys prevent, like the illegal man downfield on (Giants LT) Andrew (Thomas). You guys hit a monstrous play, it comes back. How do you prevent those types of MEs. I mean is that just repping things consistently?
A: Well, I think in a lot of those RPO-type plays, stuff like that can come up and it's tough. I think obviously Andrew is blocking for the run and he's got a job to do there, so you try to avoid it where you can, but it's the risk you run when you're running some of those RPO-type plays.
Q: What did you learn about (Giants RB Tyrone) Tracy tonight that maybe you didn't know?
A: He played well, played well. He played well last week in Seattle and came in and ran tough. Made some plays in the pass game, thought he had a good night.
Q: After you guys had a missed field goal and then you get back into field goal range, down three, and it would have been a fifty-four yarder, your Coach (Brian Daboll) goes for it again. Obviously, you had gotten two fourth downs on the touchdown drive. Just curious how do you feel about it in that moment – would you rather see a tie game versus going for it?
A: I like the opportunity to go for it, him trusting us to get it and we've got to convert. We've got to execute and do that. So that's Dabs' decision. I like him trusting us and we've got to convert.
Q: The ugly primetime narrative is still there. What are your thoughts on that?
A: I'm just focused on winning games, playing well and winning games. Tough one tonight, but we've got another opportunity next week and that's what we've got to do is focus on that and get ready to go.
Outside Linebacker Brian Burns
Q: Over the past two weeks how you guys have looked defensively overall, what do you make of that?
A: We've played well; like I said, there is still so much more that you can do and there are some opportunities that we have to take advantage of in order to change the game. Just speaking from a holistic view; we have been playing well.
Q: How badly does this team miss [Giants WR Malik Nabers] Nabers right now?
A: He definitely brings out a certain energy, he brings out a certain aura when he is on the field. He's an explosive player and we would love to have him [back out on the field], but we have seen guys step up last week and guys step up this week, so it's always next-man-up.
Q: My apologies if you have already been asked this, but how frustrating is it to have the defensive performance that you guys did to hold them [the Bengals offense] to 10 points and not pull out the win?
A: Very. Like I said, it's frustrating and there are more plays to be made and more things that we can do to change the game. If we want to be an elite defense and live up to who we say we are, then we have to make those plays. When that ball came out [the late 4thquarter fumble by the Bengals that the Giants did not recover before going out-of-bounds], that is a ball that we have to get. It's as simple as that. We had the opportunity. It was on the ground.
Q: That's kind of a chance-play [the late 4th quarter fumble by the Bengals that the Giants did not recover before going out-of-bounds], but other than that, what more can this defense do?
A: It's just the details; we have to get back to the drawing board to see exactly what we can do, but there are still plays to be made. I said the fumble because that was the opportunity that we wanted.
Running Back Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Q: It is often said you can learn more from a loss than you can a win. This was a much more difficult game than last week. What do you think you can take out of this one?
A: I mean just being detailed; we had a lot of penalties. We had a lot of just mishaps on the offensive side. Our defense played amazing. They gave us the ball. We have to take advantage of our opportunities. When we get a short field, or when the defense has a three and out, or whatever it is, we've got to play complementary football. And today we didn't do that in the first half. Second half we came out, we switched it up a little bit. But at the end of the day, we've got to take care of the little details and just fall back on our fundamentals.
Q: I think it was your touchdown that capped off like a 16-play drive where you guys went all the way down the field. What went right on that drive that was going so well that couldn't manifest itself necessarily the rest of the night?
A: Yeah, I think that we kind of just found our niche doing fast tempo, changing the tempo on them. We're conditioned. I feel like they were getting tired, and we were just kind of laying on them in the run game. Then switching up, throwing passes down the field. So, I think that we just kind of switched up the tempo and found our niche.
Q: In the first half, was it some stuff that they were doing differently, or was it just that the execution on your offense's part wasn't as good as you wanted it to be, and that's why you couldn't seem to break through in the first half?
A: Yeah, it was just execution. Like I said, it's just the details. You don't do the little details, you don't fall back on your fundamentals, that's when bad things happen. You're not executing at a high level. And when you don't execute at a high level, that's when you get three and outs, and that's when you don't really move the ball down the field. So, today as an offense, we just got to do better, get back to the drawing boards and just figure out a way to win games.
Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas
Q: How are you feeling physically?
A: Not great, but it's part of the game.
Q: It looked like at the end we could see you limping pretty badly there.
A: Yeah, some of it is sore, so I don't know exactly what it is. So, we'll see what they say.
Q: Did you get imaging done?
A: Well no, I didn't get imaging. I think I'm supposed to go tomorrow.
Q; What did the x-ray say?
A: They said I needed the MRI to see exactly what's going on.
Q: Is it your ankle again?
A: It's my foot.
Q: Do you know when it happened?
A: Somewhere on the scoring drive we had.
Q: What happened at the end? It looked like you were kind of struggling just to get back to the line.
A: Yeah, just fighting.
Q: You're always pretty critical of your own play. How do you feel like you played tonight?
A: Not great, not good enough.
Q: What happened on the penalty?
A: It was an RPO. Similar play happened versus Seattle last week. They didn't call it, so sometimes it's just 50-50. Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't.
