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Postgame Quotes: HC Brian Daboll, RB Saquon Barkley, QB Daniel Jones

Head Coach Brian Daboll

Opening statement:

Daboll: "Well, crash landing here. Give Philly credit. They did everything better than we did today. Tough game. We really got beat in all facets, so it wasn't one thing in particular. It was a team game and we just didn't get it done. Congratulations to Philly. They get to move on and unfortunately we don't."

On how hard it was to stop the Eagles momentum in the first half:

Daboll: "I'd say anytime teams get a jump like that it's always, you know, to have the lead at halftime is a pretty high percentage of having a chance to win. We couldn't get anything going offensively. Couldn't stop them on third downs or red zone. Running the ball was a collective effort in terms of not being able to get it done. So that starts with me. I appreciate our team. I told those guys I appreciate their effort. The entire year, their work ethic, people in the organization. But Philly deserved to win that game. It's a crash landing in the playoffs. Losses hurt. These losses hurt even more."

On what he takes away from this season after tonight's ending:

Daboll: "I'm probably not there yet. It's the immediate aftermath of getting beat soundly. I feel for those guys. We just didn't get it done."

On whether he believes the future is bright for the Giants:

Daboll: "It's probably a bit too early. Look, I'm proud of the guys and the way we competed. I'm proud of the coaches, the staff members. You really only do this for one reason at this level and it hurts when you lose."

On whether he wanted to be aggressive tonight:

Daboll: "Yeah with that 4th-and-eight, 4th-and-seven where we were. I knew what the line was for our kicker and it was past that so I felt good about the play that we worked on throughout the week. We practiced a fair amount of fourth downs. We just didn't get it done."

On the punt in the fourth quarter down 21 points:

Daboll: "Yeah they hadn't scored yet in that half. I'm counting on the defense maybe just from so backed up to maybe get a three-and-out. Then they had a long drive. We probably could've went for it, but we weren't executing well enough to be there so that's what we did."

On how different Eagles QB Jalen Hurts looked from the last time the Giants saw him:

Daboll: "[Eagles QB] Jalen [Hurts] is a good football player. He's in the MVP race. They did everything well. Ten of 14 on third down. Four of five in the red zone. Two hundred and seventy yards and controlled the game. Six point one yard average. They played good offensive football."

On the problems the Eagles' pass rush gave them:

Daboll: "I think as the game goes on, they're a very good pass rush team as it is. And then how the game is going, I think that aids in it, too. That's why they were a couple of sacks away from the record. They have a really explosive team. Offense, defense. They're a good football team."

On why the Eagles had so much success running the football:

Daboll: "They're a good team. They have good schemes. They have good players. They did a better job of executing their stuff. I think they were dialing up a bunch of different things. They had it rolling tonight. Give them credit."

On what he thought about Giants QB Daniel Jones' performance:

Daboll: "He competed. Look, we all didn't do a good enough job. That starts with me. [Giants QB] Daniel [Jones] is a competitor. You know, they controlled the game the entire game."

On what he told the team post-game:

Daboll: "I told them to keep their heads up. They competed hard. It's a crash landing in the playoffs. Anytime you lose it hurts because of the amount of effort and energy you put into it each week. And when you lose this time of year, it hurts even more. You work extremely hard to get to this point. You're blessed to get to this point. It's hard to do. Give Philly credit. They did everything better than we did tonight."

On how valuable the experience gained this year is for young players:

Daboll: "Yeah, I think the most important thing is playing well. So, I think there will be time for reflecting and things like that but the most important thing is playing well. Give Philly credit."

On how long it usually takes him to digest the end of a season like this:

Daboll: "A while. Yeah a while. I don't know. I'd say, a bit. We'll have meetings tomorrow. Exit meetings and things like that. Go through things. It's a long offseason, there is a lot of stuff to do. You lose at this time of year. It sucks."

On the strides that Giants QB Daniel Jones made this year and if he surprised him by how much he improved:

Daboll: "No, I wouldn't say that. I'd say [Giants QB] Daniel [Jones] has been a consistent guy since we've been here. Again, I told all the guys I appreciate what they've done, the commitment they've given to their teammates, to the coaches, to the organization. And you know, there is no easy way to say it, it's a tough pill to swallow right now."

On whether he thinks Giants QB Daniel Jones will be the quarterback for the next Giants game:

Daboll: "All these conversations, we are going to have those. We have a long offseason. There is a time and place to have all those conversations and tonight is not it."

On how much he thinks tonight's game was decided in the trenches:

Daboll: "Well, I'd say it's decided all the way around. We got beat soundly. We got outcoached, we got outplayed, and that all starts with me."

On whether this loss sets the measuring stick moving forward that this is the gap they have to close:

Daboll: "Yeah, I think there is a time and place for that, too. I really don't have a whole lot to add. I understand you guys have questions and stuff. I'm just taking this one in. Unfortunately we didn't get it done."

On how he would describe his feelings at the moment:

Daboll: "I'm disappointed. I wish we could have done a better job. I wish I could have done a better job. I feel like crap. That's as honest as you can be. You work extremely hard to get to this spot. You do not take it for granted. This is a hard place to get to, the division round, and to move forward. I feel more for the players and the coaches because we put everything we had into it. We just didn't get it done."

On how much he struggled with punts or going for it on 4*th*-and-eight on their first drive after the Eagles' opening drive touchdown:

Daboll: "No, I didn't struggle with it. Wanted to be fairly aggressive. Where we were at, we were too far out to kick a field goal. And I liked the play that [Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike] Kafka was going to call and went for it."

On the sack right before that and whether that knocks them out of field goal range in his mind:

Daboll: "Yeah, the line for us tonight was the 35 [yard line]. That was where our line was at. So anything after that now you have to make fourth down decisions, decide what you want to do. You can do that after warm-ups so that's where it was tonight. Got to have it, maybe add a couple more to that but that's where we started with."

On whether he feels like the team's mood in the locker room reflects what he is feeling now:

Daboll: "Yeah, we are disappointed. We do this for one reason, to try to win. And we didn't get it done."

Closing statement:

Daboll: "Appreciate you guys all year. You guys do a good job. Sorry we can't meet next week."

Running Back Saquon Barkley

On how tonight's game played out:

Barkley: "I really have to go back and watch film before I can give an honest answer to that. You don't really give yourself a chance when you're down 3 or 4 scores. And that's on all of us. We all could've done a better job today. And it starts with myself.

On if it's tough to get going when the Eagles pass rush affects the passing game:

Barkley: "It's not just the pass rush, it's all three levels. The D-Line, linebackers, DB's, they're talented all around.  They're talented on the offensive side and on special teams. They're a talented team and they executed their game plan better than us."

On his thoughts about the season:

Barkley: "It sucks, this was a fun team. The guys here, coaches, everything that we were able to build this year. The way we played for each other this year, it was special. Obviously it didn't end the way we would have wanted it to end. Not just because of the record or because we made it to playoffs, this is probably one of my favorite teams of all time. That's a sad thing about the NFL, no matter what the locker room is not going to be the exact same next year. So just happy to be able to go out there with these guys and lay it all out on the line and compete with them. It's a special bunch, I'll tell you that, all those guys everywhere, offense, defense, special teams, coaches, equipment guys, everybody. It's a special group of guys and girls so yeah, it's sad, sad that it has come to an end but, go back and watch film and get ready for the off season and see where you can improve."

Quarterback Daniel Jones

On how tough it was to try and get the offense going:

Jones: "Yes, they are good. They are a good team, good defense, good front, and a good secondary. Give a lot of credit to them because they played well."

On what led to this game getting out of hand early:

Jones: "We didn't execute well enough early on. We didn't score points and the turnover was critical. We fell behind and they are a good team. We got off to a slow start and they pushed back."

On what the difference was this week with the Eagles containing his mobility and getting around compared to last week:

Jones: "I will certainly go back and look at the tape and see if there was opportunities to make more plays and where I could have done a better job. I thought they did a good job with their rush and speed. They made some good plays when I did try and get out and use my legs a little bit. They are good, but I will go back and look at it and see where I can take better advantage of those opportunities."

On what Giants HC Brian Daboll's message to the team was after the loss:

Jones: "Obviously, not the result we wanted today. We didn't play well enough today and we are certainly disappointed by that. We came a long way this year and we accomplished a lot as a team. We have a special group of guys in that locker room and that was a special thing to be a part of. Certainly not satisfied with where we are, but a lot of appreciation and respect for the guys in the locker room."

On what the future looks like and how much does he want to remain a New York Giant:

Jones: "I think we will get into that down the road. At this point, this is still very fresh. This season. This loss. It will take some time to regroup and think through that going forward."

On what the future of this team looks like after what they accomplished this year:

Jones: "I think the future of the team is bright. We have a lot of young core guys that made a lot of plays and stepped up and have been huge all year. There is certainly a bright future here."

On what he thinks he proved this year:

Jones: "I don't know what I proved. I think I improved every week. I thought I was consistent throughout the year. There are certainly things I like to have back, especially tonight. I think there are some things I'll go back and look to clean up and improve and grow as a player going forward. I thought overall, I did do that. I grew and improved throughout the year and I will continue to try and do that."

On clarifying whether his offseason goal is to stay with the New York Giants:

Jones: "Like I said, we will cross that bridge when we get there. I really enjoyed playing here. I appreciate all of those guys in the locker room. It is a special group of guys and I have really enjoyed being a part of it. We will figure out where that goes, but I have nothing but love and respect for this organization and the group of guys in the locker room."

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