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Q: Did you like the way you guys responded after that first interception? It seemed like you guys really stepped on the gas pedal.**A: Yeah. Obviously, we had a good little lead there for a little bit. Their offense is high-powered and they fought right back. When they scored, obviously, we responded right back. We had a couple of touchdowns, a field goal and other big plays. That's what we needed to do. It was a good performance by all three phases, in offense, defense and special teams. Obviously, the defense was outstanding by giving us turnovers and the offense was scoring touchdowns, making up plays and we scored enough points to get the win.
Q: Did you like the way you guys performed in the red zone?A: Yeah. I thought the red zone (offense) was definitely better. You're not always going to be 100 percent, but you want it to be. There will be times when the defense makes plays. I thought we had opportunities. We had chances and they made a couple of plays on the fade to Hakeem. They kept us to a field goal, but after that, we started making the plays that we needed to. I hit Hixon on a fade, hit Martellus on a little one and we started running the ball in there as well. Then obviously, hit Victor on a little play-action as well. We talked about needing touchdowns in the red zone and I think when we get inside the red zone more than anybody, we have to make sure that we're getting touchdowns and tonight, we did a good job of that.
Q: How impressed were you with the job that David Wilson did on running the ball and on special teams.A: He had a big night. His special teams and his kickoff returns were outstanding. Obviously, giving us a touchdown after I threw an interception for a touchdown was very nice. I appreciated that. Then, he had a couple of other returns that gave us great field position and then the runs. He ran hard. I said to him, 'Your best play was picking up that three-safety blitz on a play-action.' He's learning, running hard and he had a couple of big runs at the end for first downs. He obviously showed speed on the toss for that last touchdown.
Q: How nice is it to get the field position that you guys got from special teams and the defensive turnovers?A: That's outstanding when the defense gets fumble recoveries, interceptions that gave us great field position. We want to get touchdowns out of those, hopefully. It makes a big difference when we don't have to drive 70 or 80 yards and only have to drive 30 yards to get points. It makes our jobs a lot easier.
Q: Do you think that Wilson can score from anywhere on the field?A: He's definitely got breakaway speed and he showed it tonight on a few plays. Obviously, his kickoff returns were huge for us. If we could get a couple of those per game, or one of those per game, it creates great field position. Obviously, he had three or four great ones and (Jerrel) Jernigan also. Yeah, you get some runs to him where he can… I thought he ran hard tonight. He made a lot of plays. If we just give him a few touches, the more touches you give him, the more opportunities he'll have to break a big one.
Q: You threw four touchdown passes today. The pass you threw to (Domenik) Hixon had a particular effect. Did you feel comfortable throwing that pass in the corner?A: Yeah. They did a good job of rotating their safeties on that one. I knew I was going to have one-on-one coverage and we needed a touchdown in that situation. I was confident, had good rhythm and put it in a spot where only he could catch it or nobody and he made a great catch by staying in-bounds. It was a big play for us, right before halftime. That gave us an eight point lead going into halftime.
Q: You guys had a few weeks where the passing game was out of sync. These last three games, we're seeing different results. How have you guys been able to get that passing game back on track?A: I think offensively, we continued to work and make sure that everybody is doing the right things. Making sure that our assignments, our techniques are perfect and getting back to practice and make sure that everything is sharp. Knowing exactly what we need to do to get open, the offensive line is protecting and we're getting good down and distance and staying out of third-and-long situations. I think guys are just stepping up and responding. Getting Hakeem (Nicks) back and running where he's making plays, that's obviously outstanding. Getting Hixon back into the mix, getting him healthy and Martellus (Bennett) has been playing well. All of those things make a big difference.
Q: What kind of space does Cruz get when those two guys are operating?A: I think when you have three receivers and a tight end who are all capable of getting the ball and you have great confidence and trust that they're going to get open and beat whatever coverage they're throwing at you, or whatever the one-on-ones are, it obviously eliminates what defenses do. They can't just say, 'Hey, we're going to double Hakeem and double Victor.' If they want to do that, we'll go to Martellus, or we'll go to Hixon. I thought tonight, we mixed it up well. It just makes my job a lot easier when I can just read the coverage and understand what my rules are, where I need to go with the ball and the first guys are winning on their routes.
Q: Right before kickoff, Dallas and Washington won in dramatic fashion with field goals at the end. Were you guys aware of that and if so, did that change the feel or the urgency of this game?A: No. We came in all week knowing what this game meant. We needed to get a win. I think our concern right now and for these next three weeks is about the New York Giants and what we need to do. That's all we can focus on. Obviously, each week might present a different circumstance. Obviously, after the first week of this four-game season, all three teams in the NFC East won. I think Philly won also, so all four teams in this race won games. We have to keep going and keep winning football games.
Q: When did you know that Dallas and Washington had won?A: I happened to see during the time-out. I looked up and saw that Washington had won. I did not see that Dallas won until after the game. I asked somebody and they told me that Dallas won.
