Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka

MIKE KAFKA: Just a couple injury updates from the game. "AT" (Giants LT Andrew Thomas), hamstring. (Giants CB Cor'Dale) Flott has a knee. JMS (Giants C John Michael Schmitz Jr.) has a hand that we're working through. (Giants CL) D.J. Davidson, neck. And then (Giants OLB Brian) Burns and (Giants S Tyler) Nubin, they were both cleared -- they were cleared during the game. Then (Giants G Jon) Runyan (Jr.), his wife went into labor, so you know, thinking about him as well as he's going through that process with his wife. I think that's pretty much it.

Q. Any concern on (CB Cordale) Flott, could it be serious?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, we'll see. I haven't had a chance to meet with the doctors yet and stuff but yeah they are looking at him right now.

Q. What was it about their defense that was so challenging to your passing attack today?

MIKE KAFKA: You know, they did a nice job of mixing up some coverages, some pressure packages. And the attempts that we had, which were limited, we had some cover zero alerts, some tags built into it. Just need overall better execution there from the whole group.

Q. It seemed to be a very conservative game plan, run heavy game plan. Was that the way you wanted to go into this game?

MIKE KAFKA: I wouldn't call running the ball conservative. I would say, you know, I think for us, we just wanted to try and minimize some of that pressure package and let our run game go. So we were mixing a couple different personnel groupings. Getting into some 13 personnel, some 12, a little bit of 11, but trying to create an advantage for us.

Q. Is minimizing that pass rush and throwing four passes in the first half, it seemed like you never could get into your passing game in any way, shape or form.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, part of the plan was getting to the run game a little bit more, and that's part of the process we went through this week. When you have a coordinator that likes to pressure and that's a strength of theirs, you can minimize it by a couple things, whether it's screens, whether it's max protecting it or the run game which helps neutralize that.

Q. I think it was 13 passing yards, and guys had, depending on how you want to characterize it, about three or four drops as well. Why were things so out of sync with that passing attack? I don't think we've seen one that bad.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I'll back and look it exactly. But on the field, it just felt like we had some opportunities and we missed them. So we'll look back at the tape and see where we can get those things cleaned up whether it's protection, whether it's the scheme, whether it's ball location or just drops. Like I think there's a couple different factors that could go into it. So I don't want to be too early on what the exact reason was without watching it again thoroughly.

Q. (Giants TE) Theo (Johnson) had two today -- he's had quite a few this year, eight or nine, why has that been an issue?

MIKE KAFKA: Theo is a guy that we really rely on and I think he's a guy that's made a lot of big plays consistently throughout the last, call it, five, seven games and he's a guy we'll continue to put the ball in his hands and give him opportunities down the field. I know he's had drops in the past. Like that's in the past. I have a lot of confidence in Theo and him being able to make big time plays for us.

Q. What do you say to (Giants QB) Jaxson (Dart) after these games?

MIKE KAFKA: It's for the whole group, the whole group, we've got to go back and look at this tape and be ultra critical on what that looked like and the things we can get better at. For any player, what they can do individually, what we can do as a unit. And then holistically as a team, where are some spots where I can improve and I can be an asset to the group and whether that's being aggressive, being less aggressive, towing the line in terms of how we want to play the game and the game management part of it, and that's what I'll evaluate and be hypercritical on myself about.

Q. What did you see on the third and 17? A big play to (Vikings WR) Justin Jefferson.

MIKE KAFKA: I didn't see that. I was bouncing, I was talking to the offense. I saw the replay, but I don't know exactly what happened on the play.

Q. Generally, the defense gave up a lot of third-and-long chunk plays today. How would you evaluate that? What did you see there? What was going on?

MIKE KAFKA: Again, like during those times, sometimes I'm like getting ready, like thinking, you know if we get the ball back, talking to the offense, so I'm relying on some of the eyes upstairs. So I'll go back and look at it. Obviously we don't want to give up those big third downs. It might be something as simple as just the fundamentals, getting the guy down and tackling him. I know on a couple we had some opportunities to tackle them short of the sticks. Didn't do it. But we'll look at it. We'll focus on it and make that a point of emphasis for this week of practice.

Q. You mentioned how they mixed up their coverages. Did they throw things you weren't expecting you had to adjust to?

MIKE KAFKA: No. I actually felt great about the plan and what we were expecting there. Obviously sometimes the down and distance, we talked about this earlier, get back on track in the early part of the down. You know, second and longs, those type of things, we wanted to stay out of those because we knew what elements could show up but I felt really clean about the plan. We've just got to look back at it and see what are the things we could have done better in that particular area.

Q. How do you think Jaxson handled the pressure? Looked like he got a couple opportunities to throw the ball away and got sacked instead.

MIKE KAFKA: I thought Jaxson overall with the plan he understood the plan and at the line of scrimmage he was doing a good job of seeing it and being decisive of what he wanted to do. I think as he learns, and as he sees more of these, the ability to get the ball out just a touch faster, use some of those sights and keep his mind clear on it, and not put himself in a bad spot because I thought he had some opportunities downfield. Sometimes, whether it's a pop or someone gets into that window, you've got to hold it an extra tick longer. So that's part of the growth process with it, but I thought Jaxson was seeing it clearly and certainly the conversations we have on the sideline, he felt about good the plan as well. But it's not just one guy. Everyone has to see it the same way and we've got to go out there and execute better.

Q. On the opening kickoff ball out-of-bounds, was it the wind or what was the explanation on why the ball went out-of-bounds?

MIKE KAFKA: I think he just hooked it a little bit to the right.

Q. You passed up a fairly short field goal the first series. Why did you do that?

MIKE KAFKA: I was wanting to stay aggressive. I knew I wanted to stay aggressive in the early part of the game. We had an opportunity -- it was kind of right there -- and I was talking with our analytics guys and game management guys, and it's right there. It's probably a good-for and, so I wanted to put it in our offense's hands. And early in the game especially. You never know how the game is going to declare and be at the end of it, so we wanted to stay aggressive early in the game and if we had an opportunity in that down and distance, we were going to go.

Q. Did you talk to say or talk to (Giants OLB) Abdul (Carter) at all after the offsides negated the touchdown?

MIKE KAFKA: No, I haven't had a chance to talk to him. I know he's beating himself up about it. It's tough. He's trying to get a jump on the football, a little bit too far. A really unfortunate play overall because it takes away points, takes away a huge play. But the defense, they battled back from that, and ended up getting another one.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart

Q: Talk about the defense, what went into the matchup, the challenge they posed?

DART: I felt like third and fourth down -- especially the first half – cover zero team, always bringing a guy that was extra, and we had blocking, and that was kind of what we saw on third and fourth down. That's what they did, especially in the first half.

Q: Obviously the game plan was very run heavy. Is that something you embrace coming into the game? I mean, there were very few chances for you to throw the ball, certainly in the first half.

DART: I trust the coaches' game plan each week. Understand it. You have conversations and my job is just to go out there and execute the play that's being called.

Q: You had a long conversation with each of the other quarterbacks at your locker. What were they trying to tell you?

DART: I'm just going to keep that in between us.

Q: We talked to you earlier in the season, you said that you don't want this to become the norm and not let this becomes what happens week after week. It hasd. How have you been able to process this and keep your morale up?

DART: It's just a new experience I've never been through before, and it doesn't make it any easier than what it is. You just try to do your best to stay positive as much as you can. There's just a quick turnaround each week, so I feel like the times where you hang on to a loss for too long, it goes into your next game and prep. That's just the mentality and process that I try to have.

Q: As you continue to go through your development in the league this year, are there certain plays today that you want to go back and look at to make sure you're processing it the way you want to process it?

DART: I would say probably early on in the game there was a few plays where just decision-wise, check-wise, I feel like I could have done a little bit more. So those are kind of the ones that are on the top of my mind at this moment. But you've got to go back and watch the tape.

Q: It's the third straight year for this team with nine straight losses. Just what are your emotions at this point?

DART: Still just trying to process this one. It's kind of just a hard question to ask or answer, sorry. It's a hard question to answer right now, just it being so fresh and obviously this is just not how you plan it out to go in your head before the season. It's definitely been difficult.

Q: Do you think you guys had enough answers to what they ran on defense today, like built in to what you saw and what options you had?

DART: You trust the game plan. You have those conversations with the coaches and you just do your best to execute. For myself and for our team, we had our opportunities and we didn't do that at a level enough to win the game.

Q: Was this as uncomfortable as you think you've felt in the pocket since you've been here?

DART: Yeah, I thought they did a good job. I thought they did a good job of staying true to rush lanes. The opportunities that you have in the game when you're kind of in those exotic downs and when they are trying to light it up, you just try your best to stay composed during all that. But I thought that they did a good job.

Q: You get to a situation, you prepare so much for this defense, what you thought you would get, and then the game starts. When you leave here, do you feel more prepared? Unfortunately this league is one game and that's it. But if you were to see this team again next weekend, do you feel like you would go into that game because of what you experienced today maybe a little bit differently prepared to face them now that you've seen them?

DART: I didn't think that there was anything that I felt like hadn't seen on film. We kind of knew how they were in early downs and when they got into exotic downs depending on where the ball was on the field, what we were going to see. Opportunity-wise, I think that you just have to be great, when you have those opportunities, you know, to throw the ball and a lot of them are -- on third down, you have to be able to make those plays and have everybody be on the same page.

Q: Do you think it might have been helpful to throw the ball more on those early downs?

DART: I trusted the plan. We have conversations and as players, we have communication with the coaches and you go out there and just do your best to execute what's being called.

Q: Have you ever been part of a game, I think it was 13 net passing yards?

DART: No, I haven't.

Q: Nothing close?

DART: No.

Q: After a game like this, you don't want to get into it the details of it but what do (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) and (quarterback Russell Wilson) Russ, what are they able to give you as veteran quarterbacks after a tough game like this?

DART: Probably the big thing is perspective. They have been through a lot. They have had crazy good games. They have had games where they struggled themselves. A lot of this new for me and I definitely lean on those guys and have those conversations.

Q: Since you've come back from the concussion, have you noticed things specifically from the defense playing you a little bit differently?

DART: No, I wouldn't say too much. Each defense is different you play each week. So, you just do your best to prepare and whatever play is called, you just have to go out there and execute it.

Q: What do you hope to take away from this game?

DART: Just not let it happen again, I guess.

Q: The different offensive linemen. You had three starters out. What was that like for you?

DART: I've gotten reps with all those guys throughout my time here. This is probably the first time we've had that much movement in the rotation but I trust in all those guys, and they have prepared and work really hard. So I have all the trust in the world in them.

Q: After you guys tied it up and then the defense was on the field, watching you from the top on the sideline, you were walking back and forth and bouncing around, what's the mentality in that situation? Are you blocking everything else out and just like give me one more shot?

DART: Yeah, absolutely. That's definitely what's going through your mind, and I thought the defense played an amazing game. Could have had another touchdown, you know? So I thought they did a great job tonight. We just didn't play good enough complimentary football off of them.

Q: What are you learning about the winds of the stadium?

DART: I didn't feel like it was blowing that hard today.

Q: I know it wasn't today, but I'm just saying in general, Last week you had some wind. Would you say that when you play here at home, are you learning anything about how to play in the wind?

DART: Yeah, you know the weather report before the game. I didn't think there was really any one factor to kind of make adjustments off of today for me personally.

Q: How do you deal with the drops by your receivers?

DART: Just look at what I could have done better to make it easier for them.

Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence

Q: Dex, we know about the number of other teams that you see pretty consistently, but to kind of be in the streak you're on right now without getting to the quarterback position is kind of almost hard to fathom for you, because we know what you're capable of?

LAWRENCE: I got to him.

Q: In terms of actually registering a sack, like having a registered sack...

LAWRENCE: I mean, I affected him a lot today, some missed throws, some hits. Sometimes you're not going to get it, and for me, I've just got to keep going. I can't let that hinder my play, can't let numbers hinder my play. I've just got to keep going.

Q: What was your vision, your sight line on (safety Jevón) Holland interception? They're running it back, and when do you kind of realize it's a play?

LAWRENCE: After we scored, yeah. But it's the little things, I guess. The little things that can't happen. We've just got to keep going, get ready for next week.

Q: I mean, is that a gut punch for a defense?

LAWRENCE: I mean, for him, I'm sure he was tired. So, I'm sure he was tired running back from the interception, but we still got grass, and we've still got to fight. And we've still got to go and hold him to three at that point in the red zone. I think he might have scored on some crazy jump in the end zone – but we've just got to keep fighting at that point.

Q: What can (linebacker) Abdul (Carter) learn from that offsides?

LAWRENCE: I mean, I guess just check with the refs sometimes. You get in your zone, you get in you're alignments, and you're lining up off the offensive lineman, and sometimes they are deeper than the ball, the line of scrimmage. You've just got to sometimes check or look down the line.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about (outside linebacker) Brian Burns? I know it hasn't been the best year for you guys, but he had two more sacks today. It's 15 on the year, a career high. Just kind of what he's meant to you in this defense.

A: Man, his motor, he don't stop. And you saw it early in camp. He's been consistent in bringing it to the season. I praise him the most. We talk a lot, and we understand the importance of being consistent and attacking every play.

Q: What do you mean when you say you noticed it in camp, what did you notice?

LAWRENCE: Just him flying around, hawking down (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) in camp, and knocking out his tooth. He showed it early and it's good to see him translate to the season.

Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas

Q: How are you feeling? They said it's a hamstring, how are you feeling?

THOMAS: Sore, we haven't done the image yet, so, we'll see tomorrow what the diagnosis is.

Q: Do you have the feeling that if circumstances were different could you have gone back in the game?

THOMAS: Not really, I talked to the training staff at halftime, and we decided it was the best to stay out.

Q: Concern because you have a hamstring, is it the same leg?

THOMAS: No, different.

Q: You missed a lot of time last time, any concern for you with that? Or feels different? Does it feel like what happened to you two years ago?

THOMAS: I think it's different, but like I said, haven't got the MRI yet. Once we see that, then we'll go from there.

Q: There was a lot of talk about the chaos that the Vikings blitz package causes. Now that you've had the chance to see it firsthand and feel it firsthand, what were your thoughts about having to handle it?

THOMAS: It's what they've done all year. They have designer pressures depending on who you're going against. Communication, again, to the line of scrimmage and the execution is the biggest thing when you're playing a defense like that and we didn't do a good enough job with that today.

Q: Is it more difficult when you actually play against it then what you see on film? We found out right before the game that (Jon) Runyan (Jr.) (New York Giants Guard) was not available, so now you're going to have a substitution, which I would assume makes things a little more difficult?

THOMAS: Yeah, definitely having continuity helps when it comes to things like that. Communication is big when they have all the different pressures and different alignments. I think we were prepared; we just didn't execute well enough.

Q: How about the wind down there? How much of a factor was that? You guys only had 33 passing yards, so obviously some of that is (Brian) Flores (Defensive Coordinator), but was it also difficult to get anything going with the wind?

THOMAS: I'm not sure that the wind had much factor in it, we just didn't do well enough.

Q: Three different starters on the line out there. How did Jaxson handle that adjustment?

THOMAS: I think he did a good job of it. We had a lot of plays, especially on third down this week, that were multiple plays that he had to communicate. He had to read the front, see what it was, make a check. Different guys in the rotation just making sure with communication, who the mike is, the snap count. I think he did a good job with that.

Q: What's the frustration or the surprise, last year you guys lost ten in a row- that was like a once in a lifetime kind of thing- and here you are nine in a row again. To be back here, what's the emotion or feeling of that?

THOMAS: Yeah, it sucks. There's no other thing to say. We're paid to win in this league and be competitive. We're not right now, so got to figure it out.