Head Coach Joe Judge

Opening Statement: Good team win today. I was pleased with the way the guys prepared throughout the week. There were a lot of things we focused on throughout the week, starting with fundamentals and going over the roots of how we want to play defense, run defense, play better zone drops and vision for our breaks. Offensively, win up front. We knew they had a good defense and a very good run defense, as well. Our emphasis was being able to finish the game and when we need to run, run effectively, and I thought our team did that. Moving around – this is a good team, puts a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, puts you behind the sticks. Thought (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) did a very good job of using his legs to extend plays. The receivers did a very good job today of getting open, making catches and then making them miss tackles in space. Had some productive plays that way. Thought the kicking game created field position for us, threw some pressure on their specialists as well as covering kicks, so all three phases played together. That was a good job of complementary football. We were able to go ahead and grind this out to a point and then you have to capitalize on your opportunities. I thought down the stretch of the game we did that and we were able to go ahead and have a good team victory. That's a good team on the other side. I think (Panthers Head Coach) Matt (Rhule) does a great job with them. Obviously, they're going through some different things and changes, but they come out there, they play hard, great team speed. We knew it was going to be a great challenge and I'm pleased with the way the guys responded throughout the week. With that being said, I'll open up to any questions you have. 

Q: The defense hasn't played as expected this year and then last week there were some questions about effort and all that. To come back out today and respond the way you did, what does that say about them and what was your assessment of them today?

A: We're a very resilient team. You guys ask me all the time, how do I see the guys come to work, how can I gauge the mood in the building? I tell you all the time, I do it based on how they show up to work, how they meet, their intent in their actions and what they're doing, how they practice on the field, so that's my barometer. That's my measuring stick right there. When the team comes in, they work, they prepare and they do everything necessary to have success, they work together, that's when you know your team is moving in the right direction. I see it from our guys every week. We talk a lot to our guys about (when) you turn the tape on. Well, we turn the tape on Monday the same as we turn it on every week. What did we do well? How do we continue to build on that? What do we have to correct? What do we have to fix? And it always starts with fundamentals. The call, the scheme, the check, whatever it is against a certain opponent, that's going to be different week by week. When we turned the (tape) on last week from the Rams game, there's a lot of stuff that we had to correct, right? Not all of it is going to apply to what we're going to do against the Panthers today, but the fundamentals always apply. That's what we had to do, that's our emphasis right now, being a good fundamental team, eliminating mistakes. There are some things we have to clean up from this game. We'll go ahead and attack that on the film, make sure the guys understand the focus and what we're working on, then keep going forward.

Q: Daniel has had games with more rushing yards, more passing yards, more touchdowns, but is this maybe as tough a game as you've seen him play? I mean, he's running the ball, he's taking hits, he's catching the ball, all those things.

A: Are you saying tough in terms of the challenge for him or physically tough with what he showed?

Q: Physically tough. He took a lot of shots.

A: I think sometimes it's maybe presented a little bit different because you see him running down the field and he takes a shot on the catch he makes and all that stuff. But there are a lot of times he stands in the pocket and I gauge his physical toughness based on how he stands in there with the rush coming at him and still delivers the ball. To me, there's different ways you can gauge that. He definitely had a lot of plays today in terms of showing his toughness. I thought he did a heck of a job on that trick play we had with the catch. We weren't really going for originality on that, but we thought it could be effective and he made it work. Him and (Wide Receiver Dante) Pettis did that. They actually had a play in practice that looked basically identical to that with the way that Dante threw it and how he had to catch, so it's amazing how practice execution becomes game reality. 

Q: He had to make a one-handed catch in practice?

A: In one of them he did, yes.

Q: Did he get them all in practice? Did he drop any in practice?

A: He didn't drop any. We had a couple, I would say, errant throws. It was a little bit of try-outs on the field at times, but Dante comes from a baseball family, so I'm sure he's not going for Thanksgiving in the future if he doesn't make that throw.

Q: How much did you look at this game going in and say, 'Look, they have a really good defensive front. We need to use his athleticism to our advantage here'? I know you always kind of do that, but how much more did you do that this week?

A: I thought (Offensive Coordinator) Jason (Garrett) and his staff did a really good job early in the week of identifying how we want to play this game, what does that team do well, how do we have to go ahead and play to our strengths and not let them use their strengths to expose something of ours. We did some things that we knew would not show up in a lot of games that we had. That was a focus of ours throughout the game planning. Obviously, Daniel's athleticism shows up in that. Quarterback runs showed up throughout the game. Thought he did a good job – some were outside, some were inside, some of the roll passes where we give him a run-pass option. Did a good job throwing the ball accurately on the move today. Our receivers did a really good job of being in the right place at the right time making catches on the move. I was really pleased with how that skill group came together this week. Those guys worked really, really hard this week and there were some things we had to change about how we practiced this week just due to some of the numbers that we had. Some of the things we only did at a walkthrough pace in practice showed up at full speed this week in the game. That was just commitment by those guys of just going back to how to do it fundamentally, making sure they were sharp in their technique and then just communicating a lot between Daniel and that skill group of watching a lot of tape and him saying, 'This is where I'm going to lead you, this is what I'm looking for.' It showed up today in the game. I was pleased.

Q: When you go back and look at the tape, what will you look at specifically? You had two of your offensive tackles illegally downfield. What are the kinds of things you and the coaches are going to focus on?

A: Specifically on those ones, we can't be down the field illegally. That's got to be a focus of the guys understanding what the play is. It's a movement type of pass. We've got to know it's going to be extended time. We can't go down the field. We've got to be smart on that, understanding where the line of scrimmage is. Where's that gray area – a little bit of a buffer zone. Everybody in the league has that, a yard or two, but you can't go drifting on down the field. You have to be more conscious of what you're playing at that point. Our guys, obviously, they made a mistake. We corrected it. We shouldn't have had two. We shouldn't have had any. We don't want to have any going forward and that will be a focus that we have to concentrate on. We don't want any pre-snap penalties or unforced errors. There were some things in the first half that kind of delayed some of the movement and stopped us. We can't shoot ourselves in the foot, so they stopped us in the red area. We were able to have a red area stop ourselves in the first half. But we were moving the ball at times then putting ourselves back with those penalties. We can't have that. We've got to coach it better and we've got to execute better.

Q: We've asked you a bunch about your pass rush and not getting sacks. Obviously, (Linebacker) Azeez (Ojulari) and (Defensive Lineman) Leo (Leonard Williams) did and were effective today. What was the difference today as to why you were able to be more disruptive in the pass rush?

A: I don't think there's going to be any kind of broad-stroke answer to that. The guys have been playing hard. There were some things that happened in the game that they were able to take advantage of the opportunities and we were able to finish with some plays. It's not all about sacks. At the end of the day, you can say, 'Okay, this guy is a 10.0-sack guy.' Well, if he played 1,200 plays, what did he do with the other 1,190 plays? So, it ain't all about sacks. It's about pressuring the quarterback, pressuring the operation, playing complementary football where the pass coverage ties into the pass rush, the zone drops or the man leverage, whatever it may be (and it) all ties together. Thought our guys did a good job as a unit today of really doing that. There was great focus from the defense throughout the week in practice in terms of playing together, understanding how this team is going to attack you, what are their different modes of attacking you and how we have to defend them. There was a great consciousness this week in terms of how to really be in the right place at the right time based on who we're playing. Thought they did a good job in preparation and it showed up in the game.

Q: Just curious, how long have you had that trick play in the playbook and why pull it out in this matchup today?

A: Honestly, (Quarterbacks Coach) Jerry Schuplinski pulled that out of the vault this week, but it wasn't like he invented the play either. You can take it right off the reel of the Super Bowl against Philly when he was in New England as far as what they did. Actually when you look at that game, that play was run by both teams, both in the second quarter. You look back at the Detroit game last year and they ran it against Detroit, a copycat gimmick early in the second half on the first drive, part of their script. You kind of look back in terms of things that come up and sometimes you just watch plays. Look, you don't have to invent the wheel to drive the car fast. Sometimes, you've just got to take what works for you.

Q: Carolina was very vocal this week in terms of attacking guys physically on defense. How important was it for you guys and how much was your defense kind of looking forward to that challenge?

A: There's always a lot of talk. We're focused more in terms of what we've got to do responsibility-wise. They can sit there, say they're going to run the ball and come out here and throw the ball 60 times. Things change within the game. You can say one thing as a coach and you get in the flow of the game, then you have to adjust. You have to change. In terms of coming and knowing they're trying to run the ball, they always try to run the ball. They always try to pass the ball, too. They always have an element of screens, misdirections that show up in every game. Just because someone has a quote in the papers, you can't just go ahead and adjust your game plan processes or just zero in one thing because if you do that and you stop that one thing, then everything else may kill you, too. You've got to be balanced in how you prepare with it. 

Q: You mentioned Daniel and the idea of working with different receivers this week, getting communication down. How much did he take ownership of that this week? You went into today and didn't know for sure which guys were going to be in and which guys were going to be out.

A: It really wasn't any different than any other week. It really wasn't. Pettis and (Wide Receiver David) Sills (V) catch passes every day in practice from Daniel, whether they're running our offense or they're working some of the scout team stuff, working with Daniel or (quarterback) Mike (Glennon) or (Quarterback Brian) Lewerke, whoever it may end up being. It really wasn't a great amount of difference in terms of how we prepare as a skill group. Those guys are always working together. You guys ask me all the time in terms of if someone's hurt, how do you respond? We prepare everybody. We have faith in everybody on our roster to come in, make plays and be productive. We coach every player. Our job as coaches is to coach, develop, correct and make sure we put you in a position to be successful. Their job as players is to execute and be productive. Our guys come to work every week and they do a really great job. I thought Dante really stepped up today and made some big plays for us. Sills did some nice things down the field for us, made some plays in the kicking game, stuff like that being out there. That guy has earned the right to be on the field. He works hard every day for us in practice, so when it was time for his number to be called, we knew he would be ready. That wasn't a question. You talk about the other guys, (Wide Receiver) Collin Johnson, (Wide Receiver) John Ross (III) made some plays for us, (Tight End) Evan Engram showed up big for us at times, so there were a lot of guys making a lot of plays, but that's what we expect every game.

Q: Any of those guys with injuries that we didn't talk about – I know you don't want to talk about it, but do you expect any of them back this week?

A: They're all making progress for us. We'll move them around and see where they go.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q: Take us through the one-handed grab.

A: Yeah, it was a pretty unathletic route getting out there, so he put it out there for me and I just tried to pull it in. Good play, good design, something we'd worked on all week. Good throw by (Wide Receiver) Dante (Pettis). 

Q: (Defensive Back) Logan (Ryan) said something about your basketball skills and that he wants to get you out there one-on-one. What do you have to say about that?

A: (Laughs) I like my chances against Logan and a lot of those guys in that locker room.

Q: It was Marvel day today, was that you channeling some of your superhuman abilities the way that you were running, throwing and catching?

A: No, I don't think it was anything like that. Just trusting what we had prepared and what we worked on all week and trying to execute.  

Q: What were you thinking when that play was finally called? You worked on it in practice, but it's different to know that it's actually happening.

A: Yeah, just trust in that. I think that's the biggest thing is going through the same process you did all week through the play, recognizing the look we're getting and trying to execute it like we practiced. Just trying to do that. 

Q: You got hit pretty good at the end of the play. Was it almost a helmet-to-helmet situation?

A: I'm not sure, I have to go back and look at it. 

Q: As far as the way you guys played today, did you know that you would have to absorb some punishment this game in order to get some things done?

A: It's always a physical game. That's a good defense we were going up against. A lot of speed on that defense, they're an aggressive defense and so we knew it would be that kind of game. We expected it to be a physical game and I thought we did a good job executing the plan. 

Q: When's the last time you had a reception in a game?

A: I don't remember one. 

Q: Not even back in high school?

A: Yeah, maybe I did, but I don't remember one.

Q: How much do you think your athleticism surprises people? It's not something that when you came into the league you were known as a slinger and an athletic quarterback, you were known as a pocket passer. Do you think with the way that you've run and now catching passes that people are taken by surprise?

A: I don't know. I don't know how athletic people perceive me to be, but I just try to make plays when the opportunities are there.

Q: When you worked that play in practice, how many times was the throw as catchable as it was today? I'm sure there were some horrible throws and some really good ones. How many times was it in that middle ground where you could have gotten it?

A: I think it was a good throw. I don't think the route was very good and I don't think I was moving very fast. I've been on the other end of that, so I get mad at guys and I did the same thing there. I think it was a good throw and Dante's thrown it well all week. He's done a good job with it and just tried to execute it.

Q: How many times have people mentioned (Browns Wide Receiver) Odell (Beckham Jr.) to you since the game ended?

A: Nobody has said it to me. That might be the first one. 

Q: What was the mindset right before the game and you found out (Wide Receiver Sterling) Shepard can't make it? You as the quarterback, what is your mindset at that point?

A: Yeah, he's been a really good player for us. Made a lot of plays. Obviously, have a lot of chemistry with him, but we've got guys who can step up and it's a deep group of receivers. A group that we've practiced with a lot. Dante came in, played big time for us. Trust in that, trust in the preparation with those guys and those guys being ready and they were.

Q: You don't feel more pressure on your shoulders?

A: No, no, complete trust in them and those guys stepped up and played really well.

Q: After the catch, you guys still had to go down there and get in the endzone and it turned out to be conventional using Dante. On that specific play, you guys executed that rub route that killed your defense last week. How satisfying was it to see him catch that with no flags and get it into the endzone and get a touchdown?

A: Yeah, that was big finishing with a touchdown there. Dante did a great job executing that play. Something we've worked on a lot and we've put an emphasis on finishing those drives down there. There were a couple instances we can do better with that, so we'll look to work on those things. That play was a bigtime play by him and well executed. 

Q: How deflating was it for you when they overturned the (Tight End) Kyle Rudolph touchdown and then you couldn't get it into the endzone?

A: Disappointing not to score, but that's part of the game. It's going to be back and forth, they're going to make plays and I thought we did a good job staying with it, keeping our composure and keeping going when we got the ball back. 

Q: Who throws a better ball? (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney) or Dante?

A: I don't know, they both can throw it pretty well.

Q: After the first six weeks, how much did you guys need this win to just validate what you're going through?

A: Yeah, I think it was an important win for us. We've had some tough games and some close games, but we believe in who we are as a team, what we're doing as a team and where we're going. We've just got to keep trusting that. Correct things that didn't go well today and build off the things that went well. It's a process and we understand that, and we certainly trust and have a lot of belief in what we're doing. 

Q: Did you like how (Offensive Coordinator) Jason (Garrett)'s game plan weighed heavily on your versatility. It seemed like it was a creative game plan and it weighed heavily on you.

A: Yeah, I thought it was a really good plan going in and like I said, there's several different things that we practiced throughout the week. Understanding what that defense does well – their aggressiveness, their speed on defense and then planning according to that. I thought it was a great plan going in and I thought we did a good job executing it.

Defensive Back Logan Ryan

Q: This was a game where the offense was shorthanded. Did you look at this as a defense and think that this was a game where you need to step up and carry the team?

A: For sure. We always try to do that and honestly, I think this is just a little bit – it's one win and it feels good because we prepared hard for it. It was kind of an identity game for us. Wasn't perfect, it was pretty good, wasn't perfect. Some missed tackles, some stuff we've got to clean up schematically. We talk about pride and I have a lot of pride and this defense has a lot of pride and this area has a lot of pride. When people say you're not playing with pride, that's just inexcusable. You shouldn't even allow that to be questioned. I think today, no matter what was going to happen, we wanted to outscore them personally. I was mad we didn't beat them – it was 3-2, their offense versus our defense in points. We really wanted to outscore them. It just came out of pride and kind of the way you do it. Same plays, same defense, same X's and O's, not everything was magic drawn up in the dirt. It was just playing with more pride and passion and let that energy lift the team.

Q: You guys always talk about how you don't pay attention to the noise, but sometimes the noise gets so loud that you can't ignore it. Was that the case this week?

A: Yeah, obviously, ideally try not to. In professional sports, you play week in and week out, it goes good and it goes bad. This society, just in general, where we're at with technology, you're going to hear things, you're going to see things. You're going to hear how it goes and you want to give the fans something to cheer for. You want to have good results, you want to, honestly, be rewarded for your work. Like I told you guys time and time again, it wasn't for lack of effort and lack of work, it just wasn't coming together and today it came together for us (on) defense, it came together for us as team. We found a way to win. That was the biggest thing and now we have our way and now we just got to try to replicate that with a great week of practice this next week.

Q: We talked a lot about fan reactions over the last couple of weeks. This was for you and a lot of other guys the first home win with the fans in the stadium. What did that feel like?

A: Yeah, it felt great. It won't be our last. It felt great, Marvel Day. Got a good comic book, thought that was pretty cool. My kids were obviously excited I'm a superhero. So, you left with a comic book and a win, you can't get better than that. I thought Marvel Day was awesome. I definitely wanted to win for Marvel Day and I wanted to win for the fans. 

Q: What was it like getting (Linebacker Benardrick) McKinney in this game? He just got signed earlier in the week onto the practice squad and now he's out there playing linebacker. What does it have to do for you to try to help him get acclimated and in the right position?

A: Yeah, I tried to help him get caught up, but I can tell you right now, it wasn't perfect for him, for us, but man he set a tone with some of those hits. I mean, it's as simple as that, some of the aggressiveness, the passion. I love (Panthers Head Coach) Matt Rhule to death, I respected Temple (University) when he was there and he's a great coach, but he talked about them establishing their identity and running the ball 33 times to figure out who they are, and they just got to do it next week. They couldn't establish it against us, so they got to do it next week and they're a good organization over there. They have a good defense, they're tough, but I just think it wasn't happening today just on some of our mindset and making the game simpler, simplicity and willing it to happen.

Q: Do you guys take that personally when another coach says they're going to come out and run it down your throat?

A: You hear it, I'm not Michael Jordan, not everything is personal. I wish I could say that, my results were perfect. I always say how Michael Jordan took everything personal. But you hear that man, and this is our house, this is our fans, they pay good money. I heard a guy in the tunnel say he paid $5,000 for a PSL or whatever and hey, you know, I feel that. I want to give him his money's worth. You just don't let teams come in here and say they're going to do this to you and do that to you. We definitely heard about it, but it was a lot to take personal with how it's been, so to us, we just had to play with a certain type of identity and dominant defense is great way to start.

Q: As a guy who makes a living by stopping these sorts of plays, how would you rate (Quarterback) Daniel Jones' one-handed catch and what did that do to your whole team to adjust some things?

A: Yeah, the speech this week was done is better than perfect. Job done, get the job done, whatever it takes. It might not be perfect, you might not be playing perfect and for Daniel to make – I was just talking to him right there, I didn't know he had that. Again, there's some stuff I don't know he has. He talks about he's a good basketball player. I know he's hearing me right now, we still haven't lined it up on the court. I know his brother plays at Duke, that's better than where my brother plays. My brother's on the couch. Daniel's a competitor. I think he shows that he puts his body on the line to do whatever it takes running. I just heard QB1, RB1 and Wide Receiver 1 today. He put it on the line today and whatever it took to get those first downs, to grind it out. Offense turned it on and put the game out of reach and sealed it how you should. It was a good complementary team win.

Defensive Lineman Leonard Williams

Q: I saw you blowing kisses to the crowd. Is that what you were doing after the safety?

A: Yeah, I was joking around with one of the fans in the crowd pregame, so then after I got a safety, I was doing it again to him.

Q: So you were joking around? So what was the exchange?

A: I think while we were out there for pregame warmups, he was kind of doing that (motions) like how I did last game and instead of doing it back, I just like blew him kisses (laughs) and then when I got the safety, I did it again to him.

Q: How much did the defense need a game like this?

A: This is big time. As a unit, we kind of talked about putting the team on our back more and how our team is—what we think our team is built around the defense. We take pride in being a defensive team and you know so far this year we haven't really been stepping up to the plate and I think this was a really big game for us. We didn't allow any touchdowns and we're putting our offense in some good field position and we closed the game out like we wanted to.

Q: What was the biggest difference? What did you do differently?

A: I think we did a good job on first and second down. That was probably the biggest difference to me, so it allowed us to get in some good third down situations where we were able to pass rush and then also actually be successful at the pass rush. I don't remember how many times we got him down but at least six times I think, and I think, like I said, it was the first and second downs that helped us get in those situations.

Q: (Giants FS) Logan (Ryan) said that coming in this week you guys kind of heard (Panthers Head Coach) Matt Rhule say that they wanted to establish their offense by running the football, you took that as a challenge. Did you feel the same way as Logan did?

A: It's kind of been the talk a little bit this week, but at the same time, you don't want to overcommit to something because they obviously have other parts of their offense, so we weren't focusing too much on it. We knew that it was something that we as a unit had to focus on—stopping the run—regardless of if they said that they were going to run the ball or not. We knew focusing on ourselves, that that was something we needed to do, so it wasn't really as much about them. It was more like what can we do to be better and instead of what can we, we weren't trying to adjust on them, we were trying to fix ourselves.

Q: How did you feel about the two quarterback sacks? What was going through your mind?

A: The safety was pretty big. I was excited about that. We were talking about getting points on defense and getting turnovers and stuff like that and that was points and a turnover, so I think that was a pretty big play. But overall, I was just excited about the energy that the guys were playing with today and how when I make a play, I love just seeing how much it energizes the environment. The crowd gets crazy, the players get hyped, and I love feeding off my teammates and I love when they can feed off of me as well.

Q: (Inaudible) the chemistry building with the young guys, (Giants DL) Raymond Johnson (III) and (Giants OLB) Azeez (Ojulari).

A: Those guys are definitely stepping up. Raymond Johnson was one of the guys that I said was going to be a sleeper this year. He hasn't been getting as many snaps as Azeez obviously, but Azeez had a great day today on the field and Raymond also went in there when his name was called and stepped up. I think he got a half a sack and you know I'm happy for both of those young guys.

Q: How much do you guys need this as a springboard type game? How much do you guys view this as sort of a game you can build on and play like this consistently?

A: Yeah, I think that's the biggest word is consistently. It's something that we can definitely build on, but we have to be consistent with it. We can't take any falloffs next week. Obviously teams are going to make plays at times. I think the biggest thing that we have to do is to learn how to adjust when a big play happens and don't think that it's over and just stay poised.

Q: Are you a Marvel fan? What did you think of the promotion?

A: Yeah, I was a little bit of a superhero fan growing up. I can't name too many things so don't question me on it, but I was hyped to see the little—I kept one of the little comic books and had some of those guys like Logan and (Giants RB) Saquon (Barkley) and those guys and that's definitely going to be something I show my kids one day (laughs).

Q: Tackling was a problem last week, right? What did you guys do specifically to address that? How did you work on it?

A: I think it was more just pointing it out and more emphasis on it in practice. Even when we're not in full pads and there's not much contact in practice, it's more like making sure your feet and your body are in good position to make the tackle and I think just overall like the focus on that was hyped up this week.

Kicker Graham Gano

Q: How'd that feel for you?

A: I've had this game circled since the schedule came out. I knew they were coming here and I was excited about it. Obviously, I have awesome memories there, but at the end of the day, I'm a New York Giant and that win feels really, really good.

Q: Did you have any idea today that you broke set a record for 50-yard field goals?

A: People say it coming in, so I hear it, but I went up to the guys and congratulated them because obviously it takes a lot more than me out there on the field kicking those balls. I congratulated those guys and just moved onto the next field goal.

Q: How much did you guys need this win?

A: I think as a team we've been as confident as ever and I'm not just saying that. We've got great guys in the locker room. I know the record is not what we want it to be, but we control what we can control. We come to work every day putting in the work and we've got a great group of guys on the team, and the hard work paid off.

Q: What it's like learning the winds in this stadium?

A: I don't think you can learn the winds in this stadium. It's tricky, but our practice fields are the same way, so we get to kick in that weekly and it prepares us well for playing well in that stadium.

Q: Last week the fans were booing and leaving early. Did you take notice that today was kind of the opposite?

A: We've got to play better, and we've got to earn the right to get cheered. That's just the way it is, and we understand that. We showed up today and balled out.

Q: It looked like you mixed it up a little bit on the opening kickoff.

A: Yeah. The play was over. I guess I've got to put some weight on me to be able to not get picked on like that, but it's just part of football.

Q: What did you think of (Quarterback) Daniel's (Jones) catch?

A: That was awesome. I'm not surprised, the guy's an athlete. One-handed – you called it a one-handed catch, right? It was awesome. Got to get a still shot of that and get it signed. (laughs)

Q: Was he bragging about it a little bit himself?

A: No, I didn't hear him brag about it at all. DJ's the man.

Q: I know you were an outsider for a few years and you come here. Does his athleticism surprise you at all?

A: Danny's? No, not at all. He's an unbelievable athlete. I'm sure you guys see it on all the long runs he breaks. I saw some stat last year that he had one of the highest speeds on a run by a quarterback. None of that surprises me. He comes to work every day and works his butt off, so none of his athleticism or his gifts, his God-given ability, surprises me.

Q: Before you came here, did you know that?

A: I'd definitely seen it and made me realize it.

Q: You and (Cornerback) James (Bradberry) both had big games today. Did you guys talk about that at all?

A: We said before the game, let's go have a good one. Obviously, we were both there, but we love being here, we love wearing this uniform and there's no real looking back on the past. We're just focused on the present.

Q: With such a successful game, is there anything you want to work on moving forward?

A: There's always things to work on. I'm sure I'll look at film and see things. Got to hit my first kickoff better. I'm a perfectionist at the end of the day and I just want to help the team win games, so there's always things to work on.

Q: I saw the video from your kids today. Did they put a little pressure on you?

A: I haven't seen it. I've had people tell me about it, but I've had them kicking in the backyard, so one day they might take my job. (laughs)

Q: Their form looked pretty good.

A: It did? Nice. They made the field goal?

Q: Yeah.

A: That's what matters. (laughs)

Q: Did it feel good to win big today against that team?

A: Yeah. At the end of the day, it always feels good to win. It doesn't matter how you win – by a point or a lot of points. At the end of the day, winning is what matters.

Wide Receiver Dante Pettis

Q: How'd you feel like your throw was to (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones)?

A: I thought that was a dime if he would have kept running (laughs). He made a great catch, so I guess it worked out even better. Yeah, I thought it was a pretty good throw.

Q: What did you think when he got clobbered? Did you watch the play unfold?

A: I honestly didn't see the hit. As soon as I saw him pull it in, I turned around and fist pumped. I was celebrating already. I didn't even know he got hit like that honestly, so, sorry Daniel.

Q: Daniel said he was not really thrilled with the route that he ran. What did you think of the route that he ran?

A: I haven't seen it still, but I did think he slowed down a little bit and that's a no-no (laughs).

Q: How close was that play to being blown up at the exchange?

A: There was a guy right there. I don't know how close it was, but I did see the guy come off the edge and I was just hoping that he got rid of it before he made the tackle.

Q: Did you throw any passes in college?

A: I did.

Q: How many?

A: I don't know how many, but I had a couple touchdowns.

Q: A couple TD passes?

A: I think. I don't know how many I had. I might have had one or two. But yeah, I threw a couple passes for sure.

Q: They mentioned that you guys had been practicing that during the week, so what's going through your head when they actually call the play in the game?

A: Just get this ball to DJ. Don't do anything crazy. Don't mess up the throw. Just get it to him.

Q: Was there something you guys saw in their defense that made you think, 'hey, this is the week to bust this out'?

A: That's probably a question for (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Jason) Garrett. I'm sure there was and that's why they called it.

Q: Was this the first time you've thrown in practice, this week? Or had you shown your arm some other time?

A: Not to the coaches. I don't even know if they really knew I could throw. I think they were just like, 'alright, let's try him out.' (laughs) I think some of the players knew I could throw.

Q: What was it like there for about two minutes waiting to see if you had a touchdown or not?

A: It was a little stressful because I had already celebrated and everything, and that's always a little embarrassing when you celebrate and then they call it back. You always think that you're in unless it's obvious. So the whole time I was just like, 'oh, I'm in, I'm in.'

Q: You're used to this though, right?

A: Yeah, it feels like every time I do something though, it's like, 'oh, let's review it.' I've got to make these a little more clear I guess.

Q: What was your mindset when you knew that (Wide Receiver) Sterling Shepard was inactive? How did that affect you?

A: I feel like I have the same mindset going into every game. You never know what can happen, it's football. The same thing as last week, the same thing as the week before. Even when I was on practice squad, you still go into the week thinking, 'this is the week that I'm going to play, I'm going to show up.' That's pretty much it.

Q: Who throws a better ball, you or (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney)?

A: I mean, KT has a way better – he can throw the ball way further. I think I'm a little more accurate. My spiral might be a little better. KT can throw the ball like 80 yards just standing there. His arm is pretty crazy.

Q: You threw one pass in college, right?

A: I threw more than one.

Q: What's your background with quarterbacks? (Head Coach) Joe (Judge) mentioned something about baseball in your family? So, give us an idea about why you can throw the ball well?

A: I'm an athlete, I don't know (laughs).

Q: Did you play quarterback in high school?

A: No, I never played quarterback. My dad (Houston Astros Third Base Coach Gary Pettis) played baseball and coaches baseball now. Go 'Stros. Yeah, just growing up I could always throw pretty well. I guess it just carried over.

Cornerback James Bradberry

Q: What did you see on the play you got the interception?

A: I saw an over route coming from the other side, so I fell off my man and then he (Panthers QB Sam Darnold) overthrew the tight end, and it came right to me.

Q: How did it feel for you guys to have this performance today? I know there has been a lot of talk about how the defense had been struggling. How personally did you take that?

A: We took it personal, like you said. We're a defense, and our goal is to stop them from scoring. We hadn't been doing that the past few weeks. Our goal today was to come out here and play strong every series. I think we did a good job of doing that, so we're definitely happy with our results.

Q: What was different for you guys in your mind? What did you do differently?

A: I think we communicated well all around throughout the whole game - first quarter, second quarter, all the way through. I don't think we did a good job of that the past few weeks. So, I think that was different today.

Q: Did you get a sense as the game was going on that Darnold was getting frustrated? What is the defense's mindset like when you see he's the starting quarterback and in the fourth quarter, they bench him, and they put somebody else in?

A: I think their whole offense was getting frustrated. I know that our front seven did a great job of rushing the passer and getting after the quarterback. I think that affected him today. As far as seeing another quarterback come in, I'm not sure, he's just another quarterback to me, and I'm trying to get an interception. That's what I was thinking when he got in. I figured we still have to make some plays to keep our offense ahead.

Q: How surprising was that though?

A: I wasn't really surprised. I wasn't thinking about it too much. We were about to get on the field, and they said, 'number six is in.' I said, 'bet.' Of course, you don't want to see a guy get benched. I felt bad as a player, but that's the business of it.

Q: To do it against this team, for you personally, how did that feel? Is there anything to that with them being your former team?

A: It feels good to get an interception against those guys. (Panthers Linebacker) Shaq Thompson was on the sideline talking trash the whole time to me every time I lined up to their side. So, it definitely felt good to throw it in his face and get an interception (laughs). Like I said before, a lot of the guys, personnel wise, they're with (The Washington Football Team) now. They're not even there anymore. I didn't have any animosity toward the coaches.

Q: What was his trash talk?

A: Me and him are close friends, so he was just talking trash and saying anything that came to his mind.

Q: Take us through the pick. Were you surprised that he put the ball in the air there on second down? Did you feel the need to be the hero in that spot?

A: I wasn't surprised. I'm just thankful I had enough awareness to come off my man and be aware for the over route that was coming. Fortunately, he made a bad throw, and I was able to take advantage of it.

Q: Did you keep the ball?

A: I did. I think one of the equipment guys have it.

Q: Do you keep every interception or was that one special?

A: I keep them all, but I'll definitely keep that one close by.

Q: You said you were coming off your man, so you guys were in man coverage, you weren't in zone in that situation? It looked like you were in the same spot.

A: We were in a zone play, but I only had one threat to my side. So, I could have stayed with my man, but I figured the over was coming, so I came off. Fortunately, it was the right call.

Q: It looked like similar zone coverages you guys had last year when you guys got turnovers. I think you got a couple in zone coverage. Was that similar to some of the plays from last year?

A: Yeah, we're playing the same zone coverage that we did last year. Like I said, this year I think we're communicating well and alerting certain indicators that the offense is giving us. Making sure everyone is on the same task. I think that's one thing that's helping us out right now.

Q: What did you think of your quarterback's one-handed catch?

A: It was pretty smooth. I'm just glad he caught it. He got up safely. That's the main thing.

Q: Did you have to cover him in practice running that play?

A: No, I haven't had to cover (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones). Honestly, during practice he has a red jersey on, so you don't want to be too close to Daniel anyways.

Q: What did you think of his athleticism?
A: I've always thought Daniel was a very athletic guy. Even during the first time I was watching him, he has a strong arm, but also can run the ball. And he definitely ran the ball well for us today.

Q: Who would win in basketball, him or (Defensive Back) Logan (Ryan)?

A: I've heard that Daniel Jones is pretty good at basketball. I haven't seen him play yet, but I heard he was pretty good. I haven't seen Logan play. I haven't seen Logan even shoot a paper ball or anything, so I don't know if he's good at basketball or not. I've never seen either of them play basketball, but I've heard about Daniel Jones. I've heard he's pretty good.