Head Coach Brian Daboll

DABOLL: So, on to Dallas here, start out with the injuries. (Tackle) Andrew Thomas will not practice today, that is part of the plan. Making progress, hoping to get him out here the next two days and see where he's at, at the end of the week. (Inside linebacker) Micah (McFadden) will not practice, he will not play in this game. He's got an injury, how long that is, still working through that, so no roster decision has been made on that. (Wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) has an ankle, we'll lay off him today, he should be good. (Defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence II) will not be here today, congratulations to him and his wife, went through labor, and he is with the baby and his wife. And (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) will be limited with his back but should be okay.

As far as Dallas, tough opening game with Philly (Eagles). New head coach, (Dallas Cowboys' head coach) Brian Schottenheimer, know him well, worked with him, got a lot of respect for him as a coach and as a man. Tought they played well against Philly. New defensive coordinator, (Cowboys) Matt Eberflus, I feel the same way about Matt, had a good relationship with him working and outside the building, I think he's a heck of a coach, and he's done a good job. They did a good job in the second half against Philly, held (Eagles' wide receiver) DeVonta (Smith) to three catches for 16, one for eight. (Eagles' quarterback Jalen) Hurts did a good job moving around in the pocket, did a good job in the running game. He's a heck of a football coach. And (Nick) Sorensen, (Cowboys) special teams (coordinator), have a relationship with him, around him as a player.

Let's start with their special teams, (Cowboys' placekicker Brandon) Aubrey and (Cowboys' wide receiver KaVontae) Turpin, they are point generators. Going to have to do a good job in that special teams area, with kickoffs, with punts, all hands on deck with Turpin. Go back and you watch him, he's a dynamic playmaker, they're using him some on offense as well, he is quick, elusive. Just go back to the kickoff return he had against Washington (Commanders), it goes between his legs, he does a pirouette, he's a rare talent in that regard. With these new kickoff rules, he's going to be a challenge. Aubrey, anytime you get to midfield it's a chance for points for those guys. So, special teams will be critical.

Offensively, I think (quarterback) Dak (Prescott) played really well in the first game. Decisive, I think he's a heck of a quarterback as it is but was accurate. I think Shottie had him in the flow, did a good job of mixing in run, pass, controlling the line of scrimmage. Two big guards inside, (wide receiver George) Pickens out there, you better be aware of him, vertical threat, I wouldn't say he had a ton of production the first game but had opportunities and expect him to get more opportunities. (Jake) Ferguson, tight end, I think he's good, tough cover. Again, their offensive line, (Tyler) Booker, the new offensive guard, they got is thick, sturdy. I've seen (offensive lineman Tyron) Smith has been a good player for a variety of years, so I thought they did well. They had a one turnover after the big play down there in the red zone, so good challenge there.

Then defensively, again they played good defense. They gave up 21 in the first half, then a field goal there in the next drive, but did a good job of stopping the run. I think they held (Eagles' running back) Saquon (Barkley) to 3.3, 60 some yards. Did a good job against the receivers. Hurts made a couple 'Hurts plays,' and that was the game. They turned it over down in the red zone. Tough, physical team. I think Shottie's obviously got an old man, God rest his soul, in (former football coach) Marty (Schottenheimer), who taught him a lot. I've been around Marty, one of ten guys that have over 200 wins. I think Brian has a great opportunity for him, and a lot of respect for how they played the first game. So, it'll be a good challenge for us on the road, in Dallas, and we're going to have to be at our best.

Q: In that game, a quarterback that you're familiar with, Jalen Hurts, had good success against their defense, ran it in for two rushing touchdowns. What are you seeing specifically in their defense that makes the battle in the trenches, what your guys are trying to do in the gaps and things, ultimately for (quarterback) Russ (Wilson), either more favorable or challenging?

DABOLL: Well Hurts, he did Hurts things, they were passes, they weren't necessarily quarterback runs. They had good coverage, and he made two really good plays on quarterback scrambles. I'd say they play a lot of zone defense, usually with an extra guy in the box for the running game. They play fast, they didn't have any turnovers. I know the hallmark of coach Eberflus' defense is to create turnovers with the style of defense that they play. We're going to have to do a good job of taking care of the ball. It was pretty clean in that game, minus the one fumble that they had that really was the difference in the game. Two good inside players, tough to block, (Cowboys' defensive tackle) Kenny's (Clark) been a good addition, he's been a good player for the Packers for a long time, and he showed up. He's a tough guy to block in the interior part of the field. So, we're going to have to be, we're going to have to play a good, smart, tough game, play good in situations. They played well right down to the end there.

Q: Knowing that they may have stuffed the box, as you mentioned, how do you want Russ to be better in the face of pressure?

DABOLL: Well, I think that takes everybody, it takes all 11. So, players and coaches, just keep on improving. We've got to do a good job on early downs to make sure that we're keeping the defense in conflict as much as we can.

Q: With Andrew now, is it just about trying to find the right combination for him in the given week to get him ready physically, to see how he's responding? Because last week you obviously had the different combination of Wednesday, off Thursday, practice Friday.

DABOLL: Well, I think the trainers have the plan for how we're rehabbing Andrew and today is one of these days they're going to run him and do some things. I know he feels better, he felt better last week, he feels better this week than he did the week before. We'll see where he's at. I don't want to speak one thing, but he's making good progress. We'll see where he is at after Friday. But this was just part of the rehab plan relative to this Wednesday workday.

Q: You said that (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart) earned being QB2. There's been so much talk about when he'll be ready to play. Obviously, you put him in that role, he's ready to play because if Russ gets hurt on the first play. How did you determine that he is ready for that role?

DABOLL: He had a good camp. He had a good preseason. Again, for young quarterbacks, you're going to see a variety of things when you first start playing that you need to learn from. Every kind of checkpoint we've had for him in his process, albeit only a couple months with us, he's done a good job with. We'll continue to work with him and do the things we need to do. He's a tireless worker, I'd say in the classroom and then outside too. He's going through tons of plays, both mentally and then physically throughout practice and after practice.

Q: He remains your number two quarterback?

DABOLL: He'll be our number two quarterback.

Q: Was there anything that he took away from Sunday? Obviously, he didn't play, but just the experience and being there and being ready. Was that a checkpoint for you?

DABOLL: It's his first regular season game to be part of, so he's got to be ready. He's got to see the game through the quarterback's eyes on the sideline. He's got to be involved in the communication. Each day we're trying to groom him and when he has to play, he'll be ready to play. As a young quarterback, there's so many different things that you're going to have to go through. There'll be ups and downs, but in terms of the process that we're doing with him, each day, he does a little bit better. Meetings, protections, show team. We'll continue to do that.

Q: The vast majority of analytical sites aren't particularly kind to (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.). They kind of paint a picture of a player that's really been struggling the last couple of years. What do you see that gives you the confidence in him that maybe strays from what some of those metrics may be?

DABOLL: John Michael is tough. He's smart. He does a good job of getting everything set up for the offensive linemen. I think he's a strong player. He's tough. He's a finisher. I think he's done a nice job for us. Are there plays that he wishes he had back? Sure. Just like every player, just like every coach, but I have confidence in John Michael as our center.

Q: (Inside linebacker) Darius (Muasau) filled in for Micah when he went down, so I'm curious if he is called on to fill that role, how much does starting those games last year help him be prepared for maybe a bigger role?

DABOLL: That'd be a good question for Darius. He's a smart player for us. He's played a number of spots, I would say. Intelligent player. That's the job of, quote unquote, a backup, is to be ready to go when your number's called. He's done a nice job for us in that regard.

Q: With Malik, how much is this something that you're going to have to manage moving forward? Is it going to be like a regular thing of giving him rest on Wednesdays or Fridays or whatever it may be?

DABOLL: He'll be out there practicing. We'll pull back a couple reps here or there, but he'll be in full pads and he'll be practicing. I can't give you that answer. We'll see where it is after a Wednesday practice or after a game, and then we'll do what we think is best for Malik and for our football team.

Q: How did he feel after the game?

DABOLL: That'd be a good question for Malik. He's out here practicing, so he feels good enough to practice. But again, it's relative to the reps and what we need to do. We'll do what we think is best for him and for us.

Q: Russ has seen pretty much everything in the league so far. This was your first game with him. How do you think he handled the pressure as far as keeping his eyes down the field and things like that?

DABOLL: Look, I'm not going to get too much into last week. We're moving on to this week. We go through our tape on Monday. We make our corrections in all facets, and I expect him to come out here and have a good week.

Q: With Jaxson, how much are you sitting and kind of watching the film with him, especially when he's not playing, just kind of pointing through things?

DABOLL: Yeah, I meet with him every week. And we go through a number of plays that he runs on the show team. There's a lot of good learning examples from that. You try to play that like a game the best you can with your timing, with your rhythm, with your eye control, with your mechanics, with when to take off, when not to take off. You treat those show team reps, if you will, like game reps. And then when you're standing behind the offense when they're going, he's taking game reps on every play, along with (quarterback) Jameis (Winston). And they're back there 10 yards going through the mechanics, motions, shifts, protection calls, re-identifications. They're playing the game, not with the 10 other guys, but they're playing it behind the huddle and taking advantage of every opportunity they can.

Q: Just to be clear, he isn't getting first team reps in practice. Just the show team and mental reps?

DABOLL: Yeah, he gets show team. We mix him in once in a while on the first unit, we mix him in. But he spends a lot of time going through the script and going through the plays and keeping guys after practice and working through an entire script and throwing live balls. That's just the plan we have for him.

Q: It's been nine years since the Giants won in Dallas. Obviously, you're not here for all that, but is there anything particularly about that place that makes it such a difficult place to play?

DABOLL: Yeah, I'd say we're focused on this year with the guys that we have to go out there and play as well as we can.

Q: Is the mix in part of your development plan for Jaxson or is that just you're doing it for game prep?

DABOLL: Yeah, we're doing it because we think it's best for our football team. I wouldn't say it's a lot. I think it was one or two reps last week, but he's taking every rep behind. But he stays out here, I would say, after practice and goes through entire scripts and plays with the entire unit, along with Jameis.

Q: Those one or two reps is kind of what you did last year with the other guys, with your backups?

DABOLL: Yeah, I think it changes. Again, it was a couple plays here and there. It might have only been one last week. But whether it's in a walkthrough, whether it's at practice, we do what we think is best.

Q: Russ talks a lot about leadership and being right between the ears. What stood out to you after facing some early adversity about his leadership so far?

DABOLL: He's been through a variety of situations in his career, like a lot of the guys that we've brought on. You go through, again, make the corrections, whatever we can do better collectively, and focus on this week, and that's where his mind's at.

Quarterback Russell Wilson

Q: What did you see after watching the film?

WILSON: I think the biggest thing is we didn't execute enough on first and second down. But I think the biggest part of that game was the red zone, ball on the one, we've got to get the ball in. We've got to find ways to score down there. I think that's the biggest part of the game. This game was 14 to 6 with like six, seven minutes to go. We had two opportunities down there and we didn't get it done.

Q: What did you think of the way you played?

WILSON: I didn't play good enough. I think you always want to play better. Obviously, whenever you don't win, you always feel like there's more to do. I think that's the biggest thing and just focus on playing it great this week.

Q: When there's a first-round pick behind you and sometimes the offense struggles, the cries are going to get louder and louder and louder for a change. How do you block that out?

WILSON: I think that you embrace challenge. I don't think I run from challenges. I don't think I run from anything. I know how confident I am in myself; confident I am in the guys that we have. How much confidence I think that we've established through our work. Obviously, we played a really good football team last week. They went to the NFC Championship Game, it was in the division. Like I said, we had the ball on the one. Let's not make this overly complicated. We've got to score. We've got to make plays down there and I think that's the name of the game. That's the history of the game just forever. Ever since I've been playing it, ever since the game started. I think for us, it's just staying together, staying upbeat, staying positive. But also, understanding that there's things that we've got to do better and figure out those things every day. I thought we had a great practice today. We control what we can control. And I think for me personally, my confidence never blinks. I've been through everything. I've been through all of the biggest highs there could be. I've been through a few lows. But at the same time, I also know that my confidence never wavers, and I think that confidence, one, comes from experience. But two, just from the work. The great part is that I thank God every day that I've got breath, I've got lungs, I've got the ability to play this game, the game that I love and I get to do it with great guys and great people around this building. My mission is always to lead today and to do that the best way possible. I'm excited to play football again and to do that today like we did today. I thought it was a great practice, I thought guys responded in a heck of a way.

Q: In that context, I think you've won 130 games in this league, including playoffs. How close or how far away are you from becoming a consistent winner again, in your mind?

WILSON: I think it's a team game. The biggest thing is that I think we have the collective guys here to win and win often. And I think part of it is not worrying about the stuff down the road, not worrying about yesterday. It's just being really freaking great today and that's what winners do. They're obsessed with today. They're obsessed with the moment. I know what that looks like. When your expectations are always high, if anybody beats themselves up over a loss, I know I do, more than anything else. I hate losing. But at the same time, it's part of growth and part of the process and I think it's a pruning process. So for us, we've just got to get back to just the fundamentals of the game. Like I said, ball is on the one, we've got to score, little things like that. I think ultimately, just play cleaner football across the board.

Q: When you heard what Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll) said after the game, there was sort of like a little bit of an open door there for a couple of hours about where he's going to go at quarterback, I guess. Did you wonder if that was going to be a change?

WILSON: No, I don't wonder that. And I don't look into syntax and diction and all the little words somebody says or doesn't say. I think at the end of the day, I'm grateful to be the quarterback here. I'm grateful to lead these guys every day and I'm grateful to try to help our football team win, and that's my mentality.

Q: Did Brian tell you after the game or anything like, 'Hey, you're starting Week 2,' anything like that? Or is that just a conversation you don't have?

WILSON: He just said people trying to make noise and this and that. But we didn't really talk about it, to be honest with you. I think the biggest thing is just, like I said, I never blink, guys. That's the thing about me is I just know who I am and know what I bring to the table and what we can do as a group. It's not about me, it's about us as a collective group, and I think if we can play a little cleaner on first and second down, I mean, that's the name - we had so many second-and-longs and third-and-longs. It's hard to win that way, and we still had a chance to win. That's the crazy thing. We still had a chance to win down there and down low. I think that's what we've got to clean up and do.

Q: These are still fairly new teammates for you. This was the first game you played, you guys lost. What was your sense of the guys on offense around you? Did you need to kind of pick them up a little bit? Were they a little shell-shocked about this? You guys were so excited going into this season.

WILSON: I don't think anybody was shell-shocked. I think we were just trying to play football, trying to play the game. The thing about the game is you can't be analytical in the game. You've got to be in the moment and just play the next play as a player. As you're playing, as a player, you just want to play the next moment and the next play. I think that's important to do and I think we embraced that. I think we took on that challenge, and we've got to do it again this week. We know that it's going to be tough weeks every week, and teams have got to play us too, and it's a two-way street. We've got to set the tone this week, coming out playing a really good football team in Dallas.

Q: How does mental toughness manifest itself in a given week for you guys coming out of that game? WILSON: I think language is everything. What you say in your internal language, internal dialogue, as a player, as a group, as an offense, as a defense, as a team, special teams, offense, everybody together as a building. All that matters. Coach Dabs spoke today, did a great job of that. I think us as players, connecting and talking and there's never been a team win the Super Bowl that goes 17-0. That's just the truth, and that's facts. You've got to be able to respond and know that it's going to be a season of ups and downs, hopefully a lot more ups, a lot of highs. We believe in that. We believe in that, and it's not make-believe. I've been on a lot of teams, of great winning teams, and I think when you think about the great winning teams, it's never just easy. It's never just a walk in the park. These are really good football players on both sides. We understand that it's going to be a battle every week. It's a 17-round fight and we've got to go win round two. That's what's important right now. When you're boxing and you're fighting and you're playing, you can't think about round 10 or round 15. You've got to think about round two, so I think that's what's important right now for us.

Q: (Wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) was talking earlier before you came in about his sideline demeanor. That got some attention, seeing him and Dabs going at it. He says, 'I have natural b---- face,' that's what he said. Does sideline demeanor matter? Do you look at that and say, 'Well, yeah, that's not a good look when a player is yelling at the coach or things like that?

WILSON: I don't think they were yelling at each other. We're competitive individuals. This is a game that's a passionate game. This isn't always high fives and always smiles all the time. But I think that Nabs is a great competitor. I thought he competed his butt off. He's a great teammate. I just think about, we have our Tuesday meetings, all the guys come together and everything else, and he's one of the first guys there ready to go, ready to rock and roll, ready to study, be on his stuff. He's working his tail off. He's getting all the treatment. He's ready to play, and I think a lot of it is in the midst of the moments of the game, the great competitors I've always been around, there's always a little moment every once in a while. I think you want that. If you're not passionate about the game at all…you know. I love him as a teammate, I love him as a leader. I love his engagement on the field, in the huddle, in the locker room. He's special, and he's a great teammate, great friend, and a great competitor.

Q: You mentioned having that focus on every rep, every day. Is there any extra urgency there when you're coming off a loss to avoid going 0-2?

WILSON: I think the thing about the National Football League is you always want to be able to respond and respond the right way. It really shouldn't change. It should always be high. I think when you win one, you've got to be able to repeat it and if you lose one, okay, cut it off and make sure we find ways to win the next game. You've got to play the next game. The next game's a history of its own. It's not the game from before. So I think that's important. But I think there's always a sense of urgency, right? It's in-division. It's a game that we're going on the road, it's a great crowd, a tough environment, all those things. They've got great players too. I think all of that is just the response of loving the game and loving the process and loving our football team. And I think that's what really matters right now is to capture that every play in our practice. Once again, I thought we did a tremendous job of that today and it started with Monday and Tuesday. It didn't just start today. It started with how we process, how we took in the film, what we learned, what we studied, what we can get better at. Then you clean the slate, you go and do it again, and let's go back to studying and learning on Tuesday and practicing on Wednesday. Tomorrow will be an important day. Tonight will be an important night just to study and get ready for third down and red zone and all those things. I'm looking forward to watching our response. We've got the right character guys and the right competitors.

Q: What's your message to your teammates in terms of how to turn the page, how to put that stuff in the rearview mirror quickly?

WILSON: You've got to have amnesia. It's the baseball probably in me maybe a little bit. But I think you've got to be able to look at the next pitch. Part of that is, like I said earlier, real winners, they're able to understand that the games that you just won, you're able to wipe the slate and do it and clean it up. And then real winners, if you lose a tough one, you're able to wipe the slate and get back to work. We're trying to capture that daily and I think that's part of my job too, is to help lead that in every way. Like I said, I thought we had a tremendous response. We've got a lot of great leaders, a lot of great competitors, a lot of guys that are really talented. I thought the coaches did a great job this week too, and so far. We've got more to do.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers

Q: How are you feeling?

NABERS: Great.

Q: How's the back doing?

NABERS: Ask (head coach Brian Daboll) Dabs.

Q: When you said the other day you weren't going to answer questions about that, what's your thought process behind it? You just don't want to talk about it every week or is it-

NABERS: I'm going to just let Dabs answer all those questions.

Q: He said to ask you.

NABERS: I think you're not telling the truth (laughter). Sorry.

Q: Were you able to go out there and do some stuff though?

NABERS: Yeah, I felt great out there. I felt great running around, getting back out there, catching the passes. It felt good.

Q: What'd you see when you went back and looked at the game?

NABERS: Like I said before, I would look at it a little bit, get frustrated again, turn it off, sick to my stomach. Just overall, not even saying the whole team, just my gameplay. I'm going to start with mine first because I believe I'm a key part of this offense. So, when I don't play right, the energy is not right. But like I said, I got sick to my stomach and turned it off.

Q: How do you maintain urgency because we know you guys want to get back and get on the field and be better. But how do you do that without pressing the panic button and looking at it and saying, you know what, we're going to make all these changes just because of one game?

NABERS: I would say take it day by day. Day by day, see what things we can get better on, see what things we have to focus more on to help our offense be more explosive or just the up-tempo of what we have to do. And we can't rush it right now, ee don't play until Sunday. So, take it day by day, find key things to get better at, find things in the offense for us to get better at and focus on, and then just wait till Sunday to see what we come up with.

Q: You said that when you look back at the game, you felt sick to your stomach, how you played?

NABERS: Just overall just how I played, I felt like I left some plays out there, I felt like there were plays to be made that I didn't make, that I'm more capable of making.

Q: Any play in particular that's sticking out to you right now?

NABERS: Just 12 targets and five catches, just not how I want to end the day off. I know everybody was more focused on just me overall being mad I wasn't getting the ball, but that wasn't at all what I was concerned about. I had 12 targets, so why would I argue about getting the ball if I had 12 targets? But just overall, just how I played, and I don't think that's why I was frustrated. Like I said, I was trying to get the offense going, I was trying to get people to get rolling. The lights were on, the game was on, it was time to play. I felt like that just got pushed over, and everybody was talking about my attitude and stuff like that. It's just, I have an 'NBF' that's just what it is. That's just my face, I don't know. When you all talk to me, I look the same way every time, I don't know, it's just how I am, but I guess I have to smile more.

Q: When you look at that in the replay and you see the reactions, do you look at yourself and say, that's just me, like you just said? Or maybe I need to act a little differently, so people don't get it misconstrued about what's going on out there?

NABERS: Yeah, I wouldn't say that's all me. I have my moments, but I had a talk with Dabs after the game, just overall sideline demeanor, myself included. I can see how it got blown out of proportion. But I had my thinking face on, that was my thinking cap. I wasn't really focused on where I was, but I was trying to think about, who can we get to? How can we get some more plays to be made on this team? How can we score points? So, it was my face of just trying to think, and I felt like the camera was just on me all the time. But I have to be more conscious of that. Whether it's stepping out of my box and going to talk to Dabs on the side, overall just being aware of where I am I'd probably say that's the main key point.

Q: You mentioned that you were frustrated. You mentioned you felt like you left some plays out there with the 12 targets, only five catches. Do you believe that those are tied together, that the frustration led to you leaving some plays out there?

NABERS: No, that wasn't at all why I left some plays out there. I think it's just overall just technique. I got lackadaisical sometimes when the ball was in the air, tried to do some other things that I thought could manipulate the DB while the ball was in the air. I just need to be more aggressive when the ball is in the air.

Q: You brought up the energy post-game, and just that it was lacking. Have you done anything different just to get your teammates more hyped up as the week is going on, or what did you see from watching?

NABERS: I would say I'm still taking the time to figure out just how I want to address that. I know I have to take a different route now. Just how I did it the last time, it wasn't the right way. It's kind of going everywhere right now. But I'm trying to find a different way to try to get guys going, and whether it's just going over there, tapping them on the shoulder, just giving them a key point, like 'I need you, I need you on this play. I need you right here right now, the time now, the game is on, let's go.' Rather than speaking abrupt and loud and being aggressive. Just trying to take some different routes and just trying to do that.

Q: I meant during the pre-game week leading up, not just game day.

NABERS: You're talking about practice?

Q: Yeah, I meant practice.

NABERS: Yeah, like I said, I'm still taking it in, trying to figure out how can I go about that, how can I do those things. I started today just by going up to the offensive line before, (quarterback) Russ (Wilson) was getting in the huddle and just said, 'Let's go, it's time now. That game is behind us. We have to focus on the game this week. I continue to need y'all, I'm going to need y'all the whole season, we have a long season,' stuff like that. So just giving those guys motivation, so that when we are out there, let's go.

Q: What does this offense need to do to be more efficient and effective in your mind?

NABERS: We have to focus on the little things. I feel like penalties also caused a lot of our plays to get back. We had a lot of explosive plays that just got flags, false starts, stuff like that. So, we have to be on the same page more. We were late getting out of the huddle a couple times, so we have to be on pace to get on the ball, put some pressure on the defense, so we can get what we want. And I'd probably say just spread the ball around to every guy, we all got talent on the football field. In this offensive, we got a lot of talent. We have to spread the ball, give a couple guys, the targets, the ball, and see what they do with the ball in their hands.