San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and several others spoke with reporters after Sunday's 24-23 Week 5 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. Here is everything they said.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
Opening comments:
"Alright guys, injuries from the game: [S Talanoa Hufanga] Huf had a wrist, never returned, [K] Jake Moody, ankle, never returned. [S] Ji'Ayir Brown had an ankle, he did return."
Any indication early on, on how bad Moody's ankle is?
"High ankle."
There's no fracture?
"They just told me high ankle."
Without him [Moody], obviously it impacted, I think, how you guys were approaching the game. How did you see it and how did the fourth quarter unfold there?
"Yeah, it impacted it, but the biggest thing was those turnovers. The pick to start the series, I mean to start the second half, and then having that fumble down there inside the 10. Don't know how it would've impacted it later, because I believe that was first down."
Do you have any further information on Hufanga and how long he'll be out or what this severity is?
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure yet."
Could you tell what happened? Were you tired at the end there?
"No, I didn't. I sensed their guy's getting tired, I sensed our guy's getting tired. It was a long game, everyone battled. I thought we were wearing them down as we were going down there to run on the first-and-goal. Then I thought we had a great chance. I thought we did real good on D, stopping them, getting them into that fourth-down. We had an all-out blitz. Thought it was really good defense, but an unbelievable play by their quarterback. He had no one blocked there and just backpedaled, retreated, threw it up and found the right guy that kept him on the field. Then we got a little sloppy with tackling towards the end, but held them to a field goal and would've loved the chance of going that drive, but ended up getting another tip there and another turnover."
Could you tell what happened on the blitz pickup on the interception to end the game?
"Yeah, they just brought more than we had to block."
What'd you see from QB Brock Purdy today? And what was your assessment of how he performed today?
"Like everybody on offense, we did some good things. I think we only punted on the first drive, so I thought we moved the ball well. But we obviously made too many mistakes, didn't get the redzone to score enough and the turnovers hurt us. Both two tips, but we got responsible for the ball."
What is P Mitch Wishnowsky's range? How far do you have to get in order to give him a chance in this game?
"We were trying to get to the 15. Yeah, make it like an extra point."
How much of a factor was the heat, if at all, in running the ball in the first half? Was that something you were trying to avoid because the heat or was that not a factor?
"No. You don't not run the ball because of the heat. No, it was just a lot of stuff they were doing and thought our advantage was throwing. Usually, it balances out. Didn't get a chance to do that though, totally."
This is the second game where you've had the 10-point lead and lost it to both the division rivals. What's the frustration level in that room? What's your frustration level of not being able to finish out these games?
"Extremely frustrated. I think we had 13 points and 17 in the other. By no means should we be able to give that away. Always will come back to turnovers, in my opinion. There are other things you can do to overcome them. Talked about it last night, how we thought a key in this game would be turnovers, and that's exactly what the first half was. Gave us a huge advantage and then it flipped in the second half. And when you do that stuff to win."
What do you tell Moody on how to balance the need to make a tackle versus protecting himself? How do you sort of balance that?
"Same as everybody. You try to tackle. You don't tell guys to keep their ankle out of it. You hope that it doesn't come to him and he doesn't have to make a tackle, but you also don't tell guys to turn it down and just let them score. So, it's part of football."
Did the heat, do you feel like the defense kind of wilted? Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner is a very powerful player. Do you feel like the heat, being late in the game and his power, just a matter of, the defense was kind of gassed in some ways?
"Yeah, I think both ways. I think they had 234 yards rushing last time in their dome. So, I'm not chalking anything up to heat. I think it evened out. I think it makes that both sides have to deal with the same stuff. You could feel it on long drives, thought we could feel it once we got the run game going too. But James Conner does that a lot and that's why he's a challenge and gave him too many opportunities."
You have a really quick game now coming up on Thursday. How do you not let this linger an extra day or two? Have you started that process already?
"Yeah, that's all we talked about on there. We'd love to sit here and get pissed. We'd love to be able to do something about that, what just happened. But you can't do anything about these games once they end. I tell the guys the next time we'll be able to do something is Thursday and it's better to only have to wait until Thursday, then I have to wait until next Sunday. It will come fast, but always when you have a Thursday night game, we always say the biggest thing is rest and recovery. So, I hope they're getting out of that locker room close to when I get back. Hopefully they're at home as fast as they can, get as much sleep as possible, stay off their legs tomorrow, just hydrate, rest and come in Tuesday. We'll have a plan for them on Tuesday and we'll get it all in on Tuesday and head out on Wednesday."
Outside of when everything went downhill, WR Brandon Aiyuk had a pretty strong game today. What'd you see from him?
"Did a real good job. Did a good job beating man-coverage, made some good plays in the zone, had some good runs after the catch. He had a good day."
RB Jordan Mason has been sure-handed throughout his career, for the most part, when it comes to holding onto the ball. Did that also surprise you, just in that point of the game?
"Yeah, I'm never thinking that we're going to fumble. But, we had one last week that we were able to recover, and we got one this week. He didn't have any look on the run. There wasn't anything there, but when you're fighting for extra yards, you have to be smart with that ball and looked like he just got a little careless with it and they knocked it out."
Besides not having, one of the best redzone players in the league, how would you assess the redzone issues you've had this year?
"Same thing I said all last week, not very good. We were middle of the pack before today started and we got a lot worse today."
How rushed is the process on kickers? If Jake can't go Thursday, it's obviously a quick turnaround, do you guys get candidates in here tomorrow morning?
"Yeah, they'll work on that stuff right away. With kickers, they're almost independent contractors, so we'll get them in as fast as possible and get the best guy we can. I'm sure it'll have to be for a few weeks or whatever. I'm not sure, but I know they told me a high ankle and that's never soon."
On a short week, do you guys actually practice or will be more of a walk-through?
"No, nothing will be full speed. Everything is walk-through."
49ers QB Brock Purdy
You guys got a quick turnaround this week with Seattle on Thursday?
"Yeah, obviously watch the film, got to get better, need to get better. Myself, offensively, and then just playing as a team. We've got to do it quick. We've got a Thursday Night game, great team, the Seahawks on the road. So, big challenge ahead. If we sit and dwell, then I think, obviously things won't go our way. So, we have to turn the page quick and like I said, learn from it and go."
How do you assess the offense?
"I think we just need to play better and that starts on myself. Get down in the red zone, we've got to execute and score touchdowns. I thought there was multiple times where we could have pulled away significantly in the first half. And again, that starts with myself. And so, there's that and then the second half when defense is getting stops, we can't just turn the ball right back over. That's pretty plain as day. And so, we've just got to be better in that area and just back up the defense when the defense is doing their thing. We have to be able to go down the field and execute and put points up on the board, not give the other team life. So, we need to play better."
Their defensive plan, was it similar to what you guys have seen the last few weeks?
"I would say they were doing some stuff that was a little different, but they also did things that we expected. But regardless, we're going to run our offense and go about how we play football. We just needed to play better."
You mentioned the red zone. That's come up a few times this year. What can you put your finger on of why that's been a struggle to finish drives down there?
"Everything's pretty tight. It's close and we've just got to be aggressive. Obviously, it starts with me, I'm the guy with the ball. So being aggressive to certain guys and matchups and giving guys chances. So I've just got to be hard on myself with that. Obviously, you want to be smart and protect the ball, but when we've got a matchup and a good look, we've got to rip it. And so, I've just got to be better and more aggressive down there. And then just collectively as a unit, offensive unit, once we get down there, like all of us, our mindset has to be we've got to punch this in. Obviously, we know we can settle for field goal, but we've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and cross the goal line."
What was there today for WR Brandon Aiyuk that wasn't there maybe in the first four games?
"He was just doing his thing. He wasn't trying to do anything too out of the ordinary. We just had some good plays and matchups dialed up for him. I thought he did a great job of getting in and out of cuts and obviously catching the ball, making plays. It went his way today. So he's been doing that I think all season long. It's tough when the ball doesn't go your way and defenses do some things differently. But he had some really good matchups today and we took advantage of it."
RB Christian McCaffrey is such a big part of what you guys would do in the red zone the past couple of years. How much of your early struggles in that area of the field is a product of trying to find a new identity without him?
"Obviously you can do so much with Christian out of the backfield, line him up as a receiver and stuff like that, and defenses have to account and have a plan for that. So it is a little different. But regardless, I think we have the players and the talent to still make it happen. Obviously we've got [TE] George [Kittle] with his size, [WR] Deebo [Samuel], [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B.A. with their hands, [WR Jauan Jennings] J.J. So, we've just got to put it together and get some rhythm within it down there."
RB Jordan Mason was having a pretty good game up until the fumble obviously. So what's his mindset now? Did you get a chance to talk to him after the fumble? He's going to have to bounce back.
"Yeah, we've all got his back. And obviously he's been running, really, really hard. He's been doing such a great job and that's how football goes. It could take one play and then it makes you feel like, 'dang it, I could have done this in the game or that in the game,' but he played really hard. He ran hard, gave us really great field position throughout the game and had some really key runs. And so, just like a couple weeks ago with [WR] Ronnie Bell. It takes 11, and it takes all of us. And so, we've all got his back and we're going to pick up quick and we've got to be ready for Seattle."
This team hasn't had many losses like this in recent years, especially since you've been the quarterback. What's the emotion about that? Is there frustration? Do you can't even think that way because you've got this game coming up? What's the mood in that locker room right now?
"Yeah, it's the standard here, is excellence and what we've proven in the last couple years of the standard of what we can play at. That's what we're trying to get to. But every year is different with just the team, the chemistry and getting guys together. You've got new keys, some guys leave. I think all throughout this, it's early in the season and we're still trying to find our true identity as a team and we're getting there. It's a couple plays away and a couple drives away from gelling and gluing together. But I'm confident that we'll find it. We've just got to get into a rhythm and play complementary team football. We've got a Thursday Night game coming up, so we'll have another chance at it."
You mentioned the turnovers. I think both your intercepts were either deflected or I don't know if the last one was deflected, but it certainly was hitting you. What can you do better than that? Those look tough to avoid.
"Obviously, I've just got to know if I do have a pressure and what my answer can be within that. I was locked on B.A. and trying to hit him at the end. I think I can be better in that area. And then the first one try to get the ball to George quicker instead of double patting it. There's little things like that. It's a game of inches for a reason. There's not a lot of margin for error. And I have to watch the film and learn from it."
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
Where would you pinpoint some of the red zone issues today?
"I think just more opportunities down there for receivers. I haven't even watched the tape, but that's just what it felt like on the field."
Obviously a frustrating loss, but were you encouraged by some of your big pickups today?
"I haven't watched the tape. But definitely felt better for myself today."
What's the key to bouncing back off of a loss like that where you were close to putting it away? "Learning.
Just being better."
I know you guys don't use excuses like the weather, but it was pretty hot out there and maybe that's what wore you guys down a little bit?
"It was hot, but everybody was playing out there."
Do you feel like the short game can be beneficial after a game like this?
"It just depends on how we approach it."
You guys have been pretty banged up. How well do you feel like you guys are able to tackle a challenge like when you drop a game like this?
"I think we'll be alright."
49ers DL Nick Bosa
The last few weeks, you guys have had leads in the fourth quarter. How do you absorb these kind of losses and how do you explain what's happened in the past couple games?
"It's pretty simple. In the NFL, having turnovers and not playing complementary football will cost you. Since [Head Coach] Kyle's [Shanahan] taken over, this organization has found ways to win. It's not about how good your players are, how explosive an offensive is or how good a defense is. If you're turning the ball over and you're not making those plays on defense in crucial moments, you're going to lose in the NFL. I haven't lost any confidence in this team. It's early. It's a long year. We've been through worse and I think we'll respond well."
You talked a couple of weeks ago about feeling the loss. What is the balance of feeling this loss when you have another game in a few days?
"I think we need to turn the page on this one. It's pretty clear what happened and why we lost. I think it's kind of a blessing in disguise that we're playing this Thursday."
Certain changes are preached by coaches every week in the NFL. To go from a blocked field goal attempt where you score a touchdown to losing K Jake Moody, it was a pretty big swing. How do you think that affected things?
"Not having your kicker is tough. Hopefully he's going to be alright. [P] Mitch [Wishnowsky] did a good job on his one kick but it shouldn't really come down to that in the end."
49ers TE George Kittle
How do you put this game in perspective? What happened today?
"After having 30 minutes to think about it, I'd say not scoring any points in the second half is really tough as an offense, especially when we expect ourselves to be significantly better than that. And then turn the ball over three times to a very, very dangerous quarterback with a really good run game. As an offense, we really want to take the game in our hands. We had every opportunity to blow that one out and we didn't do that. So just very disappointed is what I would say."
How much does it help that you guys will be able to get back on the horse on Thursday night?
"The nice thing about football is while each loss stings terribly, you usually get to play the following week. When you get to play on Thursday, if you dwell on it for very long, you're just going to put yourself in a hole. The fact that we get to play on Thursday, Coach [Kyle Shanahan] is going to have a great game plan for us, and that's all that matters."
Sudden change is preached by coaches. To have a blocked field goal for a touchdown and then moments later, you lose your kicker. How do you process that in real time and how big was that?
"Losing your kicker is huge, especially when you have a guy who's good from 57, 56 yards. That's tough. [K] Jake [Moody] is a helluva kicker. When you don't have that option and you have to get it to the 25-yard-line to kick, that's tough. I think our special teams and our defense gave us every opportunity today to win. As an offensive player who's been here for eight years, I feel like that one's mostly on us than anything else. We have to finish drives, we have to not turn the ball over. We have to make it easy on ourselves, which we didn't do today."
49ers LB Fred Warner
After a game like this, what does veteran leadership have to do to get things sorted out in that locker room?
"My first instinct is to say we got a quick game, a quick turnaround. It's a unique situation. Obviously, you want to fix the problems that are going on out there. We had the game won and we gave it away but you have to wipe it away and get onto the next game. There really isn't any time to sulk or feel sorry for yourself. You have to move on."
Did you feel it slipping away? And what's going through your head as this is happening in this sport?
"No, I mean, my mindset is always next play. Next play, best play. Defensively, we have to learn how to finish games. We're not there yet. That's the most frustrating part right now."
You guys are used to finishing games, kind of stomping teams out. Not the same situation today. You do have new guys. Does it do anything to your confidence or psyche? Like, are we the same guys? Is this the same type of defense?
"No, it's about a completely new group. It's a new year, it's a new group. You take the experiences that you've had in the past and try to apply them to the present. This is a completely unique situation. It's different from everything and anything else that I've experienced. It's going to require even more effort and more attention to detail. More everything at this point."
What is your assessment of the run defense in particular?
"In the first half, it felt good. We obviously gave up that long one to [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray]. I wish we hadn't given that one up. Other than that, I thought we were great. The second half was a meltdown. We gave up too much leaky yardage and missed tackles. We were just not good enough."
49ers T Trent Williams
What was the game plan in the second half? Was San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan telling you guys it's four-down territory here?
"No, he didn't say that but I think everybody knew."
How frustrating is it to have not one, but two losses in the last couple of weeks where you had the lead and couldn't finish it?
"It's super frustrating. Obviously we have to figure that out. We have to figure out how to close out games and how to get teams out early when we have the chance."
As one of the leaders of this team, what do you tell the guys who you see down after a game like this?
"Well we have another one in a few days so we really can't harp on this one and we can't really go back and study as much as we want. We have another divisional opponent so we all need to get our focus there."
Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon
Opening Comments:
"[OL] Will Hernandez has a knee [injury]. I'll fill you in next week on that. Then [DL] Bilal [Nichols] came out of the game, just had a little bit of a stinger and had to go through concussion protocol, but he was good to go. Came back in and played. That's a really good win for us. That's a good football team over there. They're well coached. You have a lot of good players. They do things the right way here, which is why they've been so successful for the last however many years. Down at half, but still felt really good about what we were doing. Had a couple of plays go against us there, with the block kick for a touchdown and the interception, so the game kind of swung in their favor. But we battled. They were convicted at halftime. We talked about it all week, what kind of game it was going to be. We wanted to get to the fourth quarter and have a chance to win a game. And that's what we did. If you look at the second half, off the top of my head, three takeaways by the defense, scoring drives by the offense, field goals, special teams. Blake hit a huge punt that flipped the field, which was huge for us. All three phases, they stayed connected. They played well."
You just mentioned the emotions at the end. You hugged everybody…
"Yeah, they were fired up. They know it's a good football team and last week was not a good performance by us and that they took that some type of way. But again, that's why I was convicted. You obviously never want to look in the past. I don't want to talk about that, but going into that week, we hung together, we took the arrow in the forehead and we put all our energy and focus into San Fran. That's what we did. We had a really good week of practice. Our captains stepped up leadership this week, which was huge. All four of those guys, [WR Greg] Dortch was instrumental this week with energy and focus. That's why he was a game captain. He's practicing his ass off. We have a lot of good guys in our locker room and the response was correct. Now we have to learn from it. Move on to the next one because we're going to play a really good football team in Green Bay."
What can you say about that defensive effort?
"It was good. I don't know if you do the math, what we held them to there, but obviously losing their kicker was a component in that game. And I thought [Defensive Coordinator] Nick [Rallis] and the defensive staff adjusted to that really well in real time because you have to play differently then. I thought he did a good job and they made a lot of plays. That's what it comes down to, guys. We won the game because guys made a bunch of plays, all three phases, point blank, done.
You stopped them four times inside the ten. What does it take for defense to do that?
"Resilience. Resilience because they moved it, you know what I mean? We knew they were going to move it there. That's a good offense. They're top in the league and to be able to keep points off the board there was huge. I'm proud of how they battled. I really am."
Did you tell the guys to just grind it out after a few tough plays going against them in the first half?
"Yeah, there was no panic. [QB] Kyler [Murray] is like this. [RB] James Conner, the O Line, we're fine, and the run game wasn't really going at that point. I know Kyler had the long one but we just stuck with it. 'Let's just get it to the fourth quarter and stick with it.' Bite down on your mouthpiece and let's go. And that's why I thought how they closed that drive off the last one to eat up the clock, make them use their timeouts, get it to two minute mechanics for them - I thought that was huge."
That last drive. That's a situation where it's really easy to rely on the pass, but you guys put a ton of trust in Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner on that drive. What was the thinking?
"It's just because of the score and the clock and timeouts and all those things. [Offensive Coordinator] Drew [Petzing] challenged those guys like, "Hey guys, we could pass it here, but I want to run the ball because that's the best thing to do to try to win the game." What's going to get overlooked is the fourth and five to [WR] Marv [Marvin Harrison Jr.]. That was an unbelievable play. That's a got-to-have-it for us. At that point, you're trying to balance - do you want to punt it, use your timeout, try to give the ball back, or do you want to go for it right now? Push your chips in. We pushed our chips in and they made a hell of a play."
To not have Arizona Cardinals K Matt Prater, what did Arizona Cardinals K Chad Ryland mean for you guys?
"He was awesome. They were going nuts in the locker room. Half of the guys don't even know him. He gets here, has an unbelievable week of practice. I got to connect with him early in the week. I was like, 'We're not changing anything.' This guy can hit it from everywhere and with full confidence, you know what I mean? Go bang it through. And that's what he did, especially after the one got blocked. That's like shanking a t-ball and having to rip the driver a couple more times. It's not easy. He did a good job."
Who gave you the confidence to still go back to him and rely on him after that?
"It was the right thing to do and I saw him practice, you know what I mean? So anyone that's out there, we have confidence in to get it done. Whether you're the kicker, a nose tackle, a guard, doesn't matter."
Tom Brady described your team as being resilient and having a ton of character and it stems from you. How do you take that compliment?
"I appreciate that, but it's not about me. It's about the players and the coaches, you know what I mean? And we have a good group in there, but again, we'll enjoy this one and on to Green Bay."
When going for two, was that only because of the penalty or were you considering that before?
"We were considering it and then when the penalty happened, that's kind of one of our SOPs. Time and score and all that to go for it."
What does it mean for this team to have a complete offensive performance by having so many guys involved?
"I thought [TE] Trey [McBride], [WR Michael] Mike Wilson played well, the O Line, James, [TE Elijah Higgins] HiggiBear had some plays there. We have playmakers. I feel really good wherever the ball goes. I think when we have everyone on that field we can win. That's comforting. We have to build on it and we're going to have to clean up some mistakes and we have to do a little bit better. But I'm proud of those guys."
You said on the last drive it was the right thing to do to rely on Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner. Why was that the right thing to do? Was that something they were showing you? Or time in the game?
"Time in the game. You're trying to eliminate variables, which for us is timeouts and 40 seconds off the clock. A couple different ways you could go with that but felt really good about what we were doing with those guys."
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
How do you think you guys played today?
"The guys fought for 60 minutes. This league gets really hard and I was frustrated with just the way we were playing [in the] first half. I felt like we were moving the ball well but, the interception, we get the blocked field goal. I feel like the score didn't represent how well we were moving the ball in the way we were playing. This league is hard and the margin for error is very tight. I feel like we were not necessarily giving the game away, but we just weren't capitalizing on opportunities we had when we got down there and putting the ball in the end zone. So that was frustrating. But for us to fight back, battle back, and end up winning this game on the road against a great team is huge."
How about the run game?
"We had to get it going. First half I felt like they were doing a good job stopping it. We leaned on the guys up front and those last couple drives to get it done."
Tell me about your run.
"I knew once [TE] Elijah [Higgins] got that block and I cleared the two dudes I was gone. It is not many times you could do that in the NFL, but to be able to finally hit a long run was good. It was fun."
How critical was WR Marvin Harrison JR to be involved with the big fourth down play?
"Yeah, we'll be better. He's young. It's our fifth game together. We've just got to. We will get it down. I'm not worried about it at all, but that just goes to show you the confidence and the trust. Fourth down, who am I going to? One-on-one and Marv, I trust Marv to go win. I trust all the guys to go win. But that was huge. That was huge for his confidence and for us to convert right there and keep the chains moving."
What were your thoughts on the defensive performance?
"They played well. They played their asses off to be able to get three takeaways against them. We needed it. It was big for us."
With five free rushers in your face, what is your thought process in terms of where to dunk the ball?
"[Offensive Coordinator] Drew [Petzing] called a great play and it's on me to buy enough time to be able to just give Marv a chance and put the ball where I want to. Obviously he does the rest and makes the play. So, it was a good job on everybody's part, executing."
What was your mindset in half time after things kind of got discombobulated for you guys?
"Trying to obviously flush that. Again it goes back to what I said. The first half I was a little frustrated, a little irritated about how things were going. But the guys rallied around us. We did a great job coming out in the second half, sticking to the game plan and continuing to fight."
Did you expect pressure on the fourth down?
"Yeah."
So is that kind of how it was designed? You expect some pressure and then Marvin to be the guy?
"I mean he calls the play and obviously we don't determine what they run, but they were six up and playing man to man. I obviously know what my receivers are doing, so my best man beater, I'm going to go with. At that point I've got to back up and make a play. Marv came down with it."
Was this an example of how many people in this offense can show up?
"Yeah, I've told you many times how confident I am in every guy out there. Obviously we made some mistakes today and we didn't click on everything, but that's the exciting part. That's why we've got to go back and go back to work, continue to get better and work on the little things because if we can execute at a higher clip next week, we'd be that much better. Today obviously I was 19 for 30. Felt like we were just a little off, but at the same time we were explosive and we made plays when we had to. I just know we can be better. I'm confident in all those guys. And I know we have the guys in that locker room and on the offensive side of the ball to do special things."
How did you handle the last minute and thirty-seven seconds knowing you aren't going to be on the field?
"I hated it, honestly. I didn't want to give them the ball back. I was hoping we could convert and end the game on our terms. That didn't happen. Obviously, [K] Chad [Ryland] did great making the field goal and then the defense came in clutch. But, again, that goes down to trusting the guys, trusting that they're going to make a play and playing complimentary football. They had our back all game. We've got to be better on the offense side of the ball, but it was good. I told you all before, we're going to have to trust them and count on them plenty of times this season."
The play after the fourth down, you had a keeper for 13 yards. Were you always going to keep that? What did you see?
"We ran the play multiple times and [San Francisco DE] Nick [Bosa] he finally gave me the opportunity to pull the ball and anticipated him doing that. At that point you pull the ball to try to get as many yards as you can."
What does a win like this mean for you guys over this team, for where you want to be at the end of the season? How big a win is this?
"Yeah, I'm focused on right now obviously, that it's huge to go two and 0 in the division. To be able to flush last week and coming here against the divisional opponent and get a win on the road. Just to be able to go home with a win, man. I think it does wonders for us. I'm not looking forward to down the line, but it's the biggest one because it's the next one. It's the current game that we're playing. So, I'm excited to get back and watch the film."
What'd you think of your emergency kicker?
"He did a great job. We couldn't be happier for him. He did his thing today."
What were the conditions like out there today?
"Honestly, it was hot as hell. It kind of just kept getting hotter is what it felt like. Obviously, I've got the tights and a long-sleeve shirt. I didn't help myself out, but it was hot."
How many conversations have you had with Chad before the game?
"I don't really bother specialists. I let them do their thing."
Cardinals OLB Zaven Collins
You guys had four stops inside the 10. What does the defense need to be able to do?
"It's kind like Murphy's Law is what I call it. Imagine if [an opposing] team had 600 yards of offense. Everyone's like, damn that's terrible, which it is. But, let's say every time they got in the red zone, they only got three points? Let's say they got in the red zone four times and only had three points out of [each of] those, that's 12 points. Whereas if they get six points out of it, like a touchdown, it starts to compound quickly. Holding people in the red zone to just a field goal is like a huge, huge factor in the game. That's a really good thing for us to do that."
Along with the takeaways, how did you guys feel like you played defensively overall, and then what was the game plan against Purdy?
"We executed well in the game plan that we did. We could have done a better job up front, including me, of containing him. After seeing that today, it was like, man, he finds the holes and will escape out. So, honestly seeing it before this game, it was a factor, but it wasn't crazy. And then obviously after seeing this game, it's a factor for sure. He has that ability. It's something that's really grown in his game. That guy can move."
How big is it to finally get a win against this team and obviously what they've been able to accomplish over the last handful of years?
"It's big for us. It means a lot. We put in a lot of work and every year they're a great team, so it's nice to come out here and get a win against them."
Cardinals RB James Conner
You've been through the wars too many times to even think about this, but were you getting frustrated and then rewarded when the running game got going?
"If you stick with it, the game will reward you. There's no point in getting frustrated. We just control what we can control. We stuck with it in the second half and we were able to put drives together and get points, so it worked out."
You have so many offensive weapons and options. What did you guys show?
"I don't know if it's about showing anything. It's just about playing good football. We just execute and do what we're supposed to do. We can be a good team. It's not about showing anything, it's about just executing and putting the work in week after week."
How would you describe the resiliency of this team? Going from where you guys were at the beginning, then to start the third and then just do what you guys did?
"The game is 60 minutes, so we believed. You just keep swinging and you fight for 60 minutes."
How much did that run by [Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray] early by getting that score set the tone for what kind of game it was going to be?
"That's just Kyler making plays. It's always good to get a good explosive early on like that."
Cardinals K Chad Ryland
What a whirlwind this was for you. Can you talk about the whole week and what happened just now out there?
"It was a good win for the fellas. It's fun to win games. When you have a locker room full of good guys and a coaching staff that has the guys going in the right direction, good things happen."
What did you think of your game-winning kick?
"It was good blocking up front, a good snap and good hold. It felt like we were rolling pretty good all day in terms of transitioning from pre-game to game. Balls were flying out here, which is always fun. It was a really good experience."
What was your emotion after that kick and right now that it's calmed down a little?
"I had a lot of emotion. It's almost funny. Last season, I missed that kick against the New York Giants. It was a 35 yarder from the right hash mark and I missed it left. Ironically, that was the same kick that I just made. What a difference a change of scenery makes."
Cardinals LB Kyzir White
Is that your favorite thing to see as a linebacker, a ball picked up in the air?
"Yeah because I feel like I have stretches where I just don't see the ball come my way. The last time I caught an interception was in Dallas last year so I have been trying to manifest it all year. Every time at practice during walk-throughs, I'm having the guys throw me the ball just to visualize it, and it came into fruition today."
Can you put into perspective the performance by you guys today? You guys have probably heard some of the criticism.
"Yeah, terrible performance last week. We put that on the back burner, used it as fuel, and came out here against the Super Bowl contender, multiple NFC championship team. We came out here and we battled. We got punched in the mouth at times, but we kept punching back and ultimately came out with the win. Definitely proud of my guys and I feel like it could still be a lot better."
What switched in the second half? Obviously shutting them out.
"We just looked at the tape, seeing what we could do better. We made a couple fixes here and there, tried to keep the effort high, and speak positively on the sideline."
