Eagles Players

POSTGAME TRANSCRIPTS

Darius Slay, CB

(On his interception he returned for a touchdown)

“It was great. I saw the pass and it was tipped. So I said to myself, ‘let me go get that.’ Of course I saw green grass and I knew I had to get in the end zone for sure.”

(On the defense)

“We got the win, that’s all that matters, but we’ve got to go out there and put out a better tape. We need to go out there and fix our mistakes. Overall we got the win and that’s what it’s all about. But as a leader on this defense I know we need to go out and execute better cause we’re better than that. I have to give props to that team, they came out and made adjustments. We’re better than that and we got to go and make a better tape.

Jordan Davis, DT

(On his forced fumble on Ezekiel Elliott)

“I didn’t even know what happened until I walked to the sideline. I just thought I got a tackle for a loss. Just doing the fundamentals, wrapping at the ball, securing the tackle and then whatever happens, happens. Grateful for the guy scooping it up.”

(On the half-time message after allowing a touchdown at the end of the first half)

“Bend don’t fold. It’s the first game, it’s going to be a little too close for comfort most of the time. At the end of the day, we just have to play our game and don’t let the score dictate how we play on the field. Be dominant all throughout and let it fall as it falls”

(On his first career sack)

“Just keep going. It’s great to have, but those opportunities pop up when they pop up and you just have to try and take advantage of them.”

Jalen Carter, DT

(On the third down sack)

“Yeah, we had a call that we had run in. We executed the call and because of the pressure from the other guys, the quarterback stepped up in the pocket and happened to go right into my hands. It felt good.”

(On what he’s telling himself at that point in the game knowing the defense has to make a big play)

“I’m not saying it’s my time, but it’s time for someone to make a play. At that moment in the game, everybody is rushing trying to make a play for the win. Everybody is just trying to execute the plan.”

Jason Kelce, C

(On if there’s something to take away in winning a game like that)

“It’s always good to win, but it’s not good to play like that and we are going to put a lot of work in to make corrections. We have a short week so it’s going to be sped up a bit. I think you are always happy to win but you know we need to play a lot better than this if we are going to reach the potential and level of play we want this year.”

(On how he would grade the offensive line’s performance)

“Not up to our standard. I’ll look back at the tape. I have a hard time believing anyone played badly individually. I think it was more just not being on the same page. Miscommunication here. Mental error there. I think that we will look back at this tape and realize we didn’t do a great job and we have a lot of corrections to make.”

Jake Elliot, K

(On the game)

“You knew coming into this game that this was going to be a battle. It’s the reputation the Patriots have coming into Week 1. It was a hard matchup. I love having all those opportunities. It was a little more interesting than we wanted it to be, but that is what I prepare for.”

(On how difficult is it for the holder to hold the ball in that rain)

“It’s a tough job especially when it was coming down like it was in the first half. There is no one I trust more than Rick [Lovato] or Arryn [Siposs] to get that job done.”

(On missing the PAT and then coming back to make long field goals after that)

“Early in the game when it was downpouring like that, it’s tough conditions and everything has to go just perfect. Those PATs are real kicks now, they are 33-yard field goals. When that stuff is coming down, it’s tough. I have to be better, we have to be better.”

DeVonta Smith, WR

(On his touchdown)

“It was perfect coverage, cover-0. It worked out. It was a great throw by Jalen [Hurts]. He threw the ball low and kept the ball away from the defender.”

(On the Patriots defense)

“That’s a great defense. They do a great job disguising the coverage and things like that. They make it very tough for me to know what they’re in. They hold their coverage and disguise it until the last second. They are very athletic, a very fast defense and a very physical defense.”

(On the Eagles offense)

“We are very confident. We go out there and do the things we need to do. Everybody is out there making plays. During the whole game we were not good on first down. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy because we put ourselves in a lot of holes because we were playing terrible on first down. We’ve got to find out a way to be good on first down. I don’t know what it was tonight, exactly, but we’ve got to be better on first down.”

Brandon Graham, DE

(On supporting the offense during the game)

“I mean there was a sudden change that happened in the game and we knew it was going to be one of those well-coached type of games where they had a plan just like we had our plan. We had to make sure we executed. When things happen in the game you have to make sure you let guys know, It doesn’t matter where we’re at on the field. There were so many times they [Patriots Offense] were on the plus-40 where they were going in and we made some stops and some we didn’t. At the end of the day when we needed it, I like the way we all came together.”

(On the defense’s big plays)

“I feel good because I mean we have much respect for the Patriots, and we know how well-coached they are, and we are well-coached too. It was just one of those games that we knew we were going to fight to the end. We knew their defense was really good. I know the offense doesn’t feel they had the best day like they wanted to, but I know that they did enough to make sure that they took care of us, as far as, you know especially Jake [Elliott] putting him the position to get some of those kicks. I think it was a collective win and I think for the most part we need to just clean some stuff up and this is the first game.”

(On the play of Jalen Carter)

“Oh man, I’m excited for him. I mean he was itching to get out there. We’ve got such a great defensive line and everyone is itching to get out there. It’s cool to see the young guys in shape and on top of that making plays. I was happy he got his first [sack].”

Dallas Goedert, TE

(On the game)

“A win is a win and that is really tough to do in this league, so I’m really happy with the way everyone played. The benefit for me is that I get to be in there for run game, and take my frustrations out on the defensive ends and linebackers, so I had a lot of fun playing out there today. It was great team win for us and a lot of fun. We got great people all over this field, so maybe next week will be my week, and if not, I will just keep chopping away until it comes.”

(On if he felt the Patriots defense was trying to take him out of the game)

“I wouldn’t say so, we knew they were going to try and bush me off the line a little bit here and there. I got rerouted a little bit but I felt like I played well. We will have to go back and look at the tape and see what happened with all of the aspects. Like I said, it was a good team win and I am very proud of the way the whole team played.”

Reed Blankenship, S

(On the defense)

“I felt like we swarmed to the ball. Obviously there is a lot that we need to work on, but I felt like our effort was there. We showed the character of who we are and who we are as individuals. We had a couple guys go down but we came together. We knew we had to get stops so we got it done. I was just trying to have fun. That’s football. When my number is called, it’s called so I am going to have fun with it. It’s the NFL and anything can happen. A win is a win and it is on the road.”

Transcripts are provided by the Patriots media relations department as a courtesy to the media and are edited for readability. All press conferences are posted and archived in their entirety on patriots.com. The duplication or posting of this transcript in its entirety as original content is prohibited. Media are encouraged to link to the complete transcript on patriots.com when sharing full quotes with their audiences.

–PATRIOTS–

Download the Word Doc here: EaglesPlayers091023