Patriots Players Postgame Transcripts 12/14
PATRIOTS PLAYERS
TreVeyon Henderson, RB
(On the loss)
“Of course, we’re not happy with that. Of course we wanted to come out with the win. We knew Buffalo was going to come in and give it their best and play hard. We knew it was going to be a physical game, and they came off the way that they did. At the end of the day, I’m still thankful, even in moments like this. The biggest thing is we want to see where we can learn and just continue to grow from here.”
(On his two big runs)
“I think the biggest thing is over time being able to get more opportunities and go up against the best of the best each and every week. It’s been helping a lot, just growth. We have a great running backs coach as well who disciplines us really well, and he’s been helping me grow as well. I just want to leave it all on the field.”
(On Drake Maye’s block on his second long run)
“I just think a play like that shows a lot about Drake Maye, the type of player and person he is, and how unselfish he is. That’s why when I got in the endzone, the first thing I did was point up to God, of course, but then point at him and just let him know I really appreciate that, appreciate his effort.”
(On Coach Vrabel’s message to the team after the game)
“I think Coach Vrabel is such a great leader for this team. His message was really to hold us accountable, of course, but to pick us up as well and keep us focused. I think he does a really great job at that. I respect him a lot as a head coach, so I’m thankful I get to play for him.”
Stefon Diggs, WR
(On putting this game into words)
“Kind of like that game we anticipated: 60 minutes. Great football team on the other side, great quarterback, great coaches, so you’ve got to kind of tip your hat to them. They had a great plan, and they came and played well. So, it’s going to be a 60-minute football game. So, we came in, got off to a good start, and that’s not all. You’ve got to come out and have the same intensity in the second half. Obviously, we had a little lull. We were trying; we were fighting back, clawing, defense gave us some opportunities. We’ve got to find a way to make it happen. So, all I can say is it’s a 60-minute football game.”
(On if he forgot what it felt like to lose)
“No. I mean, it’s been awhile since we lost, but I wouldn’t say we forgot at all. It is definitely something – you never know, we probably needed it. Going on a little streak, not going to say it’s a lot of pressure, but you expect to win, as you should, each and every week. But you play good teams every week. It’s a new week every week, and you’re trying to go 1-0. You just can’t ever draw it or see how it is going to be. So, it’s good for us. I kind of said it in the beginning of the year: lessons. If you don’t learn anything from it, then obviously a loss, but it’s a lesson for sure that you’re going to have to keep that foot on the gas.”
(On the biggest lesson from the loss today)
“60 minutes. You can’t have a lull on the mental side of it and the physical side of it. When you’re playing a team like that, they play from behind. They’re used to playing from behind, fighting back and clawing. They’ve been together for some years now, and they’ve led this division for a while. So, in order to get over that hump, play 60-minute football and execute at a higher level.
(On how to learn the most from this loss)
“Don’t be sensitive. Go in tomorrow with the mindset of everybody could have done more. Everybody could’ve just gave a little extra effort, even if you did give the maximum. Just getting on the same page, communication, just things like that around this time of the year. We had a little bit of weather or whatever you want to dress it up, just going in with the right mindset tomorrow that whatever we did to get here, we’re not going to change up. We’re just going to have to go a little bit harder, watch a little bit of extra tape, do a little couple extra spins at practice, whatever it takes to get a win. So, preparing the right way is going to be another thing, but we’re not changing.”
Hunter Henry, TE
(On what the team could have improved on offensively)
“Sustaining drives, picking up some third downs. I had some penalties, put us behind the sticks, negative plays. So, staying ahead of the chains. In the first half we were ahead of the chains a lot and didn’t have many third downs, and then it was just a different story in the second half. You have to give them credit, they did some things, mixed it up and were able to execute it.”
(On the team’s confidence level after the loss)
“We know we’re a good football team. They’re a really good football team, too. So it was just two teams, and they were able to come out today and outplay us. We have to look at ourselves and watch the tape, clean things up and be better from this.”
(On learning from the loss)
“I think it’s tough to look back at all the other things, but this definitely can be a kind of kick in the butt. We’ve had things go our way and everything go our way the last 10 weeks, so this is definitely a reality check. That’s a good football team. We went toe to toe with them in every aspect, but we have to give them credit. We’ve got to get a lot better from this fast.”
(On TreVeyon Henderson’s explosiveness)
“It’s game changing. You guys see it. Speed kills and you can’t really teach it. So a guy like that, if we can get him through to the second level, it’s huge.”
(On the incompletion on third-and-12 late in the fourth quarter)
“I should have caught it. That’s on me, I have to be better. That’s a crucial situation and I have to make that.”
K’Lavon Chaisson, LB
(On the Bills offense)
“Man, that’s just a resilient offense, for sure. I just applaud them for not quitting. It can definitely get a little bit discouraging when you’re down 21 points. So, they came back in the second half with an agenda on their mind and they executed pretty well.”
(On the snowy environment with hats and t-shirts on the line)
“I think that’s as close to the playoff environment this season, as we’ve got to so far. So, thankful for the opportunity for sure. I think that obviously we’ll be right back down to business. Now that we obviously know how to handle it, we know the things that we need to dial up on and execute better when that time comes around.”
(On their level of confidence as a team)
“It’s still high, it’s still 10. No, that’s not changing, that’s my opinion. My opinion is that we’ve got to clean up, especially on defense today. I think our offense did a great job. We can’t give up 35 points on defense and expect the offense to come shaking. So, we’ve got some things to clean up. We knew the things that we need to handle when going into the game. I think the running back and quarterbacks did a great job managing the game. I think everybody came in on their half, when it came to the second half, executing and doing their job well.”
(On how much he enjoys the challenge of games like this)
“It doesn’t get better than this. Obviously, you always want to be out there and the opportunity to make those plays, and seal the deal for the team. When you get that opportunity, you’ve got to make it happen. We didn’t make it happen tonight, but I think, obviously, we know what to expect and we know how these situations are going forward. So, we’ll be looking forward to the next big opportunity.”
Harold Landry, LB
(On if the environment compared to playoff football)
“It’s always a big game. A divisional game, it always feels like playoff football. The atmosphere was amazing. I can’t say enough about playing here at Gillette.
(On if Josh Allen if frustrating to play against)
“No, I mean, I just think he’s a great player, and we knew that. He’s just, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. You prepare for it, and you just try to go out there and execute against him.”
(On if the team’s confidence is shaken after the loss)
“I don’t think our confidence is shaken at all. I mean, we still had a chance to win the game, and we didn’t really execute, at all, at a high level, defensively, at the end of the game. But I don’t think our confidence is shaken at all. Like I said, this is just an opportunity for us to come in, learn, really look at ourselves and just improve.”
(On the Bills’ third-and-long touchdown)
“Yeah, it was a miscommunication we had. We were running something, but we all weren’t on the same page up front, and that’s what led to him being able to get out and throw the touchdown pass.”
Carlton Davis III, CB
(On leaving for injury and returning to play)
“That’s just in my DNA. I know what’s on the line and it’s so hard to watch your team play and not be able to be out there and contribute, especially when I’m needed or when it’s a close game. Obviously, we know what’s on the line, the division. We know the number one seed, everything’s on the line, so I’m not going to stay out. Credit to the trainers, we came in here and did some good exercises that allowed me to get a couple drives in and that was it.”
(On if this was a playoff preview)
“That was a playoff game. When you get down to the end of the season and you start talking about seeding, you start talking about division, that’s a playoff game. We just played a playoff game, the first one, and it’s cool because it wasn’t a real playoff game, but the stakes were a playoff kind of thing. Like I said, it’s good for us to learn this and make some corrections going into this backstretch. We’re going to need all the corrections we need and move forward.”
(On what can be learned from the loss)
“We were at a ten-game win streak or something like that? Sometimes a loss can teach you a lot, especially when you’ve been winning so much. Maybe we needed this loss to help us correct a couple of things and so that we’re not invincible, but still a great team. We still have stuff to work on and with the playoffs coming up, we’re going to need our best ball ahead of us. So, it’s probably something we can learn from for sure.”
Christian Gonzalez, CB
(On the Bills scoring five touchdowns in five straight drives)
“Yeah, I cannot say anything but give them props. They were able to go in at halftime and make corrections and come out and execute. We have got to be better.”
(On what made Josh Allen difficult to defend)
“I mean, that is what he does. That is his superpower, that is who Josh Allen is. We talked about it all week. It is just props to them. He went out and came out in the second half and did what he does. We will learn from it. It hurts obviously, everybody knows this hurts, but we will learn from it. Get in here tomorrow, learn from it, and be ready to move onto Baltimore next week.”
(On the defensive coverage plan going into the game)
“We had a good amount of everything. It was never like, ‘We are just going to play man, play zone.’ It was a good mix of man and zone. Just wanting to be aggressive and try to do what we do as a defense. As a secondary, we love to play man, so whenever man is called we love it. It is definitely not like we are going to go away from man.”
(On Charles Woods coming in for the injured Carlton Davis)
“I did not even notice at first. Once we noticed, there was really no change in the game plan. We in the secondary know there is going to be no drop off, and Charles came in and did a great job. Josh [Allen] tested him on the deep ball and Charles held up. In our room, whoever steps out there we have full confidence in. Happy for him that he got to get out there and show what he can bring and help this defense.”
Marcus Jones, CB
(On the Bills’ five consecutive touchdown drives)
“I mean, our main thing was, you know, whenever something does go wrong, we come back to the sideline and try to get the corrections and everything. They just got the best of us there.”
(On his view of the play he was penalized for)
“Yeah, I would say I was trying to get back in the phase, and I jumped around and came out with the ball. But the referee called a pass interference, so that’s what he called it.”
(On the defense being on the field for a large portion of the second half)
“No, I don’t feel like that’s one of those situations where, you know, whenever the offense scores, we know we have got to get back onto the field. Our main thing is that we have to get off the field. So making sure that we dial into our keys and get those three and outs, and everything would definitely help, for sure.”
(On how the team puts the loss behind them)
“It starts with tomorrow, getting the corrections and everything. We have a mature team, I will say that. Learn from it and everything, and then get back to the basics that we need to get back to. I would say we have lost before, and we know the things that it takes and everything. Like I said, we have a mature team, so we are going to dial in and get right.”
(On what he can learn about the team coming off a loss after a winning streak)
“I would say I have learned a lot. First off, from the situation of learning how guys take losses at the beginning of the year and everything. So it’s nothing that we have not been through before. We just know that we need to finish strong and just take it one game at a time and get back to the things that we need to get corrected. Do not look too far into the future, and then just get ready for next week.”
Jaylinn Hawkins, S
(On fighting against Josh Allen’s comebacks)
“It comes down to execution. There were some plays that we all left out there, it just is what it is. I have to look back at the tape and really critique it. We still have three more games left. We have to shake back, everybody shake back. We know what we should’ve done, we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and be like, ‘What can I do better to help the team?’ You know, all of us, and we’ll be alright.”
(On the difference of the two halves)
“It was just one of those things that you learn, this is a four-quarter game. No matter what happens, the roller coasters, you still have to be even keeled. There still can be players that can change the game at any given moment and they made those plays. We’re going to bounce back.”
(On lessons from the loss)
“The biggest lesson is to play four quarters, that’s it. The biggest lesson is play four quarters of ball. We talked about it all week. So, for learning lessons, this is a lesson for sure. Like I said, we’re going to shake back.”
(On the message after the game)
“Yeah, we’re checking on the people who care, like I said, keep moving forward. I know this one stings for sure, but it’s not going to define us. It’s not going to define me, it’s not going to define the defense, it’s not going to define the offense, coaches, nobody. Like I said, we’re back in here tomorrow and we’re getting after it.”