Postgame quotes from the following:
Opening Statement:
"Congrats to the Seahawks, division champs. There's a lot of things that went on in that game – I thought the defense continued to battle the right way, kept us in that game. Enough mistakes offensively and really, I just have to do so much better job for us. That's where this has been a humbling, tough, up-and-down year. A lot of good, a lot of frustrating things, but as the head coach you feel very responsible, especially with my involvement with the offense. We have to do some things better special teams-wise. But, I do love this football team. I love the way they continue to battle, compete 'til the end. Goff played through, I'm sure the TV copy caught that he ended up hurting his thumb and kind of popping it back In place. I know he's disappointed, we'll see what the final verdict is on that. He was tough and gutsy and just continued to try and battle for his teammates. I'm just very appreciative of our team and now we're disappointed but we still have a chance to kind of gather ourselves, regroup and see if we can get our tenth win against Arizona next week."
On QB Jared Goff's turnovers this season and if he believes Goff is putting them in a place to be successful:
"I wouldn't make an overarching statement like that over that turnover. That was a costly one today. He was trying to make a play and kind of lead Robert (Woods) up the field on a keeper that kind of got strung out and the ball sailed on him a little bit and (Quandre) Diggs made a nice play. It's a collective effort and as a coach when you're responsible for making a lot of the decisions, things like that, as a play-caller I have expectations of putting guys in spots and those are things that I don't feel like I've consistently done enough for us. Jared and I, we're in this together and that was a tough outing. There was enough things in terms of moving the ball that could have given ourselves a chance. Not finishing on the goal-line stand and that turnover, those end up being costly for you, especially with the way that our defense played. But, make no excuses like you guys will hear me consistently say. Gotta go back, look at it, figure out a way to get better and I know that's my responsible and that's what we gotta do."
On Goff's interception and what he would have liked to see him do:
"You would obviously like that play back. Where I was at, I actually was kind of right in behind him, you'd like to see him just continue to attack with the ball up and probably come away with a couple yards, but sometimes when you're getting flushed those lanes can open up. What it appeared to be, and I can't speak for him, but you could see he was kind of just trying to lead Robert (Woods) and he felt like there was a void just in behind him a little bit more vertical. But, it was a short field, the middle safety doesn't have any vertical grass to defend when you're in that tight red area. The ball sailed on him and Diggs made a nice pick."
On how he can get out of a funk or tough time as a play-caller:
"Really, my job is to put these guys in better spots, and I don't think I've consistently done a good enough job of that. Ultimately, you get into those rhythms when you sustain drives, you're efficient on those early downs and you can kind of get into a rhythm. I did think we were fairly efficient on the third downs early on in the game, but we kind of just petered out in that fringe area before we could even get into the red zone on a couple of drives that we had to settle for a field goal. I've gotta be better. I have much higher expectations for myself. I haven't been good enough. I'm not going to sit up here and make excuses. Like I tell our players all the time, 'I see a lot better than I hear.' Talk is cheap, we've gotta see the production, and ultimately when you look at it, I can be honest with myself and I don't feel like I've done a good enough job for the standards, the expectations and we're all in it together. We've gotta be able to produce, but I expect to put our guys in better spots and for the last couple weeks I have not done a good enough job of that."
On what he said to the team after the game:
"Just that I appreciate the way that they continue to battle. I love this group, love these guys. You want to just feel like you can have a better influence on the outcome of the game and just do a better job within the framework of your role. But, what we'll do is we'll regroup. It's very, very disappointing, but we do have a game a lot to play for next week and that's where our focus and concentration will shift to after this."
On not playing their best late in the season and what he believes may be the overarching problem:
"I think when you look at it, it's just the inconsistencies offensively and on teams. I gotta go back and really look at it, but we didn't do enough things to win this football game against a quality opponent like the Seahawks and for that we don't make any excuses. We've got one game guaranteed and we gotta see if we can maximize that opp' that we do have."
On if there is a chance that Goff's injury could keep him out in week 17:
"I'm not sure right now, I don't want to speculate on that. I know he battled and I really have a lot of respect for the toughness that he exuded today to be able to finish that game out, and that's really all I can say on that."
On if he could have imagined a scenario where his offense didn't come up with a touchdown since their Super Bowl loss:
"No, no it was tough. We had our chances and definitely would have liked some of those selections down in that tight red area back. They did a good job of kind of really teeing off and being able to win in the line of scrimmage and, like I said, certainly there were some better options in terms of the play selection and that falls on me."
On what happened with his thumb:
"I hit it on a helmet sometime in the third quarter and popped it back into place and finished the game."
On how the thumb feels now and he thinks it will be like going forward:
"It's okay right now. It's not terrible. We'll see tomorrow. We'll evaluate it tomorrow, we'll give it 24 hours to see what happens. We'll see."
On what the issues on offense have been recently:
"We obviously need to finish drives. I made one of what I think is one of the worst plays in my career early on in the first half when I threw that interception to [Quandre] Diggs. We need to score more on the one yard line. We can't get stuffed like that, that's the difference in the game right there. We score on the one, we have a completely different type of game outcome. Bottom line, it comes down to us on offense and it comes back to me."
On if they feel confident going into the game next week against Arizona:
"Of course. You always feel confident, you have to be. I've been playing this game for a long time. I've had setbacks, I've had great moments, I've had bad moments. For me personally and for our offense, we've had that as well this year. We've had great moments, we've had a lot of setbacks as well and how do we get consistent, how do we get on the right page and how do we move forward."
On how they fix the turnovers as an offense:
"For me personally, I need to stop trying to make a play if it's not there. I think that's the result of the one today was, just dumb. Just really dumb. I'm a lot smarter than that, I've made a lot of better plays than that and I just need to not make something out of nothing sometimes and just take what they give you."
On where he thinks those bad decisions come from:
"I think it's just a natural response to try and make something happen. I'm the quarterback of this team and I'm trying to score some points. Unfortunately, it has led to some dumb decisions, specifically today. Specifically just that one, honestly. It just can't happen, can't do it."
On if the thumb bothered him while throwing afterwards:
"No."
On if he can rate his level of certainty to play next week:
"I cannot. I'm uncertain. We will see."
On if the recent turnovers have made him more cautious in his approach:
"No I don't think so. I think like I was just kind of talking about, there's a balance of trying to make plays and being smart. My confidence will never be shaken by anything. I don't think that's something that I'll ever worry about. Just being smart and walking that line of smart and still aggressive. I think sometimes, specifically on that play today, that was a dumb play. It was just stupid and something that I can't do. No, I don't think my confidence will ever be shaken."
On if he was looking for Robert Woods on the interception:
"I was. I was trying to get cute with something and it just did not go my way and they made a great play. Ultimately, it was a part of them winning the game."
On what he would say to fans as they head into the final game of the season:
"We have to figure it out. We lost two in a row in a time in our season when we needed to win both games and didn't get it done. Look internally, we need to figure it out. I'm sorry that this is happening obviously, but we will figure it out. We have in the past and we'll keep believing and we will move forward."
On McVay being critical of his own play-calling and if he thinks his coach is putting them in good positions to succeed:
"No coach is going to call a perfect game. I think it's unfair to ask Sean to do that. There's certainly plays that I know he wants back, but there's also situations that just as a football player that you know you might start off like 'I don't have leverage that we want here, but we're going to find a way to win anyways.' We're the best at what we do, we're at this stage because we can play at a high level, and we've gotten here because we're able to do that. We're able to against looks that maybe you weren't supposed to win against. You're going to have to find a way to do that, it shouldn't be put on Sean to call a perfect game play every single time. We've got incredible football players and we have to find ways to get the ball in our hands and make things happen after the catch, make things happen after the ball is handed off to us and be able to go make plays for him."
On how the disappointment of the last two losses carries into the finale against Arizona next week:
"Well, we don't carry any of that over into the finale. Obviously, we haven't gotten it done the last two weeks, but we control our destiny here. It's just about us being able to go out there and execute and find a way to win a game. We didn't get it done this week. That game is over, this game is over, all we can do is learn and move forward and find a way to put a game plan together and prepare as football players to go out there and beat the guy across from us and be able to produce for this team. Our mindset doesn't change. We've got a big game this next week against AZ and we're going to go out there, produce, find a way to win."
On the 17 turnovers from QB Jared Goff and how the team can rally after those mistakes:
"No one goes into a game expecting to make mistakes, but this is an imperfect game where mistakes do happen. Obviously turning the ball over, we have to be better as a collective group. It's Jared's stat that there's a turnover, but there's ten other guys out there with him that are running that play. We've got to find ways to win and give him viable options. If that is off-schedule, just continue to fight through the down. For us, there's no faith lost in it. We know that it's a part of the game that these things are going to happen. If Jared sat down with me and watched this game and pointed out every single mistake that I made throughout the game, there would be plenty. No one in any game is going to be blameless, but the belief doesn't change that we've got the guys that can go out there and get W's and we've shown it before."
On it feeling like the defense has to carry the team and consistently make stops for the offense:
"Losing is frustrating. But we do it as a team. That's our job to pick them up. If it's going to be our job to lead this team, we need to lead even better than what we've been putting on the field. I'm not going to put it on anybody else, I'm not going to play the blame game and put it on them. We have to play better as a team. Defense wins championships and we want to be successful and be who we say we are as a number one defense and this and that. To be a great team, we have to take the accountability ourselves and find a way to make more stops and more plays. That's it."
On what advice he gave to Jared Goff towards the end of the game:
"We're going to keep it in house. But I'm always trying to motivate and be encouraging at the same time."
On how they feel as a team going into the final game of the season with a chance to go to the playoffs:
"We're solid. We know what we have to do. We have to turn it up a notch, all of us."
On how discouraging it is to lose back-to-back games with a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs:
"It sucks to lose. We have to do better, we have to work harder and we have to do better. We have to do something. It's frustrating. I'm not going to sit here and say that we're discouraged or we're not optimistic about what we have in front of us. We know what we have in front of us and we have to make it happen. That's hopefully what we'll do. God is good regardless though. [Through] the good, the bad, the indifferent; God is great. I wouldn't say that discouraged is the right word. [We're] disappointed and we need to hold ourselves accountable and be very critical of ourselves, we're definitely going to do that. [You're] not going to see any smiling faces. We're about business and we need to get it together ASAP. It's going to start from the top down. I'm going to put a lot of that on me, it's going to start with me to try and help this team. I need to be a leader. Practice better, encourage guys, play better. Whatever it takes, we need to put it all on the line this week. We know what's in front of us. So I wouldn't say discouraged is the word. Obviously we're frustrated, you can tell that I'm frustrated, very frustrated. I'm going to be optimistic with what lies ahead of us. One way or another, our guys are going to have to try and get it done. We have to push through, we have to do something."
On the frustration level of the defense right now:
"Honestly, there's frustration on our end about ourselves. We didn't have any turnovers again, we didn't give the offense any opportunity to get momentum or spark. There's a little bit of frustration, but we're going to watch the film, see what we can do better and get back to work and prepare for another division matchup."
On what the message in the locker room is right now:
"We're a little bit frustrated with ourselves because we know we could produce better, we could match the turnover ratio and we didn't do that. That's how it works. It's like I said last week, if you don't get any turnovers, it's hard to win games. We need that so we can give our offense a chance."
On being in a lot of sudden change instances with turnovers from the offense and being able to hold teams to field goals after those instances:
"It's awesome that we're able to do that. We don't let any of the outcomes affect us when we go out there. But we still aren't doing good enough. We have to capitalize on those sudden changes and make points out of those or make turnovers out of those. That's the biggest thing that [Defensive Coordinator Brandon] Staley always harps about, being plus one or plus two. We didn't do that two weeks in a row and now here we are. Like I said, we're just focused on Arizona, we have to go watch the film and we have to do better obviously. Like I said last week, we have a 24 hour rule and then we have to prepare for Arizona because they're a very good team."
On failing to earn a playoff berth two weeks in a row:
"I think it's frustrating for everybody. I don't think anyone goes into the mindset of obviously trying to lose. Nobody does that. But it's tough and at the end of the day, we're grown men. We take it on the chin and we need to learn from our mistakes and you need to keep on pushing forward because it's still not over. We still have one more game."
On Russell Wilson making more big plays than in their first matchup:
"All credit to Russell, he's a great player and he does very great things. But honestly, like I said, defensively we kind of shot ourselves in the foot in some situations. Which is crazy to think. We played solid, but there's still some things we definitely have to clean up. If we were able to get those things back, then maybe we could've helped out the offense with our momentum swing. But credit goes out to Russell, he's obviously a great player. He's playing at a high level."
On how much they watched other games as it pertains to the playoff picture:
"We don't pay attention to that. We're focused on ourselves. We worry about ourselves. We have the opportunity to do it ourselves and we're focused on ourselves."
On if they're aware of other games:
"No, no. We were just focused on trying to win today. That's the focus. We're just focused on ourselves and what we have to do to produce and win. And that's it. We're not relying on anybody else. That's just the way we look at it and that's the mindset that we have because we're a very good team. We know that if we put everything together, we could do it. No, we were not paying attention to that at all. We were just locked in for Seattle."
The best photos from Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field. Fueled by Nesquik.
