Postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Pete Carroll

Opening Statement:

"We've come in here a number of times here and really had very similar results that we're not getting the game when we have chance to get the football game that's out there for us. And it's really difficult. Because we're so close to winning games and we haven't been able to do it at home, for sure. Which is a real shock to me. It's a shock that we're not able to do that. But we're still trying to get these games finished properly. And that means you don't make the mistake that give them a chance. You know, you kick the ball, you don't make the penalty. You know, you don't eat the football for losses when you're in the right positions and stuff. So there's things that we can really fix. And we're just a -- it may not look like it from the outside, but from the inside, it feels like it's really close. So we're going to keep hanging and battling. Really good play by our defense tonight throughout the night. And we had this sequence before the half that we just -- it was -- it was a shame. It was a shame that we gave them that. It didn't have to happen and there was a couple things that we needed to do that didn't get done. I mean, you -- everybody could see it, cover the running back. And, fortunately, you know, our guys are hanging together. And they're talking right and they're looking at each other in the eye and they're -- they want to keep battling to make this thing come together. And that's what we're going to keep doing."

What did you tell your team in the locker room just after the game now?

"I told them stuff that really pertained to kind of how we've been talking about. We got to get our finish together and we got to do the right things at the end of the game. Kind of like I'm saying to you. It's -- it's -- there's no -- this isn't rocket science. You got to finish the game right and do right at the end. And that's how you become a good finishing club. And we're not right now. There's a lot of things that you can do so you don't put yourself in those close games and close finishes, as well. But when you get there, you got to do the right stuff. And we haven't been able to function the way we needed to. We talked about hanging together and staying connected and making sure that everybody's, you know, on the same page. And do this together the right way."

You guys got that great start with a touchdown early. Were you surprised it was that tough going the rest of the way offensively?

"Well, they're really good. And they made it hard on us. We didn't run the ball as well as we wanted to. We stayed after it, kept trying and working it. I was hoping we would pick it up more so in the second half. I think we rushed for, like, 90 yards or something like that. These guys allow 70 yards a game rushing, 70-80 yards a game. They're really good at it. But we needed to stay with it and we did. But not as effective as we needed to be. I wish we would have gotten more done off of the run. We weren't able to do that. Play passes and movement and stuff. But -- yeah, what else?"

You mentioned eating the football for losses. Geno being at quarterback, do you attribute that to just not being in there often?

"Yeah, I do. Yeah, that's just not being comfortable with the situation. We reminded him, it was -- the time we were on the 23-yard line or something like that -- in great shape and we take a big loss. We just got to find a way to get the ball out and get it going when we're in trouble. It's easy to say, go play quarterback and figure it out. I love Geno and he's busting his ass to do everything he can to help us. But that's the kind of decisions that you make that keep you in the games and give you a chance to win."

How frustrated are you that some of the same mistakes at the end of the game that have hurt this defense this year?

"Yeah, really frustrating. Really frustrating. We're not cleaning it up. We had a great sequence at the end of the game. We sacked a guy to give the ball back to the offense. But we hit him late. And so -- I haven't seen the play yet, so I don't know what it looks like. But that's the play that you don't do. You make the proper decision not to put yourself in that situation. We get off the field and everybody is going crazy, and they're kicking the ball to the 35 or something instead of getting a whole new start. That play looked like a 25-yard penalty when they marched the thing off. And so, you have to make those choices and the guys have to be clear thinking and not put us in harm's way. Gerald had his taunting thing over there that we can't -- this is the new game. You can't do anything aimed at another player. And I didn't see that one, either. But I was told what happened. And that kind of stuff is going to lose games for you. And they add up."

Going back to that sequence at the end of the first half, what happened on Kamara's touchdown? It looked like there was nobody within several yards of him.

"Yeah, the whole sequence, we were just out of whack with covering him. There was five different calls in there, different things that happened when we had him manned up. We had some -- we needed to get it done one way or the other. And we tried, tried, tried. We didn't get it done. The second half, the guys made the adjustments, and everything was fine. And we were sharp at it and it wasn't the same thing anymore. But just in that sequence, we couldn't stop it until they got to the end zone with the calls that we made."

Question concerning the missed field goal by Jason Myers.

"No, I think he just missed it. The flight wasn't the same on it. He just didn't hit it quite right. He's a great kicker. We love what he does. He's one game -- look what he did last week. And he's going to win games down the stretch here. And it's just unfortunate. He took it really hard. And, he knows."

The 53-yard try in the fourth quarter where he's kicking into the open end of the stadium, how much consideration was there to punt there?

"Yeah, there was some. But we felt he kicked the ball far enough. Had a good attitude about it. And, it was a tough kick for sure. The night was not as difficult as we thought, the cyclone bomb or whatever it may be, it didn't go off. That didn't happen. I didn't think it was that big of a factor."

Did the officials give you an explanation on Blair's penalty on the sack? Was it a helmet hit or was it just late?

"I didn't get any explanation on that one."

What did you see on it?

"You guys saw it better than I did. You know more than I do."

What did you see out of DK tonight? And would you have liked to have seen him more involved after the touchdown?

"Yeah, we -- yes. That was an exquisite play. It was a great throw from Geno. Everything about it was perfect. And that sent a little shock wave to them, too. And they kept going at him a lot and tried to do everything they could to keep him from getting the football."

The second to rotate the corners. Did you just want to try and let the competition play out there?

"Yeah. I don't have nothing to tell you. I thought those guys played well. Really well. They got challenged a few times down the field. And all in all, the defense did a really nice job tonight. They did a really good job in so many ways. And we had one situation that really screwed up. And I think they had a 20-play drive. They got some fourth down conversions. I think we were 2 out of 15 or something on third down. You know, we have made a big jump and we've turned the corner on a lot of areas on our defense. I think the defense is playing -- go back three or four weeks, we've turned it. And so, we can expect those guys to continue to play really well and be a factor and make 13 points against this -- any NFL team is remarkable. And so, I'm counting on those guys to keep improving."

On that drive, Jordyn Brooks had that great pass defended where he jumped up in the air and when he recovered the fumble. Just his play tonight?

"Yeah, I don't have enough to give him credit on all, other than the big plays you're talking about. But he continues to play really well. The running game was really in hand. I don't think -- I don't think Alvin, had -- was over three yards rushing. It was a big night to slow him down. He's a great player. Was he under three? Yeah, that's a fantastic job. And that's four quarters of football against one of the best players in the NFL. And, obviously, we saw the talent in the passing game. We didn't do well there. He got us."

You mentioned the running game a lot. Could you tell what broke down on the offensive line?

"No. There's nothing to tell you except for these guys are really good and hard to move. And they're really disciplined about it and our guys kept battling and clawing and scratching about it. We did a really nice job to get some other runs other than the downhill runs to complement what he did. But I need to look at the film."

Question concerning Russell Wilson.

"Let's say it this way: I've been here a long time. And if we didn't have Russell, I probably wouldn't have been here a long time. Because think of all the magic that he's created in the years. He's got numbers and stats, and fourth quarters, thises and thats, and all of that stuff. One of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. And it will be really fun when he comes back and plays football again for us this year. And we owe a tremendous amount. You can see how hard it is. I mean, all of these games; the Rams game, the -- what was the next one?"

Question concerning The Steelers.

"The Steelers and this one. You know, Russell's a factor. He's a fantastic, positive factor and always has been. And, I mean, those were exactly his time. That's his time. That's when he shines. And so, we miss him. And in the meantime, we're going to keep fighting and clawing, and doing everything we can."

On the defensive improvements, was it one thing or just the players focusing and getting better?

"No. Line of scrimmage continues to get better. Everybody's really comfortable with what we're trying to get done. The corners are playing more consistently. Kenny has adjusted some stuff to help them. And they've really taken off with it. And, we've had good fortune to have most of the guys out there. We didn't have Darrell tonight. It would have been nice to have him. They've just turned the corner. You've already seen this story. Look at the third downs, guys. The third downs in the last month, okay, it's a month of third downs. It was two conversions and 10, two conversions and 15 or something like that, and then five and 15, and then two and whatever it was tonight. That's fantastic play. Nobody's playing better than that. Nobody's doing better than that. And so, that's going to give us a chance. And we'll have a chance to have a great surge in the second half of the season. And, really, the second half starts Wednesday."

Did Darrell have a setback pregame or something like that?

"No, he didn't have a setback. He just didn't turn the corner. And he was -- it was such a positive kind of return with, all the good news that he wasn't hurt seriously. But his neck still was sore. And it just didn't -- it didn't go away. So he had a real stiff neck that he couldn't shake yet. He's really frustrated by it. Because he feels pretty darn good, but he just didn't have his mobility and it wasn't -- he couldn't play."

How's Marquise Blair?

"He got hurt. Marquise got hurt. He hurt his patellar tendon. I'm not going to specific about it. But that's -- check that. He hurt his patellar. And the patellar got -- there's something we got to do there. And I'm not sure exactly what it is. But it's a significant injury."

Is Tyler okay?

"Yes. As far as I know. I haven't seen him. He's not on any of the reports I have. Brandon Shell just kind of re-aggravated his ankle real late there. Other than that, we don't have anything else."

On the Woods offsides, you didn't have a field goal block on or anything?

"Yeah, we had a big time field goal block on. We always, we do. And we -- yes, and we took great pride in rushing that with that group. And I don't know, you know, what happened. You know, Al's great and a disciplined football -- as disciplined a football player as we have. And I don't know what happened on that. I haven't talked to him about it."

Did Damien try to warm up and play pregame?

"Yeah, he couldn't get back. No, he did not work out in pregame. He wasn't ready to do that."

On releasing Cedric Ogbuehi.

"We had to make a spot. And for Rashaad to come up."

Do you have any more word on when Russell might come back?

"No. No. I don't know. I can't help you on that. I just know he's going to -- whatever he's going to do is better than anybody could ever do. And he'll get that done."

Quarterback Geno Smith

Geno, what's the mood in the locker room right now? 

"It's tough. Man, we lost. No one's happy about it. It's another close game for us. We had a chance right there at the end. It's tough. One thing I know about these guys is no one's going to quit. No one's going to point a finger. We're all going to pick up what we need to pick up. And we're all going to get better. You know, find ways to get better and find ways to get a win."

What's your assessment of the offense tonight? 

"I think we had spurts where we were really good. And I think we had times where we didn't finish. We were moving the ball. You know, some costly sacks where, you know, kind of put us out of position. A couple penalties that we'd like to not have. But overall, I mean, with the elements and everything else, you know, not to make any excuses, I think we moved the ball pretty well."

Geno, you mentioned the sacks. Some of those came at some really critical moments. What do you kind of think about those plays when you look back on them and you kind of have those moments come about for you? 

"Well, I mean, that's part of playing quarterback, honestly. Playing quarterback, you got to put the team in the best position to win. And whatever I got to do to get the ball out or evade a sack, whatever I have to do to not have that happen, that's a part of my job. And I put that solely on my myself, honestly. And I got big enough shoulders, I'll take it all. You can put the blame on my feet. No worry. I know I'm going to do whatever I need to do to make sure that we get a win." 

The third down that took Meyers' field goal out to 53 yards there in the open end, what could you do? That looked like a blitz with no pickup. You're saying --?

"I would have to go look at the tape to be exact and to give you the best answer. In hindsight, just doing whatever it takes, whatever it takes to get the ball out. That's a part of my job, putting us in the best position to win. And when things like that happen, it's the quarterback's job to make sure it doesn't." 

What was it like handling the ball, throwing the ball in these conditions tonight? 

"I thought we did fine, honestly. I didn't think about it once. I didn't flinch once. You know, I think I missed one to DK where I put a touch on it and it kind of floated on me. But other than that, I think we were fine." 

You had that great touchdown pass to DK. Honestly, I don't think you threw it to him again until the fourth quarter. Was that something they were doing, the defense, play calling? 

"Obviously, we want to get the ball to our playmakers. DK is a great player, Tyler's a great player, Gerald and all those guys. We want to get the ball to all those guys. To be honest with you, I can't really pinpoint to you why it happened the way it did. That's something we got to look at and correct. But it happened like that. And we still had a chance at the end of the game. He made a crucial third down at the end of the game. And that's what he does, he's a great player. And so, honestly, man, it's just one of those things where we came up short again. These last three weeks, we've had the ball at the end with a chance to go win and we didn't get it done." 

Geno, the defense gave you -- a recovery fumble gave you a short field. Can you take us through the sequence of that possession? 

"It was a great job by the defense. It was a great hit. I think it was Ugo who made the hit. It was a great hit. That's what they do, they make plays on defense. They did a great job all night. I feel like we got the ball there. And one thing that I'll say is finishing drives is huge. And then rewarding our defense whenever they do get a turnover like that. We preferably want to get seven. So whatever we have to do to make sure that happens. We all got to watch the tape and really take ownership and figure out what each individual can do to make sure that gets done." 

Geno, you're not going to be satisfied until you win, obviously, as a competitor. But what can you -- how are you feeling about your control of the offense and your ability to move the pieces when you're out there at the line of scrimmage and in the huddle? 

"I feel great about it. That's all the hard work throughout training camp and all those things we put a lot of work in. And so, I feel great about what I'm seeing out there and how I'm getting in and out of the huddle. Obviously, there's a lot that I can improve, as well. So for me, it's just focusing on those things, the things that I can improve on. And then just continuing to build."

Just what's the next step for this team to kind of get back on track? 

"The sun's going to come up tomorrow and we going to get right. We're going to make sure we do whatever we need to do. Whether it's in the classroom, the weight room. And then when it comes down to executing on the field, we just got to own those moments. We just got to own them. Those are crucial moments and we had chances to really ice the game. And so, we've got to really put that in our mindset just, like, Hey, man, we got to be closers and finishers. And that's something we can really work on."

Running Back Alex Collins

On the Saints' run defense.

"They just did a great job of reading the runs and attacking hard down field. Throughout the stretch, we had to switch up our scheme a little bit and attack them harder. I felt that it started to open up towards the end and we started to get a little more yards at the end. They are a great defense, they came to play, and played hard."

On how he's feeling after the game.

"I'm great, mentally too."

On how he was feeling throughout the week.

"I didn't even feel it. Going out there, I was able to really move how I wanted to and go without any limitations."

On how difficult it is not being able to finish these close games.

"Just like I said earlier, I feel like the optimism is there. We know that we are so close. We are right at the end with these teams. We are playing against some great teams, and it comes down to the wire. We have to keep executing and keep finishing strong. Hopefully the games will start falling our way because we have had a lot of close games. We went to overtime and were tied up in the fourth, so people look at our record and maybe have a different mindset about us. We know that we are one step closer to finishing, executing, and getting those W's."

Free Safety Ugo Amadi

On what happens now.

"Where do we go from here? We have to go back to work, get ready for the next opponent. We can't leave stuff in the past, we have to move forward, get back to what we believe in, and that's winning."

On whether it feels like the defense has turned the corner, specifically on third down.

"Definitely. We take pride in that. Last year, that's where we were hurt the most. That's a point of emphasis going in to this year. Getting off the field on third down."

On whether he thought the forced fumble play had turned the game.

"I believe that whenever you get the ball out, and give it back to the offense, that's always a momentum builder."

On whether he knew the ball had come free right away.

"Yeah. When I hit him, I was looking back the whole time. I knew that ball was out."

On the importance of trust.

"When I think of trust, I think it's everything. Communicating at the snap, trusting your teammates. I feel like that's never been the issue. We just have to keep harping on it. It just never comes easy. When you're climbing the mountain, it's never easy, but when you get to the top, it's going to be a nice view. Whatever you do in life, there are going to be trials and tribulations."

On why Alvin Kamara was so effective as a receiver tonight.

"I believe that's who the quarterback wanted to target; that's his go to guy. He's electrifying when he gets the ball. I give kudos to him. That's his game."

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks

On the feeling in the locker room after that game.

"Obviously, guys are disappointed, but nobody is pointing a finger. We're sticking together. We're not giving up on ourselves. People outside these walls may be pointing the finger and giving up on us, but we're going to stick together. We're going to figure it out."

On what it will take to figure it out.

"Just lock it in. Just keep doing what we're doing. It was just a play here and there. So we have to go back and watch the film, evaluate ourselves. Each man has to hold themselves accountable; see what they could have done better, and get it fixed."

On the defense possibly turning the corner over the last few weeks.

"I thought we've been playing better these last few weeks. That's just guys communicating. Early on, during the year, we were just having communication problems and it led to this play and that play. I think guys are talking better. The chemistry has grown on that side. We're going to continue to do what we do, and get a win here, soon."

On his pass breakup in the end zone.

"I was pretty much playing the hooks. They had a guy crossing. I felt somebody come behind me, and I just read Jameis' eyes, and got up to get it tipped."

On whether he thought that play and the fumble recovery were enough to win the game.

"I thought we did enough defensively to win. Offensively as well. Like I said, it was just a couple plays here and there. Both sides, all sides, all phases, can be cleaned up, and we win the game, easily."

On the emphasis on finishing.

"That's kind of been the problem the last couple weeks, just not finishing. Like I said, it's nothing major that's happening. It's just about finishing. That's what we have to do as a collective group. That's what will make the difference."

On how different it is without Russell Wilson.

"It's different. Obviously, Russ is, in my opinion, the best. So, it's going to be different. But, we're rallying around Geno. In running the ball, and making plays when we can. Right now, Russ is down, and it's next man up mentality."

Linebacker Bobby Wagner

On what message he has for the younger players.

"We've got to keep fighting. It's a long season, a lot of games left. We've got to get right. We've got to really fix our mistakes and play smarter, make less penalties. That's the message." 

On how to make sure players aren't trying too hard.

"I don't think it's going to be a try too hard type of thing. I think it's more of we're executing, we're making plays. We just had costly mistakes or costly penalties in the wrong moments, so it's being more conscious in those moments to make sure that it's important to be on point." 

On Alvin Kamara.

"He just made some good plays. I didn't see all of them because I was guarding somebody else, but it seemed like he just got inside of us and with a guy like that, you just can't let him get inside of us. They made some good plays and some good calls. He executed."

On how he feels personally.

"It sucks. It's not a great feeling. It's not a position that we thought we were going to be in, and it's just back to the drawing board for me."