Postgame quotes from the following:
Head Coach Pete Carroll
Opening Statement:
"Good, tough win tonight. Really happy to see couple things in a big sense. We shut him out with the football tonight, pitched a goose egg for the offense, which is always where it starts? Defense did a fantastic job all night long. Really started fast. Stayed with it. Unfortunately we slopped that last drive in there and gave them a chance to get in there.
But the whole night was really good. I don't know the numbers other than the six sacks, but we were in control. It was great to see our guys play like that and play consistently. Again, like last week, a lot of corrections, a lot of things fixes during the game, a lot of great communication. We've taken a real nice step forward and I'm hoping we can just keep building on it.
Great to see Chris Carson back. Ran like a monster out there. The touchdown was fantastic. DK has a huge night. I heard he went over 1000 yards. Is that -- that is? That's a cool thing to have happen this early in the season. What a big year he's having and a big night tonight. Played great.
So we spread six sacks out with a bunch of guys, so everybody have rushing the passer and we took advantage of some opportunities and we did a nice job with it.
Just a really good ball game all around. Also, Jason Meyers just continues to nail the fricking football. We kicked last field goal just to ice the thing and they just went out there and did it exactly like they were supposed to. There is a question whether you kick that or not.
I though also that kick my own butt, I had a terrible first quarter. Golly, we didn't handle the fourth down situations like we needed to. Felt like I took the momentum away, and so I was disappointed. I didn't play that much better later in the game either to tell you the truth, but started lousy. Anyway, sometimes you can screw it up.
Anyway, so it's big night for us. Great to be Monday night, primetime, and get it done, and let's get on back home and get going."
On how encouraged he is by the defense's performance in the last two and a half games:
"Very much so, John. You can just feel it. They're just on their game. They know our stuff. They know what they're trying to get done. Were able to adjust and tweak things as the game is going along. All of that stuff is just the fine tuning that it takes to really be able to play good ball. Thought it was a really good night."
On Darius Slay and DK Metcalf getting into it early on and if it was deliberate by Slay or the Eagles:
"I hope they keep trying if they want to keep trying. He's very poised, very in command of what's going on. He handled that situation beautifully. I think he had pretty aggressive block on the play and they didn't like it. DK is doing his thing. He's making it known that he's not just out there catching the football. He's doing the whole game and blocking and giving good effort and being tough and all that."
On the pass rush and what seems to be the biggest change:
"Yeah, really a lot of guys contributed to that, which is great. Carlos had a couple really good rushes, of course. We see -- I don't know what -- Jamal had one I guess tonight. He's involved, too. Bobby had a couple great rushes when we didn't maybe get the sack, but still good pressure. Everybody is hitting it. Kenny is doing a really nice job of mixing the calls and utilizing the personnel and keeping them off balance, and it's great that everybody is benefitting."
On the status of Carlos Dunlap II:
"He's got something in his foot, sprained foot or something like that. Real technical term. Sprained something or other."
Clarifying his comments on having a bad first quarter and if he was referring to the play calls on fourth down:
"I didn't like my handling of it, the timing of it down there. I handcuffed the guys a little bit with that one. And neither one of them worked, you know, so if we had worked and converted would have been better. We lost all of whatever momentum we could have had the first quarter by not getting scores and converting and completing the sequence. I just didn't like it. I was pissed at me."
On what kept them from making the 4th down decisions quicker:
"Well we wanted to talk about it and think it through. It was a big play. I just didn't like the whole thing. I told you. It was me. I screwed it up. You asked what happened? It was me. I messed it up."
On the balance in the run game and if that is indicative of how he sees it going forward between Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde:
"I don't know what the numbers were. I haven't seen those yet. Those two guys are going to keep pounding away. One gets hot, then he'll get more. But those guys red zone great at bringing it just like we want to. We didn't run the ball as well as we would like to tonight. We have had a lot of trouble running the ball against these guys over the years, and it wasn't a whole lot different tonight. We're going to keep working for the balance and continuing to have both aspects of our offense going."
On if he thinks the personality of the team is back the way he wants, smash mouth on offense, attacking up front on defense:
"I think the last couple weeks we've taken this move in the right direction. We just got to keep battling and working to get better each week here and climb our way through. There are only on five games left in the whole season, in the regular season, and we just have to climb to the next game and get to the right mentality and the right approach to go bang out another football game, and then we just go to the next one and just keep charging our way through this thing.
I'm really excited about our belief, our resolve, the trust in one another, the offense trusting the defense back and forth. It feels the best it's been all year, and we're ready to go."
On if he was surprised the Eagles stuck with Slay on Metcalf the entire night:
"No. No, we -- I don't know. We don't care what they do. They get to do whatever they want. That's their choice based on what they think of their guys and all that. No, I wasn't surprised one way or the other."
On DK Metcalf's one-handed catch:
"Incredible one-handed catch. He knew he was fighting for space, and so he decided to make the space and go with the one-handed catch. He knew exactly what he was doing. Marvelous job keeping his feet in balance too and all that finishing the catch. He hit the ground real hard right there, too, and he just was tough as nails there to finish that one."
Clarifying Carlos Dunlap II's injury:
"That was Carlos Dunlap has a sprained foot, sore foot, or a sore toe or something. I don't know what it is."
On the return of Shaquill Griffin and Ethan Pocic:
"Yeah, it helped us in the continuity and the feel and all of that. The guys did a really nice job. It was great to get those guys back. We made a big deal last night in the meeting welcoming them back in and looking forward to them playing with us again. They did a really good job."
"I though Jamal played really, really good. I don't know what the numbers came out, but you can see finally his shoulder came back and this was the first time he was playing with both shoulders firing in the last couple weeks. It was great to see him be able to make some plays with it."
On how much the talk there is about being consistent moving forward as a team now that key players have returned from injury:
"How much -- I don't know. That's not the talk right now. But you're on it. I'm following your lead. Yeah, we should be talking about being consistent moving forward. That's really what we're always trying to do. Nothing is new. We just have to take it one step at a time and one day at a time and one game at a time and make sure we're really clear about how much focus we need to learn how to generate getting ready for what's going to happen at the end of the season.
Every one of these game are so important. There is something to every one of these games that helps us be a better team in the postseason, and we got to work our way through to that and see if we can earn our way in there. Just lessons everywhere. Just got to really be focused."
On Cedric Ogbuehi's performance:
"Yeah, I got to look at the film. I don't know. I can't tell you, Joe. I don't know how well he did. I think he had a penalty in there that we didn't like. I mean, all in all he did pretty good. It was admirable to start. I can't tell you until I see the film."
On the intentional grounding that wasn't on the snap behind Carson Wentz and how that whole sequence played out:
"Yeah, you know, I don't know if that was obvious or not, but I couldn't have been griping any more than I was about that one. I thought that one and also the one that Russ threw in the corner. Those were just situations I thought could have gone the other way.
I haven't see -- I don't have a good look at them yet, so I'm not griping about the calls, I just wish it would've gone the other way.
On Bobby Wagner passing 100 tackles this season and his consistency putting up those numbers:
"You know, John, what can you say? We're looking at a Hall of Fame football player. We're so accustomed to the way he plays and this tremendously consistent, you know, numbers he continues to add up, and we maybe don't realize how great a player he is and how hard it is to do what he's doing. That's just an all-timer, and I'm so happy that -- shoot, we've got five games left to play, so he's going to have a ton this year. That's great news. I wish I had known that. I would've shared that with the team. I didn't have that."
Wide Receiver DK Metcalf
On becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in 11 games this season:
"To God be the glory for everything. I actually prayed earlier today that He would do this for me and it came to pass. Thank you to God, my teammates, the coaching staff, and the o-line for blocking their butts off today."
On being tough and physical in tonight's game:
"I mean, football is a physical game so that's all it is. Blocking and trash talking."
On his thoughts on the defense's attitude in the past month:
"Nobody is talking about the defense enough in my opinion. They've been playing their butts off from the backend, to our corners and linebackers. We're getting to the quarterback every game right now. Our defense is playing unstoppable right now."
Quarterback Russell Wilson
On whether tonight felt more like a Seahawks offense with the return of the running backs:
"I'm not sure what that definition is. Hopefully we're able to score a lot of points and do a lot of things, running it and throwing it. We were able to throw for so many yards and touchdowns early on. We've been so great passing the ball, and we've been great running the ball too, which has been huge for us. To have those guys back was amazing. I think that's a collective effort of the offensive line doing a great job. We had a couple of big plays in the running game, even with some holding calls. We had the touchdown with Carlos [Hyde] which was a sweet run. I mean, that was an awesome run by him. Chris [Carson], getting him back in there and getting him touches early in the game was really cool. It felt like championship football team. I think that's what we want. We want to be clutch in the passing game and clutch in the running game. We want to be physical. [The Eagles] have a really good defense. They've always been great, all of the players that they have and all of the different things they do. I thought we really responded. In the passing game too, D.K. went 10-for-177. What's crazy is the go ball that could've been caught. He said he kind of stumbled or maybe the ball was two inches too long, I don't know. That ball was probably an 80-yard touchdown right there, which would have been sweet. And then also the quick fly, which he normally catches. So, you think about what he really would have done, he could have had 250, 260, 270, maybe almost 300 yards just off of those two plays. I think Tyler [Lockett] has been special for us. We got some other guys that made some key plays in the passing game. I thought it was a great game that was back-and-forth. The only thing that we didn't have tonight are the stops [the Eagles] made in the red zone. They made some good plays. We had some really cool plays for them, they just made a couple of key tackles in a couple of situations there. Like I said earlier, we had that holding call that got called back after that touchdown. So, the game could have looked a little bit different just based off of those few plays. Take those three game-altering plays right there and it could have been broken open pretty good. We played a really good defense."
On what went wrong offensively early in the game:
"We had that one where [David Moore] got the ball on a sweep, the guy just made a good play. Sometimes they've got great players too. They are going to make some good plays. If we get a touchdown there, it breaks the game open pretty early. The thing about [Pete Carroll] is that he really believes in our defense and how great they've been playing over the past couple of games in particular. It's really a testament to the defense and also who we are as an offense and what we believe in as a team. We were able to move the ball extremely well up and down the field throughout the process of the game. When we get down there, we want to score touchdowns. That's how you win games, with touchdowns and execution. I think they just made two good plays on those fourth downs."
On the consistency of LB Bobby Wagner:
"He has a locker next to me, and I asked, 'You're over 100 aren't you?' He is so humble and just said, 'Yeah, yeah.' It's just amazing how far he's come and all of the things that he has done. He's been such a great leader since day one. He's a Hall-of-Fame football player. He's a Hall-of-Fame friend. He's as good as it gets. He demonstrates his character in what he does for the community and for this team. I know he loves his daughter. It's just who he is as a person. He is a special guy. I think he's a great dad and a great person. If there is any kid out there who is watching somebody and wants to be like somebody, I think it's a guy like Bobby Wagner. He's got a good heart. He works hard for everything and treats people the right way in all circumstances. His faith is big. I'm just glad that I get to call him a friend and teammate. When we get to wear those captain patches and walk out on the field, going through the season, we're grateful. Me and him are both very, very grateful for all of the hard work and the things we've done so far. We feel like we're just getting started. Every time I look at him, I look at someone who I really believe that God is super pleased at. Our teammates are blessed to have and be around him. For me, wearing the other 'C', I'm grateful just to do it with him. It's been a great year. One thing that we've always said is don't get bored with consistency. I think having that mindset and believing in that has been great along the way. I got a guy that I can always look up to and always call on. And that's him."
On what he got for his birthday yesterday:
"Oh man, I got some cool things. I don't really ask for anything, nor do I want anything. I just want love and family. I'm a simple guy, I like pictures and these moments of time. I'm just really big into that. [My wife Ciara] surprised me. It's COVID, so you can't really go anywhere. She surprised me in the backyard with a little dinner, which was amazing. When I come home from work, I like to decompress, which is sometimes super late. We had Canlis come to the house, which is one of the best restaurants in Seattle. They came over and made dinner for us, and I was completely shocked. Just had some really cool quality time with her, and I got to see the kids before that. That was the best part of my birthday, for sure. And then obviously getting the win. I take these two days at the end of the month and pretend like those are both of my days. When we get a win on one of those days, it's always good. I'm just grateful for this team. We got a win, and that's all I need along with my family."
Running Back Chris Carson
On how good it felt to be back after being out with an injury the last six weeks:
"It felt good. It was hard missing all of those games. It felt good being back out there with the guys and help contribute to a win. The touchdown run, the o-line did a great job opening that hole. I saw the end zone. My game is physical so I wanted to get in there and make it happen."
On whether the jump cut in the third quarter was a sign that he is fully back from his foot injury and ready for the last five games:
"I mean I was just running. I don't pay attention to if my foot is good or not. I just want to keep improving and keep getting better. I want to be there for the last final five."
On how satisfying it was for him to contribute to a win on the road:
"It was big. Any way I can help the team, I want to do that. Me and Carlos [Hyde], everybody else contributed to that. It just felt good to be back out there. I missed it."
On whether he felt like he was on a carry limit tonight:
"You have two, three, four great running backs. They know they don't have to pound me to the ground. It's a long season. Playoffs. They did a good job of splitting everything up."
