Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

MIKE MACDONALD: I'd say disappointed with the lack of being able to take advantage of the opportunities we had to win this football game. I'll say this, I want to say, first of all, thanks to our fans for showing up and being loud. The place was electric, when we started to make some plays at the end of the half, end of the fourth quarter, taking it to overtime, they were right there with us the whole way. Promise you, we're doing everything in our power and then some to create a nightmare at home, and right now we're not doing it. So we've got to go to work. So the bye week, it's a big week for us to get better. Right now we have an idea of the symptoms but what's going on underneath process-wise on why we're not playing complementary football in 60 minutes. That's what we're going to be attacking this week and we'll come back to work and move forward. But I am proud of our guys' fight. They played their tails off. They played hard to the final second. After facing all the adversity that we either faced or created for ourselves, so I just felt like we didn't flinch and just battled. So we've got the right guys. We just have to make it come to life. But our backs are against the wall and we've got to go.

The decision in overtime to go for that fourth down and the play call there, take us through that.

MIKE MACDONALD: That was the play call we liked. We liked the look. We've got to be able to get a half yard in two shots. Great football teams convert third and fourth and short, and right now we're not doing that. There's math -- if you kick the field goal, they're on four downs all the way to field goal range -- I felt like we had a great opportunity to win it with a touchdown right there. We went for it.

Similar vein, the offensive line, you had a number of penalties up front, snap issues today, and not being able to get that half yard, as you mentioned. How do you see up front and what happened there today and where you guys are with that right now?

MIKE MACDONALD: We're not there yet by any stretch of the imagination. I thought the guys played hard. We've been playing hard up front. But that's going to be part of what we're looking at over the next week. I just say it's fair to say in all three phases it's kind of all on the table right now of adjustments, things we need to move and shake and really being evaluating everything. So that will be a big part of it.

What did you make of Geno? A lot of highs and lows.

MIKE MACDONALD: He made some big-time plays for us. It's not easy, didn't have a lot of time back there. They had a good rush plan. We've got to protect him better. And I'm sure he's going to tell you that he's going to take ownership of the three picks. We've got to make smarter decisions in that way. We've got to finish drives. We've got to take care of the football. You guys see it. We see it. We have to be better if we're going to win.

What did you see on the third one, in particular? It looked like AJ Barner got held up as he was crossing the formation.

MIKE MACDONALD: Honestly, I've got to watch it. I can't give you a good answer on that one.

What was your message to them in the locker room after the game?

MIKE MACDONALD: Similar to what I told you guys. We've got guys that fought, but we have to go to work and make this right because right now we're doing too many things that it's not winning football, it's not complementary. And just the same mentality we've had every week, we've got to keep that going. And we're going to find the solution at some point. Right now we don't. I wish I had the solution right now. But we're going to go to work and we're going to figure it out.

You say you have the right guys, not that you don't, but what about them has you convinced you have the right guys?

MIKE MACDONALD: Just felt it today, just the fight from our football team. Just I felt like coming off the last week on how we felt going back to work, the practices we stacked, all the meetings and the conversations that we've had, everybody is bought in and they're committed to becoming a good football team. I really believe that.

The defense seemed to really come up, tie them up get you guys the ball back and things like that, what do you feel about how the defense played?

MIKE MACDONALD: I thought they played extremely well and I thought we played physical and tackled a lot better. The tackling is everything. There's lack of space. We communicated really well. I just felt like it showed some of the progress we've been making off the field and we brought it to the game today with good spirit and good energy. Proud of those guys. Couple of plays away from forcing a really long field goal, maybe getting the ball back.

Was it any schematic adjustments defensively, or was it just kind of executing doing things you needed to do that you hadn't been?

MIKE MACDONALD: Both. Tighten up the plan, just like we said last week. We've had some consistency in who's going out there for us, understanding who's doing what, having a full week with E.J. (Ernest Jones IV) and T. Dot (Tyrel Dodson) at linebacker and our secondaries on the same crew has been stout there up front, having the same guys going out there. You're able to stack some of that progress from week-to-week, I think that had something to do with it, too. It's one game, let's go back, let's look at it. I think we can keep taking it to the next level. Felt like we had some opportunities where the ball's alive tonight and we didn't convert on those things. There's some penalties, some critical penalties we'll look at and see if there were things we could do different technique-wise or just how we're handling those things. Because on the touchdown drives there were penalties involved. I want to look at that.

What did you think of Jaxson Smith-Njigba?

MIKE MACDONALD: Guy played great. We were in the death zone there at the end. Guy made a hell of a play.

What can you say about the Cody White impact in this game? He's kind of emerged had an opportunity to do what he did today.

MIKE MACDONALD: Love Cody. Scouts every day at practice. Glad that he had an opportunity show what he had to do. Guys were fired up for him. It shows the depth we have on our football team. Like I said, we have the right guys. Just having an opportunity. This guy plays extremely hard. Love Cody. Happy for him. Wish we would have won the game.

What happened to George Fant?

MIKE MACDONALD: Same deal with his knee.

What about K'Von Wallace?

MIKE MACDONALD: He's got an ankle.

Do you have any idea of how severe it is with either of those guys?

MIKE MACDONALD: No. Severe enough to not come back. So it was pretty clear that we weren't going to have him back, so whatever that means. I'm sure we'll look at it in the morning.

Ernest Jones IVsecond week, second game with the team.

MIKE MACDONALD: Tough to tell on just his individual performance, but I did feel like he made a couple racing-type tackles when the ball wasn't stopped at the line of scrimmage. That was big for us. Coverage-wise, don't have a great feel. But just excited to have him. Guy does a great job. He's one of us.

You went with Josh Jobe. What went into that and what do you think how that worked out?

MIKE MACDONALD: Tre (Brown) is still coming back from his injury. So we just felt like he's not quite ready yet to take it on. Josh is still practicing really well. That's what went into it. Pretty simple.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

QB Geno Smith

Q. How do you assess the offense today? Seemed like a lot of highs and lows.

GENO SMITH: First of all, I want to start off by apologizing to my teammates, really, and to the city, to the organization. They put a lot of trust in me with my decision-making, and when they put the ball in my hands, when my teammates play the way they played today and to give us a shot to win the game, I've got to make sure we do. The things I did today, mistakes that I made, they affected us negatively and really cost us the game today. Me knowing myself, I know how much this is going to hurt. I'm going to step it up, though. That's how I feel about it. I'm going to step it up.

Q. Three INTs today, the first one you put in the breadbasket. Saw a few guys' chests. I know you have the tendency to take credit for that anyway. You come back, you throw two more picks, but at the end of the game you're still right there. You thread the needle. You put the ball right on the guy, get the touchdown, you're in the game. What's going through your mind at that time?

GENO SMITH: Just my guys, how well they were playing. Just watching Cody (White) block that punt after making a number of spectacular catches and doing so many great things, being able to step in today, getting his first action today and going out there and playing lights out. Just the way the defense was playing. Going out there, shutting them down, a really good offense. How our crowd was in it the entire day. Making it tough on the Rams. I thought the fan base, they showed out today. So all those situations just led me to think, man, we've got to get it done, I've got to get it done for my guys and for the city. I really feel like I let everybody down today. I really do.

Q. Did you get hit (when) you were throwing there on the second interception?

GENO SMITH: I was trying to throw it out of bounds in the back of the end zone. A guy hit my arm. There's no excuses to be made. I can throw that away, get it out sooner. Be faster in my decision-making. Trying to make a play down there, held it a second too long and it didn't turn out well.

Q. What did you see on the third one?

GENO SMITH: Just trying to get the ball to AJ (Barner), thought he was going to slip through there and it didn't happen. I thought he got grabbed. Again, that's not an excuse. The ball's in my hands. I get the chance to make a decision and ultimately my decisions affect everybody, not just myself. And so I've got to be better. I'm not just saying that to say it. I really know that I can be better. And so it hurts me. It hurts me that I wasn't able to get it done today.

Q. In your position, it's obviously huge to flush mistakes because you've got to go right back out there. What has your thought process been coming out of the pick-6 or the next interception trying to move past that, do what you have to do to lift the team up?

GENO SMITH: It's the way the game is. You've got to have a short memory. Playing quarterback, there's a lot that goes on back there, and if you focus on what happened previously, it's only going to affect you negatively. Just moving on to the next play and focusing on what's the right decision to make at this time. I know it's extremely hard to do. It's not easy to do. But I've been in this league long enough. I've seen a lot. And I've been through a lot. And I think that helps me, helps me move on. But as long as we've got a shot, as long as I've got a shot, I'll keep fighting. That's the way I am. That's how I'm wired. I don't know any other way, and I'm really hurting.

Q. What do you make of the snap operation with you and Connor Williams, had a couple go by you, but there were other ones you were having to throw out your hand and stop, and how did you see those and where do you think you are with those right now?

GENO SMITH: Connor is doing a great job, phenomenal job. Hats off to the way he plays and competes. No one's perfect out there. Nobody is perfect. I'm not perfect. None of us are perfect. We compete together and fight together. There's a lot of things we've got to clean up, sure enough. But just the way that we compete, the way that Connor (Williams) is out there competing, I'm not going to bat an eye. Whatever we have got to do to make it right, we'll make it right.

Q. How do you feel about where you guys are as a team heading into the bye?

GENO SMITH: 4-5, not where we want to be, especially with how we started. Had an opportunity really in all of the games that we lost to get a win. And that's how it's going to be in this league. It's always a one-score league. But, man, we've got our season right in front of us. Everything's ahead of us. We get a week to reevaluate, to rest our bodies, and get our minds back. And we've got a tough San Francisco team coming back after the bye. But eight games to go and get it. Eight games to go get it. Everything we've worked for in the offseason, all the hard work we put in throughout the week, it's this final stretch, this eight-game stretch is what it's about.

Q. What do you think is the biggest contributor why you start 3-0 end up 4-5 at this point?

GENO SMITH: I think there's a lot of different contributors. If I'm being honest, I could play better and I could correct a lot of things. That's the job of the quarterback is to overcome and ultimately to get wins. When we're in position to get wins, I've got to make it happen.

Q. Fourth and one in overtime, what were you guys looking for right there? What do you think went wrong?

GENO SMITH: I can't say what went wrong. I haven't watched the film, but I do know it's a play we like. We felt good about it. Made the call. Hats off to them, they stopped us.

Q. It's the nature of your job, Geno, but what is it about this particular loss that has you apologizing?

GENO SMITH: Well, I just feel like our team played extremely well, and again I thought our crowd was in it the entire time. It was electric in there. And just knowing myself, knowing how much work I put in, knowing the standard I have for myself, knowing this game and the difference that the decisions the quarterbacks make, if I do my job and don't have those turnovers, don't have that pick-six, that's a 14-point swing right there, we win that game, in my opinion. When that's the case, I look directly at myself. I look in the mirror and I say 'What do I have to do?' I know what I have to do. So I've got to get to correcting it.

Q. What did you think about Jaxon Smith-Njigba's play today?

GENO SMITH: I thought he was lights out. He had about 200 yards today. He was all over the place. He played with extreme fire. Shoot, he was just doing his thing. That's who he is. We've got to continue to build on that. He's a guy who is only going to get better and (I) really appreciate playing with him.

Q. What did you think of the plays that Cody White made today?

GENO SMITH: We expected that from Cody. We've said that all camp. He's been doing that since he got here. Hard worker, one of the hardest workers on the team. He deserves it. He deserves to go out there and make those plays. He's always prepared. He knows what to do. He knows all the positions in the receiver room. He does such a great job throughout the week that I was so happy for him to get the opportunity. I could see it in his eyes in pregame, he was ready to go out there and play.

Q. Obviously mentioned highs and lows, not the outcome anyone wanted but certainly felt there were highs. Is there anything from this game you're taking away that you think will help the team in a positive manner moving down the line?

GENO SMITH: Yeah, I think you just look at the way that we fight. We compete. We're never going to back down. I don't believe in moral victories at all. I think you either win or lose. Today we lost. The great thing about life is you get another day, you get another chance. We've got eight games. That's all I'm focused on is the next eight games. I'm taking it one by one. I'm going to do my thing. I'm going to get better.

Q. The offense got off to kind of another slow start, but what did you see change there at the end of the half when you guys were able to go down get two real quick touchdowns in a flurry?

GENO SMITH: I thought the situational play calling, the situational execution, I thought all of that was outstanding. When you look at it, to score in the two-minute mode, for the defense to go out there get a stop, we get the ball back, put seven more points on the board, that's exactly what you talk about when you say complementary football. And I thought that's something that really got us going and gave us confidence going into the half, got us the momentum when we needed it and really excited our crowd.

Q. You didn't always snap it right away. How do you think (changing up the pace) helped you in the middle of the series?

GENO SMITH: I think our pace, the way we can either speed up or slow down the tempo, I think it really does help us. It's something that's part of our offense. We do a great job mixing it up. We get in the huddle. We change personnels and we can be on the ball if the ball depends how Grubb's (Ryan Grubb) feeling and what we're seeing from the defense.

Q. Did you emphasize and prepare for that this week?

GENO SMITH: No, that's our offense, we've been doing it since training camp.

Q. In your pursuit for continual improvement, how do you balance the next week physically, take care of your body mentally and, like you say, get in the way a little bit if that's what you do getting ready for San Francisco?

GENO SMITH: I'm going to work. I know it's good to have the days of rest, but I've got work to do. And I'll be working.

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

On his confidence in Geno Smith bouncing back from his interceptions) "Total confidence. He's done it again, and again, and again, honestly. Every time we take the field, get in the huddle, I know we're going to give our best effort. I know (if) we give him time, we run the right routes, we do what we're supposed to do, he's going to put the ball where it's supposed to be, and that's all we can do. But yeah, we have total confidence when we go out there, we've just got to stop beating ourselves, honestly."

(On having a career-best receiving yard performance) "I hate losing. (It's) whatever, I'd rather win, one hundred percent. My confidence level, it's always been the same. I've known that I could break out and have an amazing game whenever, but it's the wins that counts."

(On the touchdown to tie the game in regulation) "Corner route, Geno (Smith) threw a perfect ball. (He) had to put it really back shoulder for me to make a play on it. I just made a play on it, that's about it."

FS Julian Love

(On the mood of the team right now) "It's a tough mood for sure, in there. Despite playing a bad game overall, we had a shot to win the game. Didn't close it out, so not the best mood."

(On how he feels about the defensive play today) "I thought we played solid on defense. You guys saw, I didn't see the run game numbers, I'm sure they were good. Our next step is we have to play cleaner. I don't know what's going on with these penalties, but we have to just clean them up."

(On the success of the defense in stopping the run) "I think just a collective effort to improve it. Everyone was kind of locked in to the plan all week. We were repping it pretty clean the entire week, and just the mindset. A mindset to challenge. Also, the d-line took it upon themselves to just really try to take over in the run game, and they did. Seeing it from the back end, those guys were getting after it all day."

(On whether the Rams did something differently in their overtime drive) "The last play, good ball, good catch, obviously. Tough. The one on the over, good play call for what we were in, and then the other one to our left side, just, an errant throw and the guy made a play on it. It's unfortunate. Because, yeah, I thought we played a clean game other than the series coming out of the half, they had a good drive, but we were playing, I thought, clean. Clean enough to win a game, but we just got to play complimentary football across the board."

(On what this team needs to do to get back on track) "We got to lock in. The penalties have been nuts. I don't know what's been going on with those. Flags were flying all today, again. Whether they are good calls or not, we have to address that and improve on it. I can't speak for the offense, but starting backwards is never, never good. On defense, getting off the field on third down, and then you see flags flying, it's just never good. Obviously, improved tackling, improve our turnover ratio. We just have to collectively look who we have and try to play to the best of our abilities based on personnel. I think we're obviously going to look inward in this bye week and just attack this thing."

(On how he is processing losing five of the last six game) "It's frustrating, but I think, it's not like we're playing clean football and losing games. We're not playing good. We have some areas to address. Yeah, we had a three and oh start, but we're kind of not dwelling on that. We're trying to take it a game at a time. We have an opportunity coming out of this bye week, so we have to make the calls necessary during this week. Guys have to get healthy, and get their bodies right and just improve. Schematically, effort-wise, just across the board everyone has to really level up in this second half and we have to make a push. And, we're capable of it which is a good thing."

(On how does he maximize a week off after a game like this) "I think on all levels it's a great time for a self-assessment. Coaches, players. Just understand what happened up to this point and stack and build. This second half of the season is just a sprint, it feels like. We're very capable, we're a very capable team. We've seen it done every year and year out. I think we can be that team this year. Really turn it around, figure out who we are as a team, and just push. Obviously, though, taking care of the body. We're all calloused up at this point, but just clearing some of those little nicks and knacks will help us being at full force going forward."

(On Coby Bryant's play at the end of regulation to dislodge the ball) "A fantastic play. Coby's playing his butt off. He's just a ballplayer. They tried to throw a flag on that one, but thankfully they made the right call on that one. He's flying around, he's playing with effort, he's straining. Obviously, you guys know him over the years, he's a special player. He's going to keep growing the more reps and the more time he gets."

(On what makes him confident that this team will get on a run) "If you look across at what wins football games, we've shown everything. We just haven't shown it all at the same time. Our ability to run the ball some games, stop the run some games, throw the ball. We're a huge big play team, I think, but we just have to level it out. Instead of being kind of here, we got to level it out and keep grinding. You hear all the time, we have the ability to do it all. We just got to clean it up and understand how we can win games, and just not set ourselves back."

TE AJ Barner

(On what happened on Geno Smith's interception when he was being targeted) "Just tried to avoid the defender. I felt like there was probably a hold, but I'm not going to make excuses for it. I should've gotten through there and I should've been able to make the catch. It's completely on me and I'm going to learn from it and be better from it."

(On what he could've done differently on that play) "I tried to jump and avoid him by hopping through there. And when he grabbed me, I didn't really have that much momentum. So if I stayed on my feet, I feel like could've run through the contact."

(On the team focusing on a "next play" mentality) "I thought they did a good job of that. And for me, as a rookie, it's something that I can continue to improve on, just playing the next play. I know that we have a really good team. And we're going to be a really good team down the road. We just have to keep pushing forward."

(On what impressed him most about Jaxon Smith-Njigba's performance today) "He just stepped up big time. It's nothing new. I know Jaxon can be that every time, and he is that. Nothing new for [Jaxon]."

WR Tyler Lockett

(On the game overall) "It was just unfortunate. I think we did a great job showing resilience. Being able to come back. We showed a lot of fight, for sure, being down seven, defense did a great job keeping us in the game and we drove down and were able to score. I think there were a lot of great things out there. Saw that we were able to get the run game going that drive in [overtime]. That's something that we're definitely going to need be able to move forward. Just some unfortunate things that happens sometimes. Things happen like that. We took the gamble [on fourth down], and it didn't work out. It's like that. Either you're going to get it or you're not. Back to the drawing board."

(On if he liked the gamble on fourth down) "Shoot, at the end of the day, it's a gamble. You go to the casino; scared money don't make money. The way we were running the ball, the way we were making plays out there, a lot of things were going our way. We were out home, [the] fans were in it. The way we ran the ball that drive, I mean, why not go for it? I think it was one yard or half a yard. Anything could be able to happen and I think they did a great job on the other side being able to stop us. It put them in a good situation with next score wins."

(On how they feel as a team going into the bye week) "Like I said, we showed a lot of fight and resilience. I just think we need to work on the penalties. And the errors that kind of put us in bad situations like second and 25 or second and 30. It's hard to be able to do anything when we're backed up that far. For us, I think some of the things we could do is put better drives together where even if we don't score, we're able to change the field position. Make it easier on our defense rather than always putting the other team at least on their side of the 40. It gives them less field to work with. It's difficult for anybody to be able to stop that. But I think our defense did a great job being able to stop that. I think [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] did a heck of a job today being able to make plays, keeping us in it. Big time fourth down catch to even give us a chance to be able to go to overtime. And then being able to catch that ball [for the touchdown to tie the game]. Geno [Smith] threw a great ball in that window between two defenders and JSN was able to not only catch it but also keep his feet in bounds."

T Charles Cross

(On if he liked the decision to go for it on fourth and short in overtime) "I believe in the calls that are called, man. I feel like it's our job as a group to put those calls to life."

(On how much confidence he had in the team when they won the coin toss in overtime) "Extreme confidence. I just believe in everybody on the field. Just trying to get the job done at the end of the day and working to execute it."

(On mistakes snowballing in the third and fourth quarter and what he saw out of his teammates) "Just the resilience they had. Just kept playing the next play. Not letting the last play affect the next play and sticking together."

(On if he saw proof that the offense is taking a step forward) "Yeah, I feel like we are taking steps in the right direction. Just have to continue to refine and clean up and execute at the end of the day."

DT Byron Murphy II

(On what needs to change when the team returns from the bye week) "I'd say really just focus on the little things. Just work on the little things, the details. Just all of that."

(On if he feels the defensive line played better against the run today) "Oh, yeah. I feel like we played the run a lot better today than we have been doing. We shut the run game down. Played great football."

(On what Mike Macdonald said to the team in the locker room after the game) "Just got to keep our heads up. Chest out (and) forward, keep moving forward. Can't worry about this any more, it's over with, it's in the past."

(On the mood in the locker room after the game) "Going into a bye week, it obviously puts a bad taste in your mouth. Nobody wants that going into the bye week. Coming out of the bye week, we've just got to get back in the lab, continue to work, and come out with a dub (a win) after the bye week when we see the 49ers."

WR Cody White

(On his blocked punt) "Well, that was actually my first time repping it. I hadn't repped it in practice at all. They just told me what to do on the sideline, and I went in there and figured it out and was able to get a block. I practiced that every day in practice, so I felt like I was pretty prepared for the moment."

(On what gave him the confidence for that play) "Just the scheme. Jay (Harbaugh) set up a great scheme. (Jake) Bobo had a great pick, and then anytime I get an opening to go block a punt, I'm going to take it, and I've been working on the technique. I trusted myself, so when it opens, I know I'm going to go make the play."

(On how long he has been waiting to get his first catch as a Seahawk) "Shoot, since I stepped into the building. Every opportunity that I've been able to get, I feel like I've done a great job with it. So just keep stacking that and then try to figure out a way where I can provide and also go out there and help the team get some wins."

G Laken Tomlinson

(On how Geno Smith reacted to today's game) "He was extremely poised honestly. Throughout the whole game, if he wasn't in it all the way, we wouldn't have had that chance at the end. I really appreciate him battling through and bringing us to the very end."

(On how he felt about going for it on fourth and one) "We just have to execute. That's just it. We have to execute and finish it off."

(On the feeling of being a four and five team heading into a bye week) "We have a ton of talent here and guys here don't quit. Without a doubt, we're going to put in some work. It's bye week, these guys are going to come in to work, I promise you that."

LB Ernest Jones IV

(On playing against his former team) "For me, this is like a normal game. Of course, I know those guys and know tendencies from those guys. But for me, it was just like a normal game to me. Of course, you know who you're playing against, so you know what they have versus what they don't. So, for me, it was kind of normal."

(On how he felt they did against Kyren Williams) "We stopped and run. Definitely didn't have the team just running the ball on us. I believe it's happened in the past, but able to stop the run. We got out to the quarterback a little bit and put them in positions where they were behind the sticks, but ultimately, we fell short."

(On the feeling in the locker room heading into a bye this week) "Just coming here, knowing that it's a new half virtually for us, it's a new game. Got to come out and start fast, like we've been preaching all week. We did our best with the circumstances, and we just came up short."