Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

MIKE MACDONALD: It was a great atmosphere. Just told the team, really stings that we had a great opportunity at home in front of the 12s and our fans did a great job, so we appreciate them. But it stings. I thought just in general you got to give Green Bay a lot of credit. I thought they out-coached us. We didn't have a good enough plan in all three phases. I'm responsible for that, and frankly didn't play good enough. Didn't do the things we been doing that have won us games. We didn't do those things. We can rattle those off if you want. Just told the team, hey, good news is everything, all of our goals are still ahead of us and we'll go back to work tomorrow. So we'll watch the tape and attack the heck out of it like we have the rest of the season, and move forward and get ready for a good Vikings team coming in here. Let's go. A lot of football ahead of us. All of our goals are right there. We got to learn from it, which we will, and move on.

Mike, what do you know right now about Geno's injury?

MIKE MACDONALD: It was a knee for Geno. Tell you this: This guy is probably the toughest player I've ever been around. Was severe enough for him not to come back in the game. We'll do all the tests tomorrow and figure it out as we go. Right now structurally it looks like it's okay. Got to get it imaged and all that stuff.

Was he close at all to being able to come back?

MIKE MACDONALD: He wanted to. He was about to come back I think one of those drives, I think the one before we threw the pick, and then just couldn't go.

Do you expect him to miss more time?

MIKE MACDONALD: I don't know. We got to get the tests done, and I know he'll do everything humanly possible to go play, but just don't know right now.

Just to clarify, sprain or whatever or just there is no...

MIKE MACDONALD: Don't know.

Olu, what happened with him?

MIKE MACDONALD: Like a quad/knee combo. Again, not sure of the severity. Severe enough for him not to come back in. We'll figure out the extent, get the imaging and all that stuff tomorrow.

Prior to the injury he was struggling a bit --

MIKE MACDONALD: Olu?

No, Geno.

MIKE MACDONALD: Geno.

Threw his fourth end zone interception. What do you think accounted for that in the game?

MIKE MACDONALD: Again, I haven't talked to him about the play. Again, our whole team didn't play good enough to win. So I'm part of that; Geno is part of that. We got to learn from it and keep moving forward.

How much did the way the game unfolded early impact the way that you guys were able to run the football, especially coming out of the last week's game?

MIKE MACDONALD: We didn't run it effective enough, and I think we still felt like we could stick with our plan to a large extent. We knew this team starts really fast. Defensively we didn't hold up on our end of the bargain about quelling that start on how these guys operate. We will look it the tape see where we fell short and move on.

... first half?

MIKE MACDONALD: Why?

Yeah, why?

MIKE MACDONALD: All of the above. I mean, it's just a microcosm for the rest of the game. There are some plays we normally make that we didn't, and there are plays they out-played us and earned those yards. I can call a better game, too, so all of the above.

What was better in the second half?

MIKE MACDONALD: Our guys are going to fight. We fought -- even though we ended up running it out and at the very end just three scores, at a certain time it's not worth risking injury. But our guys fought really up until the touchdown throw in four-minute to 87, which is a heck of throw and catch. We had opportunities to get back in the game. I think we got down to 10 points and had a couple possessions on offense to get it to a one-score game, and then we ended up turning it over and gave up the touchdown and that was it. Our guys fought their tails off and coaches were fighting like heck on the sideline making adjustments. Our guys are in tune with figuring out how they're attacking us and trying to come up with solutions. Our guys are always going to fight to the very end.

(Regarding how Sam played.)

MIKE MACDONALD: I mean, wasn't good enough to win. I know he's disappointed. Just didn't feel like we were getting the ball out on time and then it wasn't complemented with our pass protection. I know we gave up a bunch of sacks, and they did a good job, too. They covered the routes and rushed the passer, and it was a complementary game on their end.

Pretty tough situation for him to be thrown into trailing.

MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah. That's why we have Sam. That's why we have Sam, to come in and help us win games if he needs to. But, look, tough situation. He hasn't played yet this year. We got faith in Sam. Guy is a great player. If he gets another opportunity, he'll do a great job.

(Indiscernible.) In what way was that plan better?

MIKE MACDONALD: You want to feel like you're ahead of the game and we just didn't start fast enough. So we'll look at why and figure out schematically what we can do better. I got to put them in better positions; we got to have a better plan on offense and special teams. We know that. It just wasn't good enough. Our job is to figure out why and fix it so we can move forward.

JSN had another productive game. What do you attribute to his breakout?

MIKE MACDONALD: I wouldn't call it a breakout. I mean, this guy has been making plays since we walked in the door. There is a reason we drafted him in the first round last year. Can't speak to last year, but this guy is a dynamite player. He just brings it every day. He's the guy that we thought he was. He's playing great; doing a great job.

Kenneth Walker, hoping he'll be back next week?

MIKE MACDONALD: Yeah, hope is a good word.

Do you have a better idea as to the likelihood of that?

MIKE MACDONALD: I mean, I haven't had any new information since Friday, so just he just couldn't go this week. I think we're not looking at a long-term thing. Structurally he's okay, structurally he's all right.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

QB Sam Howell

Q. Sam, probably not the way you wanted to make your debut or get your first significant snaps. How tough is that situation going in, trailing, they know you got throw the ball, all that stuff?

SAM HOWELL: Yeah, I think at the end of the day I've got to be better. I think my job is to be ready to go in there and play well and help this team win, and I didn't do that today. I've just got to be better, watch the film, learn from it. Definitely we had chances there in the second half. Defense played well; put us in good position. I've just got to be better.

Q. What did you see in terms of what you were reading on that interception?

SAM HOWELL: Yeah, they were playing a lot of Cover 2. Kind of had a four vertical concept and kind of thought I had Noah (Fant) there in between the two linebackers. Just got to make a smart decision.

Q. I think they sacked you four times. I guess what was -- obviously they were having good rush all night long. What did you see with the sacks?

SAM HOWELL: Just got to find a way to get the ball out. At the end of the day sacks are a quarterback stat, and I've got to hit the check downs a little faster and get the ball out of my hand before they get to me.

Q. Anything Geno Smith said to you when he came back on the sidelines encouraging you?

SAM HOWELL: Yeah, he was very encouraging, just trying to help me get comfortable out there. Obviously, he's been in that situation before as well and knows it's kind of tough to come in a game kind of coming off the bench. At the end of the day it's what I get paid to do and I've got to be better. But, no, Geno was great. He's a great friend of mine and it was good to have him out there.

Q. What was it like when he goes down there and you rush in to get ready and go in for the first time, that whole sequence, figuring out what happened to him and how that all played out?

SAM HOWELL: You can't really focus too much on what exactly happened. I still don't know what exactly is going on there. I try to stay in the game on the sidelines and play the game each play in my head, so you feel like you're in the game. You just got to go out there and now you're the one making the plays.

Q. Sam, there is significant games left to play. If you have to play going forward, do you feel like you're ready for that? What would do you to prepare?

SAM HOWELL: Definitely. I mean, I prepare every week like I'm the starter. If I am playing, just getting those reps in practice will be important, and just getting the whole week to get ready to go will be a big thing. I've got to make sure I'm doing the right things to prepare myself for Sundays.

Q. How is your approach or career different now that you're here with Seattle than last season?

SAM HOWELL: Throughout the season, obviously being a starter last year and not this year, but as far as from an approach standpoint, I try to approach the game the same way and like I'm playing.

S Julian Love

(On how the team's leadership changed after Geno Smith's injury) "It's tough. Geno is kind of the heart of this thing. The leaders, everybody just kind of has that 'no flinch' mentality. It's tough, but defensively, we know 'All right, let's step up even more for our offense.' And offensive guys were just stepping up knowing that they had to get things going without him, as we see (Zach) Charbonnet's touchdown, and they made some plays. So yeah, it's tough. I hope he's okay, I'm not sure what happened, but leaders stepped up."

(On the mindset moving forward) "I think it's good that we treat each win the same as the losses. Obviously, they hurt a little more when you lose, all that stuff. But Monday, we're going in and just fine-tooth comb, just going through stuff. We call things how it is, win or loss, and so that mentality's the same. So you don't have to panic, nobody has to tighten up, just because we have three games left. Everything we want to achieve is kind of out there for us, thankfully. And so we're going to treat this week just how we treat every week. Detail it Monday, get back after it Wednesday, and just be ready for the Vikings on Sunday."

(On what made Green Bay's run game tough to cover) "It was just a lot of movement. I think it allowed (Josh) Jacobs to hit the hole pretty quick, and it was getting on our safety, getting in on me, especially Coby in that first half early, it was getting on him. I'm not sure kind of what they saw and what we were doing, but we shifted. Obviously, Mike (Macdonald) saw something. It was shifted, what we were doing. We were able to kind of bottle them up, going after that first quarter, first half."

LB Ernest Jones IV

(On the early success of the Green Bay offense) "First, I want to say all glory to God. Thank you for allowing us to make it out of the game, both sides. I'd like to start with me. I've got to do a better job, coming out, making sure that I'm going so we don't wait until later on in the game to get going. In any game, those first 15 plays, you're going to get new stuff from offenses. They came out, tweaked a few things, kind of attacked areas that had given us problems earlier in the year. We just started too late. We just got going too late. When you're playing a good football team like that, you can't get down how we were."

(On seeing Geno Smith injured) "It's tough. Geno is the heartbeat of this offense, heartbeat of this team, and he's one of our leaders. So, obviously, you don't want to see him get hurt. We've got confidence in Sam, confidence in the guys behind him. I pray everything is OK with Geno, but we got to be ready to go, whoever is at quarterback"

(On moving this team forward next week) "Go in to work tomorrow, correct these wrongs. We've got to start faster on defense. I think we're hell to mess with when we're on it. First half, we were not. I just think we've got to go back to the drawing board. Our mindset has been playoff mode, so now it's legit now. We gotta go."

(On Josh Jacobs running right at the defense) "I think it was just the mechanics that we were trying to do. Our feet weren't set in the ground. We were moving around and not set in the ground. They were ready to go play, and we were trying to do too much up front, trying to change things, and just weren't set."

(On whether motion was creating issue) "Yes, that definitely created some issues. We weren't expecting, not that they weren't going to motion, but they did a lot of motion today, a lot of trickery with our eyes as linebackers, as DBs in the back end. Credit to them, they came out, they won the game, they executed their game plan and we didn't."

(On their motion) "Yeah, it was a little different motions, in regard to how they were trying to trick our eyes. We knew they were going to motion, but there's so many ways you can do it, and how they were able to do certain things. That was early on, and then we were able to get it corrected."

(On the benefit of the second half effort) "We'll just have to go back and look at the film. I just want us to start faster so it starts with me. It starts with me. When I get going, everybody else will get it rolling."

(On whether starting fast is a mental thing) "It's mental. It's physical, it's how the game's going, it's how the game's flowing. We just got to be better."

(On the final three games) "I don't think it's ever been pressure. We know what type of team we are, we know what the goal is, what we're trying to accomplish. Us saying it's playoff ball is just putting emphasis on what we said earlier in the year what we wanted to get done. That's win the division, go into the playoffs, get a home playoff game, one or two, whatever the case may be. You see what happens in the playoffs. But, there's not pressure. We just got to go out and play better, and execute better."

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

(On if the offense felt off tonight) "Yeah, I would say so. It didn't feel like us out there. Timing [wise], it started off rough obviously. Just tried to get back at the end of the game and it was too late for us."

(On how much Geno Smith was hurting to not come back in the game) "I definitely know if he could be out there, he would be out there. Prayers go to him and hopefully we'll get him back on Sunday."

(On Sam Howell showing any rust coming into the game) "No. We have a next man up mentality. He's ready for the job and capable enough to do it. We've seen it in practice a million times. We just didn't get the job done."

(On the message in the locker room after the loss with everything still ahead of them) "Everything is still in front of us. All of our goals. We just have to get ready for next week. Be ready for Minnesota and get a win."

WR Tyler Lockett

(On when they realized they couldn't run their normal plays) "I think it's more so when you're playing catch up. But we've always used tempo in different occasions. We felt like we could switch it up and go tempo a little bit to catch them off guard and catch them in certain coverages that we want to take advantage of. But I think they did a great job early on of putting us into a place where we became one dimensional."

(On how the offense changed when Sam Howell came in) "Obviously it's always different when you go from watching the game and then immediately go out there and play. Especially when we're playing catch up. It's tough sometimes just to be able to get a feel of the game and kind of jump into the game so you can get into the groove. But I think he did a great job just being able to lead us and try to take advantage of the opportunity and the situation. And for us I think we need to go back to the drawing board. Continue to work on our chemistry at practice and we'll all be better next week."

S Coby Bryant

(On what he saw with the explosive that Green Bay had early in the game) "They're a good team. We know they want to come out and run the ball. Ultimately, that's what I'm there for, just to get the guy down and just learn from it next drive."

(On what was different about the first two offensive drives for the Packers where the scored compared to when the defense settled in) "Like you said, we've tried to just settle down, communicate, play our game, and that's what we did towards the end of the game."

(On if Green Bay did different things on film than they did during the game today) "Yeah, most definitely. Like I said, they're a great team. They prepare well. We just have to go back, look at the film, and learn from the mistakes."

(On Geno Smith's injury) "It's tough. You never want to lose anybody, whatever position it is. We're behind Sam (Howell), and we're behind Geno (Smith) of course too as well."

C Jalen Sundell

(On how the game changed when Geno Smith got injured and couldn't finish the game) "I've snapped to Sam (Howell) every day. Sam stepped in and did a good job, did a good job communicating."

(On how it feels to process the game after sitting and thinking about it in the locker room and if it feels like a lot) "I'm just trying to unpack it and we've got to watch the film and see what we can do better."

(On what has to happen to execute some of the plays where the center pulls) "Honestly, the pulling is probably the easiest part. The down blocks and the setting up the pin pull plays are are the challenging part of that play."

(On the offense having success with plays where the offensive lineman pull last week and what happened against Green Bay that caused it to be less successful) "I've got to watch the film. It will tell you that."

CB Devon Witherspoon

(On what went wrong defensively) "They came out and they scored the football. We've just got to be better on defense. They had a good game plan against us and they executed well. We've just got to be better though."

(On how much the start of the game for the Green Bay Packers affected the rest of the game) "It meant a lot for them. We came out slow, we put ourselves in a hole. We tried to claw our way out. We can't win games like that, not in this league."

(On how optimistic he was when the score was 23-13 after the defensive fumble recovery) "I thought we had a chance. We tried to go out there and execute, we didn't."

(On what it feels like with a good Vikings team coming to Lumen Field next week) "We've got to go out there and play football."

RB Zach Charbonnet

(On what changed when Geno Smith was taken out of the game) "I obviously love Geno (Smith). I think we need to do better for Sam (Howell) all around."

(On where his confidence level is right now) "I think we're still fully confident. I don't think anyone in here is not confident. They just came in and played a great game. We just have to get back to work."