Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Pete Carroll

Opening Statement:

Going to take 33 seconds of quiet in here to celebrate the fact that we finally got a possession game that we had the ball more than they did. We could just pause. Kidding. Crazy game. There is a lot of stuff that happened, and marvelous job of just hanging and staying together and keeping it going when we had a chance to win. I mean, it was just one end to the other as far as extremes of play. Really happy that our guys got a chance to get in the locker room and have fun and get a great win. No matter when you get one it's great, and this one was much needed. There was a lot to celebrate in the game, a lot of huge plays. The big special teams play to start the game off was great design by Izzo, Larry Izzo and Tracy Smith to take advantage of something they saw, and then perfect execution by the guys. Then of course Homer does the score, Bellore, everybody did great on that one. That was just an amazing play. But the rest of game, to come back in the two-minute situation at the end of the half was really a big deal, and to make a drive and get a touchdown and put us within a couple points was huge. And then we go right back into the sequence, take the ball off them the next time on the kickoff team, and we wind up getting the safety and all that to tie it up. It was just a lot of crazy stuff that happened in this game that made it the way it was. Unfortunately we turned the ball over three times today. We haven't turned the ball over but seven times all year or something, and the ball just got away from us today. We needed every one of them. Diggs interception, Bobby's interception, fumble recovery on the kicking team, all those were just so necessary, and need every one to them to get it done. It was exciting for our guys to get AP a touchdown today so he could tie the great Jim Brown. It was just for fun. Thrilled that he got a chance to do that and have him with us on this game. Thought Rashaad Penny looked really good today. Got some good carries out of him, really good screen play. We need him so badly to start lighting it up, and we think he has a chance to do that. Fortunately he made it back this week. He had a hamstring just two weeks ago and usually guys don't make it, but he toughed it out and got through it. That was a really big deal for him to overcome that and play this game and help us. Go ahead. I'm just yapping here.

How is Jamal?

He sprained his shoulder today, the one that was operated on, so I don't know any updates other than that.

Bryan Mone, Shell?

Mone had a knee that he put a brace on and was okay to go back. Toughed that out for sure. Brandon Shell, same shoulder that has been bothering him. Just aggravated it again. Not a whole lot worse than it was last week, but he didn't finish last week either. We should note Jake Curhan and Forsythe got a chance to play in this game and Stone and those guys did a nice to help us finish the game, so that was pretty special.

Carlos Dunlap rising up. What's his professionalism been through this whole process?

I think it was a great illustration of a guy just hanging tough and believing in this himself, and we believed in him also. Gave him a chance with his matchup today and totally came through and had a big day. The sack for the safety was gorgeous, and then of course the big play at the end knocking the ball up in the air. Huge plays. He was bringing the heat all day long as well.

You had some memorable goal line stands here. What was that moment like?

It was great, man. Really when you play this game there is nothing more thrilling than those opportunities to end the game. We've had a couple -- I remember New England or whatever it was a couple years ago, we've had a bunch over the years, but there is nothing more thrilling than that because everything, every fiber of your body is cranking those guys out. We'll never forget those four plays, and to come through in that way, couple runs and that incomplete And the ball gets knocked down on fourth down, yeah, it was a sensational moment. For our fans, too. They deserve it so much. I'm so glad they got to have the fun of seeing that happen?.

Were you second guessing at all not having kicked the field goal before that?

No, never thought twice about it.

What did you think of Russ' game?

Russ was strong. Good, solid football game. Made some great throws in the game. Took a couple sacks. We need to talk about that. Thought maybe we could get rid of the football. But I thought he played a really good football game. Two minute drill was exquisite. Again, the play to Tyler for the touchdown, that orchestration of that route and the concept and the call, was a great call, by Shane and great execution by the guys, and great toss. You know, really we should have scored the other time down there. Gerald had a chance. He's in the end zone, that's a touchdown. We had the other one, too. Russ had a couple more touchdowns in him today that didn't show up. I thought he played a really good game.

Speaking of Gerald, he played so hard this year to have those three plays go against him.

Yeah, heartbreaking day. He is a tough competitive, come-through guy, and those plays just went the other way.

When you signed Adrian Peterson on Wednesday, practices twice at 36 years old, did you think when you signed him that this would be realistic to play and contribute this much?

You hoped. Really I just wanted to bring him in and give a chance to see our guys and be with our team. I thought it was just such a rare opportunity and he totally exceeded my expectations of his influence of just being in the locker room and on the practice field. He was so much the consummate pro about taking this opportunity to heart and going for it. He's played a lot of football and he was so serious about it and so strict about the way he did everything. He executed beautifully. He had a great week of practice. He needed to play, and we knew he had that touchdown thing that we were trying to get. The celebration was for the big guys that knocked it in so he got a chance to score there.

What went into the decision on the fourth down run from punt formation?

Really that's the guys that picked up on opportunity for us in the study during the week, so we had to -- you know, pretty cool call to go for that. You have to figure out how far back in the situation and all, and so I said go for it. Going into the weekend, if we got the chance, kind of wherever it was, if it was legit and we really saw it clean, then let's go for it, which we did, and happened to be the first drive and we're backed up and it was perfectly executed by the guys.

Kyle Fuller?

Yeah, sprained his ankle. I don't know any update on that either.

So nothing to suggest that any of the guys that didn't finish will be long-term things?

No, no, I don't know anything about any of that right now. Sorry.

Adrian Peterson plans for the coming week?

Coming to meetings on Monday. Let's go.

Holding that rushing attack to only 71 yards after what they've done lately, what was that tell you about your defense?

I'm glad you brought it up, John. I didn't mention it. That's a real accomplishment. Those guys have rushed for almost 700 yards in the last three weeks and turned their season around doing that. I saw up there on the board one time it was 61 yards in the fourth quarter. Holy cow. That happened to them one other time. Might have been the start of the season, the Cardinals might have done that to them. This is a team that is fully committed to running the football. They've run it average of 40 times a game for the last three weeks. Our guys took the challenge. Kenny and Clint and Johnny, they all get their guys ready to go and the guys went out there and played their tails off to get that done. That's a big deal. That's a big deal. We been holding points down pretty good. Just so disappointed we were 23 early and then they shut them out in the second half. What a great effort by the guys in the second half. Third and fourth quarter, nothing.

On Dee Eskridge.

Yeah, that was great. He looked good. Had a couple plays. Made a first down and did a couple things we're not surprised by. He's really got some strength to him and some explosiveness that will continue to allow him to make plays. We just got to get him going more. But he did a really nice job for us today.

How exciting is it to have him and the two offensive linemen, Forsythe and Curhan, both guys stepping up like that when you guys were losing to be able to come back and them play such a big role?

This is the time of year that these guys should be able to help us. They've been getting the reps, they've been involved enough in the preparation that they should -- we expect it there, that this would happen, and fortunately they really came through. I don't know how they did. I can't tell you that, but I know we made it through it. D'Wayne made a couple big plays as well. Just those guys coming off the bench and to come throughout is really big for the big fellows.

Just to clarify, why did you go for it on fourth and one there?

We were going to make a first down there, and we made a first down. I didn't foresee the next thing happening. I liked having the football and I wanted my guys to know we're going for it. Really going for it. Should have got a touchdown there.

In terms of competing and the messaging you have, what does a win do for guys to buy-in?

These guys are bought in. They have to be to at this point to be hanging like this throughout. They are, and I trust in the leadership. Bobby and Russ and all the guys, Duane, I always tell you about that continue to send the message. They keep us together. Last night, you guys will have fun with this. Tyler did a really nice job in the meeting. He had a chance to bring up something that he wanted to talk about and gave them the opportunity, and he did a great job with our guys about hanging together and about why we are connected in the way we are. Really cool. I think it had something to do with today.

You talked about the fake punt, but special teams as a whole.

They're on fire. Mikey kicked the ball. I mean, he did it again. I saw it on the board. Didn't realize he had the most balls inside 20 in the league. That makes sense because he's freaking great at what he does. Did you see the way when he spun (the one) that bounced and went about 70 or whatever that was? It was exactly the way he planned it. He told me when he came off. That's what he said. Just telling you what he said.

Tyler Lockett last night spoke to the team?

Yeah.

Along the same lines, Travis Homer, obviously the touchdown run jumps out, but he was just all over the place.

Yeah, having him back, we really missed him the week before. He's just so tough and takes such pride in being a leader on special teams. It's so classy that he gets a chance to do -- I remember he had a chance couple years ago as well. You got to look out for him. He's dangerous. We'll get everybody to be afraid of us from now on. They'll help us.

How close was Alex Collins?

He was close. This week with three guys that were in question, just went with the guys that practiced the best this week, most healthy during practice. Alex will be ready to go next week. He needed a week off for some time now and this may help him down the stretch.

The third and 14 pass to DK was a pretty big play.

Yeah, great conversion for us there. Beautiful thrown catch.

In general what role do you think third down on both sides of the ball contributed to the win today?

Well, you know, I think we're three for 10 on defense and that held up pretty nice. It felt like -- maybe because we're not accustomed -- we converted five third downs today on offense. That's more than we been doing. Still didn't come out percentage-wise. But we had some big third down ones and you can see how it just factors into the drives. So we'll continue to be at it. It'll really tell the story for the rest of the season, how we convert there.

Quarterback Russell Wilson

Was this a relief or excitement?

You know, I wouldn't say relief. Just we had a great week of practice this week. We were all dialed in. We stayed zoned in on what the task was. Nobody blinked. You know, that's why I think we were able to win this game. This game was definitely a crazy one. Felt like a crazy NFC West battle going back and forth between two great teams. We remained neutral along the way, didn't get too high, too low, and we were able to execute when we needed to. Had some key third down conversions and obviously scoring in the red zone was huge for us. That was really great to see, Eskridge score a touchdown, his first touchdown, to see Tyler Lockett make that great he catch in the back corner was a really special play. DK had some great catches, too. Adrian Peterson, I mean, come on. Think about this: I was fortunate to be able to hand off the ball to Adrian Peterson where he ties I think Jim Brown. What a remarkable, remarkable experience for me personally. I've been with some amazing players, and to be able to hand off the ball to Adrian Peterson and let him score there was pretty special. I've always admired his work ethic and everything else. So I thought the line did a great job battling against a really good defensive line. We kept going there, kept battling, guys made some tremendous displays. How about Homer's touchdown? The defense was lights out making plays, just seeing the turnovers they were able to get. Just that was key, and I think the fans were amazing tonight too as well. That really helped as well, especially on the last little stretch of the game.

You mentioned third down. I think you were 0-4 to start and then it was like 5-7 on those touchdown drives. What changed for you guys as an offense?

We had some almost-plays in the first half, just barely just short or whatever it may be, and then we had a couple long distances in the first half, third and long. So those are going to happen where you're not usually going to convert those. When you're able to have good first and second down plays, stay in manageable situations, we were able to convert on those third downs, we got hot in the second half, made a lot of those, and then in the red zone we were lights out when we needed to be. That's what it's got to be.

The pass to only the third and 14, what did you see there on this play?

Well, we wanted to back it up. That's why we look took the delay of game. We wanted to back it up so we could get a little further on the go ball. No, but, yeah, DK did a tremendous job of just slide stepping and got inside the guy, and normally I can throw on of those moonballs down the field, but I was able to put the ball more on the line, line drive throw so he could fit it in there to him. He makes a great catch. He almost got in the end zone, and then we end up scoring on that drive.

Russ, say anything to Gerald Everett? It was a rough day for him with basically three turnovers on him with the two fumbles and the dropped touchdown and all that. How did you manage that with him, and how rough was it to see that from him today?

Well, the one thing I told Gerald is I always will believe in him. He's a tremendous football player and he's been great for us this season. I went over to him, just talked to him, you know, you're going to help us throughout this game and the rest of the season. Just keep your head clear. I have no doubt what Gerald Everett is going to do, how he's going to respond. He's a competitive warrior guy out there. He is a tremendous football player. You guys have seen what he's been able to do for us all season. The one guy you don't have to worry about is Gerald Everett what he's going to bring back to the table and how he's going to play.

You guys had a couple of those late games, the opponent's driving, defense needs to stop. Obviously the defense is up there doing their thing. What's it like for you the on the sideline watching that play out?

Yeah, I always believe. That's the first thing. Always takes great belief, and I think our whole sideline believed in the defense and being able to come up with a huge stop.

Just seeing a guy like Bobby Wagner out there, you always know something is going to happen, and just because of feelings. Then Carlos Dunlap made some huge plays there just to knock the ball down. That's why he's here. He's been one of the best in the world at it for a long time. I thought so our defense just kept battling, and the fans were great. So for me, I just stay focused on getting ready just in case they score. For me, I remain neutral, focused on when I may have to do if the game -- if we get the ball back because they score or something like that that's my mentality. What I do know is our defense is hopefully going to come up with a huge stop, and they did it once again.

What was the effect of the team meeting last night, everyone explaining their whys?

Yeah, I thought it was really cool last night. Tyler was able to talk to our whole team about our why, why do we play. Guys went around the room and were able to talk about their whys. It was really touching, really special just to hear from guys about why they play the game, where does it come from, what's the depths of it all and some really amazing stuff. For me personally, the No. 1 why for me has been God has given me a talent and it's to glorify him. That's No. 1 reason why I get to do this and why I love doing it, playing for Him. The second part of it obviously my family. I think about obviously Ciara, my kids, but also my brother, my sister, my mom. What amazing woman she is and how she's been able to be such a rock in my life. She's always texting me early in the mornings, late at nights just giving me some amazing advice and Scripture and filling my spirit. So my mom has always been amazing at doing that, and that's always been a key part of it. Then I think about the early mornings with my dad. Why I do it. I think that when I think about my dad, I know that he wishes he would be here. Like I always tell you guys, he has the best seat in the house. When I think about that, I think about my family, my closest people in my life, you know, I do it for them.

At the same time, I'm a self-motivator. Every day I wake up, you know, I'm trying to be great. That's in anything I do. You have to wake up with that mentality. In the midst of storms, like I said to you guys earlier in the week, consider it pure joy going through trials and tribulations because the testing of my faith builds perseverance. I think that the midst of storms, just keep my head clear. And I think the final part is, that last part of why is I been fortunate to come play in this game. I'm 5'11", right at 5'11". To be able to play this game and to be able to do it and to know that a lot of other great quarterbacks and players have more opportunity because of some guys before me, and also because of just me going after it every day. I think that's something that I want to give hope to every boy, every girl in the world that why not you? And so I think that's as you guys saw mythe cleats today. I saw the Why Not You, Why Not You Academy. That's part of it for me every day, just trying to be an inspiration for somebody else that says, Hey, you can't do this, you can't do that, you're not any good anymore, you're not this, you're not that. I think if you keep the right perspective and you always believe, why not? Why not you? I'm just grateful God has given me an opportunity to do it.

How much more dialed in did you feel this week?

I felt dialed in the weeks before. I think you're just getting back into the groove of it all. I never missed a game in any sport, so you get back to the field and we played some really good football teams, too, so there are some challenges there, but obviously I think that I just stayed the course. Mentally I was so locked in, physically, everything, so it's fun. Like I told you guys earlier in the week, what I really wanted to focus on this week was just joy. Just joy. Just bringing joy to the facility, joy in the midst of everybody talking stuff about us. We get to play this amazing game called football that we are gifted to be able to play it. So for me, I just wanted to bring joy. That's who I am. That's my mentality, what I love to do. And I'm competitive as can be, but also I love trying to bring joy and peace, and at the same time I love winning, the process of it all.

So what I did this week was just stay focused on the process. Nothing else. Like I told you guys earlier in this the week, I had a great former head coach tell me, NFL coach tell me, You're going to be a Hall of Famer, have Hall of Fame demeanor. He said to me, 'Have a Hall of Fame demeanor. Have a Hall of Fame week, have a Hall of Fame day, Hall of Fame breakfast. That's got to be your mentality every day.' I'm always thinking about it, but that was really clear for me what I needed to be like all day, all week, and all the noise, I'm just going to stay focused on what I need to do. I know what kind of player I am. I know what kind of throws I can make. I know what we can do, and I'm just going to keep swinging.

Who was the coach?

I'm going to keep that tight. Somebody close to me.

What's a Hall of Fame breakfast?

Man, well, you know, I didn't have any eggs, just bacon, sausage, acai bowl, little shake. But I think it's more so the mentality. I know what you mean.

You mentioned Dee and his first touchdown. Knowing the struggle that he went through to start the year, what does it mean?

Yeah, it so cool to see Dee Eskridge get in the end zone. He has worked just so hard to get back, and I know any time your injured it's tough and he went through some severe stuff. I really relate to Dee Eskridge because my sister had gone through some stuff with concussions. You know, when we got to talk, he asked me for advice earlier on when he was struggling getting back. I said, I think you need to go with the best guy in the world. That's where my sister went. I had a very straightforward conversation with him. Hey, need to get the treatment that's going to take care of you.

There is a guy named should down in Florida, Dr. Antonucci. He's the best in the world at it. He fixed my sister, and I'm not going to lie. Everybody told my sister she would never play again. Multiple doctors and people. He's amazing. So he so went down there the first time only for a few days, but it's really a five-day process, so I said, Hey, go back there again. He did, and the training staff here was great and supportive and everything else. So for him to get cleared and to -- he's such a hard worker and that was cool. Everybody was celebrating that tonight. I felt really happy for him. I know he's going to continue to work his butt off. He gets there early every morning. I get to work with him every morning early, around 6:15, 6:30 during the season. He wants to be great, so that's just the start. Got a lot more to do. It's just a start.

You got some practice reps with him, but haven't got any game reps with him. Now seems like you're starting to look for him a lot more out there. Where do you feel like the chemistry is with him?

I think my chemistry with Dee Eskridge is great. I think he understands the game. He's working really hard at it. He asks great questions. He is tremendously talented as you guys saw. He's hard to tackle, too. Made some really key plays tonight, so I felt really pumped up for him tonight.

You've always gotten results on the field throughout your career. What's it been like for you this stretch where the results haven't been coming for you as easily and working through that?

I think it's a long journey. Career is a long journey. I think every great hitter doesn't go up and have the best hitting performance every time. You got to watch out if they don't.

So I think that's kind of my -- always been my mentality, approach of sports, and just going for it. I don't every blink in the process. So I had some amazing -- I have some amazing teammates, too. Guys were super supportive this week just giving me some good energy as well, and vice versa. Let's just go for it. Let's just have fun while we do it, and we were able to do that tonight.

I think it's been about a month since you been back. How much better, different, if at all, does your finger feel now compared to then?

Yeah, every day I get better. Every day it's been a cool journey. This past Friday was the first day they were hoping that I could practice. I practiced four weeks before that, so I feel great. I feel great. Tonight was a huge night for us. Made some great plays. Ball came out of my hand great. Every throw felt confident. Glad I was able to play because also I'm going to battle, and also challenge me in a great way, so -- mentally and physically. I got better today and I get better every day. So it was a good night.

Linebacker Nick Bellore

On whether the fake punt ever sprang so free when they working on it in practice.

Sometimes it does, but then you say, ah, it will never happen that way in the game. It was pretty exciting to see Homer take it like that and he was so kind to slow down a little bit so I could get out in front of him a little bit. You don't envision it working that well, but it's always great to see.

On how exciting it was to see the look that enables the fake punt.

It's more pure panic, but I was excited to see it actually work. You talk about doing it and weeks go by and the look never arises and then it was, alright we're going to call it. Then you don't really know until you get out there, and then Homer called it. Of course he's going to call it because he gets the ball. It worked great. Doing something like that to spark the team is what we look for on special teams.

On his block on Adrian Peterson's touchdown.

He is probably wondering who I was because I haven't actually got to meet him yet. I went over for one play of walkthrough on offense and he kind of looked at me, and I didn't want to introduce myself. I was just glad to kind of help out anyway I could to get him in the end zone, because I think he passed somebody for touchdown runs, which is awesome, because I'm really old, and he's even older. I remember watching him when I was in college, high school, all of that. Some guys were in elementary school watching him in the pros. A legend like that, you have a little extra juice for, to try to get him in the end zone.

On whether he is doing mostly defensive meeting in practice these days.

Yeah, mostly. I got most of the offensive install early in camp, so luckily I am able to kind of go over when they need me. It was fun to get that play called and get him in there.   

On whether he met Peterson afterwards.

Yeah, briefly. I would like a more thorough introduction, but you know. I think he got the point.

On how much of a spark the team got from the fake punt.

I think there is the momentum of it, and I think statistically, if you score on special teams, the probability of winning goes way up. Obviously, this season has not gone the way we wanted to. We as special teams need to help out the offense and defense if there are struggles on either side of the ball. To get something like that I think is huge for the team.

On the importance of this game for him after the way the game ended with special teams in Washington.

Obviously, it was a pretty brutal week for me personally, after messing that up so bad in the Washington game. We are a third of the team, doing special teams, but you can't make mistakes like I made last week. You can't get it back. I think the only thing you can do is move forward like we did today. It isn't perfect and it isn't exactly what we wanted, but ultimately all we can do is what we did today. To get the win, I think, was big. 

On the forced fumble on the 49ers kickoff return.

I don't know, it was just kind of super lucky. I just put my arm out there and luckily the ball came out. I would like to say that I meant to do that. Officially I did mean to do that. Unofficially, I was just glad to see it out. Then I don't even know who got it, I think Homer got it, which was awesome because, again, scoring on special teams, getting a turnover like that is huge.

On how he has seen this team respond after a tough loss on Monday night.

Nothing has really changed for us in terms of our effort, week to week in practice. Obviously, this season has not gone the way we wanted it to, but we know that we have the guys in the room to get it done, and it's easy to get up for a game like the 49ers, obviously. I think we have a lot of strong character on this team in terms of, we face adversity, and it hasn't exactly gone the way we wanted it to, and it's gone the other way a lot of years in this organization. I think we just wanted to put something out there that the fans could be proud of.

On whether he saw anything different from Russell Wilson in practice this week.

I think the thing with Russ that you see that is amazing is just the consistency of his preparation and it's pretty unwavering from week to week. To see difference, I don't know that I see differences. It's the same Russ you see every week, no matter what happened the week before, which is something you can really admire. You don't see that with a bunch of guys. I've played a decent amount of games, but it's hard to kind of stay consistent like that over the course of year after year after year, whether it is practice, meetings, all that stuff. It's something I think we all look; he's something we look to for kind of that cornerstone of the program in terms of prepping the same no matter what the record is, leading us week to week.

On what the celebration was like in the locker room today.

It's always fun to beat them, obviously. We've kind of had a rough go of it the last couple weeks, so I think there was a little bit of a relief to kind of finally right the ship a little bit. Obviously, we're still not where we want to be, but to have the fan support we had tonight. Based on what's happened the last couple of weeks, it was amazing to see, because a lot of places don't get that based on the record and all that. I think it was awesome to kind of have the support of our fans, that's unwavering as well. We had to kind of do it for them.

On whether the fake punt was based on film study this week.

It's something we kind of always talk about week to week. It's one of those things that we kind of needed a spark. I think that the look was there, so we might as well run it.   

On whether Travis Homer always has a green light for a fake punt.

It's kind of week to week. Like I said, he gets to call his own number, so of course he's going to call it. It usually works in practice, and what I've seen over the years of playing special teams, is it tends to work more times than it doesn't. Obviously, if it doesn't work, it looks terrible. Coach Tracy, it was awesome, and, obviously Pete, probably, gave it green light and believes in us to execute it, and it worked better than I ever thought it could, so it was awesome to see.

Wide Receiver Dee Eskridge

On how it felt to get his first NFL touchdown.

It felt great. It kind of knocked away everything, when it comes to jitters, all of that stuff. Now I can be more free to play, and I'm excited.

On whether the touchdown was particularly rewarding, given everything he has been through this year.

Definitely. I felt like that was the prize from all of the adversity that I faced this year. I'm going to hope to continue to get in the end zone this year. 

On whether he can describe what it was like for him at the start of the year.

It was just a lot of things that weren't corrected, that I had to correct. I don't want to get all of the details, but it was t want to get all of the details, but it was a continuous process that I had to stay consistent with. It took a while, but I'm glad to be back. 

On his touchdown, whether the play was designed for him.

Russ went through his progressions. I think I was the last progression, so they just gave us the look to where my route was open at that time.

On the earlier play in the drive, making a guy miss and getting out of bounds.

We were all in two minute mode, so obviously catch the ball, get as much as you can, get out of bounds and stop the clock so that I don't get tackled in bounds and the clock keeps going. So, I just did my job and it worked out.

Free Safety Quandre Diggs

On having three interceptions on Jimmy Garoppolo in five games.

I don't know. Just being in the right spot at the right time. If you throw it, I'm going to catch it. That's the motto I've been kind of living by, just going to get the ball and that ball will change your life. We'll see where I go. 

On his interception.

It was a tip and overthrow. I think Bobby (Wagner) had a great hook drop in. Receivers kind of got a little too close, I was just in the post. That was one of those ones where you've just got to catch it. Went and caught it. We knew all week that they run a lot of inside breaking routes. I kind of said all week, if you throw one of those hanging across the middle, I'm going to get it and I'm going to try to score. That lineman was kind of fast, so I had to get out of bounds.

On what changed at halftime for the team.

We knew we weren't playing outstanding. No matter what the offense is doing, no matter what special teams is doing, we've got a standard that we've got to play to, and we weren't doing that. They had 23 points in the first half. That's uncharacteristic of us for the last six or seven weeks. We had to come in and we had to put our foot down. (Nick) Bellore went out and made a great special teams play, got us the ball back. Even though we didn't score on that, we knew we had them backed up and we had to keep them backed up. It was just one of those opportunities for us to go out and put a stamp on the game. I think we did that in the second half by allowing no points in the second half.

Linebacker Carlos Dunlap II

On how the win feels.

It feels amazing. We had a couple of ugly losses here for a bit, so it feels good to get an ugly win. We can make the corrections and adjustments, everything is better after a win.

On what it was like to be a part of the game sealing goal line stand.

For me, given the opportunity to go straight and impact the game in those situations, I like my odds and I'm betting with me every time. They gave it to us when they were in a safety situation and they got me in there on that last play as well, so I just had to seize my moment." 

On deflecting a pass on 4th-and-goal.

It felt amazing to come through for my teammates, really. They've been looking for me to make these plays all season, I hadn't quite made them, and had whatever you want to say going on, but today I came through. It is as simple as that. 

On the discussion in the huddle prior to the goal line stand.

We are going to call this for the win. I'm not going to tell you what the call was, but Bobby (Wagner) said, 'We're going to call this for the win' and we did it, we got the win. Go Hawks.