Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Pete Carroll

PETE CARROLL: This game didn't go at all like we had planned, falling behind early and getting in trouble. You know, made obviously a challenging return, but we did it. We got back in this game. We got back in there with a couple of touchdowns and got the ball coming out at halftime. Shoot, we are in the fourth quarter, and it was 20-17. From there we had to finish the game. We had a few chances, and we weren't able to get it together enough to get it done. They ran the ball really well in the fourth quarter. We respected them that they would try to do that, and when they went to it, we couldn't get off the field. We had a couple of drives and our chances. On the other side we had to go ahead and get down. We backed up, but we still had our chances. It was great fourth down stand down there by the defense, but when it came down to it in the fourth quarter, we didn't have what we needed to have to get it done. Really disappointed in that because we focused on the areas that we're looking at. The running game on offense and running game on defense were both focus points for us. We have to get this thing turned, and we're still on it. Those are our issues going into the fourth quarter of the season right now coming up. It's a turnaround really fast against a really good club, and we have to get our act together. Geno had a night right off the bat. He throws the ball to him. Next time he throws a pick, he thinks he has an off sides call and got a free play. Didn't get that call, so he chucks the ball down field knowing it's a free shot, but we didn't get that call. That's too bad. That screwed us up and gave them a chance. A lot of guys played well. A lot of guys did really good things. Tyler had a heck of a game. DK had a heck of a game too, but not enough today. So we have to turn it right around. We'll be meeting tomorrow afternoon and starting on San Francisco for the Thursday night game.

Q. How much were you missing Al down the stretch when they were running the ball like that?

PETE CARROLL: You saw that Shelby just came in sick as a dog this morning. He just couldn't answer. He got IV'd, and they did everything they could for him. They couldn't turn him around. Shelby is a big part of our play up front, and Al going out in the second quarter, those are two heavy dudes up front that we're relying on. We had moved Al to get some extra play out of him at the end spot. Overall in general I think they had 60 yards at halftime or something like that. Things were somewhat in control, but Al couldn't come back for the second half, and not having Shel, that made a difference.

Q. Their last drive where they scored all the runs, was there something particular they were taking advantage of?

PETE CARROLL: They ran their game. That's their running game. We were trying to knock them back, and we couldn't get it done. We tried everything that we had to get it stopped, and we were not able to stop them.

Q. What kind of disappoints you most about the defensive running game, and you guys know it's been a point of emphasis for you...

PETE CARROLL: Exactly that. That's it. Our guys are trying. They're working hard to get it done. We went through all of the process during the week to line it up so we knew what they were doing. We were not fooled by anything today. We were on it. But you have to play the line of scrimmage and get off the blocks and play together. Everybody has to fit together. It's always about those fits. It wasn't good enough. It was just plain old wasn't good enough.

Q. Were either Ken or DeeJay close to playing, and can you say --

PETE CARROLL: As it turned out, neither one of them could make it. They couldn't. DeeJay, high ankle sprain is hard to turn it around. He was really hopeful and optimistic and all of that and trying to bounce around during the week, but when it got down to it, often high ankles feel okay until you really have to call on it to push and it's not there. That's kind of what happened. Ken is dealing with an old injury that jumped back. He has been through it before in years past, and we just have to get him through it and see if he can play Thursday night. I don't know. I'll take it one week at a time, one day at a time.

Q. How could you scheme out of physicality being if the team just runs straight at you?

PETE CARROLL: Yeah, there is stuff. There's stuff. I have to do more. I have to do better. I have to help our defense better, and I'm really disappointed. I've been looking at the running game for a long time, and there was no new plays. This was the same stuff, and we just have to do it better.

Q. Sorry if you were asked this already, but did Geno think he had a free play on the second interception?

PETE CARROLL: Yeah, he did. He did, so he chucked it. That's how we've always trained him. We train him to try to see that flag out of the corner of your eye. You can't just go on the flinch. He thought he saw it. That's what felt it was free and all that. I know the officials came to me after halftime and they said they thought he wasn't in the neutral zone after looking at it, so know I don't. Who knows?

Q. Is Geno okay? It looked like maybe he hit his hand.

PETE CARROLL: He is fine, as far as I know.

Q. What did you think of his game today?

PETE CARROLL: It gets marred because the first play gives them the football, and that was not a good play. It was one of his plays that he regrets the most. Tried a little too hard on the play. He put the ball in the flat really easily on the first play of the game. I mean, that's really the play. They get an out, steal an out at the end of the game. I thought he did a lot of good stuff. I don't have any idea what his numbers are. I didn't see any of that yet, but he made a lot of great throws today. You know, he hit Tyler and those guys on the sidelines and Marquise. Made some fantastic plays today.

Q. You mentioned Tyler. That was six straight games with a touchdown, which is a franchise record. The consistency he has shown this year...

PETE CARROLL: He has been amazing. He just has. I don't even know what are all the accolades you can pull up for him that we haven't said. I don't know. He has been a great player and continues to be.

Q. The challenge, obviously you thought you had a chance to win that one there.

PETE CARROLL: That was as funky a play as you can see. Did that ball graze the ground or not? You know, they took a good look at it, and they thought not, but it was worth a shot. The guy rolls over, and there's no ball in his hands. So trying to figure out how he held on to it. Did he maintain control? We'll see. They got a great look at it, and Bill looked at it really to make sure that it was the correct call and they could call it with confidence, and they did.

Q. The horse collar, did you get an explanation on that?

PETE CARROLL: I'm going to say we assume that was a horse collar call, and it didn't look like a horse collar call, so that's what we were hooting about. The hand was on the back of his jersey, the shoulder pad. I'm not sure if they called it that or called it a late hit. It sure seemed like that was the call, but I didn't get that clarified. It didn't matter. It was already over.

Q. Godwin had 104 return yards today. Do you think you'll see him in more future roles?

PETE CARROLL: Yes. Yeah, he did great. I thought he was a real surprise for us today to pop up like that, and he looked great at it. He was tough and fast and explosive and all of that. He will get another look.

Q. What did you think of Travis Homer's day?

PETE CARROLL: He never really got going. He had one great run and just couldn't get going. We've continued to find trouble at the line of scrimmage, and we haven't been clean for a bit. He couldn't get rolling.

Q. Was the early deficit a reason to kind of trend away from the run game as the game went on?

PETE CARROLL: Somewhat. We just needed to get first downs. As has been the case, we've had more success throwing the football, and we've been pretty darn good at it. But when you turn the ball over three times, you lose. It's almost impossible to overcome that, and so it didn't matter today.

Q. Playoffs is the goal. When you look back on these last four games, all these teams that are right now under .500, does that enhance the frustration at all?

PETE CARROLL: Yeah, yeah, it does. Really it's the manner too. It's the manner. This really happened on the ground. I'm really disappointed in that because I pride myself in thinking we can scheme our way into all kinds of good things to offset that, and I've got to do better.

QB Geno Smith

Q. Just in general how do you assess the offense today? Obviously, kind of frustrating to get going.

GENO SMITH: Yeah. I felt like we were just up and down. Couldn't get into a rhythm. You know, we actually did pretty good on third down, but just first and second down I think really hurt us. Obviously turnovers. Plays that we wish we can have back, but we can't. So for us, man, we just have to get back to it. Quick turnaround. You have to flush it, learn from it, and get ready for the next one.

Q. On that second interception did you think you had the offsides call?

GENO SMITH: Yeah. I mean, I saw three of the guys jump offsides. I don't know what they saw, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.

Q. Other than that, are you trying to look for the penalty marker and sometimes you can't just go...

GENO SMITH: You can't really look around and see all the time, but I'm looking at the D-linemen. The reason we snapped the ball is because they jumped offsides. That's one where we have to learn from it. Can't make excuses. It happened. The reason I threw that ball in the traffic was because I felt like we had a free play, and it was an opportunity if they intercepted, then obviously it comes back and we get the five yards. That didn't happen. Maybe they didn't see it. So I can't make an excuse about it, and just have to learn from it.

Q. The very first play you had something in the flat and you go deeper to Tyler. Did that surprise you that he peeled off like that?

GENO SMITH: Jaycee made a great play. He is a really good player. He made a great play. It happens in the NFL. It was the first play of the game. Obviously you don't want to start that way, but I feel like we responded well, and we had more opportunities late in the game to really win it. We just couldn't get it done. That's unfortunate. It pains me to even say that because we want to take those steps forward, but today it's got to be a learning lesson for us. We have to learn from it. We have to figure it out and get better.

Q. Did it feel like the timing just wasn't there today at all?

GENO SMITH: Yeah, hats off to the Panthers. They did a lot to disrupt our timing. They've got really good defense. They've got guys up front. They've got corners, safeties, linebackers. Shaq Thompson is a really good linebacker. He quarterbacks that defense, and he had those guys ready and lined up. We made a lot of good plays out there. It wasn't like they just shut us down the entire game. We had our plays. We made our plays, but it wasn't enough. Like I said, hats off of Carolina. They came in. They were tougher than us. They played harder. They played to win, and they got it done. We've got to learn from these things.

Q. What do you feel like the mindset of the team is now after these three losses in the four games that you probably felt you should have won?

GENO SMITH: You know what, there's no moral victories. There's no could-have, should-have, would-haves. It's the NFL. You lose or you win, and we didn't win. Three losses, you know, it's one game at a time, and today was just one loss. It wasn't three losses today. It was one today. So the reality is that we have more games to play. We have a four-game season to really determine where we can be for the rest of the season. We have to come out and play like it. I really want to see that. I don't want to hear any talking or cliches. I want to see guys come out and do it. That's where my mindset is.

Q. How big was Marquise for you in getting things going? He had a couple of big third downs early, a couple of big spots for you guys. How critical was he to get you guys moving?

GENO SMITH: Marquise has been great all year, and he was phenomenal today. He got us going. He is that third guy, kind of sometimes he plays the back, but he is so dynamic. He is a really good receiver. I'm just happy for him to be a part of this team and happy to have him because you can see how special he is out there. He is so tough, man. He makes all the plays that you wouldn't expect a guy with his size to make. He plays big. So really fortunate to be able to play with Marquise and look forward to just having more opportunities.

Q. Six games in a row and a touchdown for Tyler Lockett. I would think you would have a ton of faith every time you throw the ball go in his direction.

GENO SMITH: That was a heck of a catch. Any other guy you might be, like, well, did he get his feet in or did he not, but with Tyler you are just 100% sure he did. He is that good. He has done that over and over again. Six games with a touchdown shows his consistency. So we've got to keep getting him the rock, keep putting him in position to succeed because he is a great player.

Q. Did they blitz you any more or any differently than you expected?

GENO SMITH: No, no. They had some really good looks though. They had some different packages and different looks. They had a bye week, so they had time to put a bunch of things in. So they had some different things, but I think our line did a great job at adjusting and finding ways to pick it up and giving me time to go through my reads and get the ball out.

Q. Without Ken and DeeJay kind of getting the running game going today, what was the challenge there?

GENO SMITH: It's always going to be a challenge when you don't have your top three backs. But the guys who were in there... Homer, Tony, and Iggy... they all stepped up. Iggy had some great plays on special teams. Tony was one or two blocks away from a big play or big catch or so. All those guys, we have trust in all the guys. It's always next man up. Obviously we love our guys, and we want them back healthy, but all the other guys stepped up, and we just have to do better overall.

Q. You mentioned Iggy's kick. What's that do for an offense when you are, like, okay, we're starting midfield or whatever?

GENO SMITH: I think he really sparked us. Especially the two-minute drive to get us in a good position, put us in a position where we had some energy, some momentum, and also have field position. I think that helped us out to get back into the game. It was good to see him out there and getting his chance and doing well.

Q. You ended up on the injured list during the week with a shoulder and all that. Are you good physically, or is everything okay?

GENO SMITH: It's late in the year. Everyone has a little something here and there, but I don't think it affected me in any way. Just normal soreness. Just have to continue to rehab and make sure I'm ready for the next one.

Q. Geno, you said you all did well in the third down, and first and second you weren't. So when you go back and look at the film and get ready for Thursday, what's kind of that message in getting ready for the first and second down? How do you message that?

GENO SMITH: It starts with staying efficient, really being efficient and running well on first and second down as well as when I get my ops the pass, staying on schedule, getting the ball out, not getting sacks, getting the ball out on time to the right guys so we can stay on schedule and have manageable third downs. That's really what it comes down to. Obviously, like I said, we ran some tough third downs, but we were able to convert. I think if we do better on first and second down, the game looks a lot different. So that's the area we need to improve on, and we have to really look at the film. We have three days to correct it, and we'll see what we can do on Thursday night.

Q. How do you think you played today?

GENO SMITH: I have to look at the numbers, but I feel like I was up and down. I had some good plays, had some not so good plays. It's the NFL. Nobody is perfect. I don't expect to come out here and be perfect, but I do have a standard, and I don't think I played to that standard quite today.

Q. Did you get an explanation on why they didn't call offsides on the second pick?

GENO SMITH: I don't know. Usually they come back and say, hey, we're wrong. They've done that to us about five or six times this year, and it seems like they're all interceptions. I don't know. They'll give us an explanation at some point. I felt like they were offsides, and that just is what it is.

Q. Do you feel like you guys are playoff team?

GENO SMITH: We have to prove it. Nothing I can say up here is going to make us a playoff team. We have to go out there and play.

Wide Receiver Tyler Lockett

(On the mood of the team) "I think the mood is just, you know, any mood, when you lose a game. People barely talk. It's tough, man. When you look at the game, the Panthers did a good job, but time of possession really killed us. I think they had the ball for like 40 minutes in the game. I mean it's hard to be able to win games when a team can be able to hold the ball for so long. We got to be able to do better on offense, just to be able to possess the ball for that long as well so we don't put too much on our defense."

(On the touchdown catch, did he know he had his feet down) "On that play, I just waited for the call just because the way Geno led me I knew that I was kind of running toward out of bounds, I just didn't know how close out of bounds was. I just tried to catch it, drag my feet. The biggest thing is that I was just trying to figure out if my foot that hit first was in bounds, because if that was in bounds then I know I dragged my toe."

(On whether he was surprised he was the target on the first offensive play) "Oh, no I wasn't surprised the ball came toward me. I think Jaycee Horn just made a good play, being able to break on DK's route first, and then he fell off and then he went back there for me."

(On having six straight games with a touchdown reception) "I just give God all the glory, man, I'm just thankful to still be here going into year 8. Like I said, not too many people can play on the same team for eight years or even through the course of their career. So, just very thankful that I got the opportunity just to be able to be here. I'm just trying to be able to be the best that I can, each and every day. Getting opportunities to do things that I haven't got to do in a while, as a receiver, getting a chance to run different routes, catch the ball in different types of ways. Every day I just try to be able to be better and go out there and see how great that I can be before I end up retiring one day."

(On what Marquise Goodwin has brought to the offense) "I think he has brought stability. I think he has brought excitement. You could see on that last play when he caught the ball, Jaycee was able to hit him, and he bounced off of him, was able to make a move and go score. He's so quick, he's so fast. We can be able to use him a lot within our explosive plays. Once he gets the ball he's real dynamic in the way that he runs the ball and especially when you look at us passing the ball. Teams try to take DK away or take me away, you still have a lot of other great players that we can be able to utilize to be able to help us out. Marquise did a really great job of just being able to help us out on those third downs and just those big catches as well."

(On whether he looks back at the last four games as being missed opportunities) "You can look back and say that it's missed opportunities, but I mean we got to make the best out of what's in front of us. When you look back, there is always stuff that shoots you in the foot, but the teams that we lost to, they beat us fair and square. It is what it is. We have to be able to win out if we want to be able to put ourselves in the best position possible. That's pretty much it."

(On what's next) "You just got to buckle up. You play on Sunday, you have to be able to recover real fast, because you turn around and play again on Thursday. The biggest thing is that you can't let this game linger in your head. You just got to be able to let it go and move on, playing against a great 49ers team. You've got to be able to prepare yourself to get ready for that game on Thursday."

Strong Safety Ryan Neal

(On whether the Panthers did anything offensively that surprised Seattle's defense) "Absolutely not. Not one thing. Not one thing."

(On the next step for Seattle's defense) "We've got to fix the s---, because, you saw what happened, and it's been the same thing the past two weeks, and teams see it, and they're going to attack it, and they're probably going to give us the same thing. When it comes to stuff like that, all you can do is just look at the film, and we've got to fix it. You know what I mean? It's gotta get fixed. Point blank, period."

(On whether it is a scheme issue, or missed tackling, against the run) "It seems to be a combination of all of it, and that's never a good thing. Things just keep popping out in places where they shouldn't be popping out. Guys got to make the hits. Guys got to get the ball carrier on the ground and when it comes to the back end of the season, it turns into, 'All right, we're going to out physical you, and if you're not going to stop it, we're just going to keep doing that'. You see it across the league with teams that keep pounding the football, guys turning stuff down, or missed hits are happening because it's late in the season. At the end of the day, we have to fix this, and we've got to bring it, and we know that, and everybody knows that. We got a team coming in here Thursday who likes to play like that, and we know that, so it's got to get fixed. Point blank, period."

(On whether they feel like they have made strides in practice during the week) "We've made strides, but now it's like, what's going on. It's frustrating as hell, across the board, top down. It's frustrating. You can see it on my face, I'm frustrated. We have to look at the film and see what's going on. That's the only answer I can give you right now."

(On the frustration on Carolina's last drive) "It was super frustrating. Unbelievable. It makes you sick in the stomach. Stuff like that, I'm not going to sleep on that tonight, because that just irritates my soul. When you come into the game knowing that's how they're going to play, you just have to strap up and be ready to go four quarters. It's going to be a four quarter game, and teams like that, that's how they like to play. We have to dig deep, we have to look within, and we got to respond."

(On how they can get more physical on a short week in December) "Just bow up. Bow up, let 'em hang, and go. That's the football game. You came up with it. That's how the game was brought into the world and you're starting to see the game turn back into that. Guys just got to bring it, man. You got to be willing to do it, you got to be willing to do it down after down, play after play, for four quarters straight, because that's just what it's turning into right now. We got to bow up. Point blank, period."

(On whether the fact that the defense was playing better earlier in the season makes things more frustrating) "It just makes it more frustrating. Just frustrating."

(On whether it is frustrating to lose to teams with losing records) "Absolutely. Frustrating Just frustrating. It's frustrating because it's on that back end stretch. That's the thing. You've just got to convey the message across the guys on the team, young guys on the team, this is the season. This is when the season starts. It didn't start in Week 1, it didn't start in Week 5, it started now. Because this is when you play ball. That's something you look at in the league, period. In the beginning of the season people get excited about teams. I don't give a s--- about the beginning of the season because it comes down to stuff like this. This is where it all matters. It's frustrating. It's just frustrating."

(On whether he still views Seattle as a playoff level team) "Absolutely, and that's what makes it frustrating. That's exactly what makes it frustrating, because it is. We've got the guys and we've shown the world that we've got it, but we've got to put it together at times that it matters. When you look across the locker room, even when I look at it now, I still think we're a playoff caliber team. I still think we've got guys that play. I still think we can go toe to toe with anybody, but it makes it frustrating because you want it so damn bad, and when it doesn't come together, it just makes you upset. We've got to find a solution, we've got to find it yesterday, because the time is now. Point blank, period."

(On how he is doing physically) "I'm always ready to go. No matter if I'm beat up or not, two-six will always strap his helmet up and I'm going, point blank, period. Hey, I can be banged up, no matter what the case is; everybody is banged up at this point of the season. That's just what you do it for. That's the game."

(On how he keeps people from over-pressing) "I think you go back and you look at the things you did in the past. You look at the plays that you did great on before, and we defended those plays great before. This is nothing new. We're not asking you to do anything over the top. We're not asking you to be Superman, just do your job. We've done it before, and so you've just got to go back to work and you just go to show guys, no, you've done this before. You've done it this great before. You've just got to execute. It's nothing to overthink. Like I said, they came out and did everything we thought they were going to do. That's what makes it frustrating. We just have to go back and figure this out quickly."

Wide Receiver Marquise Goodwin

(On what it means to him to have a big game after everything that he has been through) "It doesn't mean anything, honestly, because we lost, point blank."

(On if the receivers stepped up enough to help Geno Smith lead the offense) "I just have to watch film and see. Honestly, I really don't know, and I have a lot going on in my mind right now. I'm just trying to deal with the L, but I know that everybody gave their best effort today. We went as hard as we could have. As I say often, we just ran out of time."

(On if it was hard to recover from the 17-0 deficit early in the game) "Yeah, you do have to reset. You face a little adversity and that's part of a football game, it's not always going to go your way. We just have to find ways to capitalize through adversity."

Free Safety Quandre Diggs

(On what stood out to him about the run defense) "That's teams' recipe to beat us, just run the ball. We play it well, we play it well, and then all of a sudden, we keep leaking yards. That's our kryptonite right now. Until we stop that, teams are going to continue to do it and we just have to take a stand. There is not too much that you can really say. My job is to erase the big plays. When they turn in big plays, it's my job to erase them. We just have to get better."

(On how the running game is still the defense's kryptonite) "I mean, who knows? I couldn't tell you. We just have to be committed to stopping it. There has to be something that you are committed to every day. I take an oath every week that I am not going to give up a big play, I'm not going to give up a bomb, and I'm not going to give up a seam or a post. I just think that is just my mentality. If something breaks, it's my job to get it down, just like I did today. I just think that guys have to trust in each other. It sucks to say that in Week 14, but that is all that it comes down to, just trusting and knowing that we have to get off of the field."

(On if the Panthers running the ball while lined up in shotgun threw the defense off) "I mean, they ran the same play over and over and over. At some point, you have to take a stand and know that, 'I'm going to take my shot here.' That's what it has to be. Like I said, it's tough to see. It's not that guys don't want to, we just have to do it consistently."

Linebacker Bruce Irvin

(On what the message to the defense should be) "We have to keep fighting. It's a tough one for us, we needed that. It's the third week in a row where guys are running the ball on us. Until we find an answer for it, it's what we are going to get. Three more days, that's what the 49ers are going to do."

(On what is going wrong with the game plan on gameday) "Guys have to make tackles. When we fit it right, guys aren't making the tackles, and when we don't fit it right, the ball gets through. It's a combination of missed fits and guys not making tackles. Until we get this figured out, we are going to have four weeks of guys pounding the ball on us."

(On if the problems on defense are due to the lack of communication) "It's not communication, it's not anything, it's just man on man. You have to beat your man, get off the block, and make the tackle. That's what it comes down to, it's a mentality. I don't care about play calls or anything, at the end of the day, it's man on man. You have to whoop your man in front of you and make the tackle. That's what it comes down to."

Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu

(On the issues of stopping the run today) "A lot of missed tackles on that field. You guys were at the game, you guys saw it. A lot of missed tackles. The runs, bleeding for five yards, we weren't setting the edges on the bubble screens, guys were missing tackles. We weren't getting off blocks. It was all inclusive into this one. They ran the ball at us hard, and we need to forget this one and move on to San Francisco this Thursday."

(On the quick turnaround with the Thursday Night Football game rapidly approaching) "Definitely a quick turnaround. We are not doing anything right now, so we need to make sure everybody takes care of their bodies and gets healthy. A game like that, a physical game, guys come out nicked up, but we need to make sure we take care of our bodies and get ready for Thursday night."

(On the mindset of fixing the run defense) "Like I mentioned earlier, we just need to be physical, need to get off blocks, need to tackle. There was a lot of missed tackles out there and the runs were just bleeding for five, six, five, six, four, four (yards). We can't have those. We couldn't get off the field on third down as well. That first drive, they completed every third down, and we couldn't get off the field."

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks

(On the issues on defense) "Every team is going to run the ball up the laces versus us. Play after play, we have to stop them. We brought this on ourselves where every team is going to think that they can run the ball 40 times. For 40 plays, we need to play hard. Once we get tired, we give in. That's when stuff gets out. That's when the ball starts to leak, and we've got to make tackles. It's a combination of all those things." 

(On the differences in the run defense from their win streak compared to now) "Just putting the fire out early in that little win streak and the teams would get away from it. I think what teams are doing is they are not getting away from it. They are staying committed to it. That's why we need to keep going and like I said, we brought it on ourselves that any team's mentality is they are going to run the ball. For 40 plays, 50 plays, 60 plays, or however many plays they run, we've got to stop it."

(On the mindset of turning around and playing again Thursday night) "I want to get this taste out of our mouths. I want us to play a complete game on defense. We've got a short week, so we got to let this one go. As bad as it sucks right now, we've got to let this one go, and get ready for the 49ers on Thursday, and get ready for another physical game."

Offensive Tackle Abraham Lucas

that being in a hole. It's the NFL, stuff happens. I don't know if I classify it as putting us in a hole as much as it is the situation. If we go up 10-0, we're not in a hole. It's just what happens. That was the situation, we have to roll with it."

(On if they felt like they were at a disadvantage because of the struggles in the run offense) "I like to run the ball, of course, but I'll do whatever is asked. That's just the way it crumbled today. We didn't run a lot. We passed a lot, so that's the way it is. We did that enough in college, right? It's adapting to the situation." 

(On if Carolina's defense did anything differently to stop the run offense) "I don't know if it was different. They had a lot of different fronts and stuff that we were practicing this week, so it wasn't anything that we didn't know or see or anything. Like I said, it's kind of the way it goes sometimes."

Defensive End Quinton Jefferson

(On if the Carolina Panthers ran differently than expected) "They ran counter and power. They pulled our backer out of the box because it worked throwing those screens. So, we had to honor that. It was a great game plan by them. We had to come in and get it fixed, it's a copycat league. If something happens, the team is going to copy that. I tip my hat off to them, they played a great game today."

(On preventing cutbacks) "Just being gapped out. When everyone is sitting in their gap and playing disciplined, it's really basic stuff. With them especially, they run it and run it hoping you make a mistake. You have to play disciplined down after down. It's hard, it's tough. We have to do it, especially against a team like that."

(On not having Al Woods in the second half) "It hurts. He took a lot of gaps, but we have a lot of guys who have to step up and answer the call."