Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

(Opening statement)

"We talked about throughout the week that our goals changed. Coming out of the weekend, I thought our guys did a tremendous job of staying focused on what our new goal was, finishing the year the right way. It was a great team win. It wasn't necessarily pretty but I'll tell you what, we fought through some injuries and [played] some guys that we didn't initially plan on playing a big role. We can rattle those guys off, but guys stepping in and playing good football for us and ultimately winning the game. Guys like Artie Burns and Kenny McIntosh, Michael Jerrell at right tackle and there are a lot of guys in there that stepped up and did a great job for us. So it's great for us to close the season out the right way."

(On QB Geno Smith's performance)

"Talk about one of the guys that fought all the way to the very end for us. Putting a drive…par for the course for Geno coming after another fourth quarter comeback. I'm not sure what number that is but great drive that they strung together at the end. Great throw to Noah [Fant]. I thought they played a great game."

(On what he learned about the team this week)

"We got the right guys and they got the right mentality. I'm just really proud of just the cohesiveness, the connection that we built and having each other's backs like fighting through when things don't go your way. It's ultimately our responsibility to put ourselves in a better situation at the end of the season but coming out of the weekend, just the resilience and the positivity was really cool. So proud of our guys."

(On whether Smith was injured towards the end of the game)

"He was fighting through at the end."

(On whether Smith's injury was to the same knee that's been bothering him)

"No, it was a hip."

(On whether the team can carry over a strong second half of the season into next season)

"Our offseason and next season was not predicated based off how this game finished, but of course you want to finish the season with a win and finish on a positive note. The process that we put into it was big for us. Just understanding who we have, the type of guys we have and the resiliency that we have was really cool to see."

(On whether winning six of the last eight games and finishing this season with 10 wins means anything to this group)

"Yeah, it shows us that we can grow, evolve and make adjustments throughout the season that are necessary for us to win. If you look at some of the splits we had, which are positive, we can put meaning behind the season tomorrow or whenever we have our end of the year conference. Our road record is something that we're proud of. Our division record is something we're proud of. Obviously we have to do a better job at home, but there are a lot of things to be proud of coming out of this game."

(On the most important lessons he's learned to be a successful head coach in this league)

"Where do you start? I think it's the mentality that you have to have if you're always learning. You're always growing and you're always evolving. When we talk about chasing edges, trying to stay ahead of things rather than being reactionary, I think that's really important, and you've got to balance that with being steadfast in what you believe and doubling down on your principles when times get tough and trusting your people. There are so many lessons learned from the season and we're going to grow from this. I really believe this is the beginning of something really special and I'm excited. I kind of wish we could just…I want to go back to work. We need to take a deep breath here and think about how we're going to move forward, but I'm excited to get back to work."

(On DT Byron Murphy II's injury)

"I've got to give Byron a lot of credit. I mean, this guy's really, really tough and fought through. His back was hurting him throughout the week, and he decided to give it a go. He's a tough dude. He's going to be fine. Just didn't finish the game."

(On CB Riq Woolen's injury update)

"X-ray came back negative to my knowledge on his ribs. I'm pretty sure he's pretty sore, but he's going to be fine. No long-term injuries coming out of it. Tre [Brown] had a knee. We'll see how long [the recovery will take]."

(On FS Julian Love's performance on Sunday)

"He's just such a steadfast force for us back there. Then when you have all the moving parts of backup guys and practice squad guys coming in and out, calming it down. We're going to adjust on how we call it and make the necessary adjustments, but there's still communication to be had and poise to be had and he provides that for us."

(On whether he had a conversation with QB Geno Smith on staying focused despite his incentives on the line in today's game)

"Shoot, he's the one driving it. He's like, 'I just want to go win.' That's all he cared about. He was awesome all week. I'll keep our conversations private, but he was great. He was awesome. All his focus all week was just about going out the right way and getting the tenth win."

(On RB Kenny McIntosh's game and his future with the team)

"Well, I wish he would've held on to the ball on that one. We get bailed out on the offsides call, but outside of that it just feels like he's a talented runner. He just has to have a great offseason and keep growing but he's shown that he's a heck of a football player. I love how he finishes runs and it seems like he breaks a lot of tackles. He's a tough guy to bring down. He's a talented runner. [He needs to] rounds out his game, keep working and try to take his game to the next level."

(On K Jason Myers bailing the team out)

"He did it again today. Par for the course, the 'Jay' Myers specialists, all year he's been dynamite, so really all three guys have done a great job."

(On DE Leonard Williams' performance)

"He didn't need a punctuation, exclamation point, but he sure added one today with all the work that he's done. I think our front, in order for 'Leo' to come alive, you have to rush as one. We've talked about this the whole season, but he's doing it within the lens of playing with each other, playing off one another. The defensive front has just done a great job of playing together, playing off one another, growing together. That's the type of football team we want to create, guys that are a connected group that play for one another."

(On the Rams' offense hitting on screen plays)

"You have to credit their game plan. They did a great job. They had a great plan and we had to make some adjustments as the game went on. A lot of those plays, good job by them. I'll always rebuttal that we need to play those plays better and that'll be something we'll look at throughout the off season, but we could have been better in those moments as well."

(On the importance of today's win)

"I mean our approach to the offseason, what we feel about our team wouldn't have changed based off the win-loss, but of course it's great to finish with the win. To get to 10 wins, all those things are really important, but the tone is just kind of similar to what I'm talking about right now. It's, 'Hey we're excited about our future and we love our guys.' It was a special group and we understand that it's not going to be the same group, that's the nature of the NFL. I think everybody will look back at this team and be proud of our effort and the things we worked through. Ultimately, we fell short. Only one team's going to come out of this thing feeling like they achieved what they could. Unfortunately, ours ended too early, but I'm excited to get back to work. I think our guys are excited for our future."

QB Geno Smith

(On not getting the finish to the year the way the team wanted but the importance of going out with a win)

"Yeah, I think winning was always going to be the most important thing. Anytime you don't have a chance to really control your destiny it's always going to suck, but for us as a team we wanted to close out on the right note and finish the right way. I'm a guy with a lot of integrity, man. I love this game. I love my teammates. I love the organization, and I just feel like that's what leaders do, man. You got to go out there and you got to give it your all, no matter the circumstance, no matter what the record says, no matter the situation. For me, it was another opportunity to go out there with my teammates and grind out a win."

(On what he thinks of the season)

"That's a tough question, man. Proud of the guys, proud of everybody, the way they fought. Proud of our coaching staff, proud of our front office, just everybody in the building. But also feeling disappointed for everyone. [We] don't get to go to practice and get back to it. Those are the things that I look forward to, man, and I can't go to practice with my guys on Monday. Got to wait a long time to get back to work. I know a lot of guys sacrificed this year. A lot of guys put in a lot of work and really deserve more football, but that's not the case. So just feeling for the guys, man. Wishing we could continue to do this thing together. I love every one of my teammates, man. I love every part of this organization and yeah, it sucks. It sucks."

(On setting a career-high for touchdown passes and a fourth quarter comeback drive means anything in a situation like this)

"Yeah, winning games, that's the most important thing. We got 10 wins this season. [It] should have been more. I believe we've got the right guys in this locker room. Personal stats aren't a big deal for me. I'm not out here chasing accolades. I want to win, and I want to win for the guys in that locker room. I want to win for our coaching staff. I want win for our front office and all the people that work, our kitchen staff, our strength staff, all the people that work so hard, man. They deserve to have the best of the best. For me personally, I expect to do well, but again, it's a team game and I just want to want to be there for my teammates."

(On what encourages him going forward)

"I just believe we have a bright future, man. I believe we're getting better. It's (Head) Coach (Mike) Macdonald's first year and just all the things that he's battled through, the way that he's led us. I told him that man, just the way that he's led us throughout the season and all the ups and downs of the season. Not starting out the way that we wanted to but regrouping at the bye and then coming out and having that fire. I thought the intensity in our practices and the way that we met, the way that we talked ball showed up on the field and it gave us a chance at the end and that's all that matters. But anything else, man, I'm just focused on winning. I look forward to the future. I look forward to getting my body right and getting stronger, getting faster, coming back a better player."

(On how he'd compare how he feels at the end of this season compared to last season in terms of the direction of the team)

"I felt great about the direction of the team last year. Obviously, there were some changes made and we got a different group this year but that's the NFL. Every year there's going to be changeover. You can expect that, but you can embrace that as well. I feel great about it. Like I said, we fought. We fought. Like I said, it didn't start out great but we found a way to put ourselves in a position to get to the playoffs and play some more football. I feel great about the guys. It sucks today because like I said, man, the season's end is like the last day of school and all your friends have gone away but I look forward to getting back to it."

(On if he thinks the offensive in particular needs continuity and consistency)

"Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of young guys on the offensive line. There are a lot of young guys on this team. This team is… I'm telling you man, this team is heading in the right direction. This team is on its way. That's with or without me. These guys in this locker room, these coaches, this organization, outstanding organization, and I believe in it. I believe the best of the best is going to happen for this team. I just want to continue to fight with these guys."

(On the most important thing he learned about HC Mike Macdonald this season)

"It seems like forever ago we had that first conversation and we talked on the phone and this is before I got to meet him in person. Everything that he said he was about, that's exactly what he was about. He's a man of his word. He's a man of character. He understands how to lead. He understands how to push the right buttons and get guys going. He treats guys like men, expecting guys to uphold the standard, just the way that he goes about his work. He's a diligent worker, extremely smart, extremely smart guy. Just to be so young and to have the wisdom that he has and like I said, just the way that he carried himself the entire season. Things weren't always great. I made a lot of stupid mistakes and he had my back the entire time. When you look at a coach like that, I think the players are going to rally around him. The organization is going to rally around him and I believe everybody's going to follow his lead."

(On getting checked out on the sideline late in the game and if he's OK)

"Yeah, I'll be alright."

(On whether he was able to compartmentalize contract incentives and focus on helping the team win)

"Yeah, I was just trying to win. I'll tell you, I hate throwing incompletions anyway, so those types of things aren't... like I'm not worried about that. I try to complete every pass that I throw and usually during the games if I have one, I'm like, alright, I have to hit five in a row. That's just how I play. I want to hit 10 in a row. I want 20 completions in a row. I wasn't thinking about anything other than winning. It was great to get that last drive for us to go out there and score. Noah [Fant] got his first touchdown. How crazy does that sound? First touchdown of the season, but for that to be the game-winner, [it was the] biggest touchdown of the year. Just wanting to go out there and win and I'm appreciative of the guys for the way they battled in this game. Obviously, we had nothing to play for but still had everything to play for."

(On whether he has any thoughts on his future in the NFL)

"Man, I have a bright future. I think y'all can see that and I believe we have a bright future together. Obviously, I'm just saying that but yeah, we all have a bright future together."

(On being eligible to negotiate a new contract this offseason and what will be important aspects of the negotiation)

"Those are things that I'll talk to the people that I need to talk to about. I appreciate the question but I like to keep a lot of things internally and in-house. With respect to everybody involved, I think it's the best way to do it."

(On the emphasis of getting the tight ends involved in the offense today)

"I thought our boot game, our play-action game really came alive, especially early on. I thought Noah [Fant] played a spectacular game, man. He made some tough catches, especially that one at the end. I thought AJ [Barner] was being his normal self going out there and just being a big dude with the ball in his hands that's hard to tackle. Those guys are a big part of our offense and when we can get them going, you can see how our offense can be that much more dynamic."

(On WR Jake Bobo recording his first touchdown of the season today and what he saw on that play)

"One-on-one... throw it to Bobo man. He made a great catch and ran a great route. I thought the scheme was great. We had kind of an 'RPO' [run-pass option] on there and we got one-on-one to Bobo, we throw it up and he made the play."

(On his experience with Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb this season)

"I think Grubb is an excellent coordinator and an even better man. Our first year, obviously there were some ups and downs. There were some things that we can improve on and we'll work hard to get those things fixed, but I believe in this system. I believe this is a really good system and it's going to be really good for a long time. I think Grubb has exactly what it takes to be a great coordinator in this league. It's his first year. You have to give the guy some grace. He's figuring things out too. I thought he did an outstanding job leading the group. I love the passion that he brings to the game, and he made me a better quarterback."

(On whether he's seen growth from Grubb with attacking opposing schemes instead of opposing players)

"For sure. You can think of a bunch of plays today where we had the advantage based on scheme and there were things that Grubb did today that allowed me to go out there and play a sound, clean game. Like you said, he's only going to continue to get better. As he gets to dive into the offseason and really look at the ways that he can get better and that this offense can get better, I think he's going to have an even better second year."

(On Grubb's temperament throughout the season)

"Man, even-keeled, exactly what you want from a coordinator. Being a thermometer in the room, knowing when to get the guys going and knowing when to calm them down. Those are the things that you look for in a great coordinator and I think he did that with ease."

(On the touchdown pass to DK Metcalf and where that ranks among his highlights this season)

"I don't know, honestly. That's a good question, but it was good to get DK in the end zone. You're talking about the spin move and all that? That's just about working in the pocket and trying to find a way. I thought it was a good play."

(On WR Tyler Lockett's future with the team and what he means to the locker room) "Man, I can go on all day. We'd be here all day talking about Tyler Lockett. It means so much to me just to see an NFL player of his caliber to have the humble demeanor that he has and the selflessness that he has and just the way that... a thousand-yard receiver consistently. The consistency that he's shown and the leadership that he's given to DK, Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] and all those guys in that room, it doesn't go unnoticed. He's one of my best friends. He's a guy that I played against in college so I knew exactly what he could do all along and just being around him, his family, his wife...he's soon to be a dad. He's a special guy, a special person, and a special player."

(On whether he considers himself one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL)

"Yeah, I am. Yes."

WR Tyler Lockett

(Opening statement)

"First off, I just want to start off by saying I think our equipment staff and our athletic training staff should definitely get a raise. I think that they did a tremendous job. If you see the things that they do day in and day out, our equipment staff literally has to stay overnight just to be able to put our stuff back where it's supposed to be to get us ready to be able to practice and stuff again. Literally, they barely even sleep. We come back on Monday, we got seven, eight hours in. Still pulling the all-nighter just to help us, the athletic training staff, I couldn't tell you.

"One time one of the athletic trainers went back with me right after the game so we can get some treatment going to get ready for the next game. I mean, it just speaks volumes, the people that we have in this building and been blessed to be able to know them. Some of them for 10 years, some of them for six, some of them for one, but definitely got to get them a shout-out."

(On what today was like)

"Oh, I mean I think it was a good game. I mean, I felt like this last year, so obviously, you never know when it's going to be the end, because I kind of plan on playing again. I know it's not the very, very end. It'd be different if I was retiring. But, yeah, I mean I think it's always going to be somewhat sensitive just because that could have been the last time you put on a jersey, so I'm glad I ended with a catch, you know, just in case.

"Glad we ended up with a win. And one of the cool things was, like in the beginning of my career, it started off first the Rams, and maybe the last game of my Seahawks career, possibly, it ended versus the Rams, and we were able to win that game. But I mean just truly incredible. I'm just glad we were able to win. Glad we were able to fight back regardless if they had their players playing or not.

"And yeah, I mean I went out there and, you know, I just played. Yeah, you might have some emotions and different thoughts that go through your head, but you got to get all that stuff out or learn how to play through it when you're out there in the game."

(On if he always sits on the 20-yard line to throw passes after warm-ups)

"Yeah, I always did that. And then when we got Mike [Macdonald] as our head coach, I didn't know what I could and couldn't do. I used to do it a lot when Pete was the coach, and so I kind of had to figure out his schedule and how we did certain things. And so I kind of picked back to doing it, I think after bye week.

"And then I hit it twice today, but it was because one of the games, I think when I got the Steve Largent Award, I didn't hit it. And so I'm like, 'I got to make sure I hit it twice.' And so, yeah, pretty good at throwing the ball."

(On possibly coming back on a different contract)

"That's an agent question. I think it's going to be a lot of conversations and I don't really know what's going to be said or what's going to ... It's easy to say that we want you back, but I mean you still got to be able to have those conversations and figure out what's going to work, what's not going to work, what's the role going to be, all that different type of stuff.

"All I can really do is enjoy the fact that I'm about to have a girl and learn how to take care of her and two dogs. And from there, I just let my agent kind of talk to them and kind see what it is that they want to do and how they want to go about using me and how they see me fitting with the team.

"But regardless, man, 10 years with the same team, I think the only people that have done it since I've been able to play on this team were KJ [Wright], Bobby [Wagner], and Russ [Wilson]. Well, it makes it, like, it's easy to play for 10 years for the same team when I played with three of them, but it's very difficult to do, just being able to play in the NFL. And so for me, I don't take it lightly. I think I've had so many great relationships with not just the players, but everybody that's been inside of the building from people on the second floor to people on the third floor, to our nutritionist, to the strength and conditioning coaches. They need to get a raise too, by the way, both of them.

"But yeah, I just think overall, man, that's what makes coming into the building fun. When you have relationships with people outside of football, it makes you excited to get up, to be able to go and try to achieve this journey that we're all on to try to get to the playoffs, to win the Super Bowl, or just create a team that wants to be able to play for their coaches, that wants to be able to play for the community and the city. And so I appreciate the city too, man. I think the city is amazing. I'll always view Seattle as a college town. And, yeah, maybe this isn't the end, maybe it is the end, but I always will be a Seahawk through and through."

(On his thoughts on timeline for a decision on his future)

"We can call John [Schneider] and Joey [Laine] up here right now. I think that would be easy for everybody, right? I mean, I don't know. I'm sure they kind of have their timeframe, people that they want to extend, people that they want to talk to. And I'm sure it's a lot of stuff they got to figure out, so I'm going to be patient, kind of like talk to my agent, see what he thinks and stuff like that, and we'll just kind of go from there. But I'll probably have a lot more to say tomorrow when we exit meetings, but I mean I just appreciate everybody. I really do. I don't really cry like that."

(On how he would evaluate Mike Macdonald's first season as a head coach)

"10 wins, only coach in Seahawks history to do it. I mean, I think that says a lot. It's hard to get 10 wins just in the NFL in general. The fact that we were able to get it on his first year, I think that's incredible. Yes, we missed the playoffs. The projections were, what, five wins in the season. I definitely would've made a lot of money had I put in on a parlay, had I not played football this year because I believe that we would've won way more than five games.

"I mean, it just says the type of culture that he's trying to bring. It says a lot about the people who believe in him, the coaches that he selected to be able to make this thing work. And we just got to make sure, man, that we don't lose to these NFC teams because those are the things that hurt you when it gets to, 'All right, does the strength of schedule fit? What does the division look like? What does the conference wins look like when it comes to the records?'

"Because that's the thing that hurts us, because I think we tied with, what, maybe somebody else, I don't know. We tied with the Rams, but they beat us when you go all the way to the fifth or the sixth thing. And so we can't just shoot ourselves in the foot, we got to be able to go out there and win games. We won this game and it was close, but we got to be able to make sure we're winning more games when it's close."

(On him and Jaxon Smith-Njigba being tied for the single-season record for receptions)

"Yeah. I mean, shout out to Jax for wanting me to still be right there beside him. So, yeah, I think I just found out that we tied when I was walking out to do another interview, but I mean, I think that's dope, man. At least I'll be able to share it with somebody. Sometimes it's lonely up there at the top, and so being able to have somebody that was able to come be a part of the team and took off in year two, it'll always be cool at this moment just to be able to talk about how great of a player JSN is, how I think he's going to continue to thrive and continue to do a lot of great things as long as he continues to get the same opportunities that he's getting. And it's kind of cool to share that in a record book with him for sure."

(On Geno Smith's performance on Sunday)

"Hey man, I think Geno left it all out there on the field. I mean, obviously, people saw him limping and stuff out there, but I mean, I think he was just incredible with just being able to lead us back to victory and just being able to seal the win. Hopefully, he was able to reach his incentives and stuff like that. We were definitely shouting out Leo [Williams] because Leo hit his incentive.

"But yeah, man, even besides all of that, man, it's just the fact that everybody on this team wanted to play for each other. They wanted to go out there and they wanted to win. It makes football so much easier when you know the next man cares just as much as you care. It's hard to be able to get that because in the league you get paid so much money and so many people could have tapped out and said, 'You know what? I'm ready for free agency, or I'm ready for the off season so I could get away from all of this stuff.'

"And the biggest thing that you always hope is to have a team that could be able to buy in, not just when camp starts, because everybody is ready to prove themselves, but when you get to this part of the season and when it's November, December, beginning of January, you'll be surprised by how many people usually are no longer bought in. And this team was bought in from the very jump, even when we were on that losing game streak and fans were going crazy, people were going crazy, it didn't matter. People still bought in and I think it showed who we were as a team and who we're going to continue to be.

"All right. Appreciate y'all, man. I give God all the glory. Happy New Year."