Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

Opening Statement:

"Just proud of our guys. We said the message really after the game was, 'Team win.' I felt like we earned the win on our preparation Monday through Saturday. It was probably our best week of prep. Guys were locked in. Going through traveling east, 10 a.m. game on our time, having energy, focus, togetherness, all the stuff that we needed in order for us to win, we did. So, complimentary game. It felt like our offense responded sometimes when the Falcons were able to go down there and score, and special teams as well. I'll be excited to go watch the tape, but great win. We'll enjoy it and get ready for Buffalo next week."

On how it feels to win after having three losses:

"Yeah, it's funny. You feel it throughout the week, so hopefully that was within the message and the guys felt the same way. Our guys are determined. We grew as a football team this week, and now we have to keep it going. We've got to keep stacking these days, keep stacking our prep, take what we need to learn from this game and keep moving forward. It's still early in the season, but it's great to get back in the game for sure."

On the defensive success:

"Well, it's kind of like what we said, 'If you force them into more passing situations, you can start to affect the quarterback a little bit more.' Again, it's a team stat. Our offense did a great job of kind of pushing the envelope, responding, keeping us with a lead as the game started to wind down there. They forced the pass and tried to create some pressure on the quarterback. In the pass game, we played a complimentary game rushing the pass, and guys made their opportunities when the ball came their way. It was great to see."

On the secondary's performance:

"Yeah, no flinch. Like I said, you're excited to see those guys go perform. And they did. I thought they played a great game. They'll learn from it and keep growing. Nehemiah [Pritchett] had a little ankle there at the end, but it doesn't look serious."

On the decision to go for a touchdown at the end of the first half:

"It was great preparation by our offensive staff and faith in our guys. We felt like we had enough time to go ahead and make that play call. If it was incomplete, we felt like we were still in range. We were staying aggressive."

On whether he appreciated watching the touchdown at the end of the first half from the field:

"It felt pretty dang good from where I was, but it'll be fun to see it on tape."

On whether he has an update on WR DK Metcalf:

"On that sideline catch, he banged up his knee a little bit. Not sure of the severity. We're optimistic at this point, so it doesn't look too bad."

On the Seahawks' pass-protection:

"I felt like the guys fought a battle out there. I think Atlanta had a sack or two. I'm not sure of the stats, but Geno [Smith] was able to move and groove in the pocket if they were able to get immediate pressure. It's something to build on for sure."

On Falcons OLB Matthew Judon:

"Look, I know from experience that this guy's a great player. They have a really good front and good pressure package, so we needed a nice, tight plan. Go execute it and then battle it up and battle it out."

On Falcons OLB Matthew Judon being able to infiltrate the pocket:

"You have to know where he is at all times. It's easy to find him. He's got the red sleeve. Not only is he a really good player, but he's also really smart, feels the game and understands how offenses work. I lived it, and we've got a lot of respect for him."

On NT Byron Murphy II's return and how it's helped the pass rush:

"You got everybody healthy now, so you're able to get a rotation and keep the playing numbers to where you want it, so that's big. Then Murph, I think he's an underdog. Just what he's able to do to push the pocket to your point. It's a team pass rush. Kirk [Cousins] does such a great job of getting the ball out on time, so trying to get into a second and third read and then the pocket kind of swims from that point. The sack-fumble was a very rare extended play that you get against him, so we were able to take advantage of that."

On RB Kenneth Walker III's illness:

"He was pretty sick, but he fought through it. The guy's a beast."

On RB Kenneth Walker III's performance:

"I don't think it ever got to the point where we said that he wasn't going to go, but I know he wasn't feeling well. Tried to get fluids in him. I thought he played incredibly hard. For what was blocked on the touchdown run, the cutback, and then the touchdown catch was just a dynamite play. It was a heck of a throw by Geno [Smith] as well, but it was two guys working together on that one."

On RT Micheal Jarrell's performance:

"I thought Mike played great. I was excited to see him play, and I'm proud of him. The guys had his back and I'm excited for his NFL road."

On QB Geno Smith's performance:

"I thought Geno played a great game. He was poised and delivered the ball on time. On the extended play stuff, the scramble to find Noah [Fant] when we were trying to respond there, and it was a heck of a play. The couple of touchdown passes were great throws as well."

On improvements in defending the run in the second half:

"They do a great job in the run game. It felt like we were fitting it right. We were just missing tackles in the first half, so that's something we're going to need to be chasing here moving forward. But we responded in the second half. Not sure what the stats are, but it felt like we

were a little more square at the edge set. Secondary contained was a little faster to show up.

Disappointing that we let him score in that fourth down though."

On CB Josh Jobe:

"Shout out to John [Schneider] and his staff for picking him up. He's been practicing his tail off. Picks everything up really quick. He's a smart guy. Long, tall, fast corner. Knows the defense. Like I said, he's practiced so well throughout the week. I know Karl Scott probably had some longer nights than I did, but I felt pretty good going into the game."

On QB Geno Smith coming out of the game for one play:

"I think he got hit in the eye. Maybe his contact got moved or whatever. He's fine."

On how FS Coby Bryant is progressing:

"I'm not surprised. Again, this guy just keeps playing at a high level. It's a slow form. He just sees how plays progress. He just seems like he's in the right spot all the time on these overthrows and patrolling the deep area of the field. In the run game and support and stuff like that, we'll see what we want to clean up, but this guy can affect the ball like we've been talking about. It's a unique trait for sure."

On FS Coby Bryant's ability to help the other safeties:

"Our safeties were asked to play man-to-man a good bit and carry guys down the field. He's comfortable doing that. Just seeing the game from different angles and stuff. He's such a smart player. He feels route distributions and can see things in slow motion out there."

On coaching in his home city:

"Trust me, we just wanted to get back in the win column and try to do everything we can to get to 4-3. That was the thought throughout the week. Try to leave the distractions aside. I know there's a section of folks that are waiting on us. I'm excited to go see them and spend a few minutes before we take off."

On the fans showing up today:

"Shout out to all the 12s. There's a ton of people on the sideline at the end of the game. A couple family and friends that we saw. That was cool. The rest of the 12s, they showed up. They were loud towards the end of the game. I thought that was really awesome."

On DE Roy Robertson-Harris:

"Yeah, just knock back at the point of attack. Felt like he was able to set the edge on some of those runs. Just another guy that we can plug and play on the inside and outside. We'll get the pass rush going with him as he starts to feel out how we're calling it and playing off one another. We're excited to have him."

On the potential of T George Fant returning:

"We think so. There's a chance. We'll see. It's not definite yet, but we're optimistic that it'll be soon."

On T Stone Forsythe returning:

"I don't know right now."

QB Geno Smith

On the offensive coordinators having faith In the offense to take a deep shot at the end of the first half:

"Yeah, we love that. We've shown over the course of the three years I've been here that we're going to take that shot if it's available. You know, obviously [Ryan] Grubb has to put that confidence in me to understand the situation and get the ball out on time. Those are things that we practice. We practice those a bunch. We look for the situations and the moments to take advantage of them, and we had an opportunity. I thought the protection was great. D.K. [Metcalf] ran a great route, and we were able to get in the end zone."

On the role the clean pocket and protection played:

"Yeah, it played a great role all day. I thought all day the protection was great. How about [Michael] Jarrell stepping in – rookie, sixth-rounder stepping in and playing some big-time football today. I thought he did a great job. I thought just throughout the game, the protection was great. I thought Connor [Williams] did a great job of leading the guys. Everything that we talked about throughout the week, the energy, just the way that we played, the effort, all those things showed up today."

On if he had any discussion with RT Michael Jerrell about his first start:

"Yeah, a lot of conversations, but they're all about him being ready for the moment. He belongs, you know, whether you're D2, D3, or undrafted, it doesn't matter. The way that he's working, prepared, and all the things that he's shown throughout camp and in the preseason and even in the season – guys don't get to see him in practice, but he's been doing great things in practice. So, he was prepared for this moment. We just continue to breathe life into him. Let him know, 'Hey, you're ready for this. You're going to go out there and you're going to play excellent'. I thought Mike [Macdonald] did a great job last night of saying that exact thing to the team, that Mike [Michael Jerrell] was going to come in and step up and play some big-time minutes for us and help us get this win, and that's what he did."

On how good it felt to get a win:

"It's awesome to get a win. Any win in this league is going to be tough. The Falcons have a really good team, and I thought we came out and we played very hungry today from the start to the finish. Like I said, man, you don't want to put emphasis on the prior weeks, but it was tough. It was very easy for everyone to be negative after losing three games, but I thought, like I said, the energy was spectacular. I thought everyone had the right mindset. I thought everyone was positive, and I think that bled into the game, and it allowed us to start fast and then continue to have that confidence throughout."

On how his offensive performance felt like a blueprint for the rest of the season:

"Yeah, I thought [Ryan] Grubb called a great game today. I thought the balance was there. Obviously, like I said, we were able to pass the ball when we needed to, and we were able to run the ball when we needed to, and that's complementary football. That's what it takes in this league. You can't pass it all the time. You can't run it all the time. You've got to be balanced. You've got to do the right thing at the right time, and I thought [Ryan] Grubb called a great game, and it allowed all of us to play well."

On RB Kenneth Walker III:

"Yeah, he was sick today, man. Two touchdowns on his birthday, that was sick. I thought he did a great job. Obviously, he was under the weather. A little bit of his flu game today on his birthday. I think that's spectacular. It might be the first time that's ever happened, but he's a guy we rely on. The way that he fought and battled it out, I know he wasn't feeling his best, but to come out and do what he did on his birthday, I thought that was excellent."

On Walker's touchdown reception:

"Great catch, man, and that's something like, we've been repping that, we've been practicing that for a while, just looking for the moment for it to happen, and it showed up today. I thought he did a great job coming down with that catch. Those are the things we look for in that situation. They were doubling DK [Metcalf] on the back side right there, so that means the back was going to be one-on-one with him. He had a different route, but we figured why not take a shot there, and he did a great job setting it up. I thought the protection allowed me that half a second I needed to get it off, and he made a great catch, and that was good for us."

On the run game opening things up allowing for the pass game to develop:

"That's the balance we talk about. As you said, when we can run the ball, when we can play action, obviously we've shown that we're a really good drop-back team, but when we can mix it up and just give multiple looks to the defense with the type of personnel we have and the multiple guys that we have that can make plays, it just makes it that much tougher on the defense. When we're out there, we're not thinking about anything other than executing our jobs, but when you can have the explosives that we had and then you can protect the football, you usually should win the game."

On WR DK Metcalf suffering an injury:

"Oh man, my heart dropped. I was over there just telling him, like, massages on me throughout the week, man. I put him in a tough spot right there. Whatever I've got to do to get him back healthy, however we've got to get him back – because he's a guy that we need – we're going to make sure we do.

On WR Jaxon Smith Njigba's pass:

"That was an awesome pass. Usually, when I throw it up in double coverage, it doesn't end up like that, but that's kind of how things work, man. I thought Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] did a great job giving DK [Metcalf] a chance, and he's a big target. He went up and got that thing. That was a good moment right there."

On having to come out for a play:

"A bunch of beads flew in my eyelid, and I really couldn't see out of my left eye. They did a good job of getting it out of there, and I was able to come back in."

On developing calmness in the pocket:

"I would say little leagues, honestly. When I think back to when I was playing little league, that's something they would always say, you just have an innate ability to step up in the pocket and feel things around you without watching."

On crossing paths with QB Michael Penix Jr:

"I was able to meet Michael [Penix Jr.] last year, and he's a special player. I think when he gets his opportunity, he's going to be ready for it. I really believe in him. Obviously, him and [Ryan] Grubb have done great things together, and it was great to see them have a moment before the game, and really rooting for Mike [Michael Penix Jr.] and hoping for the best for him."

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

On his throw to WR DK Metcalf:

"That play call, when I'm throwing it, I just say, 'I don't care.' I'm just about to throw it, give my playmakers a chance, really. I don't care. I'm going to throw the ball and make a play."

On today being an improvement from last week's game:

"Yeah, I mean, we had to improve, you know, emphasis on practice, execute. We had a good week. We would say one of our best weeks through the whole season and it showed out here tonight."

On how he sees the season playing out and whether this win pushes them to be better: "Yeah, we're just going to celebrate this win and try to keep this thing rolling into next week, then hopefully start a little streak going, get our streak going, get our swag back and hopefully get some more wins."

On how winning feels after a few weeks of losing:

"I feel great. I feel great. Losing sucks. You know what I'm saying? Losing is the worst thing. So for us to come out here and handle business all the way out in Atlanta, it feels good."

LB Boye Mafe

On pressuring QB Kirk Cousins:

"He's a great quarterback. He's a great quarterback when he has time. So, our mindset was to put pressure on him. As we could get that pressure on him, I felt it would help us. So, you saw the picks. We saw all of that. I feel like those coinciding with each other is something that helped us."

On the scoop fumble touchdown:

"Really on that play, when I saw that he [Derick Hall] scooped up the ball – I was running for the ball too – but I saw that he picked up the ball, and he got in stride. I said, 'He got it', and I slowed down and let him go finish in the end zone. So, it was a gift."

On adjusting on defense against the Falcons offense:

"One of the reasons I love this defense and I love playing with these guys is that we never waver. No matter what the situation, no matter what the score is, we never waver. Everyone in the room, everyone on this defense, we have each other's back regardless of any situation."

FS Coby Bryant

RB Kenneth Walker III

FS Julian Love

TE Noah Fant

LB Derick Hall