Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and several players addressed the media following the team's 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Here is a look at some of the quotes from their press conferences.
Ron Rivera
On not using timeouts to try and get the ball back before halftime being a reflection of his belief in the offense:
"No. Not necessarily. It's one of those things that if you do it, and you decide to do it and you get trapped back there. Now what do you do? Then you have to punt the ball. They have three timeouts left as well."
On Offensive Coordinator Scott Turner being in the booth as opposed to being on the field:
"That's one of the things you look at what you're seeing, the excitement of what's going on, on the sideline, it's a little calmer in the box. Probably a better situation for him to look at things looking down."
On the struggles of the offensive line:
"I see a constant mixture of players. There's no continuity in terms of the same five guys every week, or four of the five. When you constantly have some sort of shuffle going on, it's tough to get some continuity, especially from the beginning. Now if this was later in the year, you'd like to think that there's a number of guys who have been playing out there, been working together. When you insert one guy it's an easier transition than two or three that you have to mix in and out."
On Wentz's Performance:
"I thought he had his moments. There were some things that he did really really well. I thought he threw the ball deep. The second touchdown, [WR] Dyami [Brown], that was a check-with-me and he audibled, called the play and threw it. That was a good decision and stepping into that role. Again, it's just things that we need to work on."
On the possibility of regretting not going tempo or faster on offense late in the game:
"Well, we'll see. Again, we'll go back and look at it. We'll talk about what we did. It's great to be able to second guess though, it really is."
On keeping the locker room positive after the loss:
"We're going to continue to talk about becoming who we think we can. We're going to talk about working to get better, and we're going to talk about that. We're not going to back down from what we're trying to do, it's hard. It's difficult, and there's nothing easy about this game."
Carson Wentz
On the last drive and interception:
"Tough, tough, very frustrating, and obviously an emotional roller coaster. You're feeling very confident there and your ability to go down and moving the ball, converting to stay on the field and you get first and goal from the 2 and your thinking we've got this, We've got a couple chances here and hats off to them they made a couple good plays and it's definitely frustrating and kind of stings a little bit extra because I thought we had it."
On the tough sequence of plays after back-to-back timeouts:
"It was but at the same time, you still look at it at the end of the day we had our chances. We still got three shots at it, could've been four. First and goal. So, obviously you want those timeouts because it can help with some decisions down there but at the end of the day, we still had our chances to execute them, and we just didn't."
On WR Dyami Brown on both touchdown drives:
"The coverages dictated where to go with the ball and ton of confidence in him. We've seen him do that all of OTAs, training camp and obviously his opportunity has been limited in season but for him to step up like that today with those two big ones, that was awesome to see but at the same time I'm not surprised. If there's anyone on this team, he's been doing that and hats off to him for stepping up."
On Brown playing more in the rotation
"Obviously we'll see what happens, I thought he did a fantastic job on those couple of plays today. We feel we got some depth there that always serves us well. Hopefully he can but at the same time we're excited to get Jahan [Dotson] back and we can see them both in."
On relying on adversity on the slow start to the season:
"Have to, I mean a couple, straight losses as a team. Obviously, I had a chance there at the end to seal it and I didn't get it done myself. So, have to learn how to handle adversity, how to bounce back. I say it every week, this league comes at you fast and this week even faster. We have a Thursday night game and physically, it's probably the hardest week of the season just for getting your body ready but at the same time mentally, it helps to move fast, and we must move on and go find a way to win against a good team down there in Chicago."
Terry McLaurin
On preparing for the next game:
"We've got a short week so we've gotta get back to working. We don't have a lot of time to focus on what just happened. We've just got to get ready for Chicago."
On not scoring on the final drive:
"We have to find a way to get that into the end zone. We did a great job executing the two-minute drive, getting down there in scoring position. It's really for not, so that's something as an offense that we have to find a way to win the game, that's all you can ask for in that situation. We fell short so we definitely have to do a better job finishing that drive. I was happy that we at least got it down there."
On potential missed pass interference calls:
"You're gonna get held sometimes, it's happened for the last few weeks. I just try to be more physical so it's more obvious. I mean I can't really focus on what the refs are going to call or not call, but for me I'm just trying to focus on being as physical as I can be on top of the routes in press situations."
Dyami Brown
On RB Brian Robinson Jr.'s return:
"He was ready. He was ready to get back out there even like two weeks ago. Just having him out there, it's love."
On Robinson Jr. coming out of the tunnel:
"It's just a blessing. If you get shot, you can never know the outcome."
On his two touchdowns:
Performance wise, I felt good, but you know it's a loss. Just go back and watch a film. We've got a short week coming up to get ready, and it's on to Chicago."
On the short week:
"I feel like it's just momentum to get out there early. Three short days of practice. We're ready for it."
On scoring his first NFL touchdown:
"Oh man, it's been a year and a half. A year and a half, but it's a blessing. I'm thankful for it and it's just the beginning."
On the loss:
"Just go into it with a positive mindset next week. Forget about this one after today and just keep going forward."
Jonathan Allen
On where the team stands:
"We gotta keep going. It doesn't matter where we think we are. We are who we are on the field and right now, we're a 1-4 football club and until we change that, that's all we'll be."
On the positive takeaways from the game:
"Potential is a word you use for someone who hasn't done anything. That doesn't matter how much potential we have unless we actually do something. We're gonna learn from it, we're going to grow, and we're going to get ready for Chicago."
On the Titans run game and offensive line:
"Derrick Henry is a beast. Their offensive line is well coordinated, they've played a lot of games together and they played well together. I think we did okay. I can't really tell until we watch the film. Obviously, we have to be better in certain circumstances. For the most part it was okay, but okay is not good enough to win."
J.D. McKissic
On seeing RB Brian Robinson Jr. back on the field:
"When it happened, I texted Brian. I told Brian 'Your story is going to be amazing.' You know, just what he's been through and the type of kid he is and I know how hard he works. I'm gonna say how great he is. We've got a great group of running backs. You only want to see a guy like that do good, so when his time is coming, he's gonna be B-Rob. We've got some great backs, I hate to brag on one guy."
On Robinson Jr.'s tunnel entrance:
"How many guys ran out? Was it twelve? I know I come out as well. I was willing to not even come out and let him get my spot because I know how amazing of a moment it is. That's the type of guy I am for him, I just want to see him do great. It was great to see him get the chance to run out and the fans were embracing it. I'm sure he felt good."
On getting back on track quickly on a short week:
"We've just got to score. We've got all the guys we need and like I said, we've just got to score earlier."
On how close the team is to turning things around:
"We're very close. You've just got to turn it on. I think we're very close"
On if they are digging too deep of a hole:
"You can dig yourself into a deep hole, but it's still very early. If it was in week ten, twelve, we're putting ourselves in a bad position. Right now, we've got a chance. The locker room is great."
Brian Robinson
On how it felt to get back on the field:
"I feel good, man. I really can't really explain the feeling. It's just being back out on the field. I mean, the ups and downs, but today everything finally came into the light. I'm just so blessed to be back out there with all the fans, the team, everybody involved."
On running out of the tunnel:
"That was great. Feeling all of the energy from the fans, obviously everyone who missed the time I was gone. My teammates waiting on me at the end of the tunnel, that was one of those remarkable feelings. I can't even really explain it."
On if he reflected on his situation while he was on the field:
"Actually, I put all of that behind me. After I took the field, I prayed about it. I put all of that behind me. My focus was on being on the field, and helping my team win so I kind of put that behind me."
On if his mentality playing the game of football has changed after the shooting incident:
"I've always had a dominant mindset, just have to take the next step. Being blessed, to be able to come back and do it all over again. I never want to take it for granted. I want to leave everything on the field every time I get a chance to play. My mindset is to keep making strides in the right direction and hopefully we can pull something together."
On any advice he can give to people seeing his story:
"Never give up. When you get blessed with another day, another opportunity to wake up and chase your dreams. Just never give up, never stop fighting for what you believe in, and keep working. I feel like it will all come to the light, and that's kind of my story. I just kept my head high, I didn't complain, I didn't try to go back in the past. I just did everything I had to do to take steps forward. That's what helped me make the progress I've made over the past six weeks."
