Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury addressed the media after practice on Sept. 26. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.

On how to fill the void with RB Austin Ekeler out:
"Yeah, it's hard to fill. You saw Monday night the impact he had. He's a dynamic player, I've said it all along. Running the football, catching the football. So, we'll have to find a way, move some people around and try to make some things happen. But it's a big loss."

On if it feels different coaching there now given his history with the Arizona Cardinals:
"No, not really. I have a great appreciation for the place and the players. Obviously, you look at the film, [Arizona Cardinals S] Budda Baker, I'm still in awe of the way he plays the game. [Arizona Cardinals S] Jalen Thompson, [Arizona Cardinals WR] Zay [Jones], I mean all those guys. So, it's exciting to get to play a bunch of guys you know and have a bunch of respect for. But other than that, it's just been a short game week after Monday, so it's been all work."

On the next step to develop QB Jayden Daniels' offense and what he can do:
"Yeah, we've just talked about competitive stamina in this league and the ability to do it over and over again. Not just on Sundays or Monday night, but every day at practice and the way you approach the game. And he takes a lot of pride in, he puts in the work. I told you all along, each and every day he's there early and stays late and works really hard at it. So, we're going to have our ups and downs and continue to grow, but he's working to be great and that's all you can ask for."

On the next step in his evolution as a coach from a play calling perspective:
"Yeah, just continue to grow with this group and maximize what we are and get some of these younger players going as the season goes on. I think we gotta stay healthy for one, but anytime you have a young quarterback, you just want to continue to try to play to his strengths and make him comfortable and we've got a good group of receivers that are really making plays when they're called upon. So, I think we can still grow, but some of these young guys, the [WR] Luke McCaffrey's, the [TE] Ben Sinnott's, we want to get them more involved and keep bringing them along."

On why Daniels has not thrown any interceptions:
"He just sees the field. He is a quick processor, a good decision maker, obviously. And he knows when the party's over, he knows when to throw it away or when to scramble and not force it in harm's way. And we're not built right now to overcome a lot of turnovers and he knows that, and so we're trying to stay on schedule, be efficient, stay ahead of the chains and he's really done a nice job so far of doing that."

On what he saw from OT Brandon Coleman on Monday's game:
"Getting more and more comfortable. He's going against a really good rusher that week and we knew it'd be a challenge, but I thought he battled. He's going to get better each week. Once he's a rookie, he's going to have his ups and downs like they all do. But I liked the way he fought, and I liked the way he, when he did have a negative play, he responded the right way."

* On his perspective of the last play to WR Terry McLaurin when he went over to the sideline:*
"Yeah, really think players and not plays. That's how that was. We basically invented a play 'cause Terry said, 'I got him', and then you could see the confusion. I screwed up the play call 'cause I was trying to kind of flip things and make it and they just made it work. And so it's like in that situation I learned a long time ago, you think players not plays and those two guys made a hell of a play."

On where he has seen Daniels grow the most:
"He got [a QB slide] the other night, which was big. I would just say the operation where he's a lot more efficient. Line of scrimmage, getting things called, which is giving him more time to process at the line of scrimmage. You can see he's able to not just get it signaled in and communicated, but now he's able to see the defense in a more calmer space, which is allowing him to, I think, process and progress through his reads better."

On what he has seen from RB Brian Robinson Jr.:
"He's everything I thought he would be and more. I think just a tough runner. We weren't able to get him going that much last week, but the tough yards, he got when we needed him. And he's a guy who can do it in the pass game, do it in the run game, and then his just competitive spirit day in day out is awesome. I mean, he is a leader on the field, the way he practices, the way he runs the football. He really inspires all of us and couldn't be more pleased with what I've seen so far."

On how feels areas of improvement that they focused from Week 2 to Week 3 were reflected in Monday's game:
"Yeah, the biggest deal was the negative plays. We had 18 in Week two and we had four the other night and it allowed us to not be in many third longs and stay on schedule and play downhill and mix in some of the tempo. And I think that was the kind of secret sauce to being able to score in the red zone as well. No negative plays in the red zone, which the previous week was our Achilles heel, so I thought the negative plays was the biggest improvement."

On WR Noah Brown's growth:
"He's a big-time player. I remember watching his film, I think it was '22. He was a free agent when I was here and really liked the film, and you saw some really big games. But you feel his presence, he's a big physical guy. Very football savvy and he's made some huge plays for us so far and we're going to continue to get him more and more incorporated on the offense. We only threw it 23 times last week, and so there weren't a lot of opportunities. But the ones he's gotten, he's made."

On his thoughts of replacing Ekeler with RB Jeremy McNichols and a potential practice squad elevation:
"Yeah, I mean, you don't replace a guy like that. You just gotta find other ways to be creative and find some explosive plays in the offense, but he's been really good for us. And so we'll have to come up with some answer on Sunday."

On how Daniels' poise and calmness rank against other quarterbacks he has worked with:
"Yeah, they all have their thing. I think he doesn't, he's very competitive, fiery, you see it on the field, but so far you haven't seen a negative play impact him or a real positive play. He just kind of does his job and wants to do it the right way. And so I think he's up there with some of the best I've been around as far as being able to play the next snap and not let good or bad affect him."

On if he has the expectation for Robinson Jr. to take on a bigger workload with Ekeler out:
"Yeah, we'll see. I mean, we want to be smart. It's early in the season as well, so we got a long way to go, but we're going to try to get him going more this week hopefully. He didn't have a lot of yards. There's a lot of tough third and fourth down type carries, and so hopefully we can get him going a little bit more. But we're not just going to wear him out. We trust the other backs on our roster."

On looking back at his relationship with Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and his performance now:
"Yeah, it's been fun to watch him. The end of last year, I thought you could see the confidence getting back in the knee and he made a bunch of big plays, played really well, and he is played great this season. There are a couple plays away from being undefeated, so you see the speed, the quickness, the competitive nature is there. So, it's been, it's been great to see. He's a guy I basically banked my entire career on what he would be and I still believe in it, and it's cool to see him playing as well as he is."

On what comes to mind when he thinks of his time with the Arizona Cardinals and if he feels bitter about how it ended:
"Not at all. I mean, that's why I still got my house here, man. I love it out here. So, I will always be grateful to [Arizona Cardinals Owner] Michael [Bidwill] for giving that opportunity that he did. First fired college coach to ever get that opportunity. And then the guys in that building, some of my closest friends and then the team, you watch those guys play. A [Arizona Cardinals RB] James Conner, Budda, they still inspire me. So, nothing but positive memories."

On if being a play caller has been less stressful for him:
"Yeah, I mean it's been fun to take the year at USC and just kind of step back and be around [University of Southern California Head Coach] Lincoln [Riley] and be the good cop the entire year and then get back into it. It's been a good perspective change and it's been a fun group. DQ [Head Coach Dan Quinn] does a great job with the staff and the culture and so I'm really enjoying myself."
* On if his house is the famous one from the 2020 NFL Draft:*
"It's the house. Yeah, it's the house. That's the one. Yeah, it hadn't changed."
* On what he did to learn and evolve during his time out of the NFL:*
"Yeah, I studied a bunch of NFL film, I talked to [Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator] Todd Monken before I got back into it with the Ravens. I liked what he transitioned from [University of] Georgia to there. And then just really being around Lincoln and studying his offense and just tried to figure out, 'Hey, if I'm going to do this again, how can we take the next step and be better moving forward?' And had a lot of time on my hands and was able to hopefully evolve a little bit."

On if there has been anything different in the process of being a play caller:
"I would say more than anything, just relationship building with the offensive side of the ball. You're spread pretty thin as a head coach between your staff and all members of the team and when you're the OC, you're really focused on the offense. And so that's been cool to just get to know those guys a little bit, on a deeper level and spend more time in that room consistently."