Justin Pugh
Postgame vs. Detroit, December 18, 2016
Q: On the win…
A: It was huge. We needed that play and we got it. Everyone dug deep, did their job. Odell made a great play on the ball at the end. It was great. To start the game with a touchdown and then come down and put that last dagger in with a touchdown. Obviously, you want to end with the ball in our hands. Those last two drives, you’ve got to do a better job there.
Q: In the beginning of the season, everyone was calling this a championship defense. You’re at 10 wins now, is there a feeling that this team is coming together as a whole?
A: We love each other, that’s why we go out there and we play for each other. We play hard for each other. We love these coaches and everyone else around here. You can tell the way we play out there that we’re going out and trying to take care of each other and fight for those crucial situations and executing those times.
Q: On the defense…
A: Oh, it’s huge. We have total faith in them and you have a fourth quarter pass rush. They’ve been outstanding. Teams aren’t running the ball. It’s great. So the help goes out tremendously. We’ve got to put some more points up so they can just pin their ears back and get some sacks. Move it that way. But we’ll continue to get better.
Q: Lions are a team that was able to stop the run for the most part this season. How were you guys able to gain some yardage in the ground game?
A: We were just being aggressive up front, trying to make sure there were no run throughs, letting those backs have a clean lead coming through the hole. We left some stuff out there. Obviously, we can do a better job with that…come back and watch the film. I was just excited to be back out there just being a part of a win. It was crazy. I was out for five weeks and it felt like I was out for the whole year
Q: And what’s it like for you now?
A: I haven’t played in a meaningful game within my career. We started 0-6 my rookie year and then we were out of the playoffs my last two years, with the last three weeks of the season. So to play a game like this, a little playoff atmosphere, the fans were unbelievable. I remember mid game, me and Weston (Richburg) were saying to each other that this is the craziest we’ve seen the stadium, obviously aside from it being Sunday night. So it’s exciting. It rubs off on us and we’re ready to just go out there and just keep this thing going.
Q: On preparing for Thursday’s game against Philadelphia…
A: Yeah, we’ve got to go back and get ready to go. Hopped in the cold tub already cause, you know, it’s a short week so we got to get our bodies ready to go.
Q: On Eli being annoyed after the sack on the last play of the third quarter…
A: You might have to ask him. I think it was something with the routes. I’m not positive what happened so I’ve got to go back and look at the tape. He didn’t yell at us at all. He would never do that. Eli would never come up and yell.
Q: On getting to the Super Bowl…
A: I think so. You know, I think that’s good. We’re looking to our leaders. We’re looking to the guys who have been there (the Super Bowl) before. The Eli Manning’s, the Victor Cruz’s, Marshall Newhouses. We look to those guys and follow their lead because they’ve been in this position before.
Q: On the offense’s confidence…
A: We won by two scores today, so that was nice. We went down and got a score to put the game away, which was huge for us today. Obviously, we’ve got to do that earlier on in the game and just build on those. Coming down, I thought we were going to keep scoring at will on the defense and obviously, they did a good job of adjusting. That’s football. We won though so, hey!
Q: How do you feel?
A: I feel really good. I mean, it’s just good to be back. I was like a little kid. I couldn’t sleep last night. It was the first time I struggled to sleep before a game just because I was excited and I was like, ‘Am I going to still be good? Am I going to be able to do…’ So it was fun for me to be out there.
Q: And your knee?
A: My knee felt great. My mustache looked great, so all in all, it was a good day.
