Post-Game Transcript: Head Coach Brian Daboll

Head Coach Brian Daboll

Daboll: Tough, hard-fought game. Division game. I thought both teams play hard. Left a couple plays out there. So, get ready to go play Philly. Get the tie and move on.

Q: What do you make of the tie?

A: We punted it there, I think, around the 43 (yard line) to try to back them up like we did. When Dex (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence) got that sack, we had two timeouts. Try to get another possession there; there was conversation to go for it versus not go for it. We had the two timeouts. (If) we go for it, miss it, there was short field. They go and get a win against a division team. So, that's what we decided to do.

Q: I'm just talking more in general. What do you think about finishing the game in a tie? It's like an awkward situation. Are you happy that you finished in a tie?

A: No, you always like to win the game. But there's some things we can do better. That's what we'll try to do.

Q: Down the stretch of the first half, you guys had third-and-1 on the 11 (yard line). Did you want to try to take a shot at the end zone there?

A: Was it a first down or not? We called the play that we thought that might hit it. Obviously, didn't get it and ended up with three points. Obviously, we want seven (points). But I thought (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka handled that drive doing down the field good.

Q: So, you weren't looking to take a shot on third-and-1 (for a touchdown)?

A: We had one, but we threw an underneath play because they took it away with the coverage that we got. We had (running back) Saquon (Barkley) down the sideline on a wheel route. Another seven route. But (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) made a good decision on it.

Q: How do you feel the emotion in the room is in there? To (a previous question) a little bit, are guys pissed that you tied? What's the emotion? What do you think the emotion should be in there amongst them?

A: Just get ready to work. The guys competed their tails off. Ended up tying rather than winning. But everybody is ready to go. We'll get ready to go next week.

Q: On that third-and-2 play in overtime, (wide receiver) Richie James and Saquon (bumped into each other).

A: They were fine. There was a miscommunication there. So, that put us at fourth-and-3. That was a play that we need to do better at.

Q: What was the explanation on the (center Jon) Feliciano unsportsmanlike?

A: He was flexing. He was going up to (wide receiver Darius) Slayton and saying, 'Hey, good job. Strong run.' But it was close. It was (near) all those players. So again, how the guy looks at it and interprets it, I don't think he can hear what Jon is saying to Slayton. So, they ended up calling it, which was obviously – we shouldn't even be in that situation. We get the ball there; it's going to be a first down. We're at the 35 (yard line). Probably (would have) make it a two-score game. Those are things we can't even make it close.

Q: At the end of the first half, the third-and-1 call, why not throw to the end zone on that one?

A: He called one that we thought was going to hit. We definitely could've done that. But we didn't.

Q: Can you overrule that?

A: Yeah, I can overrule it. Every decision that's made, you can put on me.

Q: It sounds like you would have taken a shot.

A: I thought it was fine. I think he had a good feel for what he was doing. But every decision that is made, regardless of what it is, is on me.

Q: Would you have done that differently thinking back on it? You don't give yourself an opportunity if the run doesn't work. If you pass and it doesn't work, obviously, you still give yourself an opportunity there.

A: I understand the question. Look, we ended up getting three points and went into halftime.

Q: On the long stretch from the end of the third quarter to almost to the end of the regulation, where it was all three and outs or four and outs, what was going on with the offense during that stretch?

A: They were executing better than we were. They had better play calls than we had.

Q: How do you see (outside linebacker) Azeez (Ojulari) and (tight end) Daniel (Bellinger), coming back from the injury? How do you see them? 100 percent? Or do you think they can take a little bit more –

A: I think we go back and watch the tape. I thought those guys competed though.

Q: What was your target for (kicker) Graham (Gano) there? Obviously, at some point, you've got to kick it.

A: On the last play?

Q: Yeah.

A: It was probably a little bit closer than that, but there was five seconds left. We knew the clock would run out. It was a 58-yarder. We tried to get a little bit closer on the play before, but that would have been a tough kick.

Q: Back to the fourth-and-3, you made that statement in the first game when you went for two. You were aggressive. Why not today?

A: Well, I think it's later in the season. And I think you have those conversations leading up to games about a wide variety of things that could happen, could not happen. To punt it and put them down there, I thought our defense had a chance to keep them down there and maybe get the ball back with, call it, 35 seconds – somewhere around there, somewhere around midfield and give ourselves another chance rather than if you don't get it and then they kick a field goal, and they were going with the wind, so that's the decision I made.

Q: When you're doing that in your head, are you playing the game as much so as 'Well, if this backfires, worst case we might get a tie,' compared to if you go for it and you don't get, worst case, they could be kicking it?

A: I think those conversations are all happening. It's not just in my head. I'm talking with a couple guys, and we're going through some things. Would it have it been different if it was fourth-and-1 versus fourth-and-3? Potentially. So, I think those things come into play. But again, at fourth-and-3 there after the play we just had before that and with two timeouts, I thought that was the best thing to do.

Q: How much of that calculation is how your offense was playing at the time of fourth-and-3?

A: Well, I'd say some of it is from the play before, too. So, you don't execute. We're fourth-and-3 instead of fourth-and-1. Look, the decision that we made, I'm good with. I felt comfortable with (it). We went down; we almost ended up getting the ball out of them. Had a chance at the end. Could've had it a little bit closer, but that's a decision based on where we were at on the field and the time of the game and the situation we were in that we felt was best.

Q: If you trusted your defense to get that stop by pinning them back, why not trust them to get a stop if you don't make the 4*th* and 3?

A: It's a little bit different. It's a little bit different yards there.

Q: inaudible

A: I got you, but you're calling 15, 20 yards versus a long way to go. So, that's why we made the decision that we made.

Q: How did you feel about the sack by (Azeez) Ojulari at that time? Did you think it changed the trajectory of that game at that time?

A: The one where he got the ball out? Yeah. I thought Azeez did some good things on his limited snap count.

Q: What about the pass rush today? Was this as good as it's been all year?

A: I thought they played well. They rolled guys in. We rolled guys in, got some pressure on those guys. I thought they played well. I thought there was a few things here and there that we could've done a little bit better job; everything starts with me. And that's what we'll do, get back in work.

Q: What did you see on the deep ball when Daniel (Jones) and (Darius) Slayton couldn't connect?

A: What did I see? I saw we had a chance to make it, and we didn't make it.

Q: Was it overthrown? Should he have caught it? What was your take on the play?

A: I saw him (Slayton) jump and it hit his hands. He was coming down, and (it) bounced out of his hands. It's a football play. Bounced out of his hands. We had a levels play there called, and coverage kind of broke. We had a chance on it; we just didn't connect on it.

Q: You went back-to-back deep balls.

A: That was a levels play, and it just popped open. And the next one, it went to the boundary side. (We) tried to give Slay(ton) another chance there.

Q: I know you have to look at film, but what was your take on (cornerback Zyon) Gilbert (in) his first NFL action?

A: I thought he did some good things. We'll evaluate the tape, but I thought he came in, competed and played a pretty good game.

Q: What happened with (cornerback) Darnay (Holmes)?

A: He had a shoulder.

Q: So, his decision to be inactive was injury related?

A: It was.

Q: In your estimation, what do you make of it? What does a tie do for your playoff chances at this point?

A: We'll figure it out. There's a long way to go. It's better than if it was a loss; not as good as if it was a win.

Q: What did you think of how Saquon ran, especially early?

A: I thought he ran good. Had some draws; there was a couple that weren't blocked as good as we needed them to be blocked. There were a couple of people in the backfield. So, I'm very confident in Saquon.

Q: How do you feel about a guy running out of bounds on plays where he might be able to stay in and lower his shoulder and get a couple (more yards)?

A: I'd have to look at the tape. What play are you talking about?

Q: There were a couple in the first half.

A: Like which ones?

Q: There was one out to your sideline where he kind of turned his shoulder back and backed out of bounds, kind of.

A: I'd have to look at the tape. I think Saquon's a tough guy. I think if he has decisions to make, he usually makes the right decisions with the ball in his hand based on angles and what the defense is doing. I just remember the last one: We threw it out to the flat, and it was different. It was kind of a different angle of the defender, but I have a lot of confidence in Saquon.

Q: Overall, (what are) your thoughts on Daniel's game today? He didn't throw an incompletion until the very end.

A: I thought he played a pretty good game.