Head Coach Brian Daboll
Opening statement:
Daboll: "Well, crash landing here. Give Philly credit. They did everything better than we did today. Tough game. We really got beat in all facets, so it wasn't one thing in particular. It was a team game and we just didn't get it done. Congratulations to Philly. They get to move on and unfortunately we don't."
On how hard it was to stop the Eagles momentum in the first half:
Daboll: "I'd say anytime teams get a jump like that it's always, you know, to have the lead at halftime is a pretty high percentage of having a chance to win. We couldn't get anything going offensively. Couldn't stop them on third downs or red zone. Running the ball was a collective effort in terms of not being able to get it done. So that starts with me. I appreciate our team. I told those guys I appreciate their effort. The entire year, their work ethic, people in the organization. But Philly deserved to win that game. It's a crash landing in the playoffs. Losses hurt. These losses hurt even more."
On what he takes away from this season after tonight's ending:
Daboll: "I'm probably not there yet. It's the immediate aftermath of getting beat soundly. I feel for those guys. We just didn't get it done."
On whether he believes the future is bright for the Giants:
Daboll: "It's probably a bit too early. Look, I'm proud of the guys and the way we competed. I'm proud of the coaches, the staff members. You really only do this for one reason at this level and it hurts when you lose."
On whether he wanted to be aggressive tonight:
Daboll: "Yeah with that 4th-and-eight, 4th-and-seven where we were. I knew what the line was for our kicker and it was past that so I felt good about the play that we worked on throughout the week. We practiced a fair amount of fourth downs. We just didn't get it done."
On the punt in the fourth quarter down 21 points:
Daboll: "Yeah they hadn't scored yet in that half. I'm counting on the defense maybe just from so backed up to maybe get a three-and-out. Then they had a long drive. We probably could've went for it, but we weren't executing well enough to be there so that's what we did."
On how different Eagles QB Jalen Hurts looked from the last time the Giants saw him:
Daboll: "[Eagles QB] Jalen [Hurts] is a good football player. He's in the MVP race. They did everything well. Ten of 14 on third down. Four of five in the red zone. Two hundred and seventy yards and controlled the game. Six point one yard average. They played good offensive football."
On the problems the Eagles' pass rush gave them:
Daboll: "I think as the game goes on, they're a very good pass rush team as it is. And then how the game is going, I think that aids in it, too. That's why they were a couple of sacks away from the record. They have a really explosive team. Offense, defense. They're a good football team."
On why the Eagles had so much success running the football:
Daboll: "They're a good team. They have good schemes. They have good players. They did a better job of executing their stuff. I think they were dialing up a bunch of different things. They had it rolling tonight. Give them credit."
On what he thought about Giants QB Daniel Jones' performance:
Daboll: "He competed. Look, we all didn't do a good enough job. That starts with me. [Giants QB] Daniel [Jones] is a competitor. You know, they controlled the game the entire game."
On what he told the team post-game:
Daboll: "I told them to keep their heads up. They competed hard. It's a crash landing in the playoffs. Anytime you lose it hurts because of the amount of effort and energy you put into it each week. And when you lose this time of year, it hurts even more. You work extremely hard to get to this point. You're blessed to get to this point. It's hard to do. Give Philly credit. They did everything better than we did tonight."
On how valuable the experience gained this year is for young players:
Daboll: "Yeah, I think the most important thing is playing well. So, I think there will be time for reflecting and things like that but the most important thing is playing well. Give Philly credit."
On how long it usually takes him to digest the end of a season like this:
Daboll: "A while. Yeah a while. I don't know. I'd say, a bit. We'll have meetings tomorrow. Exit meetings and things like that. Go through things. It's a long offseason, there is a lot of stuff to do. You lose at this time of year. It sucks."
On the strides that Giants QB Daniel Jones made this year and if he surprised him by how much he improved:
Daboll: "No, I wouldn't say that. I'd say [Giants QB] Daniel [Jones] has been a consistent guy since we've been here. Again, I told all the guys I appreciate what they've done, the commitment they've given to their teammates, to the coaches, to the organization. And you know, there is no easy way to say it, it's a tough pill to swallow right now."
On whether he thinks Giants QB Daniel Jones will be the quarterback for the next Giants game:
Daboll: "All these conversations, we are going to have those. We have a long offseason. There is a time and place to have all those conversations and tonight is not it."
On how much he thinks tonight's game was decided in the trenches:
Daboll: "Well, I'd say it's decided all the way around. We got beat soundly. We got outcoached, we got outplayed, and that all starts with me."
On whether this loss sets the measuring stick moving forward that this is the gap they have to close:
Daboll: "Yeah, I think there is a time and place for that, too. I really don't have a whole lot to add. I understand you guys have questions and stuff. I'm just taking this one in. Unfortunately we didn't get it done."
On how he would describe his feelings at the moment:
Daboll: "I'm disappointed. I wish we could have done a better job. I wish I could have done a better job. I feel like crap. That's as honest as you can be. You work extremely hard to get to this spot. You do not take it for granted. This is a hard place to get to, the division round, and to move forward. I feel more for the players and the coaches because we put everything we had into it. We just didn't get it done."
On how much he struggled with punts or going for it on 4*th*-and-eight on their first drive after the Eagles' opening drive touchdown:
Daboll: "No, I didn't struggle with it. Wanted to be fairly aggressive. Where we were at, we were too far out to kick a field goal. And I liked the play that [Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike] Kafka was going to call and went for it."
On the sack right before that and whether that knocks them out of field goal range in his mind:
Daboll: "Yeah, the line for us tonight was the 35 [yard line]. That was where our line was at. So anything after that now you have to make fourth down decisions, decide what you want to do. You can do that after warm-ups so that's where it was tonight. Got to have it, maybe add a couple more to that but that's where we started with."
On whether he feels like the team's mood in the locker room reflects what he is feeling now:
Daboll: "Yeah, we are disappointed. We do this for one reason, to try to win. And we didn't get it done."
Closing statement:
Daboll: "Appreciate you guys all year. You guys do a good job. Sorry we can't meet next week."
