SAINTS INTERIM HEAD COACH DARREN RIZZI

Opening statement
"I'll start off by saying, as I just told the team, I'm extremely proud of the effort. Right up to the very end, there was no doubt in my mind on the sideline that we were going to go down there and win the football game. Obviously, it was disappointing. Really my biggest takeaway from this game is just that we didn't do what we did, especially in the last game. We didn't finish. We did not finish drives. We didn't finish out the game. We didn't finish out the second half very well. That's the thing we've been doing in the last couple of games. Again, you're going to be in football games, in these low-scoring games against good football teams at home, you have got to be able to finish off. That's something we didn't do very well today. We did a lot of things in the game that we set out to do and play out the game in a lot of ways we wanted to, but we didn't execute in crunch time. We didn't finish drives very well like I said, and really to start the second half, they set the tempo with their offense. Obviously, disappointing. Again, very, very proud of the way we are fighting and competing. That was the case right up to the very, very end. Like I said, right up to the end, we had a chance to win there. We had a guy open in the end zone, and we can't get the ball off. Unfortunate. But hey, we're going to rebound and regroup. Our division is still very much in play. I'm not a real big-picture guy, but we've still got a very legitimate chance at the division. We're going to keep fighting our butts off."

On clock management
"We were going down there to win the football game. I felt like we were reeling on defense. If we scored, we were going to go for two and go for the win. I didn't want them to get the ball back with time left on the clock. I thought the way we played it out was exactly the way we wanted it played out."

On Taysom Hill's injury status
"Not yet. Obviously, (Hill) just got injured now. Hopefully, we're going to get some more information, and hopefully it's not too bad. No real information yet."

On any indication of the severity of Hill's injury
"I'm by no means a medical person. I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole because I've heard bad things before and it's good. I've heard good things and it's bad. We'll just let the medical thing play out. (Nick) Saldiveri the same thing. Just waiting on – they're going to get those guys over for imaging and stuff to see what the deal is."

On the biggest issue with the defense
"Obviously, they had zero points at the half. I think they had 15 yards passing. We were playing the game the way we set out to win the game. We kind of had the way that we wanted to play this football game and felt like we could win this football game. I thought defensively, we were going on script in the first half. I thought second half, when they came out and if I'm not mistaken, they had their first two drives and then they had an explosive play, which is always a great equalizer. We had done a great job of not giving those up in the first half. They get a couple explosive plays, and we had a tough time stopping the run in the second half. Again, just not consistent enough. I was really, really pleased at halftime with the defensive effort, but at that point we only had six points. We kind of stalled on a couple of drives. We missed a field goal. We could have been up two scores; we were only up one. I felt like we played the first half the way we wanted to play it, but we only had six points to show for it. That obviously caught up to us."

On the running game
"Listen, I felt like there were bits and pieces of our run game that were good. If I am not mistaken, we ran for 4.5 yards per carry on the day. Like I said, we were playing out the game. The disappointing thing for me was we put ourselves into some third-and-manageables and didn't convert those. I think we were five of 14 on third down. That's been an issue for us, not being able to convert third downs in the second half. That has reared its ugly head again now for a couple weeks in a row. We have to remedy that problem. That's (the) part of the finish I'm talking about."

On the final offensive possession
"All I know is we had a guy open. I don't know exactly how the route played out, his first and second read, but that's the first thing Derek said to me when he came off the field. 'I know I had a guy open there.' We were half a second too late. He gets the ball out half a second earlier, and we might be having a different press conference right now."

On Derek Carr's performance
"I'm pleased with the way Derek's been playing. Are there a couple of plays he'd like to have back? We didn't have any sacks today. I thought he got rid of the ball when he was supposed to. Our completion percentage wasn't quite as good today. I thought (Rams) put good pressure on us on some of those third downs. I look at Derek for the game, and he had 12 or 13 incompletions and eight of those are on third down. We've got to get better. That's got to be an emphasis for us. We have to continue drives. One of our big things was keeping their offense on the sideline, and we did that in the first half. We didn't do as well in the second half."

On Marquez Valdes-Scantling's touchdown reception
"I think early on they were kind of playing some soft shell. We had a lot of underneath things that were open and took advantage of it. As the game went on, we had a couple of shot plays in the game plan that we were going to take just at the opportune time. Obviously, that's all down and distance-related and things like that. Again, MVS three games in a row, good for him. Another huge play and a heck of a catch by Dante Pettis on the two-point conversion to get us tied back up. Again, like I said, we did a lot of great things. It's disappointing because when you play one of these games out that you feel like you could have won, as we were going down the field in that last drive, in my mind we were going to win that football game. The good news is we were in it right until the end. The bad news is we couldn't execute and couldn't finish."

On the mood in the locker room postgame
"Like any game you lose, the guys are pissed off because they know there was one there in our grasp that we didn't get. Unfortunately, we have had a few of those this year where we get down into the fourth quarter in these one-score games. I think now we are 1-4 in one-score games. If you are going to make the postseason in this league and be successful and win your division and all those things, the bottom line is you have to win one-score games. That is just the bottom line. I think the mood in the locker room is that guys are still confident in what we're doing but, again, are disappointed that we lost. They should be."

On if he got an explanation from the officials for the pass interference call on Alontae Taylor
"I didn't get an explanation. I have to go back and watch the film, but there were some talks that maybe he stepped out of bounds as well, which makes him, at that point, ineligible to touch the ball first. I have to go back and look at it. That's all. I did not receive a very good explanation on any of that, no."

On how Taysom Hill's injury impacts the game on the final drive
"Listen, I thought at that point Taysom goes down, a lot of the guys are disappointed. He's obviously very respected and a well-liked guy in our locker room. At that point, it can also be a little bit of a rallying deal where guys want to go finish the game because of that. We had opportunities in all three phases. We made errors today that could have changed the game. That's what we're searching for. We're searching and grasping for one more play in each phase to take us over the hump because that's where we were today. We needed one more play really from every phase to get ourselves the victory today. That just didn't happen. That's where we have to get better. We will move forward and try to prove that this week and hopefully go up to New York and get it fixed."

On the timeouts due to personnel issues
"We had 10 guys on the field. We just had 10 guys on the field. We can't have 10 guys on the field. We had to call timeout. I, obviously, wasn't aware we had 10 guys on the field. If they get a first down there, we're not going to play with 10. The bottom line is we can't have 10 guys on the field, that's why we took the timeout. We have to do a better job with substitutions. We burned the offensive timeout in the second half as well for a substitution. We can't do that. We have to be better. We have to fix that. That's us. That is on me, and I will take full responsibility for that. We have to get that cleaned up."

SAINTS DEFENSIVE TACKLE JOHN RIDGEWAY III

On what changed in the second half for Los Angeles to have more offensive success

"I can't really tell you. I have to go back and watch film. We just need to finish stronger (and) just come out and finish stronger. It's the only answer I can give you. We've got to play as a unit, not point fingers, and just come back and play together."

On Kyren Williams having success for the Rams
"We've just got to get all 11 hats on the ball. (If so) that is not going to happen."

On the Rams being effective in the red zone
"Getting the ball out quick. They've got a good quarterback (Matthew Stafford). He is a Hall of Fame guy. He knows how to read a defense. We have just got to be better."

SAINTS WIDE RECEIVER MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING

On the last offensive play for the Saints
"We had a play to get Dante (Pettis) the ball. I think when we motioned over, or whatever happened, we canned it and they (the Rams) went to zone. We just didn't have a great answer for it. We still had the opportunity to make a play. I think DC (Derek Carr) was just trying to find someone to get the ball to. They just had a better (call) than we did. It's football. That is how it goes sometimes."

On Interim Head Coach Darren Rizzi stating that the team needs to be better finishing games
"We started off a little slow offensively. Our defense played lights out in the first half, giving up zero points. We kind of hurt ourselves a couple of times with penalties, getting backed up. Offensively, we have to score more points. We can't score field goals every time we get down in the red zone. We have to score some touchdowns. I think that is the biggest difference with us is finishing in the red zone and finishing those drives. I think that is where he is talking about for us."

SAINTS QUARTERBACK DEREK CARR

On what you saw on the fourth down play on the final offensive drive
"They took away the first two reads just with the covers they played, so I was stepping up, just going to give Juwan (Johnson) a big body ball up top, and I thought he won, just from my point of view. Until we get the clicker and pause it, I don't know. We would have had a chance, so it's tough to be that close. To have a chance, and I was begging before that drive. I went to Rizz (Interim Head Coach Darren Rizzi) and said, 'Let's go for two,' because there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to score. We're going to score, let's go for the win. We did not receive that opportunity to see if we were going to do it. It's hard to lose a game that way. I just wish I could have done more for my teammates. I always feel that way after a loss, and this one hurts, especially when you're that close."

On losing Taysom Hill to an injury during the last drive
"It's the worst. Just as a brother, as a friend, because it's bigger than football at that moment. (Taysom Hill's) family, his kids, his wife, everybody. Your heart just breaks. Coach (Sean) McVay was heartbroken for him, and (his) staff walks up to me just heartbroken for him. In that moment, it just kind of pauses the game part of it and the competitiveness, and you just feel for someone, especially like that. But I love how our fans treated him, and I would expect nothing less from our fans. When one of our guys goes down, they've been great to support our guys, whether it's going great or not. That made me happy for him to have that moment, cause it's not a good moment to be in, but that was really cool."

On how Hill's injury impacted the team
"I feel like we were able to compartmentalize it, honestly. It's such a violent sport, your mind can't be anywhere else but on your assignment. To be honest, I thought our focus was fine and good, just looking at the guys in the huddle and the mindset of still just trying to win. And really, we threw the touchdown to MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) and Nick (Saldiveri) gets hurt, and then Taysom gets hurt, and the rallying cry is like, 'Alright, let's do it for them. Let's get this win for them.' So, I thought our guys were really focused. I didn't think it altered anybody's thoughts or anything."

On the mood in the locker room
"I can't say the word that I want to say right now because my mom gets mad when I say it and she texts me every time, but I would say angry, upset. Because we just expect so much of us as a team, and we knew that was a good football team. We knew they were a really good football team, but we believe we're a really good football team. So it hurts, but I'd say angry, mad, upset at the loss, but still hungry. I've been in locker rooms that feel deflated, and that didn't feel like that. We still believe in what we can do, and it's not pretty, it's not been easy, but everything we want, we can still do. It's not impossible. So for us, and as a leader as we were talking just now, I just felt like it was as positive as it could be after a loss."

On missed opportunities in the first half
"The ones I can remember, the penalties. We had a few back us up. We thought we had a touchdown. Whether they are penalties or not, they called them, so for us, being able to eliminate penalties. You can't have negative plays, especially when you get in the fringe, it's just hard. The coverages people can play and where they can stand and take certain things away, there's not a lot of depth to work with. You can't throw it over their head and stuff like that. I thought AK (Alvin Kamara) had a great effort to get in the end zone. That would've been a huge play for us, obviously, in this game. But anytime you have negative plays. That was a big emphasis for us this week, just positive plays on first and second down, and obviously, we didn't have enough of those. They've got a good third and medium and long team, with rushing the passer and making you throw it short, trying to take certain shots away as best they could. We did hit the one to MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling), but they do a good job on third down and those longer areas of really just trying to force the ball short and make a tackle at the sticks. Sometimes it's frustrating as a quarterback, but you have to stay true to your progression, the coverage and getting the ball to the right guy, to give him a chance to get the first down. I just thought it's always on us as players to try and figure out how to be better there early."

On contributions from different players at this point in the season
"If you'd told me we'd be playing with (Dante) Pettis, Kevin (Austin Jr.) and MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) in camp, I don't know if I'd have believed you, but I would've said, 'Okay.' I'm just so proud of those guys because they have stepped up so big for our team and for our city, making big plays for us when we need them. Those guys are really good football players. That is another crazy job by our front office. Doing a great job of, 'Okay, we have a problem, there's injuries. How do we fill the problem, how do we fix it to help our team win?' And they've done a fantastic job of that. We knew Kevin was a good player in camp. I loved him, I thought he was a really good player. We just had so many guys already ahead of him, and it just didn't work out that way. But he didn't complain, he put his head down and it's a great learning lesson for young receivers. Everyone comes from being the guy, and then you get on a team with (Chris) Olave, and Sheed (Rashid Shadeed), and Juwan (Johnson), and Taysom [Hill] and AK (Alvin Kamara), and all of a sudden, you're not the guy right away. But he did not complain one time, didn't make the team (53-man roster), all that kind of stuff. He just worked, worked, worked. He got opportunities making the most of it. That's a really good lesson for young receivers, especially his journey and where he's come from. Not quitting, not giving up, and just doing the right thing over and over again."

SAINTS DEFENSIVE END CAMERON JORDAN

On trouble with the run defense
"The first drive was a three-and-out, to the standard, and then after that it was the second quarter. We had TOP (time of possession), and we ended up giving some TOP back. They ended up with almost five-and-a-half yards a carry by the end of the game. That's not our standard. Easily could've held them to three. We've got to be able to look at the film and correct that. There was some, whatever it was, gap integrity, missed tackles, whatever that is, we have to figure it out and eliminate that ASAP. I mean, energy was high, guys flying around, we had a couple sacks, there was pressures, and for the most part, we contained the receivers, which they have a good receiving corps, until we didn't. That's on the D-line, it's on the linebackers, it's on the DBs, we've all got our hand in it."

On what the Rams did differently in the second half
"They ran from their stretch to the tight end to open up the opposite way to rely more on their play actions as well as quick throws. (Matthew Stafford) sped up his release cause he was getting tagged in the first half and responded accordingly."

On the mood in the locker room
"Pissed. We let one get away. We don't have enough time to let anything get away. Defense, we let them score 21 points. Just going over it in the locker room, there were guys still talking about fitting the run blocks. Guys are motivated. We want to win, and that's just not how you get it done."

On trouble adjusting throughout the game
"We knew going in that they were a stretch team. Kyren Williams is a good running back, and they create gaps by walling off or whatever it is. It's a very lateral scheme situation. The first half, we were overly confident. Second half, still confident that things would go our way. The faith on the sidelines was that we were going to go down and score, and that's if we don't go for two. If we go to overtime, we'd still come out with the win, but that didn't happen. But the faith on the sideline was, 'We're going to get this thing going in our favor.'"

On being 1-4 in one-score games
"You have to be able to close out those games. I've stated multiple times, when you're within one score, you have to be able to close those games out. On the defensive side, you always say, 'Put it on us.' When you watch the offense, when you watch how close it was, you saw Derek (Carr) scan and find his target and about to release. There was an opportunity there. We have to be able to take advantage of each and every opportunity."

On frustration with lack of turnovers the past two weeks
"Absolutely, you always want turnovers. You always want a sack strip fumble. I was hoping Shep (Nathan Shepherd) would have got one down when he was coming through the backside or wherever he came through, but that's just it. It didn't happen. Now we're two games without turnovers and honestly, turnovers help. Anytime you can give the ball back to our offense, you have potential to score, so that's going to be on us."

On looking at the bigger picture
"No, the goal this week was 1-0, and we did not accomplish that goal, so our new mission is 1-0 next week. I can't macro when we're not taking care of micro."