"A couple of comments first to start. Tip your hat to Dallas. I thought those guys did a good job tonight. They played a heck of a game, deserved to win the game. I thought we struggled really throughout the night having any consistency offensively. I thought we made enough plays defensively. We kind of felt like it would be a lower-scoring game coming in. We just didn't do enough things and that starts with us as coaches, the plan going in. There will be a lot we watch on tape, and regret certain plays, but before I get into any of that, you've really got to tip your hat to the way they played."
On what Dallas did to make it tough offensively.
They played with great energy. They were on the edge. Their front, it was a tough front to handle. You saw that all season. If you really watched a lot of tape, you'd see it. Nonetheless, though, they did a fantastic job.
How tough did their linebackers make it?
Well, we'll see the film. Collectively, they played real good team defense. We didn't do enough things as a team, either.
What went into the decision to go for it on 4th down?
Went for it.
Was there any regret about the challenges early?
No. What do you when you challenge…a play gets… No. We got the ball, the completion. No
Did you notice any common thread with your frustrations on third down?
Number one, they were in longer-yardage situations. We weren't really good on the early downs. We didn't have the balance that we've had in prior games. We struggled running the ball with any consistency. And then we didn't want to get into a one-dimensional game. I think the common thread without seeing any of the game tape would be that we were behind the chains a lot. We were in seven-or-more, eight-or-more. We didn't make enough happen on the first and second downs in the game. Some games you play where you don't have a lot of third downs because you're operating efficiently but that wasn't the case, certainly in this game.
Would that be why their pass rush was able to get going?
It's part of the challenge each week. Force a team to become one-dimensional. Offensively, you want to be able to have balance. Those are some of the things you work to correct and we've got to do a better job with as coaches to correct. It was a good game by them, though.
How frustrated was Drew Brees, starting 0-for-4?
He doesn't get really frustrated that way. He understands this game and we've done it long enough to know that, it's every week, he takes on a new challenge. The thing is, man, we were still in a position to win it and that's the nature of our game sometimes. Understanding the moment, how the game's unfolding. Unfortunately, we weren't able to and we kind of go from there.
On the defense overall.
They had some big plays, getting the ball back for us, some big stops. Certainly enough for us to win. Going forward, we keep getting better on that side of the ball. We had some penalties that we'll clean up but overall, it wasn't enough, tonight.
On the interception at the end.
We were just trying to throw it away. He's under pressure…
On the hit on Alvin Kamara.
I was involved in the process of the rule. Listen, those are hard to call as well. Really, it's tough when the guys are moving around real fast. I haven't seen it as cleanly as you guys have. Listen, we got beat. We got beat tonight and there will be a number of things we that we can point to but overall, we just didn't do enough as a team.
When you punted at their 42-yard-line, was there any consideration for a field goal, there?
No.
Was Thomas Morstead ok after that hit?
Yeah.
