DETROIT LIONS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTSSUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017 ● MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOMESAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, (it was) a crazy game. Credit our defense for 21 points. That was significant. I have been involved in a couple of games where you go from a big lead. In New York it would've been the 2002 Wild Card game against San Francisco. We did enough things in a similar fashion this game. Our punt return and punt coverage stunk. It was poor. I thought the turnovers by us in the second half were poor. We did a lot of dumb things, but fortunately our defense did a lot of good things."
On the batted passes throughout the game:
"We knew Matt (Stafford) was going to be getting rid of the ball quick. They were banged up at the offensive line and, obviously, he was banged up. When you start getting that early passing game to avoid the pressure guys will look good."
On blitzing to affect the quarterback:
"There was some. It was pretty back and forth. We had a lot of three-man rushes too."
On player mentality having above .500 winning percentage for the first time since 2013:
"They don't look at the long history picture and I don't encourage them to. There's a lot of new guys on this team that haven't been here for a year. It's good to play and get another win. You win two in a row then you have a bye (week). I felt like it was important to play well against this team and important for us to get the win."
On running the ball early:
"I was encouraged by that. It was part of the plan."
On the impact Cam Jordan had throughout the game:
"It was significant. You bat a ball down and catch it in the end zone. I thought we did a good job affecting the passer and our looks changed. I thought that helped us. Some of those plays that you don't get some days, it seemed like we got. The tipped interception to Marshon (Lattimore). We got a few of those big plays. Sack-fumble early. Penalties were discouraging. I didn't think it was officiated very well and yet I'm sure when you get to 13 penalties, you deserve a lot of them. That being said, we'll see that on tape."
On if being without Adrian Peterson was a good thing for the team:
"Listen, it's a dumb question. We're trying to win games. I'd love to have that player, but it's hard to have that many and get into rhythm.I thought Mark (Ingram) and Alvin (Kamara) had some great plays and I would hope to think that we would have had that type of rushing output if Adrian was part of it."
On slow start to the second half:
"You start with a turnover. You don't convert third downs. I thought we did a lot of good things, offensively, but the turnovers and our third down numbers were awful. I had just a quick peek at them and they weren't good. We had a number of opportunities."
On fourth down call (fullback with the option pitch):
"In that area of the field, it made sense for us to go for it there. It was just a play we'd looked at. It was a play we ran in Dallas, actually, in 2003. Maurice Carthon and Bill Parcells, that was their play."
On crowd energy:
"I thought it was good. I thought it was very good."
On passing Bill Walsh for career total wins:
"He has a lot of Super Bowls. He was a huge influence in our game. I am trying to be happy today. It is hard to when you win like that. When you do a bunch of things silly in the second half, but hopefully we can continue to win. He's a special guy."
On thought process when the lead was cut down to seven:
"We've got to get some first downs."
On having over 180 yards rushing:
"Each game is different. You'd like to say we want to have that balance each week, but teams can play a defense differently and you can pound your head into the wall. Hopefully, we can be flexible and want to do either."
On keeping the momentum after this game:
"I think more importantly there are some lessons learned in a game like this. Turnovers, big plays in the passing game, and your coverage units. Those are generally things that are involved in a large comeback. There's a lot of tape we have to watch tomorrow."
