New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton

On his initial remarks:

"It was a hard-fought win. We had a couple things happen early on. I'm not even talking about plays. But players get hurt that changed a little bit with the flow of the game, and I thought our other guys responded well. Any questions?"

On his assessment of quarterback Jameis Winston:

"We'll look at the film. Got a win, thought he made some big plays for us, but no grades today right now. We'll take a peak at all the snaps. There are some plays we got to work on – the fumble in the pocket – there are a few of those plays that I'm sure he's mindful of. But we'll get a chance to clean up and correct."

On the increase in pass attempts in this matchup:

"I don't know if you were watching much, but they were playing a lot of five defensive linemen fronts, which is unusual. So, there are a handful of runs but it becomes problematic. There's a lot of single safety, five-man rush. You know, similar from what we saw from the Bears in Chicago last year. We knew we would have to get to some ball-out throws, but also some high percentage throws. So, we carried a number of what we call "five rush beaters." But we knew it would be a way for them to try to minimalize our rushing."

On the back-to-back QB sneaks on the final drive:

"I hated the spot on the first one. I'm sitting right there with the official. We got to get four, five, or six inches. You know, I think we were able to do it."

On punter Blake Gillikin:

"He was outstanding. He was outstanding. Outstanding. Just got a game ball. One of the things we felt like in the first half, not so much the ball, the second half we played a lot of football on their end of the field. And generally speaking, I talk about that all the time, but what happens is when a mistake is made, it's compounded, and that happened in the second half. But he was outstanding."

On their time of possession:

"It was an unusual game. The two halves were entirely different. We were fortunate to overcome the turnovers. I thought we were able to do some really good things on both sides of the ball. I thought the punter was significant though."

On how important the victory was:

"They are all important. Seeing our identity is that we're moving forward in this season. We have a bye now, it is what it is. Hopefully, we can get some guys back. But, it seems like we have played a lot of games on the road because we have. So, it will be nice to get back and get into our schedule. Guys will have time to away."

On the successful Hail Mary attempt:

"I would say it was significant. Let me give you a story. So, none of you were here, maybe a few of you. What's Jennifer Nettles in, what band? They hadn't made their way yet; we're playing in Atlanta. End of the half, (Former Saints wide receiver) Terrance Copper comes down with the play. Sugarland. So, back then Sugarland was just getting a regular season halftime song. You follow me? That was in the old Atlanta stadium. Just a halftime song. Just a Sunday game. Years later, she said, 'You want to talk about a tough crowd. Now, when you come out after someone completes a Hail Mary against your team and then: 'Please welcome, Sugarland.'' So, I thought about that if there was any halftime entertainment, that's a tough spot to be in. But, a good play, good throw. Part of a Hail Mary is giving ourselves a chance. We did it. Our landmarks were good. Marquez (Callaway) found it. Listen, those things come up. We practice them. I think that was pretty significant. Obviously, when you have something like that happen to you it changes the momentum."

On what he told Jameis after initial turnovers:

"We didn't have any 'Kumbaya' moment. We're going. The clock's going. There's no sit down. Let's go. There's no time for all of that."

On his mind-set on final drive before first half:

"I was trying to get two Hail Mary's if possible. So, I was thinking Hail Mary."

On the route design for Marquez Callaway's second touchdown:

"Man-to-man. It's a man-to-man beater. Bump and run. It was on our third down list. So, it's a man-to-man third down beater. You hope for man. If it's not, it's zone, it's going to go over to Alvin (Kamara) on his halfback choice if you look where he's at with the tight end. So, it's kind of a 'tell-receiver' set. When all three corners come over, you know you got man. Yeah, it's a man beater."

On adjustments after losing key players to injury:

"Quite a bit. That was important because you're going through your offense. That's why it's important to learn the Y and F position as you play it, or the Z as you play it."

On the status of Taysom Hill:

"As far as I know. We'll get an update here closer. I know they were taking him to get evaluations. Like I said, I'll let you know. We'll keep you posted."

Quarterback Jameis Winston

On if he got the ball to the spot that he wanted to on the Hail Mary:

"Oh yeah, that was the spot that we practiced on. Callaway made an amazing play, but on plays like that all the glory – period – all the glory belongs to God, period. Man, that was awesome to get some momentum to head into the half."

On if he doesn't intend the Hail Mary for a receiver, but for a spot:

"Yes, we just throw it to a spot, and (Callaway) wanted it and he went and got it."

On if he had completed a Hail Mary play before:

"I have."

On the goal for a Hail Mary throw:

"Yes, just throw it high and make sure it's four yards deep in the end zone and give the guys a chance."

On how it felt to win after loss to Giants:

"Oh, it was great. It was great, man. Shoutout to Blake Gillikin -- what a performance he put on today. He really helped us win the field position battle with his greatness in the kicking game. That really helped us out a lot. Given that those guys had to have some long drives, the defense held up great. We finished and that was a very positive thing that we did. We finished and it felt great."

On what went through his mind prior to running the Hail Mary play:

"Give your guy a chance, that's the big thing. Give your guy a chance and that's it."

On if he had to elude a couple of players in the rush on the Hail Mary play:

"Yes sir, but that offensive line is going to block until the cows come home. I'm very grateful for those guys, but they allowed me to get it up in the air and Quez wanted it, and he went and got it."

Running back Alvin Kamara

On getting a win before bye week:

"Every week we want to get a win. It's important, but I mean, definitely going into a bye week it's important just so we're not lingering on a loss. It felt good, came out, feel like we executed. A little sloppy in the beginning but picked it up."

 On the Hail Mary:

"We practice it. We literally practice that at the end of practice. From landmarks to where Jameis is throwing it, every single detail of that, so I wasn't really surprised when Marquez caught it. ... But it almost goes unnoticed how much we practice it and practice it and practice it so how many times it come up in year. It's not like an every game thing so when you're able to get that off it's like a walk off home run. It's deflating."

On if that was where Winston was supposed to throw the Hail Mary:

"Yep, the sidewalk. I mean if you were to ask Sean to break it down, he would have said right on the sidewalk – turn around and don't turn until you get about 10 yards. Marquez found it and caught it."

Wide receiver Marquez Callaway

On catching the Hail Mary at the end of the first half:

"Well, in practice we just run down there and then we look as soon as we get there and then Sean was yelling at us, talking about how when you run a Hail Mary you've got to look while you're running to track it because we were going to have better position and that's what happened. Just tracking the ball and attacking it."

On when he realized that the Hail Mary throw was intended for him:

"When I realized it I was down there. I got there before our guys got there, so that's when I just figured, but running down there by the time I looked back, the ball was in the air and after seeing everybody and where they were it was clear. I was the first one down there to jump and everyone else just plays off you."

On what he saw on that touchdown pass at the beginning of the play:

"Lining up, when we get to the sideline and talked about it, they got pressed just as I got pressed so they had to maneuver around and go through. I just went inside and just ran so when I got down there, I realized I got there first. I just figured I'm the back-side guy, so I'm supposed to get the tipped balls."

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore

On the defense bouncing back from their loss last week:

"We know what we gotta do out here. We couldn't just make the same mistakes we made last week. Making errors when we know we shouldn't make them, that's it. Other than that, we knew what we could do"

On Washington being in the red zone six times but only getting two touchdowns:

"Three not seven. That's the goal, getting three not seven. That's good on our part."

On matching up against Washington receiver Terry McLaurin:

"Oh definitely, I wanted Terry. I wanted to go against him. He's one of the best in the league. You know, he's my brother from Ohio State so it's all love at the end of the day. We're just out there being competitive."

Punter Blake Gillikin

On what it meant to get a game ball after the victory:

"It meant a lot. I try to show up every week and do my job for the team. I'd love to not punt at all, because that means we're doing well. But to have that kind of game and also get a win is great."

On if there was any luck involved in the 60-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the one yard line:

"It's a good point, people think that we control the bounce and all that stuff but at the end of the day we use our foot. We're kind of out of control, because the wind can affect it and all that kind of stuff, so usually when you hit a spiral punt and it turns over, it bounces to the right. Thankfully it did that time."

On how often he practices spiral punts:

"Every Wednesday at practice we work the entire field so I'm working on all kinds of punts. You guys saw me during training camp doing that, and we do the same thing every single week, so have I practice at it. I do it in warmups every single game, so, it's kind of second nature now."