Bears - 30, Falcons - 26
Q. Your emotions now are what?
MATT RYAN: Definitely frustrated. I think all of us are disappointed. It's been a tough back-to-back weeks of not getting the job done. So I think everybody is frustrated.
Q. You got the lead in the fourth quarter. Conversations with Dirk on running the offense were what those three of the last four drives?
MATT RYAN: We just needed to get into that first 1st down and we weren't able to do it. You know, it's a credit to them. Chicago played well in that fourth quarter. They did a nice job. We've got to find a way to get it done. We've got to find a way in one of those drives to get that first 1st down, to get a little momentum going, put them on their heels a little bit and secure that ballgame. We weren't able to do it.
Q. Five of your six plays before they took the lead were passes. Were there any thoughts about switching those up and trying to get some ground game going, burn some clock, get your defense going?
MATT RYAN: Yeah, that's part of it. You know, we've got to find a way to improve in those situations. We haven't been good enough as an offense the last two weeks, but as players, you go out there and you try and make the call come to life. That's where we've got to put our focus. We've got to find a way in those situations to make a play, and it just takes one. This is a tough league, but a spark here or there can go a long way, and we've got to make one of those in these end-of-game situations.
Q. You had an opportunity there at the end. Walk me through what you saw on that last interception.
MATT RYAN: Yeah, just -- I threw it a little bit too high angle. Got what I wanted in terms of the corner taking away the under on the outside and just -- it was a poor throw.
Q. In your opinion what's the reason for the stalls offensively in the final quarter?
MATT RYAN: You know, I wish it was one thing. That's kind of the tough part for us. It's not just one thing. And so when it's a different thing here or there, week in and week out, I feel like we've all got to take a look in the mirror and find ways that we can do our own jobs better. That starts with me, finding a way to make sure that I'm giving our guys a chance to make plays.
Q. How much did you feel the absence of Julio Jones today?
MATT RYAN: Well, you always would love to have him out there. There's no question. He's a huge part of our team and our offense, and kind of sets the tone for us. But I thought our guys did a nice job of stepping up. I thought Calvin played well, Russ was playing good until he came out. We had a lot of guys that had to step up and play a lot more snaps than usual. This will be a great learning experience for them to see where they're at.
Q. Considering the ways it's unfolded the last two weeks, do you think Dan Quinn will be your coach moving forward?
MATT RYAN: You know, we've got his back. We've got to play better as players, and that's what you have to focus on. I think when things aren't going good or going well, it's easy to look around and see what everybody else is doing or where everybody else is screwing up. The only way we're going to improve as a unit is if we all kind of look in the mirror and find ways to improve individually and make sure that we're the best version of ourselves individually when we go out there.
Q. Considering where you're at right now and the way things have transpired the last two weeks, he's human, right, so the outside noise on Dan, do you see it taking a toll on head coach and then filtering down to you guys?
MATT RYAN: You know, I don't think so. It's hard. It's hard on all of us. Criticism is tough and there's no way of getting around it, but that's part of being a professional is being able to deal with it, and he is a consistent person and shows up with positive energy all the time. I think as players, we've got to find a way to get a spark and get something going and create some momentum.
Q. A couple of your teammates were talking about what Dante Fowler said afterwards. Can you elaborate on what his message was and how you took it?
MATT RYAN: Yeah, I think it's always good when guys kind of pour their heart out, and I think for him it was -- he's been doing this a long time, and when your backs are up against the wall, you've got to come out swinging and keep fighting. I think it's a good message for all of us.
Q. What about the job the offensive line did today? Can you speak to what they were able to do up front for you?
MATT RYAN: Yeah, I think they did some good things for sure early, were able to get the run game going a little bit, had good protection with our play action pass early on, which was key. We knew if we got into some just drop-back passing situations it was going to be tough because they've got a really good defensive front four. We'll have to take a look at it tomorrow, see where we can all get better, but we didn't get the job done, and so that's the disappointing part, so we've all got to be better.
Q. Are you concerned at all that this is the identity of this 2020 Falcons team?
MATT RYAN: I think we -- it hasn't -- the entire story hasn't been told yet, and it's a long haul. But we need to change it. We need to change the narrative, that's for sure. That's going to start for us next week.
Q. What gives you confidence that things will flip the switch, do a 180 and get back on track?
MATT RYAN: Well, I think we're close. I mean, as disappointing and as frustrating as it is, we're not getting blown out week in and week out. We've got to find a way to tighten it up for sure and find a way to close these things out. There's no question about it. But we're right there. That's probably the frustrating part is that it hasn't been just getting killed or anything like that. It's just been we haven't finished the job, and so while we're frustrated at this point, we have to be optimistic moving forward, we've got to correct the things that we can correct and trust that the next time we get in this situation we're going to improve on it.
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