Atlanta Falcons 27, Los Angeles Rams 24
RAHEEM MORRIS: Guys came to play tonight. Played hard. Played a really good football team. That Ram football team is outstanding. They are well-coached. They play hard. They got really good football players. I was excited that our guys went out and matched their intensity today and played a physical football game and won that game.
Q. Yeah, Coach, how big was this win for this team?
RAHEEM MORRIS: I think all the wins are big. Obviously you want to go out and win as many football games as you can. I think this was a bigger magnitude because of the team that we were playing against and the things that they're capable of doing and the things that people think they can do moving forward into these playoffs because of how talented they are and how well-coached they are, the experience that they have, the things that they've done. They know what it's like to win. They know how to win tight games. They know how to win big games.
I got a lot of respect for, obviously, that organization, and a lot of the things that we're doing and that we've done is modeling a lot of the things that they've done with all people, all walks of life. So I got a lot of respect for those guys.
Q. Could you discuss the play of Bijan Robinson today?
RAHEEM MORRIS: I mean, I said this 18 weeks ago, he's the best player in football. It's as simple as that. He's unbelievable. Everything he does for our football team, from running the football to catching the football to protecting to being a leader. He's also our chaplain. He does it all. He's unbelievable.
Q. And could you discuss the play of your safeties Jessie Bates III and Xavier Watts?
RAHEEM MORRIS: Two game ball winners today. Obviously Jessie, he's been that way since he's been in the league. He touches the football, scores points, make big-time plays. He did it today. And his young counterpart, Xavier Watt has continued to show off throughout the course of the year and just get better and better and play at a very high level. What's up, Trav?
Q. Was that as multiple a role as Kaden Elliss has played all season? It looked like you moved him, put Ronnie in there and let Kaden move a lot of places.
RAHEEM MORRIS: He's been doing that all year. We kind of move him around a bunch. He can play online of scrimmage. He plays off the ball. When we play those guys together, he can line up pretty much wherever we go, wherever we dictate terms based on whether it be formation, based on whether it be call from Brick based on whatever the situations are. That's just something that he's able to do because his versatility. I wouldn't say it's the most all year. I just say that's what host done all year.
Q. In terms of the defensive game plan, the defensive play calling, where does this game rank do you think?
RAHEEM MORRIS: It's hard to put rankings on them but it's a win. I think the defensive staff did a great job, again, limiting a great football player. That's the second week in a row. We come out this week and be able to play that way versus Puka. I got so much respect for Puka and what he's able to do. How he can catch the football anywhere. How he's dangerous at all levels. His running catch is phenomenal, to watch A.J. and all these guys go out there and really hold up in a big way and really do a nice job of limiting his production I thought was great.
Q. Coach, I had to triple-check to make sure. The Rams hadn't been scoreless in the first half of a game all season this year, so just talk more about that complete defensive effort in the first half.
RAHEEM MORRIS: You know, we got some turnovers early. Those guys made those kind of plays. We were able to run the football with our guys and really be efficient, really be able to go out there and control the game and play a little keepaway. I thought we did a nice job of doing that as a team.
That was a great team win. That was a great team effort to hold those guys scoreless. But like I said at halftime, I knew they were going to come. That's who they are and that's what they do.
Q. Raheem, since being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, your team is 3-0. What about this team, both the players and the coaching staff, has allowed that to happen?
RAHEEM MORRIS: I don't think we think like that. I think these guys are fighters. I think these guys love football. I think the world of this football team. I think these guys are built for this.
I told you earlier, I know we joke about it a lot, but we have to find ways to win and they just found ways to win and they're doing that now. When you're talking about finding ways to win, you're talking about people making plays, you're talking about people doing exceptional jobs at a very high level and that's the what we're seeing.
We're seeing a combination of a bunch of different things. Really good coaching. Really sound decisions. Really good football play on the field and we're seeing a lot of really good things across the board from everybody. From all the support that we have here, all across the board, it's just been great. Like you're at the building every single day. It's not just a oh, woe is me mentality. It's a who's next? And I love the mentality.
THE MODERATOR: Anybody else?
RAHEEM MORRIS: I love it. You only guys only like when we lose want to ask questions. (Laughter) I'll see you guys later.
Q. Then like on the sideline warning...
RAHEEM MORRIS: We got excited and coach got a penalty. They ran into us, so we lost 15 yards on that and we can't do that. We got to stay back behind the line. You can't get excited when we get interceptions. You got to act like we've been here before and that was a penalty on us.
Q. Zane Gonzales, you look like once you got to about the 50-yard range there at the end you were comfortable with that. Does that speak to your confidence in what you have at kicker now?
RAHEEM MORRIS: Definitely have confidence in him and definitely keeping the ball away from weapon X was a part of that. Trying to drain as much clock as we can there possibly so you don't give him more opportunities to go down there and try to complete some of those trunk plays.
We've been a part of that before here a couple years ago watching him do it when he was at Detroit I've been with him. I know what he's capable of and we didn't want to give him anymore opportunities, so getting Zane into his range, allowing us to get the clock, burn some of the time-outs that we were able to burn from those guys.
Really great decision across the board from the coaching staff, from everything that we got going on up there with our people behind the scenes. All the work we put into it in four, knowing exactly how much time was going to happen, how many plays you had to make. Being able to get out there in situations, being able to use our time-outs to help our defense put ourself in the great position to be able to make those plays. I thought it was really well-executed.
Q. Do you have a Brandon Dorlus update?
RAHEEM MORRIS: I don't. It didn't look great. I feel for the young man. Talking about a guy that's been the most sacks from an interior player that we've had here and I hope he's going to get healthy very soon.
Q. A.J. made a great play there on Puka on the sideline --
RAHEEM MORRIS: Two great plays. Wow.
Q. What was your vantage point of that? What'd you take of that play?
RAHEEM MORRIS: The first, just amazed at Puka's ball skills, being able to grab that thing with one, but A-J continued to fight that thing all the way to the ground, got it out at the last minute and then the last play.
We know who Puka is. He's a contested catch every killer. To watch A.J. go up there and not panic and be able to play the football at the highest point so we can have incomplete passes right there is absolutely outstanding.
That is who A.J. A.J.'s a fighter. In this game, gun shooters get hit and A.J. just keeps fighting every single week versus some of the best receivers in the National Football League.
Q. Coach, another close game. What was the point in... or the difficult to score points in the second half? Was it adjustments by the Rams or...
RAHEEM MORRIS: They made plays like we knew they would. They got a ferocious pass rush. They were able to limit on some of those things. They were able to stop some of our explosive plays. We were able to remain efficient to keep running the clock at the end of time, but when you try to score on the Rams, you got to hit explosives. In the second half, we were not able to hit as many explosives as we were in the first half.
Obviously, coming out with the 93-yard run, that was a big-time explosive. We got a couple explosives from other places to score some other points. We scored on defense. They did a nice job like we knew they would. They're a really good defense. They play that way at all times and they do a nice job. We did a nice job of eating clock and winning the football game.
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