Carolina Panthers - 24, Houston Texans - 9
Q. (No microphone.)
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: We just didn't execute. Missed tackles. They just making the plays that they were supposed to make and we're not making the plays we're supposed to make. That's pretty much all you can say about it.
Q. What did you see, was there anything you particularly saw from Carolina when they made that first push in the second half that y'all, they had a long field to go? What did you feel throughout that drive there in particular?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: First and foremost, I thought we came out well and then it was a costly penalty by me on that quarterback hit, but it just trying to make a football play. Gave them an extra set of downs, so I put that one on myself. But they was just able to make good plays.
Q. Did you have to get stitches?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: No. No. Just a cut.
Q. When you go back and watch the film, how will y'all be able to make some adjustments necessary from tonight?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: We just got to finish. When a quarterback is extending the play, they got to make sure we finish to the ball and finish on the ball. A couple times we had a couple strip sacks and we had to get the ball in that situation. So it's just all about finishing and just taking it one play at a time.
Q. (Question about tackling.)
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: It's all will and want to, attitude. That's what it boils down to. I mean, in season, it's really nothing magical to do to help a team tackle better. It's just attitude, grit. By any means, get the person down. So we just got to continue to strive to do that and just play ball.
Q. You guys made an increased effort to be more aggressive this year. Is that somehow something that you're trying to deal with whenever you have these penalties start happening? Does that lead to some of that?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: No. I think just making a football play, they're competitive, we're competitive. In open space you're just going to make sure the quarterback don't scramble in a time like that. It's kind of hard to stop. You're going to make a tackle and then he slides and it's just one of those things where you just can't catch a break on that.
But I don't think it's being overly aggressive or anything like that. I think it's just trying to make a football play.
Q. How frustrating is it knowing that the second week in a row y'all were in the game and then the results don't show it?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: That's the finest line between losing and winning is getting over that hump and in close situations coming out on the other side. That's the league.
But it's definitely on the bright side showing that we have the talent. We have the guys in the room to go out there and compete and now we just got to figure out how to get over to the other side. But like I was telling my guys in the locker room, it's not time to panic. It's not time to worry about anything. We're sitting there 1-2. We still got a lot of football left in front of us. We still got all our goals right in front of us and it's very reachable.
So we're going to take this time where we got a couple days where we can get our bodies back, reflect on where we at right now, and then see what we can do to correct our mistakes or get better as a team and just take it one day at a time.
Q. What did you think of Davis's first start?
CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY: I thought he did a good job out there. I thought he was poised. He made a couple good throws. I'm sure there's some things that he saw that he wish he can get back or some things that he can correct, but that's everybody on that team wish, it's one thing they could have done better or one thing that they wish they could have got back. But that's football.
So I think Davis, he did a good job. He stepped in when his number was called and that's not an easy thing to do, to come in and play in this league at quarterback. I thought the guys rallied behind him and he did everything he could do.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports