Q. Walk us through the play of Kyle Pitts at the sideline there with the game on the line.
MATT RYAN: We saw a lot of man-to-man coverage the whole day. Credit to Miami. They played tough. They were tight man-to-man coverage, taking away a lot of what we were doing underneath. A great call by Coach Smith in that part of the game to trust Kyle going down the sideline. I thought Kyle ran a great route and made a great catch.
Q. Just kind of development here six games in, I think he just turned 21 here recently. Where is he at? You're all leaning on a rookie to help you all win some games here lately.
MATT RYAN: He's done a great job. He's focused on just getting better week in and week out, and he's done that. I'm proud of him. He's a guy that practices. His practice habits are getting better. The way he prepares during the week is getting better. I think he's getting more comfortable with that, and it's showing in the way that he's performing.
I give him a lot of credit. There's no blink in his game. When the game's on the line or it's an important situation, he just goes out there and executes the same way he does every other snap.
Q. Is there a point in the last few weeks where you think, I feel comfortable throwing to Kyle, even if there is some of the coverage that he has, especially on this last drive?
MATT RYAN: I think that coverage on the last drive, particularly the last plays, is the stuff we're looking for where you get one-on-one opportunities and you give him a chance. I think you definitely get more comfortable the more you play with people, but I trusted him as we got out of training camp. I thought he did a great job for us at that point too.
I think he's only going to continue to grow, and I'm proud of him. He's worked really hard.
Q. And Arthur was saying he feels like you're extremely underrated. Do you feel like that at times? What does that mean to hear that from him?
MATT RYAN: I appreciate the confidence he puts in me week in and week out. That means a lot to me. That's what I've always tried to draw my confidence off of is my process, the way that I work, the way that I prepare, and the opinion of the people that I trust. I really appreciate him.
Q. What is the mentality you have to have in the last two minutes? Just had a tough fumble and then had to come back and lead for a field goal.
MATT RYAN: You just play the situation. We had plenty of time. A lot of times we just need a field goal. We know our cutoff for Koo is probably the 38, 40 yard line. To get us there in an emergency situation, he's so clutch.
I think that helps too knowing that you have a guy that's reliable to go out there and put it through the pipes. I've been lucky in my career to play with guys like that, and to know that, if you do your job and put it to that part of the field, they're going to execute.
I thought we had plenty of time. No panic. Just do your job, make the plays when they present themselves. Really the thing I'm most proud of is the three plays, the three run plays we had there at the end to make them burn the time-outs but also get the first down, bleed the clock all the way down to zero when we kick it.
There was still a lot of time left on the clock in that situation. To get the first down running the ball three times when it had been tough sledding the entire day was huge.
Q. When things don't go right and you've got that fumble, is it easier the farther you have into this league to flush those things out than it may have been earlier? Was that easy in this instance?
MATT RYAN: I think you've got to just keep playing. I've always tried to have that mindset. I remember being a younger player throwing five picks and still winning. By no stretch of the imagination is two turnovers the worst. Obviously, we've got to clean those up.
I've always had that mindset that you just keep playing and you just go out there and give it your best every snap.
Q. Were you surprised that you saw that same coverage against Kyle on that last drive given the situation?
MATT RYAN: Not really. That's a lot of who they are. They play tight man-to-man coverage, and they trust their guys to go make plays in critical situations. You go to the things you hang your hat on. They've been very good at it. They really have. Last year they were extremely good at it. I wouldn't say we were surprised, no.
Q. What does it say about your team to now have two last second drives for game-winning field goals?
MATT RYAN: I think it's what you need to do. This league is about winning one possession games. It's amazing regardless of how games shake out, how at the end it always kind of finds itself in that position. You have to be really good situationally.
I thought situationally we were excellent today. Before the half, turnover by our defense, go down, get three points there, that was big. Then obviously end of game, executing in that two-minute situation was clutch as well.
Q. Arthur, this offensive line, I know you talked about those run plays at the end, but what can you guys say about the progress of this unit even being without Kaleb today?
MATT RYAN: I thought Spriggs did a great job for us coming in, stepping up. He played really hard, played well. I love our guys. They fight. They play hard. They work hard together. They prepare really, really well during the week. They're fun to be around, and they're competitors.
It's not always perfect, and there's lots of room for improvement for all of us, but there's no blink in them. Regardless of the situation, they just keep hammering away.
Q. So staying up late watching baseball didn't hold your performance back?
MATT RYAN: I fell asleep last night. I woke up happy when I checked my phone this morning. It's going to be an awesome series to watch. So happy for all those guys with the Braves. Talk about a team that grinded through a year. I don't think they were above .500 until the middle of August and find themselves in the World Series. So maybe we can draw a little inspiration from that.
Q. What was going through your head after that fumble?
MATT RYAN: Just three points. If they score a touchdown, three points is going to win this game. If they don't, three points is going to win this game. That's it.
Obviously, you're pissed that you turn it over. It gave them a short field. But those kinds of things happen. It's a hard league. They happen, and you've got to be able to put it behind you and have the confidence and the guts to go out there and just let it rip and go play on that last drive.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports