Seattle - 28, Arizona - 21
Q. DK says he wants an apology for the fastball you hit him in the face mask with.
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, you know, I gave him the Randy Johnson fastball there on that one. A good old Seattle reference. But he went right behind Patrick Peterson there and tried to laser one into him there. The ball hit him right off the nose, I think. So we were joking about it in the locker room a little bit.
Q. And then Tyler, on his touchdown, is that kind of a designed kind of double move or is that just him moving to space like he's so good at as well?
RUSSELL WILSON: We have some little magic in some things here. I don't like talking about plays too much. That was a great play by him. He did a great job with spinning out and making a great play.
Q. How much better does Carlos Hyde's running style, just who he is, the way he attacks holes, how much better does he make your offense?
RUSSELL WILSON: Carlos is a great runner. Tremendous job today. We knew we wanted to be physical with these guys when we did run it, and he was physical as could be. He had so many great runs, so many great plays. He was special today. And he's been great for us when he's been in there. So I love the type of runner he is, the type of person he is too. And he's a guy who has rushed for over a thousand yards, done some amazing things in this league. A great vet that's really helped us out and he was terrific today. And then guys like DJ Dallas have been great for us too. He made a couple key plays for us today, some third downs and different things. And so just really excited about how the running backs played tonight. They did some great things in the passing and obviously the running game.
Q. What is this offense capable of when you guys are as balanced as you were today?
RUSSELL WILSON: I think that we're capable of anything all the time. I think that, obviously to not have our running backs and stuff like that, obviously guys like Chris Carson and guys like Carlos, some of the best in the league. So anytime you lose some of the best players in the league, that always hurts a little bit for sure, and so we're really excited about getting Carson back and Carlos and what those guys can help us do and give us so much versatility. We want to able to obviously throw it and do our things in the passing game, but obviously, too, we want to be able to run it. We love running it and we love that attack of being able to run the football so efficiently, making huge first downs. Anytime we can rush for -- I'm not sure what we rushed for, but I would assume 150 to 200. I don't know. 165? Yeah. So we had a lot of amazing runs and that controls the game. We got to a lot of checks, a lot of plays, changed the plays a bunch and got to some really cool runs. And Coach Schotty were on it all day, just communicating. I thought he called a great game. We made it challenging for their defense. They're a great defense. They had all these different pressures, all these different things that they do, so much versatility that they do, and we really did a good job of protecting it and blocking it up and doing some things and being prepared. To come in on a Thursday night for defense on a team like that with Arizona and how much stuff they do, the versatility, the experience of what we have been able to do in the past and just preparation of how we do things and, it was all preparation tonight. I think the win goes to the preparation column because I think that we did an unbelievable job of getting prepared for them and getting ready to play football.
Q. You've talked about in the last week about not over, just simplifying things and not overcomplicating things. What was that like for you this game in that? And how much fun was it for you just to play the game?
RUSSELL WILSON: I love playing this game. I think it's a great question. I think that, obviously I love playing this game. And there's always highs and lows. There's always tough challenges, but I think great players always know, one, how to be consistent; and two, how to consistently adjust and how to consistently overcome. And I think that for me I just, that's my mentality all the time. I tell you guys all the time, I want to be neutral, I want to be able to remain calm in the midst of the storm, this and that. And just, I know the kind of player that I am. I know what I'm capable of. And they do too. And I think that, the other teams and stuff like that. So just staying in attack mode. I think that we were able to do that in the passing game today. We had some key plays. We had some plays that got called back, actually, and just stuff like that. So we had even more out there. And I thought it was a great game. And I think ultimately for me personally, like I told you guys last week, I know who I am, I know what kind of player I am. I'm never going to doubt it. And we let it rip and did some cool things today and just felt completely in control the whole game in terms of all us the calls that we were doing at the line and different things that we were doing.
Q. You talk about those calls at the line. What did you think of D-Lew and his performance getting the start at center and just the offensive line as a whole?
RUSSELL WILSON: Man, I don't think D-Lew's ever played center before; is that right? I think that he has never played center before. He did a tremendous job stepping in there all week, honestly, especially on a short week against the Arizona Cardinals, all the things they do. But I thought he was super confident. He adjusted throughout the game. He made great calls. We were on the same page, me and him. There was a couple plays here and there, but I thought that to be a rookie, to play, be such a great guard, and then have to move to center this game and not knowing what's going to happen here and I thought he did a tremendous job. He's one of my favorite rookies on the team just because of how, his approach to the game. He's even keel, he's steady, he's focused, he's ready to roll every week, and he's a tremendous player for us.
Q. Carlos Dunlap spent his entire 11 years with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now he's been with you guys for just a few weeks and he says he's here to write a new chapter. So far, what has he been writing? And what do you expect the story to play out like after watching him tonight?
RUSSELL WILSON: First of all, I think you got to give credit to John Schneider and Pete to get a guy like Carlos Dunlap. He's such a superstar. He's a guy who can really help us. You need those kind of players especially in our division, the kind of guys. Him coming off the edge is a huge factor. I know he sacked me a few times and hit me pretty hard a few times in the past. But just to have a great guy, a great teammate. He's been awesome in the locker room. He's obviously been tremendous in the field. He's such a huge factor to the game and he causes havoc. And obviously, fourth and 10, for him to make a huge sack in that situation was an unbelievable play. It won the game right there for us in that moment. And just to have, he's a winner by nature. He, maybe he hasn't won in the past as much, but he's a true winner by nature and just he's, we love it about him. He's a great team player. He's got everything you could want, obviously the ability, but also the character and the focus and the, just how much he loves the game. He's smiling from ear to ear and hopefully we can keep that winning going.
Q. He says he's been communicating with the crowd that's not there. How is that affected everybody?
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, it definitely has changed a lot. I think, obviously us being in Lumen Field now, I guess we call it. But us being in Lumen Field -- I was about to say CenturyLink, but things change I guess. But for us to be here in Lumen Field and to have no fans, it's definitely different. We miss our fans. We miss our 12s. It's, honestly, it was funny because I was talking to somebody the other day and I was telling somebody just how electric this city is, being in Bellevue and all that stuff, you have Snowflake Lane they call it, right, and just going to the hotel and stuff, you don't have all that energy, even seeing people wear jerseys and all the energy of our fans. And, obviously, COVID has changed things, obviously this season's definitely different, but I know our fans are watching at home, they're cheering us on like crazy and it means a lot to us. And the more support that we can get, obviously even though you guys aren't here with us physically, it means the world to us. And it's definitely changed the game a little bit, but I do believe that when you're passionate about the game, like the players that we have as a collective group, it doesn't matter wherever we play it. I used to always say, Run to the Buick and get open, like in the parking lot, you run to the Buick and get open or you run, you know, so it's like, it's one of those things that, it's fun, so just grateful just to be able to play this game for sure.
Q. I asked you a couple days ago about being on time. It felt like the offense was very on time today. I don't know if you felt like maybe they were some stress-free throws there that had been missing in recent weeks, but I'm just curious what you felt like you had in the passing game and what maybe Schotty was able to assist you with, maybe get you on the move with some boots and some play actions?
RUSSELL WILSON: We did a tremendous job. Like I said, they're pressure packages is very, very good, all the things they do. I thought this week the preparation of this week was unbelievable. We have had great weeks obviously before and all that too. And we have been able to light it up for the most part of the season, we had a little tough run there for a couple games, but the reality is some of the things we have been doing in the passing game is really special because of the receivers, the tight ends that we have, the running backs, all the things they do, the offensive line's been great throughout this season and battled throughout the season and there's been some tough challenges, a bunch of injuries and things that we have had to overcome, but to come out today after some of the stuff we have gone through the past couple weeks and to be so focused, so dialed in, having no fear, ready to roll. I think that what we were able to do in the protection game to block some things up, make all the calls that we needed to make up front, do all those different things, especially even with D-Lew, being a rookie, you know, to -- being a rookie but also being a center in his first game going against these guys and how he handled all my calls and all the different things we were doing, it was tremendous. And I think the receivers really made some special plays today key plays in key moments, tight ends and stuff like that. So I thought we were able to do everything we wanted to do.
Q. How reassuring was that performance by your defense tonight and what do you think changed?
RUSSELL WILSON: Huge thing is the defense just keeps getting better and better. We're excited about who we are as a team, we believe that as we continue to go through the season -- this has always been the case here -- we always have this growth and this trajectory of continuing to grow and get better. I think that the exciting part for us is that we all sense that, we all feel that and we can control that too as well, in terms of how we prepare, how we get ready, how each game goes. And we feel really excited about where we're going. I think the defense played unbelievable tonight, especially against a very good offense and all the things they can do, but I thought our defense was unbelievable. Obviously guys like Jamal, Diggs, Bobby Wagner is insane, KJ made some great plays, I think that -- you think about Carlos Dunlap making that huge sack. You know, I think LJ played a good game, had some key plays so everybody coming together and we're going to get healthier, we're going to get better and we're going to keep growing.
Q. First play you have pass pressure that gets right by D-Lew, sacks you. What did he say to you what did you say to him?
RUSSELL WILSON: Nothing. Just first play of the game just happened, didn't say anything. Just ready to roll for the next play. I'm not a huge talker out there, you know, I stay focused on the next play and just transition my mind to the next moment. And the more that you can stay in neutral and just focus on the next moment and the next play, that's such a key component of the game, especially playing this position. Because they got good players too. And so I thought we played a great game overall, I thought we really, collectively, were special today, excited to keep swinging, keep making plays and all the things we were able to do. I thought we were really decisive in all our decisions, from the passing game to the running games to the checks and all the stuff we did. I think Schotty called a great game, I thought we all collectively were on our stuff. We were great in the red zone once again. It was fun, it was a lot of fun and got to love winning, we love winning. The process is the key. And, Seahawks, we like celebrating the win, so that was huge.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports