Seahawks, 20 - Rams, 30
Q. I guess just with the offense the Rams made it tough on you guys. What was so difficult about this and how do did you fell about the performance?
RUSSELL WILSON: They did a pretty good job up front obviously. They got me a few times. I think that for us we just didn't play our best game. We weren't on our stuff as much as we needed to be.
We kept battling. That's the thing about us. We kept battling to the end of the game, so it felt like we still had a chance. You know, it was a tough matchup for us. We didn't play great today.
I think that was the unfortunate part about it. The real unfortunate part is that's it. End of the season, and after all this time of putting in all the hard work in and everything else and how spectacular the season has been along the way.
It's unfortunate we didn't get it done for the 12s and everything else.
Q. Could you just take us through what happened on the fourth down in the fourth quarter when you guys were going to try to go for it, and then ended up getting the penalty and having to punt?
RUSSELL WILSON: We just went offsides. Went offsides on that one at the very end, unfortunately, and so we were going to run it there and try to pick up -- it was like fourth and couple inches, and unfortunately didn't work out.
So got backed up, punted it, and still had some time left to potentially win the game, come back, and unfortunately didn't work out that way.
Q. What you do you make of kind of way the offense shifted in the second half of the season? You guys were leading the league in scoring over the first nine weeks, and then it seemed like you hit a wall and that continued Sunday. What do you make of just the way the shift went?
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I think that started off the season great. Obviously we were going so many spectacular things. Guys were making so many great plays. I think we were blocking our tails off.
We dealt with some injuries along the way in a really tough patch of games, especially up front. And I think this league is tough. It's tough every day. But I think there had obviously been some great things along the way, too, some of the things we been able to do.
Obviously DK and Tyler had spectacular years. Were threw a bunch of touchdowns, made a lot of plays, did a lot of great things.
But I think that -- listen, we ended up 12 and 4, regular season; we won the NFC West, and then we get here to the playoffs and we didn't play our best football across the board. We didn't feel like we really got going. I think we really got the tempo going late in the fourth there and moved the ball really well up and down the field, but first quarter was gone basically.
That's just the reality of the first quarter. Second and third we just kind of faltered and didn't -- weren't on our stuff all the way. I do think that for this season though there has been a lot of great things to it, a lot of great players, a lot of guys who have done amazing things and are going to be a pat of our journey for a long time.
I think about guys like DK, Tyler, Freddy Swain, how he stepped up in the past several games and how he has been really key for us. You know, and just I hate this feeling obviously, so...
We felt like we had a chance today. When the game was down by 7 we had a couple penalties, I think I had the long one and got the penalty and we got backed up, and next thing you know the game flipped and we felt like it was a little bit out of reach.
Then we still went after it, we still kept believing. We were down 17; kept trying to make a -- find a way. They just made more plays than us.
Q. Kind of to piggyback off that, you guys made it look so easy relatively offensively the first half of the year for it to feel like I was such an uphill climb for you guys in some of these later-season games. How do you kind of square that away in the way that this game went today with the struggles with the third down and all that?
RUSSELL WILSON: Well, I think that we'll -- yeah, it's kind of the same question, same answer I guess I should same. I think the reality of is what this season has been is it's been a battle in so many different ways. I think I that we know who we are, who we can be. I think that obviously what we have, the type of talent we have, so many great talented players and guys that can catch the ball and do some things, run it too, as well.
So I think that for us, we have to keep continue to press and know that this is not supposed to be easy. It's not like it's one of those things that every game is going to go as perfect as it can be.
The key to this game a winning. That's just the reality. And the reality is that we didn't do our part today. We didn't win.
So I don't want overcomplicate it. I think for us we have to continue to get better. We have to continue to find new, creative ways to do stuff, and also as well I think just continue to press into the best version of ourselves every day and continue to believe that great things are going to happen.
We have a great football team. Don't get me wrong. You guys can write whatever you want, but the reality is we have a great football team and I think we have guys, but we didn't play great today. That's what matters most.
Throughout the season there is always ebbs and flows. Sometimes it's we didn't start early or fast enough early on; sometimes, man, you guys are doing great right now late in the season.
So there is sometimes that part of it. That's just the journey. As a player, I think as an organization, too, and as a teammates in the locker room and everything else, you can never -- you just have to be able to go understand the process of it all.
I and I think for us, there has been -- it's been a crazy year, a year that I was hoping for us to be able to win it all. We didn't get to do that today.
Q. What exactly did defenses take away and what were you trying to counter the last half of the season that you just didn't do? What specific areas of the passing game didn't work that you were trying to counter?
RUSSELL WILSON: Well, I mean, I think that we started running it really well for a little bit there, and so I think that was part of it.
And the games just -- I think for us we were able to -- early in the season we were able to get the deep shots and stuff like that early on. I think that as well as -- I think our tempo, our pace and stuff, getting in and out and all that, we kind of lost that a little bit I think along the way a little bit.
I think that's something that we do really, really well, and so to keep that tempo and pace I think is something that's -- I'm going to really try to study a lot this off-season and see how do we continue to put our foot on the gas and everything else along the way.
I think that'll help us a little bit. You know, I think also, too, is like I said, I think that some of our guys got dinged up along the way up front. I think that the first five games you look at, the first five or six games or so we had all our guys up front.
Today was really the first time we've played with everybody in while. I think they did a good job getting to me and trying to -- pressuring and stuff like that. You know, I had to move around.
The reality of this game, guys, I can talk about the season, but about this game, more than anything else, I think we had some big plays that got called back or this or that, and next thing you know, it's the middle of the third quarter.
That's what it felt like at least. It seemed like. So felt like we were always playing -- and that's always kind of been -- whenever we get behind like that, not in the game score-wise, but more so situational football or first and 20 or something like that, it's tough sledding, especially when you're playing NFC West division opponents, great teams, and this and that and they've got great pass rush and all that.
So we got to on schedule, and I think that that was kind of the thing that showed up today more than anything else.
Q. Do you think or wonder if you just played your last game with Chris Carson?
RUSSELL WILSON: I hope not. I think he's a great football player. Hopefully we get to play a lot more football together. There are so many great guys in that locker room. So that's always the hardest part of a season, of life, and professional ball, you know, is that there is always change, movement, and this and that.
But hopefully you build those relationships with guys and hopefully you get to play with guys again and everything else. I'm not going to diminish this season by this game. Unfortunately it feels like it.
But I think this season has been such a joy for me to be around guys, the amount of sacrifice that everybody has put into it with COVID and everything else, how hard, challenging it's been along the way, for guys not to see their families and this and that. Unfortunately just today didn't work the way we wanted it to.
But a guy like Chris, one of the best players in the game. He's such a great dude, and hopefully get to do it again.
Q. Pete said, he said I wish we would've adapted better in the second half of the season in regard to playing some good defenses and they were able to take away some of the deep stuff you were doing. Do you feel like there was enough sense of urgency in terms of making those adjustments as opposed to getting by and feel like you were okay with things as things were?
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, that's a good question. I think that, yeah, I think that teams know that we throw it down the field well and stuff like that. Also too what they fear is our pace, the tempo, and all that. I think that I feel when the game is on the line, two minutes in the game or whatever, teams obviously fear that because of the feeling of me going and all that stuff.
I think that is something I think along the way that kind of lose track of a little bit. I think we kind of lost track of that maybe along the way. I think that could have helped.
But I also think that we still played some really good football. I go back to the Eagles game, and didn't feel like it was one of our better games, but going there and everything else, we could have -- really that game could have been a massive game in terms of making plays. DK went for however many yards he went for and this and that, but I think there were touchdowns in that game, and you go to the next week and then it just kind of -- next thing you know the weeks add up and get here and you go down to Arizona, play the 49ers; doesn't feel like our best game.
But go back to the Washington game and it's like our first half was great. First two minutes of the third quarter was great. Then feels like we kind of got flustered there along the way. Not flustered, but slowed down along the way.
And I think that kind of you get to the end of the season or end of the road and it's like -- a few games, and it's like, Why didn't that work and this and that, and you can question this and that.
But I think for us, to sum it up for today, I just don't think that -- we obviously didn't play our best football. I think that it's -- we got to do the little things right along the way. Didn't feel like we did that all the way.
Q. Third quarter Donald sacked you and you fell on him. He got hurt; left the game. Were you aware that he went out right away, and did you think you had a great opportunity there to start moving the ball with him out of the game?
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I noticed that he obviously got hung up there. Hopefully he's all right. But I think that -- you know, we notice that had along the way, and I think that the reality is we still didn't do great. I feel like we still didn't get going there:
We needed it going. The game felt really stale I guess in a way. We were kind of flatlined. Felt like we needed to get going and make that happen.
Next thing you know we didn't, and we're down 17 or whatever it was. Okay, let's go. So it's a little bit -- not late. I would never say late. There is always a way. But we were a little bit too late in that situation.
That was kind of a key moment where we could have really flipped the game there, and unfortunately didn't happen. Obviously such a great player.
Q. This is the second time in three years you guys have lost at this round of the playoffs; it's been six years since you guys have reached the championship weekend. Do you have a growing sense of frustration about the lack of deep playoff runs you guys have had?
RUSSELL WILSON: The lack of deep?
Q. Deep playoff runs you've had in recent years.
RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah. We got to be better. We got to find ways to win these type of the matchups. Frustration, I mean, yeah, of course I'm frustrated. I think you always want to win. You always want to. But I think that along the journey, you know, the great thing is our standard is high in the sense that when -- I remember when I got here in 2012, you know, I was hoping to make the team and this and that and get to where we wanted to go.
But I always had visions of Super Bowls. When I walked -- flew here, got on the plane and was flying here, middle of the air all I was thinking about was winning multiple Super Bowls and finding a way to do that and getting to championships and winning NFC championships.
I've always had that vision and I'm never going to let that go. So we have that capability. We got great players in terms of guys like DK and Tyler and Jamal and Bobby and K.J. and Diggs. I can go along the list. But I think there is another level that we have to go to as a collective group and all do it together.
We're going to play great matchups, great teams in this division and our conference and there are going to be guys that have great defensive lines and know how to do things. So we got to make that next step. I think this is part of the process to figure out this off-season along the way and how we can do that and do whatever it takes.
So I'm looking forward to -- I'm looking forward to starting 2021 with a new season come next fall. So like I said, unfortunately today we didn't get it done. I think that I believe I'm a winner. I always want to be one and always will be.
It's about winning, and that's what I really care about. You got to do whatever it takes to do that. I think we got to figure that out.
Thank you guys. Hope you guys stay safe along the way. COVID is still going on, but just grateful for all you all. I wish I could see you in person. This has been a crazy year. Praying for everybody. Unfortunately didn't go the way we wanted it to, but just want to say thank you for you all and just thank you for ya'll's consistency along the way as well.
Appreciate you guys and stay safe. Go Hawks.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports