Las Vegas - 26, Pittsburgh - 17
JON GRUDEN: I'd just like to say it was a great effort by our players and coaches. And I'm really tired. I'm happy to answer any questions I can.
Q. The long pass to Henry for you guys for the touchdown, it was to seal that game. Kind of what came to that call there? Third and 10, running in --
JON GRUDEN: Well, we spent a lot of time up there trying to come up with a good play that gives our guys a chance. And that's just a very small percentage.
It's one of the reasons we took Ruggs. You know, blew the top off of Arrowhead to win that game, and against the Jets. It was a good play.
Not that many guys can run that fast and track the ball. Without getting into the specifics, it was certainly a big play.
The protection with the revolving door we've had upfront in a critical moment with a throw and a quarterback who's hurt, there's a lot of good stuff to go around.
Q. When you say a revolving door, you got a lot of guys out. How do you feel about the resiliency of the guys?
JON GRUDEN: You know, it says a lot about the development of our team. We had Brandon Parker playing right tackle, Leatherwood had an oblique strain. Obviously, Denzel and Richie aren't playing. It's a credit to Cable. And we had guys on call, ready to go.
I can't tell you -- Peyton Barber came in here, did a nice job. So just really proud of our coaches and our players. The effort is so outstanding. If you're a Raider fan, you'd really like these guys.
Q. (Question concerning defensive physicality.)
JON GRUDEN: Well, I think if George and Jack were still with us, they would have been proud of some of the hits, legal hits.
They are flying around. They got some really good breaks and made some tremendous plays. And had to have those plays. So I thought the rush was pretty good. They threw it quick. We stopped the run for the most part and got off the field on third downs in key moments.
Q. Jon, did anything change schematically once T.J. Watt left the game?
JON GRUDEN: We're missing enough players, I don't give a damn who's out there for them. You know, we were changing our scheme, as well.
I hope he's okay. Obviously, without Watt, you know, without Josh Jacobs, without some of your big guns, you have to adjust. And I think both teams had to do that today.
Q. Jon, how does it feel when you talk about the development side; Foster Monreau, Henry Ruggs, guys stepping up and making big plays?
JON GRUDEN: Yeah, we're going to try to keep building on the good and correct the things we think we can improve at.
Obviously, Edwards had a beautiful touchdown called back in the red zone and made some nice plays, as well.
So just a collective effort by all three faces. That's what you have to do to win in this league on the road against a good team.
Q. (Question concerning Derek Carr being injured.)
JON GRUDEN: I just let his performance speak for itself. I've been clamoring about Derek Carr since I've been here. So hopefully he gets some recognition for doing what he did today.
He had some long drives. He was big, again, at the end of the game against two great defenses, two weeks in a row. And it's a reason we've been able to win.
Q. What happens when a man goes down?
JON GRUDEN: Well, it's tough. You know, we're already missing some key guys. We already lost Marcus. And, you know, you pray to the football gods upstairs that everybody is going to be all right. That's all you can do.
Q. (Question concerning the unsportsmanlike penalties.)
JON GRUDEN: I don't really see that. I'm looking at my sideline sheet. I'm all over what the next snap is. I hate to see guys get thrown out of games in the fourth quarter, certainly. But, no, I didn't.
Q. What can you say about your team winning on the road in a short week?
JON GRUDEN: Well, we were six and two last year on the road. So it's not, like, you know, we're going home celebrating. We've got two AFC wins. And we got to get ready for Miami.
So we're going to keep our levelheadedness and proud of our accomplishments. I think this coaching staff and team is going to find ways to get better. We have to. We have a number of injuries.
Q. How much of a security is a guy kind of, like, Henry Ruggs that you can just put in there and he's generally going to make the catch?
JON GRUDEN: You know, it's amazing. Sometimes you get overwhelmed with how your draft picks are performing and you got all these pro football stats to say who had a good pick and who didn't, and you lose sight of -- you know, sometimes guys have a change of scenery and they take off.
And when I look at Daniel Carlson and, obviously, Darren Waller, you know, some of these players -- Solomon Thomas had a sack today. I think Quinton Jefferson, Yannick Ngakoue are bring us more than people know.
And Denzel Perryman is playing great football. K.J. Wright has jumped in here and assumed K.J. Wright status. So it's really a credit to a lot of people in the organization. And I'm ready to go.
Q. Was it good for the confidence in --
JON GRUDEN: Yeah, I'm not going to be a philosophical up here. We're all confident. We have a confident group. We were confident last year.
We lost some heartbreaking wins. You know, gut-wrenching disgusting losses at the end of football games. So we have a long way to go. We're nowhere near perfect. God bless you. Sorry to interrupt you.
Q. I was just talking about Waller keying on him and other guys --
JON GRUDEN: They're always keying on Waller. I mean, Waller still had a great catch to win the game. Everyone is going to key on Waller. Wouldn't you?
He had 27 targets last week. Go ahead. They're welcome to do that. You know, we're expecting that. And if they don't, we're going to throw it to him. Thanks a lot. I'm just tired. Have a good one.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports