Pittsburgh - 13, Las Vegas - 10
JOSH MCDANIELS: Hard fought game. Guys hung in there. But, you know, too many mistakes, too many self-inflicted errors. Not good enough football in critical situations. And that will get you every time. So just not good enough.
Q. The last touchdown, was that a miscommunication or just a bad coverage?
JOSH MCDANIELS: No, we were late. We had a double and we were just late getting to the double. And, you know, obviously, there was too much space between the two guys that, you know, that had him.
But, you know, he made a good throw. He made a good throw, it was a good route. But we got to be on it a little tighter at that time of the game.
Q. I know you talked about the mistakes. Three interceptions --
JOSH MCDANIELS: Yep.
Q. -- in a game like this, what happened?
JOSH MCDANIELS: No, it's tough to overcome. You know, if you lose the turnover battle you're -- you know, in this league, most the time you lose the game. So, you know, our ability to take care of the football, I mean, was the strength earlier in the year. You know, obviously, we haven't done a very good job of that the last month or so. We've gotten away with it a little bit.
But, you know, tonight, you know, just cost us too many other opportunities to -- you know, we didn't have possession of the ball much because we turned it over. And, you know, we had some negative plays and penalties in the second half and that kind of hurt our ability to, I'd say, continue to stick runs in there and try to eventually, you know, get something going.
We had -- you know, I think we had the big one and got called back with the penality. But, yeah, when you turn the ball over and give the other team more opportunities than you have -- you know, a good field position, it's just, you know, impossible to overcome.
Q. Conversely, how much pressure does that put on your defense to keep --
JOSH MCDANIELS: Yeah, I thought the defense hung in there and, you know, played really -- pretty well most of the time -- most of the game. Tried to, you know, hang in there in the running game.
It's a tough team, physical group. You know, good runner. We gave up a few plays here or there. But I thought they hung in there for the most part and, you know, then tried to make it as tough as we could on the quarterback. And he's a good, young player.
And eventually the reality is giving too many chances with the score right there in the balance, and ultimately, you know, guys in this league are going to find a way to win. And, you know, that's what happened.
Q. Are there going to be days down the road to look back at kind of all this, but as you sit here right now, you know, kind of saying the same things sometimes after some of these losses? How disappointing is that?
JOSH MCDANIELS: Yeah, it's disappointing. You know, the guys work hard. And to not be able to pull out, you know, some of these -- you know, we've pulled out plenty. And, you know -- and then -- but to lose in this fashion, you know, when you have a shot to win, you know, you realize you're close, but close doesn't really count in this league.
And so, obviously, I have to do a better job of trying to, you know, close the gap on the things we're not doing well so that we can make the plays we need to make to win.
Q. Derek throws: Was the ball kind of sailing on him? Was it the conditions? Or what was your take?
JOSH MCDANIELS: No, I thought he actually threw the ball decent tonight. I mean, I didn't think -- honestly, when the game started, the wind died down a little bit. You know, it was a little bit towards their bench. But it wasn't terrible. I didn't think it was super impactful.
But I thought, you know, for the most part, I thought he threw it decent. You know, the one on -- the Foster, I think it just -- you know, it just wasn't a clean catch on that one. I don't know that it was a bad throw at all.
And I think the one to Hunter, it was -- I think Hunter was planning on looking just a little later and the ball came a little behind. And then the last one we had a shot at it, it was -- I think it was just overthrown.
So, you know, I mean, it is what it is. If you're not -- if you're not right on the money in some games like this, sometimes it hurts you.
Q. Any early word on the severity of the Chandler Jones injury?
JOSH MCDANIELS: No, I don't have anything yet. Obviously when it happened, they said he wouldn't come back. So, you know, we'll get more tests on it, I think, as we go forward. But nothing on him or DP. Both of them ended up leaving and not being able to come back.
DEREK CARR:
Q. I know there's going to be times down the road for you guys to kind of look back at this season. But as you stand up there today and when you look at this game and so many others that kind of got lost in similar ways, how disappointing is that? You know, obviously, you got to tip your cap to the other team, but a lot of it is self-inflicted?
DEREK CARR: Yeah, absolutely. We felt like we were making strides in some areas. And, obviously, we didn't do that well enough today. And just got to do our job, move on.
As much as it sucks, you know, tomorrow, you got to get ready for the next one and that's how it goes. But this one stings.
Q. Was the ball kind of sailing on you? Did you feel like it was getting away from you at times? How would you describe the conditions and how were you able to overcome them, I guess?
DEREK CARR: I mean, you know, everyone had to play in them. You know, no matter what, you got to do your job as best you can. And for me, you know, I'm just trying my best to hit my guys, find the open receiver. There were a few that I threw away that were over guys that I threw away because of certain reasons and things like that. But I felt good.
Q. Was the running game hard to get established tonight? Do you feel that you guys went out and, obviously, you want to do more with that, I imagine? You know what I mean?
DEREK CARR: Yeah, you know, that's the plan, you know, coming in for a weather/wind game like that. And, obviously, I don't -- I didn't -- I don't look at any numbers or anything like that, so I can't say without seeing it all. So I'm always turning around. But it's hard to put a finger on it.
But, yeah, I mean, any time you can -- at any conditions, run it, it helps with anything. But I thought at times we had some good looks. We had one big one called back, I remember. But, yeah, it was tough.
Q. Derek, every -- you know, when you don't get the job done in the season, they all hurt and they're all disappointing, but there's different ways they kind of all come about. The fact that you guys were -- are a talented team and have been competitive, does that make it sting, you know, just a little bit more than some other years where there might have been a talent issue?
DEREK CARR: Yeah, of course. We are talented, but talent doesn't mean wins. And I've seen that firsthand, you know, and in different years. And so, you know, when you look at it, you have to watch the film. You can't just throw something out there and say this or that. You have to watch it and know it and see it and make the corrections.
And, you know, Josh has been doing that. We're doing our best to do that to make sure as leaders we're pushing everybody to do the same things. And when you fall short, I mean, my heart breaks. I just care so much.
And, you know, to -- you know, when you don't do your best, you let your team down, let your organization and your fans down, it hurts. You know, it breaks your heart.
But, you know, at the end of the day, nobody cares and you get back up and you keep going. That's how you do it.
Q. Josh broke a long run. Kind of looked like it might, at the very least, put you in field goal position to maybe kind of get that separation that you needed. How deflating was that when you see the flag and it's time to go back to the other side of the field?
DEREK CARR: Yeah, it's -- I mean, I don't remember what they -- face mask or something like that. And I didn't see it. But any time you get a penalty that brings a big play back, of course it hurts. Especially, with how the first two -- you know, ball's getting tipped in the air, and you're, like, All right, what else -- you know, let's get back on -- let's get back to doing the things right. I mean, there's literally nothing you can do about it. Come on back and play the next play.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports