A: Just quick update on some injuries. Thielen and Za'Darius Smith returned from being checked out for knee contusions. Dalvin Tomlinson with a right calf. Send him for an MRI. Pretty hopeful on that one. We'll just see the timeline. He's been so big for us, contributor for us, that wed hope to have back as soon as possible. I'll keep you updated on that one.
Blake there on the touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn, Irv Smith got rolled up kind of in a protection against an all-out pressure, and they got a little ankle there, we'll send him for the MRI as well. I'll keep you guys updated there.
Just in summary, a lot to kind of unpack from this football game. Coming out of the bye, we had a real mindset of wanting to run the football, continue to establish the different types of core runs that we want to be features in our offense.
Very excited to give Dalvin Cook a game ball for his first 100-yard game. Long overdue. Impactful, 134 yards all purpose. Could have had a little bit more all purpose yards there. Didn't have great execution on that last screen call, otherwise I thought we might be able to turn that one into an explosive.
I thought Kirk played really efficient. Plus two turnover-wise, how we look at it, including that muffed punt in the special teams area. Then ultimately to be able to be five of five in the red zone, good enough on third down to control the ball enough.
I still think there's a lot of things I can continue to improve on, as well as our team. The best thing is those guys are the ones talking like that in the locker room already.
Once again, an incredible atmosphere here at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's so special to get to play in front of this place in front of our great fans. How much they impact the game every single week. We're very, very lucky to have this home environment that we do. It's really equaled some winning football for us here at home.
With that, I'll open it up to you guys.
Q. Is the ability to win those close games, is that the greatest strength of this team?
A: I just think we talk a lot about doing the little things right. We did have a high number of penalties today, but we were plus in the turnover margin again. Continue to grow that number, which is our goal to do.
I think when I look at it, there's always ways we can improve. There's always ways we can sustain and play better football throughout four quarters.
The feeling you get on our sideline, in our locker room, no matter what the circumstances are, I do feel like these guys believe in each other, they believe in what we're doing, and ultimately they believe that we're one play away from being where we want to be maybe if the momentum isn't on our side.
That's a proud feeling for a coach. When you know these guys are feeling, that you know you have a chance to overcome a lot of the adversity that's out in front of us to get to where we want to get to.
Q. How about the continued knack of coming up with those big plays when you have to?
A: I think our coaches are preparing our guys for those critical moments. The turnovers, both Cam Bynum and Harrison Smith getting those interceptions in the deep part of the field. I think it's huge for our team. A great example of what our defense can be when our front is physical.
Slowed down a good rushing attack with a real weapon at the quarterback position to kind of hold them from really getting those explosive runs that they're accustomed to getting that fuels their own offense.
Allowed us to play a little bit more coverage. Have a plan for Hopkins. A special player. Pat P., three more pass defense for him. I think that's 10 total for the season against his former team. Jordan Hicks, that play he mentioned.
You can go on and on. We need to continue to make those timely winning plays, and then throughout the game how many of those can we make to maybe not always make it so close in the end playing complementary football.
Q. Jordan talked in the locker room about how this team has come together so quickly and how that's an uncommon thing. He attributed that to guys knowing the overall plan, what's supposed to happen from the top down. From your perspective, how has that contributed to the start?
A: Every single week we talk to our team about what it's going to take to win the game. Real definitive things. Not just coach speak. We talk about playing smart and limiting penalties, situational masters, being plus two in the turnovers is always our goal. It's more than that. It's how are we going to win the game. What are the things we really got to focus in on all three phases to win the football game each and every week.
When you do that to a smart football team that has great leadership, you'd be shocked at how much you see those things come to life. When you're able to highlight, hey, we talked about it, it was going to take this, that or the other, then show this team doing that, it's great to win football games for or overall growth, but when you do it like that, I do think you can take some significant steps forward because it only improves your preparation if they know these are major things we have to do, hit the nail on the head when we give them those pieces of information.
Q. What did you highlight this week and what came to fruition?
A: We wanted to try to limit the run game on some of those early downs defensively against their offense so we could allow the rushing coverage to work together. Ultimately when this rushing coverage happens, how can we contain Kyler? I have so much respect for the play-maker he is. In the pass game, multiple times he's able to create off schedule. They got Hopkins back, they add Robbie Anderson, Zach Ertz has been a big-time player in this game for a long time. You have to focus snap in, snap out without any kind of letup, which I thought our guys did.
Offensively we wanted to run the football, get back to being efficient. I think we had 15 10-plus yards today. Some explosive runs. Ultimately the situational finishing with points against a team like that is really, really important. Five of five in the red zone was really huge.
Q. How special is Za'Darius's ability to play both outside and dominate inside?
A: It's huge because it's really hard to have a protection plan for a guy that can be in any one of five spots up front. We can use him to manipulate the protection call if we want. We can use him to try to isolate somebody in protection if we want. How does everybody play off of that, linebackers included, 33, Brian in there a little bit, just continue to allow our athletes to kind of show up in some of those downs, especially a quarterback like that.
I can't speak enough. Za'Darius, clearly a game ball again, the three sacks. Right before that last play he made, I asked him, Hey, I need one more. He goes out and gets it. He was the first one to tell me about it (smiling).
Q. You have been really healthy this year, inactives. Do you attribute that to anything? Do you pay attention to that?
A: I don't really pay attention to any of the other 31 teams. I know we all go through our own challenges out there. It's a grueling schedule week in and week out in this league trying to get your team turned over.
What I will tell you is I'm very, very confident in how we prepared our team coming into the season with really no stone unturned of how and why we did the things that we did.
Then ultimately the players taking it. It's only so much to lay out a plan for players unless there's that buy-in and understanding of their own role and their own personal health, their preparation week in and week out.
It's much, much more than X's and O's. We have an unbelievable sports performance staff, strength staff. Just the resources that we get from our ownership in our great building here at home, we feel like we can accomplish a lot and prevent a lot at the same time.
Injuries are going to happen. That's just the NFL. We just try to do what we can control on our standards and by living up to our standards of what we do for these players, how they respond with what they do to prepare every week.
I know that's a very long answer. I'm very proud find what our guys and building have been able to do.
Q. Peterson and Hicks, did you see an extra oomph going against their former teams?
A: I did. Both Jordan and Patrick I think today meant -- they all mean a lot, but I could feel it from both those guys. It got a little chippy out there at times with their side and ours, and those are two of our leaders. Patrick Peterson is one of our captains. Jordan Hicks is a former captain of that football team over there. When you wear a C for any team in this league, that carries a lot of weight as far as both with your teammates and with maybe your former teammates.
I think it meant a lot for him to play well. He did. Made that great tackle on fourth down. Patrick P. continues to show up. Proud of those guys. They both got game balls as well.
Q. What worked in the red zone going five and five today?
A: The first being our quarterback. He talked a lot about when people don't account for the quarterback, what can he be as that kind of sixth eligible to go get us what he can.
He was trying to steal a first down and found himself in the end zone. Huge play on our first drive to go get that touchdown. We were able to get a couple other rushing touchdowns, kind of not needing to get all the way down to the one yard line. I got to have continue to have trust that we can run it in and be physical down there.
Two touchdown passes where one of which we got big. The illusion of a run, found somebody pretty open again. Then third down, tight coverage, all-out pressure. Kirk makes a great protection call, K.J. Osborn in that moment making a huge play.
Those that came out to training camp, those that have seen us in some of these games, they've seen that concept before. Our opponent probably has seen it before. That level of execution is what was the secret to making that go at that moment when we had to do it.
Q. Talk about the illusion. How satisfying is it when you maybe lean on previous looks that you've shown in other games, used the motion, deceptiveness to set up the scores?
A: It's huge. That's what marrying the run and the pass is all about. Those mantras and philosophies matter in situational football, especially when you are a team that wants to be diverse in the red zone and apply a lot of different types of pressure to the defense.
But when this field shrinks, some of that illusion can be hard to come by sometimes if you don't have the ability to run it or protect in the pass game that. Five of five is a credit to all those guys. Really when I think how many times we've had lapses in the red zone, it's really been by our own doing, in my opinion. I think that really serves us well moving forward to know the types of things we can activate down there.
Q. What did you think of J.J.'s catch in traffic on third down?
A: It was huge. We were kind of just seeing how they were playing on third down. Clearly had a plan to play with great leverage, tough leverage for them. That defender is in a form of man coverage on him but will stand about half a yard to a yard outside and not let him outside. Why? Because there's somebody coming to join the party. He sees that a lot. So what he did was he was able to kind of not worry about fighting to win the leverage, I'm just going to be in attack mode.
What I loved is Kirk's willingness to put that ball up at that moment to our best player when we had to have it. He made an unbelievable catch right there. I give Kirk a lot of credit. When we can hold up and give Kirk time, he's proven to milk those throws for us.
Q. Are there parameters you set for winning plays or if a guy beats his opponent?
A: No, what it is is the winning plays in critical moments that we look at. It's not always the fourth quarter, end of the first half, second half. Sometimes it can be a winning play in my mind when your quarterback scrambles for a touchdown against kind of a single high man look. Jordan Hicks, won't go in the stat sheet as a turnover, but that tackle a half yard short, being where he needs to be at that moment to make that play, winning play.
Special teams obviously accounting for that extra turnover there with the fumble recovery by Troy Dye. Those guys have been huge for us.
We'll continue to search for those plays as much as possible. I'm really proud of our team, proud of our fans. Another unbelievable experience here at U.S. Bank. Good for us, really hard for our opponent. We're hoping to have that each and every time we get to play here.
Thank you, guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports