Los Angeles Charges 28 - Minnesota Vikings 24
A. Disappointing to be 0 and 3. Disappointing to lose the way we did. Left too many plays out there. You gotta score touchdowns in the red zone to win in this league. We didn't do that today. Chargers did a good job, they made plays. And proud of the way guys battled. I think we got a lot of play makers on this team. Thought Justin was his usual self. Thought T.J. was great. Thought Jordan Addison was big time. He's going to become a big-time player in this league. Thought K.J. was outstanding. So I'm just going to continue to be a point guard distribute to those guys and try to get better doing that every week. But we've dug ourselves a hole and we got a long way to climb out. So take any questions you have.
Q. Why did you guys struggle on third down?
A. Combination of factors, I'd say. Not any one thing.
Q. The last play, Kevin said that you couldn't hear him. Was it the noise? Was the headset going in and out? What was going on there?
A. Yeah. Just couldn't hear him in the noise, and just ended up calling the play and the play I called was the same play he was trying to get to.
Q. You never did fully hear him?
A. Correct.
Q. You just kind of interpreted?
A. Yeah, I just called the play. We always practice that, if headset goes out, what do you call, and I just called the play and it ended up being the same way he wanted.
Q. When it's kind of chaotic right there and you can't hear, do you have the authority to go up and clock it to get guys to do that or do you have to just run a play?
A. I mean I could do anything I want. I can do the quarterback sneak. I can do whatever I want, but at the same time you also gotta deal with the consequences. Against Buffalo last year I snuck it on my own and didn't get in, so until you know the future it's hard to know whether to take the reins or not, but I've done it before and try not to make a habit of it certainly.
Q. What's the thought process of not clocking it there? Is it just so that they can't sub and keep them on their heels?
A. I don't know. You'd have to ask Kevin. I was just trying to get up and call play.
Q. Walking off it looked like after the game was over you went up to Justin who was kind of standing there by himself and you talked to him for a second. What did you say to him then?
A. I just told him to hang tough. Nothing fancy in that moment. But he gave us everything he had, and everybody else did, too. And that's why it's deeply disappointing.
Q. Kevin talked about the fact he's been on a team that has lost three in a row before and gone on to win a championship. What's your level of optimism or do you have a message for your team and what is it at the moment, being 0 and 3?
A. I mean it's a long football season, and we're going to be here in December and January talking to you guys, and this will feel like a long time ago. We've got a lot of opportunities up ahead. I just try to go 1 and 0 each week. I kind of view them as separate stages, like a Tour de France. I don't really connect them. I view them as 1 and 0 and then whatever happens you just kind of erase that week and you start a week fresh, and you just do that 17 times and see where you are in early-mid January. That's kind of how I operate. That's how our locker room operates, and nothing will change this week.
Q. After the ball was snapped did it feel rushed because of the chaos down the stretch?
A. No. I think with the clock winding to where it was I felt like I'm going to put this off of T.J.'s frame in ours or nobody's spot, and it's like a clock. And it's either ours for a touchdown to win the game or it's incomplete. I'm going to put it off away from his frame and to a safe spot. You don't expect the ball to bounce up twice in the air and get intercepted. But my thought was quicker I can get this thing out, put it to a safe spot, we give ourselves another chance, if, in fact, it is incomplete.
Q. Do you feel like the offense has had the type of rhythm that they need (inaudible)?
A. I think it goes in stages, and I think there's explosiveness. There is play making, and then it can be difficult to sustain drive in and drive out. I thought we ran the football really well today, and I think we have the people we need in the room to be able to do that. And that showed today. And you're going to have your spurts, but you're always looking to be -- every single drive to go put up points. But the red zone, I think, was the challenge. You go 0 for 4 in the red zone, that's going to be tough.
Q. The touchdown (inaudible)?
A. I would think it wouldn't be any one thing. I think it would probably be a combination of, you know, when you go to each play, what happened on that specific play, and I don't think it's a repeating pattern. Just today we were 0 for 4 and gotta be better.
Q. Kirk, on the throw to K.J. there, how did you feel about kind of the operation there and the ball placement?
A. Which one?
Q. The one in the end zone.
A. Yeah. Not a good throw. Gotta put it on him, gotta win the game with that throw. And just getting through the progression and led him to the front pylon, needed to kind of lead him straight up the red line as opposed to to the front pylon.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports