Jaguars 26, Colts 11
Q. Dawuane, how good does it feel to get a win today?
DAWUANE SMOOT: Feels great. Feels good to end on a high note after all this turmoil that we went through the whole season, a lot of distractions, a lot of things. It's good to just get back in and really just get that W, so it feels great.
Q. As this game wore on, did you get any kind of a sense because of all the harassment that you had done with Wentz all day that he was starting to get a little jittery in the pocket?
DAWUANE SMOOT: Yeah, we were in his face all day, and he was definitely feeling it, from the batted pas of the first series all the way down to Gotsis getting a sack in the fourth quarter. He was battling the whole time and we felt it. He threw a couple picks, so he was going to start holding it, so we just started teeing off, just pinning our ears back, and it worked out.
Q. Was there anything different about this week that gave you -- did you feel like a game like this was coming? This is clearly the most complete game you guys have played all year. Was there something different about this week or the message different or anything else?
DAWUANE SMOOT: It was just go out there and play. At the end of the day, it's our last game, last opportunity, last time all of us are going to be together. So we just all leaned on each other and we're just like, we got nothing to lose, so might as well just go out and win.
Q. What was the locker room like after the game?
DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, everyone was yelling. I'm still tired from it as you can see. I'm trying to just get some Gatorade in. But we celebrated a lot. They're still in there dancing right now.
Q. The $250,000 bonus, did you know going into the day that that was on the line?
DAWUANE SMOOT: Oh, yeah, definitely did. Me and my wife, she told me don't come home if I don't get the sack. I'm coming home.
Q. How many diapers will that buy?
DAWUANE SMOOT: A life supply.
Q. Can you just speak on the momentum that this gives you and the team moving forward; despite ending with three wins, what it means to you to leave the way you're leaving this season?
DAWUANE SMOOT: We're ending on a high note, and it's something to look forward to in the off-season, just thinking back, okay, we ended on a high note, we ended on a W, let's just build onto that and let's keep it going. A lot of the guys that's coming back, a lot of the guys have signed contracts in the last couple years is coming back, so we've just got to kind that same mindset, just come out there and don't worry about nothing, just go out there and play.
Q. For you, being on the COVID list, some of the struggles you guys faced this last week, how do you prepare for a game with only half of you in the building and then to turn out a performance like this, how does that happen?
DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, we've been playing for a long time, it's just kind of like you get out there and you play. As long as you make sure your body is up to par, like for me I came in on Thursday, didn't really practice, tired, I just really just got with Ced; we ran some sprints, tried to just get my blood flowing and get my heart going. That's all it was. It's just making sure that your body is ready when you come back out there.
Q. Younger guys on defense, Tyson has been Tyson lately, Andre made some plays, Jay Tufele caved the line in a few times and got in there. How much does it do your heart good to see those guys playing well?
DAWUANE SMOOT: It's great. I mean, just seeing all these young guys coming in, we've got a lot of young guys and a lot of guys, they're ballers. We've got a lot of young ballers. Just to see that they're killing it out there, they're not flinching when there's pressure, that's huge and that's going to be huge for next year, too.
Q. Obviously this team will have a new head coach next year and will have presumably new coaches. What did this group, this defense say today to whoever that new coach is and what this group may need and what it can offer to a potential head coach?
DAWUANE SMOOT: It's letting them know that we've got playmakers over here. After all the things we went through this whole season, even last game when they put up 50 on us, just showing them that we're willing to fight back no matter what. Whoever we're going against, whatever O-line. Apparently they were saying that this is the best O-line. We came out there and dominated. So that's just showing whoever comes in here you're going to get a solid group.
Q. You not only got a victory but you also landed the No. 1 pick. Can you just give a reaction to achieving both of those today?
DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, it's bittersweet. That's a hard question right there. It's different. We won. It's good. But at the same time we're still rebuilding, so that's going to be huge going forward, whatever we end up doing with it. I trust the front office, and I feel like we're going to be able to turn this around really soon.
Q. You've been through a few off-seasons in your career. Is there such a thing as taking momentum into the off-season, and could a win today help with that or achieve that?
DAWUANE SMOOT: I mean, definitely. I know for me, each off-season is the same. I take two weeks off and then I'm back in the gym before February. For me it's the same thing, but for other guys, especially younger guys, just knowing that we can do something, we can do something with these guys and them just working in the off-season just knowing that we can come out there and get a W.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports