Jaguars 26, Colts 11
Q. Could you just talk about what you guys had to go through this week to kind of coax this kind of effort out of a team because you guys could have easily gone out there and if things didn't go well early, you can sort of let it go. Can you just talk about getting off to that great start and pushing it on for 60 minutes?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, I talked all week just about all the many reasons why we should play this game and we should go out and play this game with heart. One is that we all love this game, and you think back to all the training that you go through in the off-season to be able to get to this point and you get 17 opportunities to play a game. That's one good reason to go out.
Everybody, as I've told you many times in here, we're all being evaluated by what you're putting on tape. You want to go put your best opportunity and best self on tape. We're playing a divisional opponent that had a chance to get in the playoffs. We want to be able to knock them out and have a sweet taste for us and a rough taste for them.
I thought the guys responded. I told them today just a few minutes ago that I was inspired. It's an inspiring game to see guys go out and play as hard as they did with as much heart, with as much spirit, with as much passion, and it really showed, and I couldn't be happier for all those guys.
Q. Looks like one of the more comfortable games for Trevor in the pocket throughout the course of this one. Why did things click today?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, we did a good job of getting off to a good start. One of the things that we've done early in the year was there was a lot of 10-0, 17-0, getting behind. So we were able to stay in the game, a good mix and run and pass. They protected well. We did a good job protecting him. Really cool for him to make a play. Ball snapped over his head, they got pressure coming off the edge, just stayed calm. Got the ball, rolled out, threw a nice ball to Marv, Marv gets his feet in.
Just kind of shows hopefully what the future can hold for Trevor. Really happy for him because he really did stay dialed in this whole season. Tough season for everybody involved, but the way he did and the way everybody responded today, I couldn't be happier.
Q. You kind of mentioned it's been a little bit of a rough season for Trevor and the entire team. How important can getting a win to close out the year be for some of the younger players like Trevor Lawrence going into the off-season as they put in that work to get ready for next year?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, if you walk down the hallway I think you can hear it. The guys were ecstatic. They're all excited. They can go play a few more games, just because of what happened today. Anytime you win, anytime you play well, it gives you extra confidence, gives you that boost. We just were never able to get that momentum going this year, but again, just hats off to those guys today for the effort, for the passion, for everything that they showed and how hard they played against a really good football team that had a chance to get in the playoffs.
Q. Pretty nice connection today, especially early between Trevor and Marvin. That's kind of the combination you guys have envisioned I guess when you signed Marvin. Was that stuff just open to Marvin? If it hadn't been, Trevor would have gone elsewhere?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, we did want to target Marv, wanted to get him some opportunities. When you get -- with my experience with him, when you get him going early in the game, then he can get hot. But all of it goes hand in hand. You've got to have the protection. The guys were protecting well. Even the play, he hit Marv down the middle of the field for a big gain, protection was really solid. He was able to kind of get off his read and come back to Marv and make a great play to him. So it was all working together.
Again, guys just played inspired today.
Q. When you have a situation where Marvin needing four catches to get a big bonus, do you guys think about that?
DARRELL BEVELL: Defense can dictate against it, but today it worked out well and we were able to get him those shots. I think he ended up with seven.
Q. Looking at the situation of being an interim head coach, just what you've taken away from yourself and the task that's been asked of you and how you've seen the rest of the coaching staff respond to end out the season.
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, again, I'm probably using the word proud too much, but I was just really proud of all the guys involved in this. Very difficult year. A lot of different circumstances, and for these guys to be able to stay locked in, and I think it showed today how important it was, how locked in they were. Offense put a great game plan together, Schottie and the staff, Joe and the defensive staff put a great plan together, and it all worked well. The defense was able to get turnovers. We were able to knock out the run. Offense was able to run the football, throw passes and get completions, get touchdowns, and really just did a great job of staying in and finishing all the way to the end, and now we'll see what happens.
Q. When you talk about obviously playing 17 games, everybody has a chance to put film on tape. The guy that stood out to me today was Ryquell Armstead. These 17 games for guys like him that are looking, he was drafted just a few years ago, you got him back, and today he looked pretty good.
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, there were some guys that later in this year have been able to get opportunities, whether it's Cisco, whether it's Armstead. We had Sargent up today to play. Walker Little got a lot of time in there, as well.
It's always a great thing to see these young guys being able to step up. Jordan Smith was out there, and to see them get opportunities and then to be able to make the most of those opportunities is really gratifying as a coach, and I'm happy for them.
Q. Building off that, Rock Armstead obviously spent time in the hospital, had myocarditis. For him to do what he did, beyond just making money down the road, what did that say about him in the short time you've known him and what do you think this meant to him?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, it's amazing sometimes these stories that these guys go through. The story for him with the COVID and all the stuff that -- how bad it was for him and hit him, obviously he got cut right when we got here, and then to be able to come back and play like that, it's exciting. It shows the fortitude that these guys have and how much they love this game, how committed they are to it, to fight back from what he did, and then be able to go make those plays out there. I just think it's really cool.
Q. You mentioned the Colts had a lot to play for today. How much does that actually matter to players in the locker room, what the other team is dealing with or what they might have by winning a game?
DARRELL BEVELL: We'll use anything we can. I mean, we were playing a divisional opponent that had a chance to go in the playoffs. I think that's enough, but there's so much other.
I can't even talk enough about how much these guys work, how hard it is and all the time that they put in and the time that people don't see. They see this out here on the field, the 17 games that they get to play, but all the hard work that they put in almost year-round nowadays to get themselves out there, and it's just -- that's something to play for.
I think it just showed today, like you walk down the hall, go listen to what's going on in that locker room, you'll see that it was important to them.
Q. Steelers won today, so do you have a lot of friends in the Pittsburgh area, or do you expect to have a lot going forward?
DARRELL BEVELL: To be honest with you, I don't even know what the scenario is.
Q. They're in unless there's a tie tonight. The Colts are officially eliminated.
DARRELL BEVELL: Okay, great, so that's what we were trying to do today. Yes! Actually I haven't talked to him, but Mike Tomlin and I, we were offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator at Minnesota together, so congrats to him.
Q. Can you just speak to Andre Cisco and just what he's meant to the team here as a rookie this season?
DARRELL BEVELL: Yeah, it's cool to be able to get him in at the end of the year and to be able -- he's also another one of those guys that has fought back. He came to us with an injury in his knee, was kind of just able to work himself back in, and he just did a nice job, and I think he's got a bright future for us.
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