Vikings 29, Bears 22
Q. Take us through the 20-yard run. What was going through your mind?
DAMEON PIERCE: Go country boy, go. After getting that touchdown, man, and I know I had them big boys coming eventually. They were going to rally behind me at some point, so I just tried to fight and get in the end zone.
Q. You played in this stadium as a Gator. Did you have any memories of being back here today?
DAMEON PIERCE: Man, remembering the Florida game, it's kind of nostalgic. You think back to the days of your alma mater. Go Gators. I put out, put that on film, a little Gator talk.
But like just I said, like every game, it's a surreal moment. Been dreaming about these moments since you were little, and just being in an NFL stadium alone by itself is a blessing, and I just try to take advantage of all those opportunities I have and just try to play my heart out every game.
Q. Lovie said that it was fitting that you were the one to get the play when they most needed it. After that run breaking those tackles, what was it that you felt in that moment?
DAMEON PIERCE: (Indiscernible). What I really felt, I was tired at first. We be tired at first. But after I caught my breath a little bit, man, like we just needed a surge, man. We were just looking for somebody to make a play because Nico play the play a couple drives before. We was putting together a drive, but we wasn't quite finishing them and punishing them and playing our type of football. We got back to playing our style of football. When we're playing our style of football, we're usually a great offense when we get things rolling, and just that play, that play kinda surged everyone up, got our spirits up and led to a touchdown.
Q. Lovie just a second ago was talking about how not just the impact you had today but the consistent impact you've had day in and day out. What do you think has enabled you to do that for this team? Obviously being a rookie, but day in, day out, game in, game out, why do you think you've been so prepared for the moment so far?
DAMEON PIERCE: Because I've got a great group of guys around me on this team, from the veteran leadership to the coaches, to the support staff, training room, weight room. It takes a village, especially with me being a rookie. I'm a young guy. It takes a village to kind of groom me in the right direction I need to be to be a key factor on this team and be an eventual leader on this team and take the roles of some of those veteran guys as they end their careers, as they move away from football.
They are doing a great job of putting me in that role to enable me to be one of those leaders and step up for this team.
Q. Did you know you were down when they (indiscernible)?
DAMEON PIERCE: Yeah. Yeah.
Q. Can you just take us through the 20-yard run? At least five guys have a shot, and particularly there's somebody hanging off your back at one point. How do you run through that?
DAMEON PIERCE: Initially, it was a great block by AJ Cann. To finish a play, you've got to start a play. AJ definitely started the play for me, great block up front, right in the slapment of the defense, right in the heart of the defense, sprung out to the right. That's kind of why I flourish, kind of smaller guys, kind of like DB types, safeties and corners, guys who aren't used to tackling, and I just try to take advantage of that. Every time I get to the secondary, I always try to get some yeck yards, and that's just what it was, man, just me playing ball.
Q. When you're tied up like that, what are you even seeing? How do you know where --
DAMEON PIERCE: It's all about contact, like if you feel somebody -- you just spin out. You got somebody on your leg, pull out. Somebody coming, dip your shoulder, double wrap the ball, just get yeck yards, man. It takes time. It definitely comes with time.
Like I wouldn't tell you to go put no pads on and try to go spin out of something, but it comes with time. But there's ways of maneuvering. There's a right way to do things. I think what it comes down to, when me DB go watch it, only thing DB going to be worried about is me double wrapping the ball, and that's what I was really focused about. And the yeck yards are going to come. As long as I've got that ball wrapped up, I'm good.
Q. This was the first win. You guys have been close before. Does this feel like now that you've won a game, you have that off your back, that you guys can start playing more --
DAMEON PIERCE: I wouldn't say we are in the clear yet. This is the first of hopefully many. It's always hard to get that first one, and hopefully we just build off of this and keep playing intentional football as we know it.
Like today was one a wonderful showing of all three phases of the game coming together for us, special teams, offense, defense. Everybody made play when they were supposed to. No matter what happened before, it's just play your next play, and I feel like we did a pretty good job of that.
Overall, I base our win based off all 11 guys on the field playing their heart out, and I feel like we did that today, and that leads to victories, and hopefully we can continue on that.
Q. Top five in rushing in the NFL. How does that make you feel knowing that you're in that type of category?
DAMEON PIERCE: Blessing. Shout out to them big boys because they always -- like DP, we've got -- we're going to keep rolling. Nico always come. DP, he fitting to keep throwing that thing, baby. He ain't about to -- even when it's a down day, they always keep me up like I said before, man. It's really a village coming in, helping me as a rookie, especially as a rookie, like you don't get that out of most locker rooms. They kind of let the rookies kind of fend for themselves, but I'm blessed and grateful to be in the locker room with such camaraderie and brotherhood that those guys lift me up in the moments and they push me along, help me develop.
Q. How much more does it mean to you to have a big game but this time around you guys won?
DAMEON PIERCE: Like I was saying, man, it was really about everybody making plays. That's how you write it up. This is the NFL. We try to -- we've got to let our guys shine. I feel like everybody shined today.
Like I was saying earlier, I feel like everybody was playing hard-nosed football. This was a -- what it was it, top 3, top 5 run defense? So those guys, they were backing. Man, it wasn't a pretty game. It was just iron sharpens iron, every play, man, they'd get their plays, we'd get our plays. It just came down to who wanted to fight more and who had the will to win, and I'm just grateful that we come out with a win. Hopefully we can build off of it.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports