Bills 27, Jaguars 24
Q. Josh Allen, you guys pounded him, sent him to the blue tent twice, and he still kept coming back and making those plays down the stretch.
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: First and foremost, man, shout-out to my team. We fought all year. We battled. This was the most fun I've had in a very long time, and I've got a lot of guys that can say the same thing. But I'm not here to speak for all those guys.
The coaching staff did a great job of preparing us, putting us in the right position. Obviously there's some calls we can have back, there's some plays we can have back player-wise, and that goes for everybody. But this is a growing step for us, a growing moment.
Obviously this team is not going to be the same next year, and this is -- we felt like in the moment this was our opportunity to go take advantage of it, and we didn't. But we've got a lot of guys that's hungry. We're going to attack this off-season, grow from this off-season and come back ready to win the whole thing next year.
Q. Kind of playing off that, how much do you think this is possible to just keep moving forward, keep moving up going into next season? How much confidence do you have from what you guys were able to accomplish this year?
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: I think our message has always been the same. Each week we come in day one and we execute what we need to do. We compete at a high level. We build that trust with each other. I think we've done a good job with that, and I think as long as we take care of those things, I think winning and executing at a high level plays that part.
I can't really sit up here and say what our season is going to look like next year, but I can say that we've got a team full of guys that are committed to each other. Obviously the team is going to be a little different. You heard what Coach just said; it's a business, at the end of the day. Some people are going to be here, some people are not. But the guys that step on this field lean into OTAs, to training camp, from the first game of the season to the last, those are the guys we're going to ride with, and those are the opportunities we're going to try to develop to win.
Q. Beyond the 13 wins, why did you have the most fun you've had in a while this season?
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: Just personal growth, being in the moment, continuing to be in the moment, continuing to control what I can control, continuing to be a leader on and off the field, putting guys in positions to be successful, helping the guys. When we had a stretch where guys were getting hurt on the back end, to step up and be that voice for those guys, give those guys comfort, give those guys trust that up front we're going to take over, and that was the time we had to turn it up a little bit, and we did, and those guys stepped up in a big way. I'm talking about AJ, Jarrian, Bras. Guys had to step in. Even Greg getting traded here, and immediately put into the fire. He was a guy that we had to bring him in, and we all adapted, and I'm proud of these guys. Again, for me as a leader, continue to grow from this moment. Continue to not sit up here -- I had to leave out there pretty quick because I'm not big on the emotions. I don't want to say goodbye. I'll see these guys tomorrow. Let's get our emotions out of it and come back tomorrow. Obviously it is what it is. It is what it is; we're in the moment.
But it's time to get healthy. A lot of guys need to get healthy. I'm ready. I'm excited to spend time with my family. I know my family is probably happy, regardless of winning or losing. So I get to be a present father, and I'm excited about that. I'm excited to take my kids to school, and not only myself, but the guys are, as well. Continue to grow as a human, continue to grow as a teammate, continue to grow as a father, husband. That's our goal in life, and that's what I'm going to set out to do.
Q. You touched on it a little bit, but what's the biggest reason in your mind that what you guys have built here this year is sustainable?
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: I feel like I answered that already. I feel like it was the trust. I can't sit up here and tell you the Xs and Os are going to be different, but Coach has put us in -- we have some great coaches that put us in situations to let us prepare at a high level. Again, it just starts with trust and love and being there, picking your teammates up, being there for one another, and I think we did a good job with that. That's free.
Q. You said this is the most fun you've had. What will you remember most about this season?
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: You know, personally, just being in the moment, enjoying every game, enjoying the next day after a loss and knowing that we're going to prepare our butts off and we're going to compete in practice and we're going to continue to be at a high level that following day just so we can respond. Not only myself, but everybody took hold of that.
When you have guys -- again, this was one of the first times where I've felt surrounded by guys that wanted to be great, guys that sacrificed in body. Guys that wanted greatness from their teammates and told them about it and sacrificed themselves about it. For me, it was a lot of fun to be around a lot of that.
Obviously, the team is going to be a little different, but again, when you do come back or if you do come back, let's not forget this moment, continue to grow from here. We just played a good team, so shout-out to them. They earned it. Hopefully they do what they do.
Q. When you hear Liam say everything that you guys have accomplished in terms of setting the standard and all that went into getting to this point and all the things that you have to be proud of over the course of the season that you can carry into the future, how do you balance that without minimizing the disappointment of losing today?
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: That took a little turn right there.
Q. I can rephrase that if --
JOSH HINES-ALLEN: I think I see what you're saying. For me, for us as a team, obviously we hate losing, first and foremost. It's not going to sit right. It shouldn't sit right. But again, these are opportunities to grow. Again, I'm going to look at this opportunity, and obviously we can't come to practice. We can't practice another day. We can't go through another day, so how am I going to be able to grow, be ready for my team next year. I think that's the way we need to look at it.
We're all disappointed, but we all should be happy with the growth that each individual has taken. Jarrian had a hell of a year. For a guy that didn't start, a guy that rotated, a guy that just -- when his number was called, he showed up. AJ, D-Ham was the best nose in the National Football League, and today he did the same thing, continued to play at a high level.
There's areas where we need to improve. I think -- not I think, I know there's areas we need to improve. Coaches know that, and I think they're going to do a good job putting us in good positions to be successful.
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