Panthers - 36, Raiders - 22
Q. Andy, just tell us how that was, how that felt.
ANDY DALTON: I mean, it felt great. Obviously for me to get an opportunity to be out there and for it to go the way it did, couldn't have drawn it up any better.
I thought our guys came out with the right attitude, the right mentality from the start, and we never slowed down. That was the fun part of it.
We didn't just put one drive together. We were able to do it the whole game. Played complementary football, and guys were having a ton of fun, and that's how it should be.
Q. Andy, you were thrilled when you learned that you were going to get the start this week, and you looked really relaxed during warmups. How much did that calming demeanor that you brought to the group help out there?
ANDY DALTON: That's one of the things coming into this, it was like, I get a chance to just be me and play and to be out there how I normally am. I'm normally pretty calm. I'm normally relaxed.
Guys were having fun. I was trying to make sure that guys were having fun because you put in a ton of work out there. And now to get out there, you just enjoy the work you put in. It makes it nice when the day goes like it did today. They're not all going to go like this. When they do, you've got to enjoy that.
Q. It's been 28 games since you guys have scored a touchdown on the first drive.
ANDY DALTON: I did not know that, no.
Q. What does that tell you?
ANDY DALTON: It shows what we can do. I think for us it's like, all right, we showed what our standard is now. We know what we can do. The goal is to be able to prove that each week.
For us, it was a big win, first one of the year. Now it's like, okay, let's go. We know the possibilities out there. We've got to go play to that standard.
Q. Andy, can you run us through each of the three touchdown passes and what you did on each one?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah. Shoot, let me think. The one to Diontae was, we had man coverage. We had a great play call, great design by Brad and Dave and the guys. For me, I had just enough time to get it up. Diontae did a great job separating and great play.
The other one to Adam, that was a thing. Just it comes down to the timing of it. When I let it go, I was like please get over the safety, and Adam did a great job making a great catch. Unfortunately, tweaked a little something, but that was just -- the rhythm and timing that you want to play with.
Then what was the other one? Oh, Chuba, yeah. Again, another good design. Just one of the things, you get him one-on-one, get him the ball in space. He ran hard all day, but to do that on the first drive and to go in and score there, that kind of set the tone for the game.
Q. Did you say anything to Bryce before this game or last night? And vice versa, were there any poignant moments with what Dave called a heavy week?
ANDY DALTON: It definitely was a heavy week and hard on a lot of people. So Bryce and I have had conversations through this whole thing. Those conversations are between us.
Q. You guys did well on third down. How critical was that to get it going early?
ANDY DALTON: It was big. You keep drives alive. I left a couple out there too, a couple easy ones that we've got to throw and catch, and that's on me.
If you can keep moving the chains, keep staying on rhythm, it allows to you do what we were able to do today.
Q. Dave was very stoic when he came in here and tried to keep things normal. What was he like in there?
ANDY DALTON: He's obviously excited. It's his first one. First one was a head coach.
I thought his demeanor the whole game was kind of -- he was steady. That's just kind of how he is. I try to get him to smile a couple times, and he kept his straight face for the most part.
But I know without a doubt he's enjoying this. The way this one went, it meant a lot.
Q. You smiled a lot. Take us through your emotions.
ANDY DALTON: Talking about the team had fun, I probably had the most fun. That's the thing, no, I wasn't going to let anybody else have more fun than I was out there.
Playing this game, like I said, we put in the work, and when you get an opportunity to be out there on Sundays and get a chance to compete, yeah, it's a ton of fun.
Q. Did you -- when you're playing well in the offense, like Clowney just said, everybody gets energized, defense, special teams. Did you feel like part of that was your role to not just play well, but play with the kind of enthusiasm you just represented?
ANDY DALTON: Absolutely. I I felt like, if I just came out here and was me, hopefully guys would feed off of it. I felt like we responded really well.
I wasn't the only one out there. I felt like the energy in the locker room before the game was right. I think everybody went into this game with the right mentality, that we were going to get it done however it was going to happen, and I think it showed with our performance.
Q. Dave talked about team ball, everybody doing their job and all that, and it's not just one guy. But one guy came in and changed everything, it seemed like. How do you explain that?
ANDY DALTON: No, it's not me. It's the process of it. It's the process that Dave has been preaching. The way this game went today, it was exactly how you wanted it to go. They're not all going to go this way.
But for us to come out and do what we did, it shows the potential of what we can be, and I think that's the biggest thing. We have to trust the process through the whole thing. Dave said that from the very beginning. I think from the moment he got here, he's been preaching it.
We've just got to stay our course, stay the course, stay the course, and if we do that, good things are going to happen. And today a good thing happened.
Q. What is your success against this team? How do you explain it? Does it have a role in you coming in here today with confidence?
ANDY DALTON: I wouldn't say there's one thing that has led to the success. Obviously I'm happy to have the success against this team. The Raiders have been good. They've got good players all over the field. So, shoot, I'm glad that we're leaving today with another win for me.
Q. Does it matter to you at all personally that you're playing the Bengals next week?
ANDY DALTON: It's going to be fun. I've done it several times since I left. Last year was actually the first time I hadn't played them. So to get another opportunity, there's still a ton of coaches over there that were there when I was there. Just a couple players.
It's always been fun getting to go against them.
Q. What's your record like against those guys?
ANDY DALTON: I think I am 2-1.
Q. How do you celebrate the win?
ANDY DALTON: Just go hang out with the guys. From here, I'm going to go see my wife, my parents, some friends, and enjoy it with them. Then we'll get on this plane, and we'll celebrate it for sure.
Q. Did you talk to Marvin Lewis today?
ANDY DALTON: I did. It was great seeing him. To see Marvin, Champ Kelly, another guy that I was with in Chicago, but Marvin and I have such a history. It was good to see him and his son Marcus.
He gave me the opportunity in this league. He was there for the beginning of it. So it was good to catch up and just talk about our families and everything. So I was glad I had an opportunity to see him.
Q. Interestingly enough, tomorrow September 23rd is National Redneck Appreciation Day. Got anything for rednecks out there after this win?
ANDY DALTON: Hopefully everybody gets appreciated. Thanks, guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports