Falcons - 15, Raiders - 9
KIRK COUSINS: Glad to find a way to win. It's never easy to go on the road and win in this league. It's great to find a way. Certainly a lot of plays that you look at and you say, hey, we can be better; I can be better.
So those conversations will happen, certainly. But great to find a way to win. Defense was phenomenal tonight. Special teams was phenomenal. Run game was strong. We just didn't convert enough third downs, really, to stay on the field and turn some of those drives into points.
Q. How was it leaning on the run game for you all today? If you could discuss the touchdown pass to Drake.
KIRK COUSINS: The run game was solid. It was consistent. Got a lot of looks from the Raiders, our O line and our receivers and the scheme handled it well. The backs ran hard. And had some great runs. So we did lean on it. And they did a great job for us tonight.
And the touchdown, just the corner was aggressive and really was anticipating the slant there. When Drake ran the double move, it was the right call, great design by Zach, and Drake made a great play turning it into 6.
Q. What do you call it when you turn the show, called it a pump fake, a fist, is that a pump fake?
KIRK COUSINS: I think it's still in that pump fake world. I think you're good. Shoulder shimmy.
Q. You go through a rough patch the last several weeks and Raheem comes out and emphatically backs you. Tonight you pull out a win, throw your first touchdown pass in two weeks. He says to us, we have to play better at the quarterback position. It's kind of the first time we've heard him say that. Can you assess your play tonight? And would you say that you're starting to feel a little pressure as the Falcons remain in the playoffs?
KIRK COUSINS: I think I need to play better. I don't think that's a mystery. I think the last few weeks I would say I need to play better. And so Raheem says it, but it's stating the obvious.
And every week you kind of go through your process and you plan to go out there and play the very best you can. And so this week will be no different.
Q. Last week in Minnesota that you were feeling more like yourself. How were you feeling tonight just physically and, I guess, mentally?
KIRK COUSINS: Yeah, I think it was interesting game. We got some third downs where we need to convert them. Whether it was a third and long situation, big zone drop-in, or couple where we just didn't connect, but converting some of those third downs would have made a big difference in terms of staying on the field and being able to get a field goal or get points.
And so those plays loomed large in terms of leaving points out there. So that's kind of how I view it.
Q. There were some things, and Raheem said also last week, that were a lot better in this game for you maybe than in previous games. Did you feel like this was a step in the right direction or maybe a regression back to where it was?
KIRK COUSINS: I think it's a little bit of both. I think the interception at the start of the second half certainly was poor. That's the part of you don't want to have at all. Defense did a great job standing up there and then the special teams showed up such that it didn't end up hurting us but still happened.
I think there was just those third downs where we would love to be able to convert, stay on the field. That's really where the body of work would have been in the pass game and just weren't able to do it tonight.
Q. If I could piggyback off your response to my first question. Where do you personally feel you'd like to see your game improve? What are you looking at that you see after a game like tonight, and just the last four or five weeks, what do you focus on?
KIRK COUSINS: I think it's always just decision-making so that you're not putting the ball in harm's way and not trying to be too aggressive, and I think that's really the key; protecting the football.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports