Commanders 17, Colts 16
Q. How do you explain that fourth quarter win?
RON RIVERA: Well, just that they trusted in each other, they believed in each other, and it's about what they can do, and the that's the biggest thing we've talked about the last few weeks is we'll talk about what we can do.
Q. With Taylor, talk about the last two drives.
RON RIVERA: Well, I mean, the mobility, the ability to duck under the rush, stuff like that really gives him an opportunity to extend the plays which we see, and that's what west done is by extending the plays and getting his eyes downfield, he's able to find the guys and dump the ball off.
Q. What did you think of the defense today?
RON RIVERA: Well, I loved the plan, I really did. We played a lot of five-man fronts. We made a couple adjustments that we were going to try and stop the run, but a couple things that got us. We gave up some explosives and it's something that we'll focus on again and try and make sure that it doesn't get repeated.
But I thought the plan was excellent. I thought changing some things up and making it look different and doing some of the things that we were doing in the past, I think really helped. It helped Jamin settle in a little bit because those are things he's very familiar with.
Q. We ask you a lot about Terry and the big plays that he makes. Another one today. What did you see on that play?
RON RIVERA: You know, it was one of those things that Terry wasn't going to be denied. The nice thing was he was in the lead position so he got a chance to focus on the ball the whole time and was able to anticipate the jump and go get it and wrestle it away from a very good football player.
Q. In terms of the offense, was there anything you sensed that they weren't able to get it going that was different there on that final drive?
RON RIVERA: Well, I think just the urgency with which the situation was. Going out just before when we kicked the field goal, we talked about silence. We said, as soon as we get down into the red zone give ourselves a chance for a couple touchdowns, we'll kick the field goal if we can't get in, and then putting ourselves in position to get the last touchdown to win it.
Really just it was kind of the way it was talked about on the sideline.
Q. During the week it was talked about this is a team that needs to face adversity before they rise to the challenge. Is that what we're working with here?
RON RIVERA: I don't disagree. It's a little concerning at times, but we talk in there a little bit about what we can do as opposed to what we can't do, but the truth of the matter is when we watch this tape, I told the guys, I promise you you'll sit there and say I should have done this better, I should have done that. That's the thing. That's the difference between what was talked about what what we can do and what we can't do but what we should do. Do our jobs.
There's a couple things that really were disappointing. We had an opportunity on a couple of those 3rd downs to shut them down and we had a couple guys doing their own things, and that's crap. We're not going to have that. We're going to get that corrected.
Q. When you pay Terry, are you envisioning that he would make plays like that?
RON RIVERA: Yes. I envisioned him playing the way he plays. He did those plays before he got paid. He's making those plays now that he's been paid. He's still the same guy. He's the same person. The one thing I do like is he constantly tells me now, I want the ball. That's a big deal.
Q. What is it like to see that shift?
RON RIVERA: I think everything that he's gone through and everything we've gone through with him and getting the contract done has really kind of probably told him, hey, you are our No. 1.
Q. You looked like you stayed with most of the same personnel. What did you like about that group?
RON RIVERA: Well, really you didn't want to get shuffling in and out. You wanted to try and limit that as much as possible. If a guy needed a break and he was close to the sidelines we were able to do it, but if not we were going to have to go with the same guys.
You look at all those guys, they're all guys that are all playmakers, as you know. We shifted the backs a couple times, but all three backs can make plays. You've got a couple of tight ends that come in and make plays, and we've got a group of wide receivers that are pretty dynamic. We're very fortunate there.
Q. Earlier today obviously starting off with AG more than Brian. Talk about what about this match-up inspired that.
RON RIVERA: Well, looking at one of the things that Scott wanted to do was get the ball to the back in the route and see if we can soften them a little bit because we knew they were going to be very stout up front. They're a very good run defense and we felt if we could get the ball out a couple times it might soften them up a little bit, and it really didn't soften them up much. They are a very stout football team.
Q. Taylor Heinicke, more passing on the final two drives of the game than the entire rest of the game. Did you learn or confirm anything about your quarterback in that moment?
RON RIVERA: Other than he was saving it for later. I mean, yeah, again, you've got to give credit to the opposing team, as well. They did some good things. They brought the heat inside a couple times. It's just sometimes it happens that way.
Q. You mentioned the urgency at the end of the game, at the end of the first half, the two-minute drive. Do you feel like the same urgency was there?
RON RIVERA: The problem was we were backed up, and if you get backed up and you try to hurry up and all of a sudden you throw a couple incompletions, you're going to punt them the ball back with all those time-outs they had, as well. So we had to try and control that, and then once you get to a certain point then you open it up again. We didn't want to put ourselves in a bad defensive position.
Q. With the contested catches, can you teach that to a receiver or it's either he has it or he doesn't?
RON RIVERA: I think it's something that they learn and develop themselves. You can do all the drills you want about it, but a guy that plays with vision, sees the ball and knows when to anticipate a jump, that's the kind of guy that's going to go make those plays. That's what Terry does and does very well.
Q. In your mind is there any doubt he's coming down with that ball?
RON RIVERA: No, honestly I really did believe he was going to get it. I really did. First of all, I saw him jump early and I had it -- Gilmore was the one that was in position. It was one of those things. He just made a heck of a football play.
Q. You mentioned him being more assertive. He's not a diva obviously but I think he was not happy with the usage he was getting early in the season. Did he feel a little more comfortable to get you know that?
RON RIVERA: I think so. I think who he is as a young man, you're impressed by who he is, and that's important. So I've got a lot of respect for him when he speaks out, and when he starts talking, obviously you want to listen.
Q. You always say however you get the win, you'll take it, ugly, whatever. You get this win, do you feel right now beyond the excitement of the last-second win that momentum is building, the three in a row here is a sign of something different?
RON RIVERA: I'd like to believe so. Again, I think we can grow off of it. We can feed off of the energy. But the truth of the matter is, too, against other opponents, you can't constantly miss the opportunities, and like I said, you have to do what you should do, what you're supposed to do, what you're being coached to do, what the defense asks, what the offense asks. You've got to do your job. We put ourselves a couple times in -- this is what really disappoints me because we put ourselves in a bad spot a few times, and that's what I told the guys that when we see it, when we see it on tape, we'll make sure everybody understands.
Q. Terry's homecoming, did you notice anything different throughout the week? Did he handle it like a normal game?
RON RIVERA: He did, he handled it as a normal game. Just the fact that a lot of us were aware that this was his homecoming, and I knew early on we got him the ball a couple times, he made a couple of big plays early on, and that was big for him.
Q. When you look at this overall game today, both the defensive and offensive side, what are you most proud about today?
RON RIVERA: Just their resilience and the way they continued to believe. You come to the sideline and just before we went out and kicked the field goal, their guys are talking about, hey, we've just got to get it down into field goal range and we'll go from there. Defensive was like, hey, Coach, if we get back out there, we can get that stop, we can get the ball back. That was a couple of real positive attitude things.
Q. It seems like perhaps you're a little frustrated after this win, maybe more so than you have previous times. Are we reading that right --
RON RIVERA: Yes.
Q. And why is that the case?
RON RIVERA: Because there are some things we should have done, some things that we're -- this is part of what we do. Play the game within what things are coached and designed, and if you do it the way we ask and we win, they get the glory. Do it the way we ask and we lose, it's my fault. It's on me.
But when you do your own thing, you can't do it that way. That's what we're trying to stress. We're trying to get these guys to make sure they understand it's important to do it the way we ask because trust us, it's all part of coming together as a team.
Q. Was this the best game you've seen from McLaurin?
RON RIVERA: No, I mean, Terry has made some spectacular plays and catches. He's just a guy that just doesn't quit. It's a lot of fun to watch a guy play like that.
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