Los Angeles Rams 34, Carolina Panthers 31
BRYCE YOUNG: Obviously not a great feeling at all. Don't want the season to come to an end. A special group of guys in that locker room and it's a tough one but I'm super grateful. I wouldn't have wanted to have this year with any other group. Super exciting for the future, but that'll come again. It's fresh. It's not a great feeling but I couldn't be prouder of these guys.
Q. Bryce, how would you describe the progress this team made over the course of this season?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, I think it was fun to be a part of us coming into our own. Obviously we had some ups and downs and I'm so proud of the way that everyone responded to adversity, whatever it may be. The way that we fought, the way that we always stuck together. The way that we were always on to the next and, again, super special. Special locker room. It's, yeah, it's a tough one.
Q. Bryce, even though it's a tough loss, are you able to feel the momentum headed into next season, like getting to this point?
BRYCE YOUNG: That's on us, you know? We're not entitled to anything. When the next season comes, it'll be 0-0, but I mean the support from the city, from the Carolinas tonight was huge. It was really fun to be able to play in an atmosphere like that, that the energy felt great. We're super grateful for that. We all have a ton of belief, a ton of confidence in that locker room. We know what we're capable of. Sucks to fall short. So we're going to be motivated and, again, we're not entitled to anything because of anything else. We're going to be motivated to try to earn the right to have a better finish next year.
Q. Jalen's big game. Feels like he was waiting to have that big breakout game moment in the playoffs. How special was that for you and for him?
BRYCE YOUNG: It's awesome to see. Not surprised at all. Again, Jalen is a special player, special guy. The way that he works, he carries himself, attention to detail he has throughout practice. Not surprised at all. A big moment like this, him stepping up, him being himself. So, yeah, super happy for him.
Q. Do you feel you've earned a fifth year?
BRYCE YOUNG: Not my call to make.
Q. How long does this sting last and you're able to look back at the good things that have happened this year and what you guys have been building?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, there'll be a time for that. Again, obviously, it's fresh right now. Not a lot of great feeling. But, yeah, there will definitely be a time for that. When the offseason comes and we do our self-scout and we go and we watch what we can build off of, watch what we can improve in. I'm sure there's going to be a loot in both categories. I'm excited to do that work. Again, we're all human. Right now it's fresh, but, again, I love this team, love this organization and I'm super excited for us.
Q. You mentioned the fans, just the environment here was as electric as it's been in a very, very long time. What was that like to play in?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, special. Again, can't thank the fans enough for coming out and supporting, making an impact. Again, just creating that feel. It was so much fun to play in. Everyone coming out, Cam on the drums. Again, the place was electric. Can't be more thankful for the Carolinas for their support.
Q. Bryce, where do you think you made the most progress this year as a player?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, I think just ownership, ownership from the unit, from the offense, ownership for the team. I'm grateful to have a great group of guys, grateful to be empowered and, you know, knowing what we're capable of, making sure it's my responsibility to bring that out of us, for us to be at our best. So, again, just the increased ownership as a player, as a leader, I'm grateful for that growth and so I'm going to continue that growth.
Q. What did you learn about yourself this year?
BRYCE YOUNG: Um, ooo, big question. I don't know. I wouldn't say that's how I look at a lot of things. I'm very, you know -- I try, again, to figure out on a week-to-week basis what can I do to improve? What can I do to maintain for things that are going well? I don't think I'm a big-picture, philosophical who am I type of guy. I'm a believer. I'm somebody who is going to come in every day and give my all. I want to do whatever it is that benefits the team, so I think for me it's just about improvement, trying to be better, making sure that we're better and then obviously in the offseason when we do our self-scout we'll learn a lot.
Q. Bryce, on the -- once they scored and you had 38 seconds left or whatever. I'm sure you were thinking you would get them down field again. What do you think happened, went wrong in that series?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, just execution. A couple of things that we all, that I want back, that we all want back. In a moment like that, you want to be able to come through and wasn't able to do that. So, again, it's just execution. I haven't watched the film yet but obviously want to find a way in situations like that.
Q. Do you feel like with McMillan and Coker you've got a couple of guys that you can lean on and they can lean on you for the next three or four years? Because to a lot of us, it was pretty outstanding to see those two guys out there tonight the way they played.
BRYCE YOUNG: 100%. I think we have a lot of really good, young guys. A lot of really good weapons. I'm super grateful for all the guys in the perimeter. They make my job a lot easier, so I'm excited for us to continue to build, continue to grow, and, yeah, I'm grateful to be alongside those guys.
Q. How hard was it for you to see Ikem leave as early as he did?
BRYCE YOUNG: Yeah, I feel for him so much. Such a warrior. Obviously he's played so much and probably from the outside looking in you'd think he's just been in perfect health, but he's been battling every week. He's been in the training room doing all the little things. He's been pushing through a lot of pain. He's a warrior. He's a huge part of us as a team. I really feel for him. So, yeah, it's tough to see that.
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