Here’s what Matt Ryan had to say after the 29-28 loss to the Chiefs:
On the two-point conversion attempt and Eric Berry’s return to flip the score:
“It was a poor play on my part. I expected a combination coverage to the outside and Eric Berry did a good job of coming down and going to the tight end. It was a disappointing play and a bad play on my part. Ultimately, that was a tough one. I’m disappointed with it, but we’ll learn from it and try to be better moving forward.”
On the emotional swing after taking the lead with a touchdown:
“That part is always tough. Obviously, we had a great drive leading up to that and made some really good plays. Aldrick [Robinson] did a great job on the touchdown pass and then we made a mistake. Those are always tough to deal with and always hard. It’s disappointing. We will learn from it though and get back at it again tomorrow and try to do better. We did some good things today, but ultimately a couple of mistakes cost us.”
On whether the loss will take more than 24 hours to get over:
“No, I think you have to flush it out. That’s part of being a professional. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s tough, but it is really important to move on and get ready for next week. We’ve got a really good football team and are going out to play a really good defense. We have got to be prepared and ready to play. I will for sure be prepared and ready to play.”
On the two drives that stalled inside the Kansas City’s five-yard line:
“They did a good job in the tight red zone and really inside the ten. They did a pretty good job all day against us, which is a credit to them. I thought they played well. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to down there, but they played us tight with man-to-man coverage. We just couldn’t come away with touchdowns there. When you have those opportunities especially early and you get the ball down in that low red zone, you want to come away with touchdowns. That probably cost us today.”
On what he saw on Eric Berry’s second quarter INT return for a touchdown:
“Again, that was a good play by Eric [Berry] and a decision that I can’t make. I’ve got to check the ball down or move on. I made a mistake there.”
On the growth and production of Devonta Freeman:
“He’s been awesome since he got here for us. He’s been extremely productive specifically the last two years in terms of scoring touchdowns and making people miss. He’s done a great job. I thought he did a great job and played really well today.”
On Jake Matthews injury and moving forward from it:
“Well, you never know so we’ll see where he is moving forward. I thought Tom [Compton] came in and did a really good job for us today. That’s not an easy thing to do when you have five guys up front that have really played the bulk of the snaps all year. For Tom to come off the bench, I thought he did a nice job especially going against a really good defense and front seven. Jake [Matthews] has been a huge part of our success this year. He’s played really, really well. He has continued to get better in his years here. We’ll see where he’s at.”
On his immediate thoughts after the failed two-point conversion to flip the score:
“It’s a lot worse than ‘oh darn’. I’m not sure you can print it. You’re pissed. There is no other way of getting around it. That’s part of sports and it happens. You get frustrated, but you’ve got to be able to move on and we will. I will. I’ve played for a long time, made a lot of really good plays and made some poor plays. That wasn’t one of my best. We will move on from it and hopefully be better next week.”
On outscoring the Chiefs 15-0 over a span of 37 minutes and still coming up empty:
“We did some good things and played well against a good defense. We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole too early. I think any time you turn the football over especially prior to halftime and especially one that goes back for a touchdown. That’s tough. I thought we were resilient though really the entire day. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but I thought we battled. Getting the three points after the interception for a touchdown was impressive. The way we came back, had some long drives and overcame some mistakes during those drives were good things. We didn’t ultimately get the outcome because it’s a game of a few plays here and there. They made that play in a critical situation, but we’ll take some positives from it as well.”
