Here’s what Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota had to say after the 37-34 overtime win Sunday:
On whether he’s ever played in a game with a wild finish like this one: “Man, the NFL, it’s wild, right? I’ve been a part of a couple in the last year with the Raiders, at the end the season with the Chargers game. But this is probably definitely at the top. Just unbelievable drive by our guys. Just staying in the moment, staying present, understanding that, you know what, we got a chance.”
On the feeling on the sideline when they knew they would get another chance: “(It) really just comes down to executing, right, getting another chance to go and win the game. Again, like I said, great job by our coaches, by the entire offense of finding ways to make plays to give (Younghoe) Koo a chance at the end of the game.”
On how he balances the fact that they won but they also made mistakes: “Well, first and foremost, it’s tough to win in this league. It really is. No matter what, however it comes about, just enjoy it. With that being said, it’s always easier to go in on Monday to look back at corrections when you won the game than it is when you lost. So again, proud of our guys staying in it and believing. Sometimes when you get into situations like that, guys kind of put their head down. Nobody did that on the sideline. For me, it’s really cool to be a part of that, and it says a lot about our guys.”
On how the team bounced back from the slow start offensively: “I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better. I think the slow start, really, I wasn’t executing. Could have got – you know, the ball thrown away, take a bad sack, obviously the pick early on. I have to be better. Got to be cleaner. You know, again, like I said, our guys, they don’t blink. Good plays, bad plays, they stay pretty even-keeled, especially when these things happen. When bad things happen, our guys are ready to step up to make a play; our guys did.”
On the confidence the team has in Koo: “I can’t explain how valuable he is to this team. He’s got such a cool demeanor. He goes about his business the right way. He’s always working hard, so it’s no surprise to me when things get down to the wire that he makes these kicks.”
On what makes this team resilient: “Guys are unselfish, which is hard in this league. Being around it now for eight years, you look around the league and it’s kind of a ‘me’ mentality. What’s cool about this locker room is guys are thinking more about the team, thinking about ‘we,’ which makes it a lot of fun to play for and a lot of fun to come to work. No matter what, guys understand that it’s not going to be perfect in every phase of the game, but one side will pick up the other. As long as we’ve got that, we’ll continue to be in these games, and I think we’ll win more games than not.”
On his 30-yard run on third-and-1 in overtime and whether that was the play design: “Not necessarily. In those situations, I just try to make the most of it. Our guys did a great job blocking on the field, finding a way to make a play to give Koo a chance.”
On the versatility of the team to win in different ways: “That’s a great question. What’s really cool about this offense is, week to week, we can kind of change and do what we need to do to win. It’s not easy to do that. You’ve got to have a bunch of guys that are very unselfish. When you’ve got young cats like Kyle (Pitts) and Drake (London) who should expect to get a bunch of targets and sometimes they don’t, but we’re winning games, and they don’t care, they just want to win, that is when this team can (be) at another level. So given opportunities, guys are going to go make plays. Today was just one of those days where we had opportunities to make plays in the passing game.”
On Jake Matthews saying that Mariota is the kind of teammate that you want to play hard for: “Special, right? Like that’s – football is only going to be so long, and really my legacy or how I perceive myself is really truly based off that. Like statistics are cool. Those things are fun to talk about. But I think the relationships are what mean the most to me. Fact of the matter is when you got a group of guys that you enjoy playing for, it makes it that much more special.”
On his confidence level: “(It) feels great. Feels like it’s where it should be. This game isn’t perfect, and I think sometimes throughout my career I try to be perfect, which kind of derails some of my confidence. But at the end of the day, like if I give – if I’m given the opportunity to have a ball and with the guys that we’ve got, I truly believe in them. That’s where that confidence comes from, is this group that we’ve got. As we go forward, we’ll find ways to win games, whether it’s throwing or whether it’s running. As we continue forward, it’s going to be a lot of fun to be a part of.”
On Damiere Byrd’s 47-yard touchdown and when he knew it was going to be a touchdown: “Once he put his foot in the ground and went back laterally, I was like he’s got a chance. Like I said earlier, we’ve got a group of guys in that room that just, they’re special. I’ve just got to find ways to get them the rock. I really try to focus my mentality on being a point guard because once the ball is in their hands those guys will finish it.”
On deciding when to break the pocket and run and when to stay in and try to make a throw: “Honestly, I don’t even really think about it. I really just go out there and play. I really think that if I’m thinking about it, I play slow. More times than not, if I feel like there is an opening, I just play off my instincts. I could clean up a few things, but at the end of the day, it’s, again, just about getting these guys the opportunity to have the ball in their hands.”
On the way the team blocked downfield on some of its explosive plays: “It’s that unselfish mentality. It really starts up top with the coaches. They do a great job of setting that foundation. But you’ve got to have guys that buy in. This young group of guys really do believe in it. Again, like I said, that’s what makes it fun coming to work. At the end of the day, if you’re dealing with attitudes or kind of selfishness, it does make it kind of hard to come to work. These guys don’t care. They just want to win.”
On Kyle Pitts’ performance: “He’s tough to cover. He is another guy, like I said, that we’ve just got to continue to find ways to get him the ball. That little fly route that he caught that turned into 30, 40 yards, like that’s what he’s capable of doing. More times than not, if we can do those things, just get him the rock, it’s going to be good for us.”
On Drake London: “I think it creates matchups that are very advantageous for us. I think Drake had a great game today. Talk about a guy that was – had huge third-down conversions by running great routes. You know, again, like I said, when you’re able to have guys kind of all over and defenses can’t really key in on certain players, it makes it tough on them. The more times that I can get the ball to these guys, create space for them, allow them to do what they do, it’s going to be good for us.”
On being the division leaders eight games into the season: “(We’ve) got a long way to go. At the end of the day, our team goals are to win the division. It is taking it one step at a time. I think that’s what’s really cool about this team. We’re not thinking too far ahead or looking back in the past. We’re just finding ways to kind of stay in the moment. If we continue to do that, I think we’ll like where we are at.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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