For us, this was a test. I informed the players at the beginning of last week’s game that we would be playing a very good squad and that this would be a test to see where we were as a team. And for all of us, this was a test. We obviously didn’t perform well on the test, which was intended to be a test for all the players, myself, and the coaches. But it’s not the final exam—it’s the midterm. Therefore, I believe that coaches and players alike can improve and have a far higher chance of success in the future if we can all learn from some of the mistakes that we made.

However, there are essentially two options available to everyone: either give up and settle for mediocrity or persevere and put in the hard work necessary to achieve success. Additionally, I believe that neither you nor we want to waste a failure, and neither do we want to waste this one. So, coaches and players alike, we’re all going to be dedicated to trying to do things better, practice better, prepare better, have a better plan for the players, etc., and it all starts with me, as I clearly let our team down in terms of how we were able to play and execute.

After we recovered, we had about ten penalties, two of which were used to cancel touchdowns. We let up far too many big defensive plays, and they scored 10 points as a result of our mistakes. If we want to be able to play and have the kind of team we can have, we have to fix all those problems.

I think these players are capable. These athletes have put forth a lot of effort. The stadium had a fantastic vibe this evening. I’m grateful for the supporters. They certainly played a part. Our contribution was insufficient. Like I mentioned previously, it begins with me. However, we will use every effort to rectify and resolve the issue.

Numerous sacks were made up of four-man rushes. I believe there was a three-man rush among them. Their quarterback wasn’t under any pressure, in our opinion. We didn’t have any effect on him at all; we were just trying to play so we could rush four guys and cover their receivers. They performed an excellent job of moving the pocket, picking us up, and playing man-to-man during our third-down plays. Therefore, we did a poor job of influencing their quarterback. All we need to do is improve. It is insufficient for me to simply state that one man failed to pass protection. I am aware that in nearly every one of those cases, something unexpected occurred. We also held the ball at quarterback occasionally, I believe. It needs to be read carefully and removed from your possession. Furthermore, I believe that we failed to sufficiently distance ourselves from others and become transparent, while others successfully matched the patterns.

Yes, I did. However, I felt he gained a lot of confidence when he mustered the will to drive down the field and score when we gained the lead. However, we never once talked about it. I can’t claim that, for any player going through a rough patch, the thought never crosses their mind. However, it was encouraging to see him make several strong plays in the last moments of the game. The interception was clearly crucial to the outcome of the game. All we’re going to do is try to improve each and every one of our guys.

We did a poor job of responding to some motions. We mismatched the patterns, put people in the wrong places, and committed a few conceptual mistakes. We got by a few times. Our safety was in the middle of the field. In a few instances, we experienced pass interference. Once, they made a really nice catch. They had a quarters beater while we were playing quarters, but we didn’t steal the safety. It’s quite technical, but as a secondary player, you cannot allow anyone to toss the ball over your head. Therefore, we must fix that.