Head Coach Jim Caldwell Q: for a total team effort, passing, running, defense, got something from your special teams as well? A: Yeah, almost in every phase we got a huge contribution. I just think all across the board the guys played tough and played well against a team that s very, very difficult to beat anywhere, home or away, so yeah, I think overall our guys did a nice job. Q: How about Ebron tonight? Was there something particular in the match up that you liked about that? A: No, you know week in and week out it just changes. Last week it was Golden [Tate] with ten, this week Eric [Ebron] had a few and it just depends on what they give us. Matt [Stafford] does a good job of spreading that thing around a little bit, but Marvin Jones still went up and caught a big one for us which was key, but Eric [Ebron] had a pretty good day with five receptions, but that s just kind of how our offense works. Next week it may be somebody else and that s the good thing about it. Q: How key has the pressure that you guys have been able to give the last two weeks been? Maybe speak to Ansah s performance, tonight especially. A: Yeah, well I think anytime that you end up getting that kind of pressure with five sacks against a very, very explosive offense that has the weapons they have you saw [Evan] Engram and obviously everybody knows what the rest of the crew can do [Odell] Beckham and Eli [Manning] and the rest of that group, so anytime you can get pressure on him it s a good thing. We were not only just getting pressure on him consistently, just pushing the pocket a little bit and guys got one here and there, but they re a tough team to handle. Q: I don t know if the punt return from [Jamal] Agnew won the game, but it certainly seemed like a huge moment. What did you see on that? A: Yeah, it added to it. First of all it looked like he was going to go the other way because it was a heck of a punt, but it just kind of gave him enough room to get started up the sideline and he found a crease. One of the things you notice about this guy is that he has quickness and speed and anytime you can take a return that far in the National Football League without getting caught from behind is, you know you ve got a little bit of a motor going for you. He has done a really good job for us. You can see it coming just in terms of his quickness and ability to catch it and run and he ll do enough to get better. He s just a young guy right now. Q: Was there any hesitation on challenging that spot? A: No. I was standing right in front of it so it was pretty, pretty simple and obviously the confirmation from upstairs and looking at the film, it was pretty obvious. Q: Two fourth quarter stops. How big were those two moments for your defense? A: Huge. Anytime you can get the ball back, that s like a turnover essentially, when you get it back on downs. Our defense s ability to cover, cause it took some great job and a number of great plays out there, a number of guys got their hands out there, hands on balls and knocked it around a little bit.
Anytime you can get them to give it back to you where you have a chance to either score or run some more time off the clock is huge. Q: Matthew [Stafford] talked about it and I know you guys have been trying to build up to this point, but being able to run the ball in the fourth quarter and especially there towards the end, three minutes to go, up a couple scores and get a first down there. How big was that moment in preserving the win? A: That s a huge part of really a four-minute offense at the gate, when you re trying to seal a game, is how well you can run it. Running it takes the risk out of obviously putting it in the air, a sack-fumble, tipped balls, things of that nature, so like most teams they put a lot of guys up there on the line of scrimmage. They hit us a couple times in the backfield on a couple plays, but overall I think that our offensive line did a nice job against a really good front. You can see what they can do against the teams they ve played. They re a tough, hard-nosed group with two of the best rushers probably that you ll see and I think our line did a nice job and Ameer [Abdullah] did a nice job sticking with it. Jim Bob [Cooter] did a nice job just in terms of maintain the rhythm. Q: I m not going to let you enjoy this one, just look ahead to next week, obviously a very good Atlanta team at home, probably a ruckus crowd. How fun do you anticipate that game to be? A: Yeah, we got a little bit. We ve already started working on them a little bit and because it s a short week, so we ve had a look at a little bit of film here in terms of our preparation, so they re a very talented team, very explosive which you can see and so it should be a real challenge for our guys. Q: Matthew [Stafford] s ability to extend plays and keep his eyes downfield and hit a deep pass is that something he s had or has that evolved over the course of his time here? A: No, I think that s just a trait that he s probably had since he was in junior high maybe. I didn t see him play in junior high, but he did some in college and he s done it ever since he s been in the league here. But his ability I think is underestimated, his ability to run with the ball. He maybe had like twenty-seven yards rushing, he averaged like 7.1, I think, per carry, I believe, when you look at the stats, so he can do some damage, but not only just moving around, keeping eyes downfield and throwing and making big plays, but he also can eat up some yardage, particularly if there are situations where they re playing low man coverage with their back to the ball. Every game he gets one or two crucial first downs with his legs. Q: A little different feeling to play the entire game and have the lead? A: You know what I don t really think about it because nobody is safe in this league. You don t feel any different because you just don t know until that clock strikes zero, zero, zero, the game is still on the line in this league so it still felt the same to me. CB Jamal Agnew Q: Take us through the punt return for a touchdown? A: The punter hung that up there, he put a good amount of distance on it. I trust my gunners and the punt return squad, shout out to them. I had a lot of daylight, I caught the ball made a move and just got north. Q: What s going through your mind as you are going down the field?
A: To be honest what was going through my mind was, Don t let the long snapper tackle me and don t let the punter tackle me. Thankfully I made them miss, like I said I have to shout out the punt return squad, they all held their blocks and it was a team effort. Q: What was it like to get your first NFL touchdown? A: It was surreal, I still can t believe it. People have been blowing up my phone, I still can t believe it happened. I m going to go look at the film and then it will be real. Q: Obviously you were a big part of special teams tonight but as far as the defense what is this going to mean for you as a unit? A: I think we did great on all sides of the ball. That was a great team we just played, and to get them on the road in their house that s a big win for us. We have to take the momentum back to Ford Field next weekend. Q: What did you think of Quandre s (Diggs) stop on 4 th down? A: That was a big play, we needed that. We got a bad spot at first, but we knew Quandre stopped him before the sticks. Coach trusted him and challenged it and turns out he was short. Q: Did you save the ball from your touchdown? A: Oh yea, most definitely I handed that right to [Assistant Equipment Manager] Joey [Jaroshewich] and he said he was going to take care of it. CB Darius Slay Q: This defensive performance overall, what does it mean to you guys as a whole? A: Great. Great. That's a great team that we just played against. One of the best quarterbacks in the game, a future Hall-of-Famer. We played very good defense out there today. We went out there and fought every play and did our jobs and assignments. Q: How did the pass rush help you guys in coverage? A: A lot, a lot. You know, we appreciate that. We all come together as one. We got good pass rushers, we got good coverage, it all works together. Q: What did you think of "Ziggy" Ansah out there today? A: Loved it. I loved it. The trio guy, I love it. He was out there going to get it. He's one of the best in the business at rushing the passer, and he showed it tonight. Q: What does it mean to see him return to form. It's been a while seeing him get that many in one game? A: It feels good. That's my draft-mate you know. So, I only want nothing but the best for him. But like I said, he's Ziggy and he's going to get it. So he's coming after you, so you better be ready. Q: Those stops that you guys had at the very end of the game where they turned the ball over on downs; you had several pass breakups there in coverage. Walk me through that series for you.
A: Just making the play, trying to get off the field. We knew we had to make a big play and that's what I was trying to do, just make big plays. That's my nickname, so I was out there just going, doing my job, doing my assignment. I was just in the right places and made the plays that I needed to make. Q: You got some finger-wags in there too. A: Yeah a couple. I got two of them, could've had more. But you know, back to the basics, going back to work and get ready for next week. This week. Q: What did you think of Tahir s [Whitehead] interception? A: He finally got hands. he could finally catch. I'm giving him credit to be able to catch now. I used to think that he can't catch but now I'm giving him a little more credit. Q: Was [WR] Odell [Beckham Jr] himself out there tonight? A: I mean, to me he was. I just think that that's their star player. They want to save him, rest him up in Week Two. He might be better for them in the long run, but he was out there and he was very effective. He's one of the talented guys in this league and he's one of the best to tell you the truth. He's a pretty good guy. Q: What did it take to limit him tonight? A: Just trying to work the technique and being consistent. Make sure you got a guy that's here and a high guy there. You just have to know where he's at all times because he's a game-changing player and respect to him. Like I said, he's probably one of the best in the game and he's very, very effective. DE Ezekiel Ansah Q: How good did that feel to finally get going, since you got close last week with a lot of pressures, but to actually get a guy down three times? First time since I think Thanksgiving last year you had a similar performance. A: Feels great, Monday Night Football, we were the only game on. I think it was a team win todaydefense, special teams came out to execute and I thought it was a great win. Q: On having a successful pass rush. A: With a pass rush, you just have to know where the tackle is and how he sets and you ve just got to set him up and I was able to do one or two things that made me get to the quarterback. Q: That s two weeks in a row now, team-wise, that you guys have had a lot of guys step up with a lot of pressure from a lot of different spots. How excited are you about what this defense could do after just two weeks of the season? A: We have a great defense. We have guys that are hard workers that are always working on their craft to be the best that they can be and one thing that we just have to do is keep working hard and not get too relaxed. We just have to keep it up. Q: What is the joy of getting a sack as opposed to just getting close and getting the hurry?
A: I think that s a rhetorical question. The sack looks better than a hurry. That is what I am paid to do - knock the quarterback down with the ball in his hands and I m just grateful I was able to get a few today. Q: How does it feel to get the win? A: It feels great. RB Ameer Abdullah Q: You had a couple big plays, how does it feel to do that again? A: It's good. We got a lot to correct though. We could do a lot better. Q: What needs to improve in the run game? A: Just continuing to win the one on one battles. Me winning in the hole, a guy winning one a solo block. You know stuff like that. Q: What does impress you about this offense after tonight s performance? A: There tough dudes, they're tough dudes. Tough guys up front, guys who have a lot of pride in who they are and what their names say on the back of their jerseys. Anytime I m going to war with guys who are prideful and how they carry themselves and what they put on film, it lifts me up and I'm sure it lifts everyone else up as well. Q: How does it help to start this season 2-0? A: I mean, every new week is like a new season for us. We're 2-0 now, we're going up against a good opponent this week and it's a brand new season. Q: You mentioned Jamal Agnew a little bit ago. What was it like to watch him get that punt return? A: I was ecstatic, just because I know if you give him a crease, he's one of the fastest guys on our team, he's going to take it to the house. It was a huge moment for us. We kind of stuttered out a little bit as an offense. We finally get the ball back and we're thinking, we got to go put together a good drive and boom, he took care of it for us, and that was great. Q: Did you teach him those juking skills? A: No, he s far better than me. I stumble in open field, I looked terrible. QB Matthew Stafford Postgame vs. New York, September 18, 2017 Q: It was tough sliding out there against a very good defense, but you guys just made plays when you needed to make plays. Is that just the stamp of a good day? A: Yeah, it was a little bit of a different game. We came into it with the mindset that we were going to have to run the ball on first and second down. We mixed in some play action. You drop back a bunch of times on this team and that s what they want you to do. They ve got great secondary, great pass rushers. They showed that at times tonight. Our guys out front did a good job of staying ahead of the chains enough, open our backs, get going a bit. We made some big plays, missed some big ones too. I wish I had a couple of throws back, but overall we ll take a win.
Q: What is the importance of good field position? You guys capitalized on good field position last week and did so again today. A: Any time our defense does a good job of keeping them backed up, or making them punt, or getting a turnover for us or whatever it is, we have to capitilize on those. We did a nice job a couple of times tonight of getting it in the end zone early. Let our defense do what they re doing. They re playing at a high level at the moment. That s really nice for us. Q: What kind of level of trust do you have in Marvin Jones, Jr. when you put one up like that one-onone ball? A: I have a lot of trust in him. He s made some big plays over the years. He came close a couple times tonight. I missed him early in the game by one, it felt like a yard or two, and then again later in the game. We ll continue to take shots, be aggressive and hopefully we ll hit a couple more of them. Q: You guys haven t had a win like this on a road on this kind of stage in a couple of years. What does this mean for this team? I know it s early. A: I think it s just another football game. The dimensions of the field were going to be the same. The team we were playing is a good football team, a playoff caliber football team with a great defense and talented offense. Any time you can go on the road in this league and play a team like that and get a win in a tough environment, it s a good thing. Q: You ve had some good defenses in your career, but you ve had a lot of bad ones. What s it like going to the sideline knowing those guys go out there and sack the quarterback? A: They re doing a heck of a job of, like you said, getting after the quarterback a bunch, shutting the run down early, and creating turnovers. It was close on a couple more. Guys made big time plays. You win a game like that, big plays. I think back to the one where [Darius] Slay falls down, gets back up and knocks the ball out. That touchdown there, that s a whole different ballgame. Slay making that play is huge. Stopping them on fourth down the time before, all these plays are big plays. On offense, it was nice to be able to run the ball like that at the end of the game. Our defense played their tail off all game. To not send them back out there with 3:30 on the clock, down 14 or whatever, it is to be able to kind of ice the game is really good night. Q: How do you sense that roll out? A: Just play a lot of football. It s not something I practice. It s not something I think about. It just happens. It worked a couple of times tonight. It has not worked a couple of times in my career. Q: Back to the question about the win at this stadium, you don t think it announces you guys as a legitimate contender to the nation? A: No, I think that s stuff you guys like to talk about and write about. For us, we re on a short week against a defending Super Bowl runner up. We ve got our focus. We ll enjoy this for about 30 minutes then I ll be watching Atlanta as fast as I can. They ve got a great defense and obviously a big time offense too. Q: What s it like to play from ahead. It feels like you haven t done that in a while, what s that like from the quarterback perspective? A : It s different, every game shakes out different. You have to play them how they unfold. It was nice to have the lead, like I said our defense was solid tonight, and it was great to be able to run the ball well in that second half and chew up some clock. Playing with the lead, it was good.
Q: How fun will Sunday be, Atlanta 2-0, Lions 2-0? A: Yes it will be nice. I hope our fans come out and make it really tough for them on offense. It s a big time opponent, a really good football team, a perennial really good football team and obviously talented. We will have our work cut out for us. Q: You used your whole roster today, a rookie gets a punt return for a touchdown. When you win games like that how important is that? A: It s big, you know we had some guys play in some different spots. On defense a couple guys got more snaps than maybe they bargained for at the beginning of the week, but we all practice like that. We practice knowing that whoever is out there is going to have to pick up the slack and play as hard you possibly can and the young kid on the return was sweet, to spin and come out of there and pick up the punter and make him miss, it was a lot of fun to watch. Our guys practice hard on special teams and it shows up, we make field goals, we do a great job covering punts and we made some big plays in the return game. It was nice. Guard T.J. Lang Q: How much confidence do you have when you re able to get all three phases clicking like that? A: I mean it s great. I think it s been a couple of weeks in a row now that we haven t gotten off to the best start offensively or really sustained a great start, but our defense is doing a great job of keeping us in ballgames and maintaining the lead so we can keep the playbook open and not get one dimensional. That's team football, man. It's the biggest team sport there is. In one area your team s not clicking great, the other two hopefully pick you up and we ve had that throughout the first two weeks of the season and it's a great characteristic of our team right now. Q: Every team is different. Every year is different. This is an example of growth. You guys get a little confidence and go back home. Now another tough test? A: Yeah definitely. I think we re going to enjoy this one obviously tonight, but it's a short week. We know we ve got a tough opponent coming into Ford Field. Going to have to jump on them as soon as we can, but like you said, we ve stacked together a couple of nice wins now. Definitely have some confidence and momentum on our side. We just have to make sure we handle it appropriately and continue to clean up the small things that we need to get better at and keep building on the things we re doing well. It s going to be a hell of a challenge for us, but obviously we like the way we re playing right now. Q: Are you aware of how much a win like this means to the fans of Detroit? A: I mean every season you have a new team and obviously coming out of training camp and last week, we really like the team we have. We re obviously in the early stages of developing our characteristics as a football team, but not a lot of people believed in us the first two weeks. I think we ve done a great job at blocking out the noise and yeah, I think we definitely realize that we don't play for just the people in this locker room. We ve got a lot of great fans back home that are hungry for a wining football team and like I said in the offseason, we re ready to give it to them because we ve been playing pretty solid football right now.