DE Myles Garrett (10.15.23)
Did you get a piece of the ball on your hand as it was intercepted?
“Yes, I got a piece of the ball as it was coming out.”
What was that matchup like against – you said you had never obviously faced Trent (Williams) before. What was it like getting an opportunity to go against him for four quarters?
“I mean, I didn’t let y’all know beforehand, but I was excited as hell. Because it’s someone I respected and admired, like even before I started playing NFL. And watch him growing up, getting to go against D Ware (Demarcus Ware), some of the premier pass rushers in the history of the league, and he’s been doing exceptionally well for a long time. And I’ll just admire pass rushers. I admire really good tackles because to do what they do every play at a high level is extremely difficult and he’s been very consistent throughout his whole career. So, I was glad to finally get the chance to go at him.”
They got off to a great start offensively, seemed like after the interception, you guys were in command defensively the rest of the game. How big of a play was that? What message did that send?
“It was huge, man. Just showing that we’re here, we’re unrelenting. No, we’re not going anywhere. So, one play is one play, but that’s behind us and we’re going to keep on attacking all day.”
Can you talk about the little skirmish at the beginning and did you guys kind of take that as a sign of disrespect and did it help fire you guys up at all?
“No, maybe a little bit. Some guys viewed it as that, I think two teams as strong-willed as us are bound to have some skirmishes here and there, but they want to win just as bad as we want to win. And you saw that today.”
How important was this type of win, though? Kind of also considering the injuries you guys are dealing with and just you just booming past the fight?
“Find a way to win. When the chips are down and odds are against you, you know you have to make the most of what you got. We played the best we could with the cards were dealt and made the most out of it. Those guys, credit to them on offense, came in ready to play. We knew they would. And even though we had a couple of people go down on defense, the next man up was ready for the moment and consistently got stops because those guys knew exactly what they needed to do. And always on their P’s and Q’s throughout the week and it showed today.”
What are you thinking on that last drive when they were able to get in the field goal range and then obviously the field goal?
“I was thinking, ‘Damn, Brock (Purdy) is getting out fast.’ And a lot of respect for him because he’s kept to his routine. He was getting it out quick, three-step drop, making quick decisions. That takes a lot for a young guy to do, not to be bothered by the pass rush and to keep on getting the ball out and putting it on the money like that. We were making plays, they got down and it was you know, who wants to make this last play? I know we were rushing our a** off on that last special teams play. I didn’t get to see it go in or not go in. When I went down to the ground, I just heard the crowd, go wild and my boys started sprinting, so instinctually I started sprinting.”
It just seemed like there was something about you guys all week where you just had this confidence, this belief in yourself and there was an energy about you guys. What was going on with you guys?
“That’s that swagger. That’s that swagger that Jim (Schwartz) has brought and helped bring out of us. Not just on the defensive end, but all throughout the team and that kind of confidence we exuded it all through the week. I think you all just seeing the beginning of it and just starting to take notice. But we always bring that type of energy and no matter who’s on the field, we know we can bang with anybody.”
Talk about P.J. (Walker), going from Wednesday, his first practice basically as your quarterback to that final drive where he got the offense down the field.
“You say that’s our first practice with him, but we’ve seen him for a while now going against us and I know he’s had the confidence to take off or use his arm. He’s not scared of the moment, and we’ve known that. He’s gone against some pretty talented rushes in practice, so he knows how to deliver it when the pressure gets pretty hot. But we knew he would come up big for us when the moment came, and he sure did.”
So you’re not talking scout teamt, that’s the ones?
“He’s going against the ones every day and so he has to get better and he showed he’s gotten better and better every day.”
Myles, you talked about making Brock Purdy less confident. Could you see in his eyes as you guys kept the pressure model game that he was losing that confidence?
“Funnily enough, it felt like he was beginning – we had him really frazzled. He was a little bit anxious in the pocket and moving around a lot. But towards that last end, like the second half of the fourth quarter, it seemed like he finally settled in, he was confident in delivering those throws. And that’s a scary thing to see when you have a quarterback who’s got pressure in his face and he’s continued to deliver the ball like that, even though you’re right there. We’re putting hits on him, taking him down. It’s exciting at the same time because if he’s going to continue to be that confident to sit in the pocket then we’re going to continue to get after him like that.”
Was it a statement being able to hold a team’s 33 points a game to basically 17? One touchdown and then the turnover.
“We know who we are. We made a statement to everyone else, but to us, we knew what we had in our building in our room and continued to just play the game that we know we can play. These guys are very confident and rightfully so. And we’re going to continue to ball.”
Trent Williams was just over there talking about your battle. He said you’re a Hall of Famer. How does it hit you to get that kind of respect from a guy like him?
“Like I said, to hear it from him means a whole hell of a lot. Just because the history of the game and how good he’s been and his place among the very greats. It means a lot. Got a resume to continue building, but that’s just one step and I got to continue to battle and compete with guys like that and then come on the right side of things, but it means a lot and hopefully one Hall of Famer to another one day. But he’s as big as it gets as far as that left tackle position.”
Were you guys aware that Jim Schwartz was 7-1 heading into this game against Kyle Shanahan’s offenses? And if so, when he was up there delivering the game plan, did you guys have whole faith and confidence that whatever he was telling you was going to work?
“We always have faith and confidence. We don’t look at the stats or the numbers and none of that history matters. We watch film, look at the tendencies and we break down in our own position rooms and what we need to win. But as far as the history of matchups and stuff like that, that’s for the birds. Going to keep that behind us. He told us it was going to be a dog fight, it was going to be a heavyweight fight. It’s going to be Ali-Liston, Ali-Fraser, even Hagler-Hearns and I mean, down to the wire it was. So, we trust in him completely and we’re going to keep on riding with each other.”
What have you seen out of JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) all season but especially today? Big sack.
“They gave him that? They didn’t give me mine? Aw, shoot. He’s a big, big playmaker for us. He’s a bundle of energy. He’s always bringing positive energy to the group. Whether he’s on the sideline, he’s out there, we know he’s going to make a play. He has a unique skill set unlike most others in his position and we know when he’s fully confident that something exciting is going to happen for us. So, always happy to see him out there flying around.”
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