Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.15.24)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, injury front, MJ (Martin Emerson Jr.) has a concussion. Myles (Garrett) got poked in the eye. Shelby Harris has an elbow injury. Nick Chubb broke his foot, unfortunately. So obviously very disappointed for Nick. And it’s tough, but that game is — you cannot turn the ball over six times and expect to win any football game at any level. It’s hard enough to turn it over versus a very good football team. So I’m extremely disappointed that we did that. Our defense played, I thought, really well; forced a punt early, we muffed the punt, and they get the ball on a short field. So what we’re doing in terms of adding a degree of difficulty to how we’re playing is really…it’s tough to win. Until we knock that out, it’s going to be hard to win. It’s not a question of effort, it’s not a question of how we’re working, we just have to take care of the football better. And it’s everybody, it’s not one person, it’s not about one side of the ball, it’s a team loss. But it’s really frustrating because you’re just not going to win any games doing that. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
Is Jameis (Winston) still your starting quarterback?
“Yeah, I’m not going to get into any decisions right now.”
Given the fact that he’s now thrown three interceptions in three different games, 12 overall, eight in the last three. Might it be time to move it over to Dorian (Thompson-Robinson)?
“I think with any decision, Mary Kay (Cabot), I’ll obviously work through those types of things. This is not about one person, I will make that very clear. Jameis does a great job preparing for these games. He’s fighting his tail off and I appreciate that from him, but we’ll make that decision later.”
Do you see any common thread in these continued turnovers, Kevin?
“I think all of them are different, Jeff (Schudel). I think you have to learn from each one. But the bottom line, and I think everybody knows this, is you can’t make it hard on yourself, and we’re making it hard on ourselves right now.”
Is there any shot at all that you would think about giving Bailey (Zappe) a chance?
“I would say all those types of decisions, Mary Kay (Cabot), I need to work through everything.”
It is Week 15, you had five or six lining up related penalties. Why does that continue to be a problem?
“Well, it was a problem today, certainly. I would take issue with a few of them, Daryl (Ruiter). I’ll look at them and we’ll respond appropriately. We haven’t had a penalty on special teams in a long time and had a few today. We knew that crew throws a lot of flags. Going into this game, that’s something that we knew and they lived up to their reputation.”
Was the decision to go with Dorian because Jameis had thrown the three picks?
“Yes.”
And on those two into the end zone, did you feel like he was just forcing it? It looked like the one was double coverage?
“Yes, and again, trying to make a play. There’s that fine line, I get it, but we just have to do a better job taking care of it.”
Jerome Ford, finding the silver lining in every cloud, Jerome Ford both on return and running the ball, he seems to have found a rhythm that maybe had been lacking for part of the year.
“Certainly needed a spark. I thought he provided it there. It was second and long and he takes a draw and goes the whole way. I thought Mike Woods had a really critical block on that play, but Jerome has definitely given us a spark.”
Do you know anything more about Nick’s injury? How it happened, how long he could be out?
“I believe he got stepped on, but that — I don’t.”
And I know we ask you all the time, but the fact that he comes back from the knee and then to not be able to finish the season, how devastating is that for him, you?
“Well, I think with Nick…I’ve told you guys this before, but I have gotten to have a first row seat to what he’s been able to do. I can’t tell you how much I respect him as a person, what he means to this football team. So, really, really disappointed about this injury. It does not change the fact that he continues to inspire this football team with how he approaches every single day. And I know this is just another obstacle that he will overcome.”
As far as Dorian is concerned, getting thrown into a game like that in that situation, can he be expected to really get things going or should he also not be throwing again?
“I think obviously when you come in at times as a backup, whether it’s backup quarterback or otherwise, you get thrown in some tough spots. That’s the truth. As a backup quarterback, you have to be ready to go. We have to learn from every single play we’re out there.”
Jerry (Jeudy) broke 1,000 yards for the season and 4,000 in his career. Over the course of the season, how have you seen him find his rhythm in this offense?
“Yeah, I thought Jerry continues to just help this football team move the ball. I think there’s definitely opportunities where he can help us even more. And he’s a very friendly target for the quarterbacks. He’s finding ways to get open in a variety of ways.”
Was there a chance that David (Njoku) was actually going to be able to play today and how much did it hurt Jameis not to have him and Ced (Cedric Tillman)?
“Yeah, Dave pushed really hard this week to make it back. Just wanted to see how he responded over the last 24-48 hours and just didn’t get there. And yeah, it’s tough not having him and Ced out there but we trust the guys that are out there.”
What are you thinking when Myles rips off his helmet and goes face down?
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. So getting out there pretty quickly, they told me it was the eye and thank God he’s okay.”
And I know he didn’t have a sack today, but it felt like he was really harassing (Patrick) Mahomes.
“He was close, I thought we were close. I thought the defense really executed the game plan well. Played hard. Got our hands on some footballs. Thought the quarterback made some amazing plays like he does. Thought we had him dead to rights a few times.”
Going back to the Myles injury, how exactly did it happen?
“I don’t know. Yeah, I didn’t see it. Not sure.”
Why did you guys wind up making the decision to go with Riley (Patterson) instead of Dustin (Hopkins)?
“Like I told you guys, Dustin is our kicker. I’ve told him this and I told you guys, we’re going to work through it together. Thought this was the right move to just give him a week off and let him get back in that groove, his swing, if you will. So, I’m confident in Dustin moving forward.
Any chance he’s back next week?
“Yes.”