LA Chargers Players (10.9.22)
Chargers DL Christian Covington:
On how good the Cleveland Browns backfield is:
“Sometimes we knew exactly what they were going to run but they are a talented group and one of the best at running the ball. At the end of the day, we will take this win and correct what we have to correct.”
On settling down after the first Cleveland Browns drive:
“At the end of the day, you can not press that panic button ever in a game. It wasn’t starting off pretty but it’s not about how we start it’s about how we finish. There were moments when it wasn’t pretty and there were moments when it was pretty.”
On being able to slow down the Browns running game:
“Absolutely, they (Cleveland) have a talented backfield right there. There is not another team in the NFL that has a 1-2 punch like them. We knew that they were going to be hot sometimes and we knew we were going to make some plays. At the end of the day, it was about coming together and getting the win.”
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler:
On if the Chargers’ run game made a statement today:
“We have been building. Last week, we had a little bit better production. This week, obviously more. I want to see us continue to do that. It is not necessarily a statement until you can continue to do it for a few weeks in there. To actually create an identity, it takes more than a couple of weeks of success. We are going back to work. We are going to try to do the same thing again next week.”
On if he has anything left in the tank:
“That is the NFL for you. We come out with a plan and rarely things stay to plan. It is more so we go out there, have an idea, and then react to what happens. We had an emphasis today to get the run game going and guess what we did all practice – we ran the ball. We did not do anything different that we have in the past, just continued to stay with it, continue to trust it, and finally put some product on the field of the run game today.”
On how the Chargers responded being down 14-0:
“That is what we do. It does matter what the score is, we have to go out and we are trying to put our best foot forward going down there to get more points. That is all we can focus on as an offense.”
On if emphasizing the run game during the week helped create more holes today:
“I do not want to say we emphasize it like we have not emphasized it in the past, it has definitely been an emphasis for us. But today, the offensive line ended up getting the game ball for good reason because they were definitely moving some people out of the way. We switched up our scheme a little bit, some a little different than we have done in the past. We were able to exploit that.”
Chargers S Alohi Gilman:
On if he thought QB Jacoby Brissett was going to try to run it on his interception play:
“I thought he was, but I kind of felt the guy behind me. I think it was (TE David) Njoku. I know a lot of quarterbacks in the red zone like to run to the line of scrimmage and stretch it out, then dump it off like (Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick) Mahomes. So it was me and him really. We were playing that game. I ended up baiting him a little bit, came back and made the play.”
On explaining more of his interception:
“That part of the field is usually where quarterbacks like to stretch it out, dump it out, or run the ball. Mahomes is one of the masters of those. He kind of just did that. I baited him (Browns QB Jacoby Brissett) into doing it. I took a couple of steps forward. Me and him are looking eye-to-eye and I fell back into the window once he threw the ball.”
On how he felt like he played today overall:
“I have a lot to work on. That is part of football. It was good to get my feet wet and get out there and play ball. I have not done that in a while. Shout out to everyone else, they helped me. Shout out to all the safeties for helping me out. My brothers. All the defensive backs were a big part of this. Good start.”
Chargers S Derwin James Jr. :
On S Alohi Gilman’s interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter:
“MVP. It was an amazing play. Big play, taking points off the board. We were only up two points, they were already in field goal range, so to take points off the board, that was so big.”
On Cleveland’s rushing attack:
“It was by far one of the toughest rushing attacks that we have seen. We could have played better in some spots, because we gave up a lot of those explosive runs. Second quarter, we kind of settled in. Third quarter, we kind of played well, but we just have to play better on defense. Hats off to the offense for helping us out today.”
On what he was thinking when the Chargers offense went for it on the final fourth down:
“We are with them. We are going for it. Even though they did not get it, so what. We have to go out there and get a stop. It is on us to get the stop. We believe in our offense. We will go for it again. We do not care.”
On how proud he is of the defense on getting the stop:
“Definitely proud, because either way we were going to have to get the stop. Whether we punted to them or went for it, we were going to have to get a stop on defense. We got the stop we needed. Held him in enough range and he (K Cade York) missed the kick. We got the W.”
Chargers RB Joshua Kelley:
On if there were any nervous feelings on the last play:
“No, absolutely not. Our preparation has got us to this moment and we just go out and make a play.”
On the feeling of getting to the endzone:
“I just told these guys it meant a lot. It felt good and these offensive lineman are going crazy. The tight ends, wide receivers, just everyone is getting off the ball.”
On how much fun a game like this is:
“When you get fed it is a lot of fun. (Chargers RB Austin) Ekler set the standard making guys miss, breaking tackles and hitting big plays to start the game.”
On the fourth down decision at the end of the game:
“That’s the coach’s decision and we roll with it. Now for me, we play aggressive as a team so the team believed we could get it and we believed in the offense.”
On watching the defense during the game and what it means to him on their performance:
“For us, we watch the defense at practice. We know what they are going to do and we know what they are executing. Shout out to those guys they battled and those two running backs (Browns RB Nick Chubb and RB Kareem Hunt) aren’t easy to tackle at all. Chubb is probably the best back in the league so it’s tough and their offense line comes off the ball hard too.”
Chargers T Trey Pipkins III:
On the mentality of the team coming into the week with rushing the ball:
“I think it was an aggressive mindset. We had heard all week about Cleveland’s rush game and we were sick of it. We were excited to show we could run the ball too.”
On the old school style of play with rushing the ball:
“That’s an O lineman’s dream. It was awesome and a lot of fun to get out there and establish your run game like that.”
On the performances of Austin Eckler and Joshua Kelley:
“I think that is back to our mindset for us. We knew Cleveland was going to come out and try to pound the ball against our defense so we wanted to do the same. So that was cool to see them do that.”
On that game feeling like playoff football and stacking wins together:
“I feel like every week in the NFL it is playoff football. Everybody is playing hard. Most games are close and it comes down to the last five minutes of the game it seems like almost all the time. The wins are awesome we have to keep stacking them up and that’s always the goal.”
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