QUARTERBACK RYAN FITZPATRICK
On how good this win feels for him...
Good. I think it feels good, too, because I know that, again, there were probably very few believers going into this game, especially when we spotted them the points early. Anybody that believed in us was probably on the edge and we had so much belief, we came back and scored the ten points before the half and the turnovers, the big plays by everybody. Offensively, (WR) David (Nelson) had a great first half, (WR) Donald Jones stepped up with some deep stuff in the second half, (WR) Stevie (Johnson) is Stevie, (TE) Scott (Chandler) with another touchdown and then (RB) Fred Jackson. Every time that guy touches the ball, he does something special with it and it was great to see today.
On how WR Donald Jones played in today's game...
The first one, double move, we set it up pretty nice and (WR) Donald (Jones) went and made a play. Second one, essentially man-to-man our guy's better than your guy and I thought it was a good matchup for us. Donald made a great play in getting open and then getting to the ball and he's a guy that, the first couple games stats-wise probably didn't do what he wanted to do but stuck with it and it's not because he's not doing the right thing; he is. It was good to see him get out there and make some good plays today.
On the first play in which Fitzpatrick threw Jones the ball...
They basically ran a double move on the corner out there but it brought (RB) Freddie (Jackson) in to get a little bit more protection, to be able to hold onto it.
On how he felt about the calls in the Bills' favor...
Living good on that one. That's all I can say, I guess. There's some that don't go in your favor, there's some that do and today was our day for that, I guess.
On how big this win was for the Bills, as they were able to come back from being down 21-0...
First off, versus them, you can't come back 21 nothing unless your defense does something special and I thought our guys, with the turnovers and what they did obviously gave us a chance in that game to come back and it was such a good team effort. Even (K Rian) Lindell hitting that kick at the end, you think it's a gimme but with everything he's got going on, to put it through, with no doubt a good team victory. Â
On how he felt when RB Fred Jackson was running towards the end zone on the final play of the game...
After the fact when they reviewed it and said he wasn't in, that was probably a good thing for us just because we were going to be the last ones with the ball in our hands but you're competitive out there, you want to score and we were still trying to score at that point and it would've been nice to see him get in but we were fortunate he didn't, as well.
On whether this was the biggest win on his career...
Again, this whole comeback thing, we've had a few here now and I think when you put everything into it, when you put the streak, again, a lot of it happened when guys weren't here and I think in terms of what this means for the city of Buffalo, it's the biggest win since I've been here, for sure.
WIDE RECEIVER DAVID NELSON
On staying on the field for a while after the game:
To have a win like that, it's something special to them and it's something special to us. I just wanted to be out there to experience it with them.
On being involved in another shootout:
Our defense won that game for us. Of course they would have liked to have held them to a few less points, but we put them in bad situations. We had some bad turnovers; we had some bad penalties, and a couple three-and-outs, which we should never do. We put (the defense) in bad situations and they made the most of the situations. Four interceptions on [QB] Tom Brady never happens. Our defense stepped up to the challenge in the second half, gave us the ball in good field position and we just took advantage of it.
On the mood of the [Bills] sideline while being down 21-0:
We've been here before, last year at Cincinnati and last week [versus] Oakland. We didn't think it would happen against the New England Patriots because they're known for putting teams in the ground whenever they jump on you. We just had to continue to stay composed. We were capable of moving the ball in the first half as an offense, but we were just getting too many dumb penalties, too many mistakes, receivers running the wrong routes, different things like that. We had to come back in the second half, get things corrected. We knew we had the ball coming out in the second half; that's huge for us. We know we can come out and make an early statement in the second half, and the defense did an amazing job.
On the pass interference he caused in the end zone:
Yeah, it was the scramble. I was running a flag route, and I saw [Ryan] Fitz [Fitzpatrick] kind of gave me a signal to go to the middle of the field, so I was going to the middle of the field and he threw the ball up. I don't think he got enough under it as he wanted to. I tried to come back to the ball to make a jump ball; he [Patriots S Sergio Brown] was kind of screening me off, kind of like a pick and roll. He kind of got in my way and I couldn't get through him and I couldn't get around him, and that's the rules of the game. You have to give the offense a chance to make a play. He was screening me off and it was a great call by the officials.
CORNERBACK LEODIS MCKELVIN
On feeling the momentum changing during the game:
We feel it from the first snap to the end even though they jumped out on us 21-0. We just kept telling ourselves we're still in it and we're going to still fight hard. And we believed that. We just went out there and handled our job.
On his interception:
I was just getting that route two too many times. I just took my chance. Coach told me if they go up underneath you better make that play and it happened. My eyes got big and as soon as I turned my head the ball was right there. I caught it. I almost stumbled. You just don't know how long I really had the ball in my hand to return it. It's been a long time.
On stepping up after last week's game:
I feel happy, I'm happy inside. It's just a team win. Everybody came to play. Last week was so-so. It was very, very so-so as far as making plays and things like that. But still I'm a cornerback. I forget that, that don't even matter to me. I have to live for the next down. My dad told me you just live for the next play. I'm just going to go out there and play hard no matter what happened that play, no matter what happened good or bad, because I'm a corner. I'm out there on an island by myself and that's what I have to do.
RUNNING BACK FRED JACKSON
On how he feels about the win:
We're excited. It's been 15 games. I'm sure everybody is aware of that and we're all aware of it. But right now it's 3-0. I think that's what a lot of guys are focusing on. We know we just took a huge monkey off our backs. Right now the most important thing coming out of that locker room is we're 1-0 in the division. We have to play these guys again. We can put this one under our belt, but we've got to continue to work this season. Â
On how he felt being down 21-0 at one point in the first half:
Again, confidence. We said it when we came in the locker room and we said we've been in worst spots than this. We've just got to keep working. Again on offense, we felt like it was just us shooting ourselves in the foot; missing assignments, getting penalties and things like that. Nothing that they were doing was killing us. It was ourselves. We said as long as we get that out of our way, we should be able to play with these guys. Â
On the exit that he had off of the field with the fans chanting his name, if he had ever experienced it before:
Not at all. That's huge. When we get these guys behind us like that it'll be a great environment to feed off of when we come back. When we got teams that come in here and play us and we got an atmosphere like that, it motivates everyone on the field.
On how he felt when he had his touchdown overturned and was called down at the one yard line with distractions from the Patriots:
It's one of those things that they're going to do some cheap stuff to try and get us to get penalties and back us up. After one time we tell them and keep our composure. We know that's coming and we get focused. It's part of the game. We know it's coming and we've just got to focus on what we're doing. Â
On the route he ran when he caught the pass that took him to the one yard line:
It was something we knew would be an opportunity for us to make a play on. The way they play, the way they blitz to empty. It was something Fitz and I saw. Any time we line up out there and we point away from a linebacker, this one over here blitzes and leaves that gap open. Fitz held the ball and let me get in the second window and I was able to make a play on it. Â
On whether or not he was happy his touchdown was overturned:
You're trying to score. As an offense you're trying to put points on the board. Once we got in the first and goal, the whole mentality changes. Run the clock out, you want to keep that offense off the field. They're a great offense and the longer we can stay on the field and keep them off the field is a great advantage for us.
LINEBACKER SHAWNE MERRIMAN
On how the defense intercepted Brady four times:
We made some adjustments at halftime. We knew we weren't going to come out and get a bunch of sacks on them, they don't give up a bunch of sacks, but if we could collapse the pocket enough and put pressure on him where he had to move off of his spot, we knew we were going to be pretty successful. We did a good job of that in the second half.
On if the defense was confident facing the Patriots:
We were confident all week. We knew what type of team we were coming out to play. We knew we had to come out and play our best, and to come back from a 21-0 first quarter just shows the type of guys we've got in this locker room.
On if he feels this team could be one of the best he's played on:
We know what we've got in this locker room, and sometimes people on the outside won't believe what we're capable of doing. But we believe, and we'll go out and keep working. We're not going to talk about what we can or what we're going to do, but if teams underestimate us, we've got to go out and do what we have to do.
On what it says to the league that the Bills defense forced Brady into four interceptions:
It shows we need to get better. At the same time, to go out there and stop a guy like Tom, not stop him completely but force him to do some things he didn't want to do, it shows we went out there and did our thing.
WIDE RECEIVER STEVIE JOHNSON
On how it feels to be 3-0:
It feels great, man. We've worked a lot with each other, we have faith in ourselves, and we believe in each other. We've got a great team here.
On what sparked another comeback victory:
Everybody. Everybody was prepared, everybody was ready. Me, David (Nelson), Fitz always doing his thing, the line did a great job, and of course Freddie Jackson. He comes in and does what he normally does, take over a game. It was a full team effort, and we did a good job. We've got enough guys in this room with the talent and the mental toughness to fight through, and that just proved me wrong because we can come from behind against anybody. It's just the guys in this locker room believing in ourselves.
On what was said by Coach Gailey when the team trailed at halftime:
Coach said nothing special, all he said was 'Keep playing, keep playing.' I believe he knows we have a talented group where if we just play the game, we'll be alright. He just said 'Keep playing, keep playing,' and that's what we did. Â
On what it means to beat the Patriots:
It feels great, because it's even better for the fans, not just us. We know we've got a ton of games to go, but just for the fans to say 'We beat the New England Patriots,' that's something big for the fans.
