Q:Is that as good as your run defense has played all season?
JM:I finally feel like we put together four quarters of football. Obviously, we came into this game with a chip on our shoulders, everyone talking about the Houston Texans. And I think our defensive line went out there and played well today – Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, [Brandon] Deaderick, all those guys, Trevor Scott – those guys played very well today and kept us going in the backend.
Q:Was that really a motivating factor? The amount of hype the Texans were getting?
JM:Obviously, we always talk about ignoring the noise, but you hear it. You hear it walking down the street. It was a little bit of a motivational factor for me, at least. I'm sure the rest of the guys felt the same way.
Q:Can you talk about your success on third down?
JM:We always talk about improving third down and getting off the field. Any time we can get the ball in our offense's hands, we feel like they'll go out there and score 40 points like they did today. So it was a good third down conversion rate and something to build on.
Q:What do you think ultimately this game says about your defense to stop this offense?
JM:That's something for you to write about, to be honest with you. We're taking it all in stride. You're never as good as you think and you're never as bad as you think. So we're taking it in stride. We have a good team coming in next week, so we'll celebrate this one and get ready for the next game.
Q:Can you talk about Vince Wilfork's play?
JM:I mean, what is there to say? From the first quarter on, he was making plays, making tackles, batting balls. He had a little J.J. Watt swat there at one point in the game and it was good for us. He went out there and played from the first snap on and you can't ask for anything more.
Q:Were you surprised at the disparity between the two teams tonight? You guys dominated.
JM:It's always good to play in Foxborough in December, first of all. Our fans are great. We put together four quarters; this is what we're capable of, but we have to continue to do it, continue to string them together and continue to get better.
Q:Are you more comfortable with your blitzing? You seem to be getting more hits on the quarterback.
JM:You know what, that's something that the coaches are calling. I've always said, whether I'm blitzing or not, it's whatever the coaches want to do. Obviously when those guys are rushing up front the way they are, things open up in the back end.
Q:What are you more happy about: third down and getting off the field or the rushing yard totals you held them to?
JM:I'm happy about the win, to be honest with you. But we always pride ourselves on the run game. But at the same time, I think third down is huge for us, getting off the field and making them punt the ball.
Q:Do you guys feel like you made a statement to the rest of league?
JM:To be honest with you, we just take it one game at a time. When you go out there and perform the way you do, I think coming to Foxborough is going to be a tough place for any team to win.
