HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Opening statement…
It's a really good day for our team today. This is a typical tough division game down here. Give the Jets a lot of credit. It's a good football team. They really played well defensively. They gave us plenty of problems. We had trouble that last quarter and a half really doing much. They're really well-coached. A good front. C.J. Mosleywas all over the field. I don't know how many tackles he had. It seemed like he must have had 15 or 20, but we hung in there and got enough plays out of all three units: offense, defense and special teams. (We had) some big turnovers defensively and a big play by (Jabrill) Peppers recovering the onside kick. It's the kind of play they beat Cleveland with in Week (Three). Good division win on the road. Good Jets team. They do a good job. Like I said, defensively, they're tough. We knew that coming in and they certainly played to it. Good to get out of here with a win in the division and we'll move on. I'm proud of the way the team stepped up on a short week and got the win today.
On what he saw from Mac Jones and the offense today…
It was a big halftime swing – a 10-point swing really. We got the field goal at the end of the half on the last play and then started the third quarter with points. I thought Mac did a good job today. He got the ball out quickly. We gave up some pressure but I thought he did a good job taking care of the ball. And (Rhamondre) Stevensonis obviously just a tremendous back. He makes a lot of yards on his own making solidyards after contact. I thought Mac did a great job, Stevenson, Jakobi (Meyers). Some guys really stepped up for us and made some plays offensively that we needed. Again, good team defensive effort all the way around. We had some good pass rush, turned the ball over, tacked better.We gave up a couple of big plays, but other than those, we played pretty competitively. (They're) a good fourth quarter team. Nobody is better than the Jets are in the fourth quarter. To hang in with them in fourth quarter, we knew that was going to be a challenge, and it was. We stepped up to it, so that was good.
On what it means to get his 325th victory…
I'll be able to talk about that when it's over. We'll add them up at the end. It's good to come down here and win. I'm happy for our team and appreciate all the great players we've had who've won those games. We had a couple of them in the locker room besides our players. Guys like (Devin) McCourtyand (Matthew) Slater, (Jerrod) Mayo, Troy Brown. Those guys won a lot of games for us, for me, so those are team wins.
On special teams…
Nick (Folk) was great as usual. He put it right down the middle. I thought we covered well. Marcus (Jones) did a good job with ball handling. We had an explosive play on punt return. We had a good play on a kickoff return on the miss at kickoff. We got it back up to the 35. I thought we took advantage of some opportunities. That's the best special teams unit in the league, the Jets, at least statistically. They played to it. They're tough, but I thought we stepped up there and battled them and made our share of plays in the game.
On if Jack Jones got his hands on the missed field goal…
I couldn't tell you. With my eyes?
On if he was impressed with Jones' toughness or decision making…
Decisions for sure. Mac's tough. There's never any doubt about that. Mac's a tough kid. I thought he made some good decisions, managed the game well, managed our team well. That's what a quarterback's job is to do is to help the team win. That's what he did.
QUARTERBACK MAC JONES
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Opening statement…
Just wanted to give a huge congratulations to (Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick. What an accomplishment, obviously he's done a great job here, and it's just a blessing to be able to play for him. We don't do the whole individual awards, but that's a big one and just to be his quarterback right now is a huge blessing. I thought today was a good win, I think in the National Football League it's obviously hard to win and the defense played exceptional. We kind of knew, we were just going to wait and let them kind of take over the game and special teams played great as well. Obviously, we did enough to put points up, but we want to do better, and we will. A lot of things will turn up I'm sure when we watch the film, but have to give credit to the Jets defense, that's a really good defense, top defense in the League and we'll face really good defenses in the future and that was good preparation for that.
On what the message was at halftime…
I think Coach Belichick and Matty P (Matt Patricia) and Coach (Joe) Judge did a good job just coming up with a plan of how we were going to attack, we talked about it, and they've done a good job all year of adjusting at halftime. I think that's something they're doing a great job of and that obviously benefits us in the second half and we were able to go down there and move the ball. Obviously, we want to score more points, we know that, and we'll have plenty of stuff to work on, but super proud of the guys on offense for just sticking with it and trying to battle through against a really good defense.
On if he had any extra motivation this week…
I think I always try to be internally motivated and there's obviously things you can control, and for me, it's just my attitude and my effort, being a good teammate and showing up and trying to work and lead the guys. That's a good attribute that I have is my communication, I feel like we did extra things this week to together as a team, and really as an offense that showed up on the field and if we continue to do that, we'll see better results. I thought the process is there, I'm just super happy to be a part of this and want to continue to grow here. One game isn't good enough, so we'll be ready for next week.
On the extra things the team had done together going into this week's game…
I think just talking through some things, watching extra film together was very beneficial, getting more reps in our own time, talking through things and just whatever we had questions on we were just more – 'All right, how do we this? What do we need to do here?' So, obviously that's important, you want to be on the same page, and I felt like we made strides there. Kind of continue to do that, and like I said, it starts in practice, and we had a good week of practice, and we have to carry it even more into the game, but definitely good enough to get the W.
On clarification of who had gotten together…
I think as always, we have our meetings, and it takes everybody, all 11 on the field. There's a lot of young guys that are learning too, so we want to just come together whether it's as a unit or as a skill group, quarterback group or wide receiver group, everyone's trying to do more and that's what we're trying to get to. It should be like that every week, so we're going to continue to do that and just get better.
On what made him more comfortable in the second half…
Yeah, I think it really just applies to how the defense is playing and how we're trying to attack. They have a really good defensive line and we're just trying to neutralize that and move the ball quickly. Matty P did a great job calling the plays all day and I have to get the ball out on some of those sacks and stuff, so it's not all one person or one thing, but I'll definitely watch it and see how we can improve. You know obviously, we want to score more points and do all of that. A lot of progress, but have to keep going.
On what running backs Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson are doing that help make him so effective in the passing game…
I think Damien and Mondre have done a great job all year working together as a unit and helping those young guys move along. They're both really good in the pass game. I think Mondre has done a good job there, we kind of included him in that this week and Damien has improved there too. I love both of those guys, they're like my brother, so we just want to continue to grow together, and they've done a great job.
On what they can build off on and how great it was to get a win playing in a hostile environment…
Yeah, it's great. I think that's why football is the greatest team sport. You have a game plan. I feel like we laid out the targets that we wanted to hit and we hit most of them, so that's part of it. I'm just super happy that we won, but we're always going to try to look at the things we can do better and that's what we'll do. Great job on defense and special teams and offensively trying to just battle through it and find a way and that's what the National Football League is.
On the roughing the passer call and what he was trying to do with the ball…
I think that's something I'll have to see on film. I knew what I was trying to do with it, and just a little miscommunication, but I can't have those. Penalties saved us, but definitely want to eliminate those plays and have to watch it and see what we can do better.
KICKER NICK FOLK
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
On his kicking performance today…
I just try to do my part. I had a great operation with Jake (Bailey) and Joe. The line blocked well. I just, like I say all the time, we get to put a cherry on top and put it through the uprights. So, just happy to have a good day.
On the conditions at MetLife Stadium…
It was pretty calm for MetLife. Obviously played here a bunch. It was one of the calmer days. I played here on calm days like this and then you've played here on some crazy days, so it was pretty calm out there.
On the game being a battle…
Yeah, I think we kind of knew it was going to be a physical game. Ended up being a physical game. We put enough good plays out there to score enough points to win at the end of the day. So, I think it was a good team win all around.
On the familiarity of kicking in MetLife Stadium…
Any time you play a place and you're comfortable with it, it always helps. It gives you some confidence on some previous kicks and previous games. So any time we can come back here and get a win, it's always a good feeling.
LINEBACKER MATTHEW JUDON
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
On leaving Metlife Stadium with a victory even though it was not a pretty game…
You don't think it's pretty? Any win is pretty to us. We're just try to get in the win column and we want to win. Any game we play, we want to win. If we have to win 2-0 or we have to win 66-61, we don't care, as long as we get the win. We're graded on film and we'll make corrections, but I think any win is a good win.
On the defensive identity…
We've found an identify, but we can't keep letting that monster creep in. We have good games and then we have some bad games. So, today was a good game and that's the defense we want to put out there. We've got to tighten up on the explosive plays. They had explosive plays and every time they had an explosive play, that's when they scored, so we've got to tighten up on that. I think you saw a tail of two halves. In the wins, our defense went out there and we played dominant, and we played solid and in the losses, it looked like we didn't know what we were doing.
On what it's like seeing Devin McCourty continue to perform…
Oh man, it's good. We love Dev. He's the ultimate leader, but he's the ultimate team guy. You'll see him on anybody else's picks or anybody else's plays, excited and he's just happy to get off the field. So, when they come to him, like they did today, we're all excited for him. We all celebrate with him. I don't think Dev ever rubbed anybody ever wrong, so we're all excited for Dev.
SAFETY DEVIN MCCOURTY
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
On the defensive effort…
It was great. I think we talked all week about the ability of Zach Wilson to escape the rush, not get sacked, but also the ability of him trying to make a play that we have to do a good job in the secondary, of plastering, staying on our receivers, and just trying to take advantage of an opportunity when the ball is in the air. I think we'll watch the film. We gave up too many big plays, especially at the end, that play could've killed us, but I think overall, sticking to the game plan. Our rush staying disciplined and then guys in the backend staying disciplined and keeping their eyes on their guy, and the guys reading the quarterback doing a good job of that.
On what it means to get to 33 career interceptions and being the active leader in that stat…
I'll say one, I'm just old, to stick around. The second thing, being back here. I played my college football here. I played my high school football in New Jersey. So, to be here, to get two interceptions, 13 years later in the NFL. I still remember draft day, everybody saying the Jets were going to draft me. The opportunity to be back. I always say, I don't know how much longer I'll be playing. I don't know if I'll get a chance to be here again playing. So, to be back home, J-Mac was at the game today, so all of those things. All of those things to be able to have a better game today than I've had this season and make plays for the team to get a win. That's what it's about. Year 13, anything I can do to help this win, to teach young guys about the culture of winning is why I'm still playing and it was fun to be a part of that today, making some plays.
On how important this game was after losing on Monday night…
We needed it. It's tough. You go out there at home, you get boo'd. You don't really show up in any phase of the game. It was ugly for us. Chicago whooped us and I think to try to fast forward, you play Monday night, so it's just a walkthrough on Wednesday. You get going Thursday, Friday. We were excited to get back on the field, but I think it's the ability to turn the page. And if you're being honest, you don't know what that looks like. We talked about it all week, but come Sunday, what's going to happen? How are we going to show up? And I thought the guys did a good job of just showing up. It wasn't perfect out there today, but the ability to reset, come out here with that mindset. We've got a lot of young guys that are playing, we've got guys that didn't start their careers here. It's not like in years past where it just felt like we had so many names that had been here for awhile, so I think each time you do that, you build trust, you build that mentality of I got the guy next to me's back and we can go play free and do our job. And I think we need to do more of that. Today was a good start, but it's what we said all year, it's about being consistent. So, we've got to be prepared and go next Sunday and consistently play good football to try and build and get wins. Not win, lose. Win, win, lose. We don't want to live in that world. So, it's a good game today but I think the focus has to stay. How do we reset and do it again next week?
RUNNING BACK RHAMONDRE STEVENSON
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
On what it was like on offense…
Very proud of our team how we fought. It was just our preparation for the week. We knew we had to finish the game, they're a great team and the second half, fourth quarter. So, we just knew we had to play a complete game.
On the extra work they put in this week…
Just watching any extra film on our down time, it's going to help us tremendously and I felt like that's what it did. The whole team came together, we knew we had to get a win, we knew we had to be focused on the Jets this week. So, we had a couple extra film sessions and it helped.
On who was leading these group sessions…
It was just a group effort, really. It was just a group effort. We were all in there just talking about the play and just getting used to the calls.
On the importance of the 10 point swing going into the half…
Very important. That's another thing we preach and practice. The second half swing, things like that. So, just scoring twice before they could even touch the ball. That's big.
WIDE RECEIVER JAKOBI MEYERS
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, October 30, 2022
On getting the win today…
It's a tough league, man. Anytime you get the dubs, it's a proud moment. I am proud of the guys.
On battling to get the offense on the same page…
I think that's more so hats off to the Jets defense. That's a good team. I am excited to play them again when we get our chance to. We are going to soak up this win, but we know we have to be ready for the next time we see them again.
On the importance of scoring with the first possession in the second half…
Very important as far as just momentum, helping the defense out. The defense pretty much played great all day. We just had to give them a little something, a little spark. We made plays, coaches put us in a great situation and we executed.
On Mac Jones' performance from the first half to the second half…
I wouldn't say just Mac. It was more so a combo of offensive unit. It wasn't just him out there trying to fit pieces of the puzzle together. We all kind of had to come together and block better, run routes better, get open better for him and protect him. It don't always fall on his shoulders when things go south. We kind of all have to do our part.
PLAYERS IN THE LOCKER ROOM
WIDE RECEIVER KENDRICK BOURNE
On Mac Jones being locked in during practice this week…
He looked ready to go, man. Obviously, you know what happened last week and stuff like that, but he's always ready. As football, you never know what's going to happen and you just got to be ready for your opportunity and that's what kind of played out. He just was locked in on his playbook and his play calls and played a great game. I think just as a whole, we need to just finish better.
On whether this week will help them get on a roll after last week's game…
Yeah, no doubt. You know he's dealing with his leg and stuff like that. So, I think they were trying to keep some weight off of him, but he seems healthy now and ready to go. So, time to get it rolling again. We should've had that one last week, but just a good win against a good team with a promising record and a division win that really matters.
On running back Rhamondre Stevenson having seven catches and becoming a threat in the passing game…
Yeah, all purpose. He's just all around a great player. He can catch really well. I tell him all the time, you've got some really good mittens, man. That's what we need. To be able to be versatile, having a pass catcher out of the backfield is so big. He's reminding me of James White. So, just to keep that kind of third-down threat with all our other wideouts and threats, it kind of makes it hard to stop us in a sense. Proud of that dude.
SAFETY JABRILL PEPPERS
On preparation against the Jets…
The proper adjustments and keep the pressure on. Just keep the pressure on. We knew there's still a lot of football left and they got a lot of explosive plays out there. Robert Saleh has those guys playing real well right now, so we just kept our focus, kept the mindset the same and we finished out strong.
On Devin's (Mccourty) two interceptions…
He's one of the best to do it back there. The one I was right there to see, up close and personal, and then the other one, you know, that's just Dev being Dev. Going back there, he does an excellent job reading the quarterback, got great hands and I know you all seen him open up a little bit. Old man still could move, so that was definitely fun to see.
On his position group's mindset when they're down a guy like Kyle (Dugger)…
Next man up. Obviously, with Kyle hurt, physicality brings up versatility and toughness. I think more than anything, he's a really, really smart player. I always see him watching film. We knew we had to pick up the slack today. Hopefully he's healthy next week because we're going to need him.
LINEBACKER JOSH UCHE
On the importance of making life difficult for (Zach) Wilson…
Like I said, it all comes back to everybody doing their job. We have a game plan, we got the secondary back there doing their thing, picking the ball off, we got special teams doing their thing and the guys up front rushing. So, when everybody locks in and we connect, this is what happens.
On the importance of the defense to continue being dominant…
Day-by-day, one play at a time. We can't worry about the future, we just control what we can control. It's all we can do.
On Bill Belichick's 300th win and the type of coach he is…
Y'all don't know the real Bill. A great guy, a great leader and got some of the best jokes I've heard in a while. So, it's fun to come into meetings. You never ever know what to expect and the greatest coach of all time.
