James Sanders, Safety
(On what he was thinking as the Colts closed the gap)
"For a minute I was thinking, 'Deja Vu'. As a defense, we knew that if we didn't make a play, we were going to lose the game. [Peyton Manning] wasn't just going to give it to us, so we had to go out there and take the win. We made a play at the end and we came out on top."

(On his positioning during the game-clinching interception)
"I thought I had a chance. Gary Guyton and I had a double [team] on the tight end and looking through [Jacob] Tamme to Peyton, I saw that he saw that once I stepped down that he had one-on-one with the corner. So, I tried to drop back at the last second and help. Luckily I got enough depth to make the play."

(On the defensive strategy that seemed to dare Peyton Manning to throw deep)
"I don't know if we were daring him to throw deep, but we were trying to disguise the whole game and keep them guessing. At times our disguises worked, other times they didn't work. [Manning] is one of the best quarterbacks to play this game and it's tough as a defense to hold those disguises. If you're not sound, he can hurt you."

(On his thoughts on the interception)
"It was huge. It was a total team effort though. Gary [Guyton] had a jam on the tight end that gave me a chance to sit back and read Peyton [Manning]. I had an opportunity to make a play and made it."

(On the celebration at the end of the game)
"It felt good. We haven't beat those guys in a while. It seems like we always get a nice lead and they always come back at the end. We knew it wasn't over until the end and we just kept fighting and we made the plays we had to make at the end."

(On fighting the Deja Vu feeling of last year towards the end of the game)
"We just knew we had to make a play. We knew that if we sat back and didn't make a play that we were probably going to lose the game because [Peyton Manning] is just that good at running the offense. We had to go out there and take that victory and we did that at the end."

Vince Wilfork, Defensive Lineman
(On confidence on the last drive)
"I was pretty confident. Last couple weeks, we haven't been pretty sound in the fourth quarter, but for some reason with the game on the line, I felt pretty good. We work hard. This week, we worked real hard, especially [on] end of the quarter situations. Certain situations that come up [Bill Belichick will] always pop them up in practice. He always puts us in those situations. So I think we reacted the way we needed to react. Somebody needed to step up and make a play, which James [Sanders] did. I think everybody was on the same page out there. But it just came down to will power and knowing what's going to happen, and just having faith in one another out there. And I think for the most part that's what happened. Defensively, I felt confident in sealing the game as a defense. It feels good when the defense comes through, kind of win the game for you. They were a field goal away from tying it up, a touchdown away from winning the ball, but we were forced to step up big and [win it] with a turnover. That was huge for us. I'm very proud of our guys out there."

(On if this is a sign of how far the defense has come)
"Each week, we try to grind it out. We know it's going to be tough. Coming in with Peyton [Manning], with the Colts, they always play us tough. We knew it was going to be a 60-minute ball game, if not more today. You saw a great game. Even though we had a two-score game, two-touchdown lead, we've seen in the past, that's not enough. I think going into this week, the offense realized they had to score points. And I think our defense, we realized 'Hey, there's going to come a point, where we're going to have to stand up and basically be a man out there.' And we did. With a minute left in the ball game, whatever it was, James [Sanders] came up with that interception, that turnover. That felt good."

Brandon Meriweather, Safety
(On whether his interception changed momentum in the game)
"Yes, it changed the momentum in the first half, first quarter. It was a big play. Coach had a great game plan. They made a great call at a good time and we put a lot of pressure on him and he threw it blindly, and we capitalized on that mistake."

(On defense allowing a lot of drives in fourth quarter)
"We're just happy with a win. You can have all those drives you want, at the end of the day, it comes down to who won the game, and we made the play at the end to win it. We're just happy about that."

Deion Branch, Wide Receiver
(On if Sunday's game was anything like the Patriots-Colts games in which he had played)
"Well, to be honest, I can't say about the past three, couple years ago. But last year was sort of the same type game. We kind of studied that game from last year, looked at a couple pointers from that one, and it started heading in that direction. The guys were up last year pretty big, like we were this year. [The Colts] came back from the mistakes that we made on offense, not going out, continue the drives and score. Playing this team, you've got to score points. You have to at least try to score every time you have the ball."

(On if Danny Woodhead does some of the same things that Kevin Faulk did)
"Yeah, he does. I think that's a good job by the scouting department, the guys upstairs going out, getting the right guys that fit that position when Kevin went down. I guess thanks to the Jets, they let him go that easy. He's a great player, he's a great teammate to be around."

Darius Butler, Cornerback
(On the end of the game)
"We knew somebody needed to make a play, we couldn't let them drive and score on us, it was just like last year, so it was good."

(On the same situation with the Colts)
"You know you have to make a play, especially with a guy like that (Manning) under center and how explosive they are. Watching film on them and you see how many times they were going into halftime, either down a lot or up a lot and how explosive and quick they are. They scored on us a couple of times real quick and we had to make a play and get off the field."

Kyle Arrington, Cornerback
(Thoughts on rushing the quarterback)
"We just tried to make [Manning] force a bad throw or two. The coach is very confident in my ability to rush the quarterback and get to the quarterback."

(On if he was surprised when coaches came to you with the idea)
"They actually get paid to block. It was very different. I had a few opportunities, I got close to Peyton (Manning) a couple of times. In the trenches it's very different."

(On what was going through his mind in the last two minutes)
"We had to make a play, somebody has to make a play. It's on the defense, the offense had bailed us out plenty of times this year and this was a game where we had a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter with a sufficient lead. Once again they came back. This was definitely a game on the defense, and James (Sanders) like last week vs. the Steelers, made a great play for the interception and once again this week made a terrific play as well. James is the go to to bail us out right now.

(On the Colts putting together drives in the second half)
"With Peyton Manning, it's always cat and mouse. You have a specific game plan, he does what he does and you have to try to make adjustments on the side. It was just one of those days, we had a game plan, things were working in the beginning with a couple three and outs early. He is a smart guy, eventually he figures it out and does his best to figure it out what we're doing. We did a great job ourselves of adjusting."

(On if they're gaining confidence that they're going to make a play when they need it)
"Yeah, I guess it's the bend but don't break mentality right now with us. Don't get me wrong, the goal is to shut them down as much as we can, but Peyton's [Manning] a smart, terrific, intuitive quarterback; one of the best in the game, and definitely a future Hall of Famer. We knew that they were going to make some good plays, and the goal was just for us to compete and fight for 60 minutes."

(On the challenges of the day and getting the defensive stop at the end)
"It was a good challenge for us because Peyton and [Reggie] Wayne, great, great receiver, great quarterback, so a terrific combination on their part. Peyton had been making a lot of plays, and at the end it just came down to us making a play ourselves. James [Sanders] made a spectacular play on the ball. All credit in the world going to James. He once again had a terrific game and played his heart out."

Devin McCourty, Cornerback
(On the defense closing the game out in the end)
"That's big. They were making some big drives, and we knew coming into this game from watching film of last year, Peyton [Manning] is capable of bringing that team back. James [Sanders] made a great play at the end of the game just to seal it."

(On the feeling among defenders during the fourth quarter)
"Finish. That's all we kept saying on the sideline right after the third quarter when I got the interception. As soon as we got to the sideline [Jerod] Mayo kept yelling, 'Finish! Finish! We've been here before.' That's all we were trying to focus on."

(On intercepting Peyton Manning)
"Playing against a guy like that, a future Hall of Famer, [and] just a rookie to get an interception, I was all smiles."

(On if he saw the interception coming)
"I just looked back and saw the ball, and went up and got it."

(On the mood in the huddle on the last Indianapolis Colts drive)
"At that point in the game Coach [Bill] Belichick always talks about possessions and plays are going to be less and less, so when you get down in the fourth quarter and then under two minutes every play is a big play in the game. I think right there guys are trying to focus on playing the technique perfectly because any play in that time area could be the deciding factor in the game."

Aaron Hernandez, Tight End
(On his touchdown)
"It was man coverage, I had the cross route and I knew I had a chance to get the ball so I went across, I beat my man and Tom [Brady] threw a great ball and all I had to do was catch it."

(On Danny Woodhead)
"That kid is a great player. He's amazing and no one thinks a little kid like that is going to be able to get through a line and make people miss and break tackles. Woodhead can do it all, passing game, coming out the backfield, running the ball, he does it all."

(On if he was excited to be playing in the Patriots-Colts rivalry for the first time)
"Just coming into the game as a rookie, you're so excited because I'm usually the person getting ready to eat wings and pizza and watching the game. Just being in a game like this is a dream come true and it's an honor. The way it turned out, a close game like this, it's just breathtaking."