Head Coach Jack Del Rio
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Jack Del Rio was unable to lead his team to victory Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, as the team fell 19-10. It was a defensive battle a majority of the evening with each team turning the ball over multiple times. Following the matchup, Del Rio met with the media for his postgame press conference, and recapped what occurred on Christmas night.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
Del Rio gave credit where credit was due, acknowledging the Eagles diligent effort Monday night.
"We talked about it tonight; we enjoyed being on the national stage on Christmas night. I thought we embraced it and you know you don't win them all. You certainly want to and there is great desire, but it doesn't always go your way. In this case we have to congratulate them. That is their 13th win and they've won a lot of games this year, so you have to give them some credit. Obviously there are things that you have to do better, but I'm not going to get into that. I'm going to talk about guys like [Raiders C] Rodney Hudson and [Raiders CB] Dexter McDonald, who kept coming for us and playing through some pain, which was very commendable."
He shared his thoughts on the inability to throw the ball downfield on the final drive.
"Yeah I think there is clearly a desire to throw it down the field. I know you probably saw guys running down the field. They were playing a soft zone, way back, and from my vantage point from the side line the last couple of drives were pretty hurried."
Del Rio talked about defending the Eagles rushing attack.
"I think that we tightened it up and shut it down the rest of the night. They got more yards in the first drive than they had in the remainder of the night combined. The guys understand where they belong and are getting it done. They are playing at a high level, and getting off on third down."
He praised defensive end Khalil Mack for his prowess and dependability on the field.
"You can count on [Raiders DE] Kahlil [Mack]. You put it down and he's going to play well. Some days are more impactful on the stat sheet, but he is playing well. He's a fiery football player and his attitude and effort every day is unbelievable. He's very consistent that way; he brings it every day and plays with great energy. That's why he's a great player like he is."
Del Rio commented on whether the offense was the reason the team faltered against Philly.
"I know that is going to be a continuing conversation for us. I'm just going to talk about tonight; we win and lose as a football team."
