RB Darren McFadden scores on a 5-yard touchdown run. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Head Coach Dennis Allen
On the game: "Really everybody was able to finish the game. We'll find out tomorrow if there's any injuries of significance, but everybody was able to finish the game. Obviously, we're disappointed that we lost the game. There's multiple factors that go into that. We had too many penalties, third down was a critical thing in the game. A lot of our penalties, specifically defensively, came on third down, which allowed them to extend some drives. The turnovers in the red zone cost us six points and we couldn't capitalize enough to win the football game when we took the ball away from them. So disappointing. Guys are frustrated. We all are. We have to be better."
On Rod Streater catch in end zone ruled incomplete: "I know what the rule is. It looked to me like after that he had completed the catch the ball got pulled out in the end zone. I thought it was similar to the 2-point conversion that we had when I was in New Orleans that we had against the Indianapolis Colts that was called a 2-point conversion. They made the call."
On if it should have been a touchdown: "Well the rule is you have to maintain possession all the way to the ground, but I thought he maintained possession all the way through the ground and then the ball was pulled out after he had gone to the ground. That was my look at it."
On if it was ruled catch on field, would call have stood: "I would hope so. That's the tough thing about replay. I have no idea what they would do because that's not my decision to make. I would hope they would have had a tough time."
On penalties increasing: "I really think it boils down to guys are pressing to make something happen and we're not sticking to our fundamentals and technique like we need to. That's what happens when you don't stick to your fundamentals. A lot of the penalties we're getting are during the play, at least a lot them today were during the play. We just have to go back to work on our fundamentals and work on that and continue to improve there."
On not getting a TD with 1st and goal at the 2: "Definitely, that was a momentum swing for us not to be able to get the touchdown there. We would have loved to have gotten to have gotten the touchdown and gone in at halftime being up 14-10 as opposed to tied 10-10 at halftime. So that was, I thought, a big momentum swing in the game."
On a plan for Pryor: "WE had a plan and really the situation didn't arise in the game. Then we got there kind of late in the second half and we were in a little bit more of a hurry up type of mode."
On fixing issue with screen passes: "That was a point of emphasis. They didn't run very many in the game. They ran a couple of them and I thought our guys did a nice job of getting those plays on the ground. Really, I think they hit us on the one big run today, which was probably the biggest play of the game from an offensive standpoint. Other than that, I thought defensively we held up pretty solid against a very good offense. They got a lot of shots at us, so I thought overall solid, but not good enough."
On if uncertainty with players and coaches being back has an affect: "I can't speak to what anybody else thinks or what anybody else feels. I can only speak to me and I'm going in every day trying to win a football game. That's what my focus is; that's the only focus I can have. It'd be selfish of me to think any other way. I'm trying to do everything I can to get this football team ready to try and win a game."
On Darren McFadden's day: "Wasn't a lot of plays in the there. Obviously, I'll go back and look at the tape and really get an evaluation, but just off the hoof, I thought it was fine. I didn't think it was anything spectacular, but I didn't see a lot of negative either."
On if they thought to go back to McFadden on third and short in 1st half: "Listen, we rolled those guys in there. Both of them are good backs. Rashad [Jenning's] been our starter for the majority of the second half of the season and we got confidence in both of those guys to be able to run the ball no matter what the game plan was."
On the team's desire: "I thought they played hard. I told the guys in the locker room, 'I thought we played hard; I didn't think we played smart.' And that's what we have to be able to do. We have to play smarter. Penalties are going to happen in the game, but we can't have the not smart penalties, which cost your football team."
On taunting penalty on Mike Jenkins: "That wasn't smart. Those are the plays that we can't have because they cost your football team. This guy, in the heat of the moment, did something emotional, but we have to be better than that. We can't do that and hurt our team."
On seeing improvement in Matt McGloin's play: "Yeah, in certain areas. Again, it's a team game. We all have to take our own ship in it. We all have to take our part in it. So he certainly needs to continue to get better. He's not a finished product."
On if McGloin didn't see Weddle on interception: "I didn't ask him, so I'm not real sure."
On same issues popping up: "It's certainly things that need to be fixed. We have to find the solutions to fix those problems."
On if a closer game this week is something to build on: "It was closer. We still have to play better. We still have to play better and this was a game, although it was closer, and although I think they're a good football team and they were playing well at the time, I thought this was a game that we could come in here and win."
QB Matt McGloin
On Rod Streater catch being ruled incomplete: "It's a difficult call to make. Obviously we're going to say we thought he got in, but you have to move on from that play. It obviously wasn't a touchdown so I thought we kept fighting. I was proud of competing there in the end, trying to score there to try to give us an opportunity to win there."
On if uncertainty with players' and coaches' futures distracts the team: "Not in our facility, not at all. That's stuff that we can't control at all. We can't worry about that stuff. We have one game left, another week of practice, so we're going to learn from this one today; I know I will and I know the rest of the guys will. But come tomorrow, we'll start preparing for Denver. It'll be good to end the season at home."
On if he saw S Eric Weddle on the interception: "Just thought I could have got it over him. I thought Rod was coming open. I thought I got just enough on it to get it over him, but he got his hand on it, made a good play and stayed with the ball throughout the air and came down with it. It was a good play. Yeah, like I said, have to learn from that mistake, but I thought we did. We made some good adjustments at halftime and came out and played well offensively in the second half."
On Chargers defense containing Streater: "They did a lot of good things early on; a lot of downfield stuff was covered, so you have to give them credit. But I thought Rod really stepped up there in the end when we were trying to put a drive together."
On not capitalizing on recovery of Keenan Allen's muffed punt in the red zone: "I think it's more frustrating. We've been so good at scoring red zone touchdowns this season. You expect to score every time you get down there. But the way we've been scoring when we get down there, you expect you get in there. It's frustrating, but at the same time, you take the three points, which was good in that situation for us, and you keep playing."
On penalties: "Obviously you can't have that many penalties and win a game. As frustrating as it is, we were dealing with a lot of things out there – loud crowd and things like that – so I thought that definitely played a factor into it. But again, that's not an excuse; it's just something we have to work more at in practice. I think, working with a lot more silent cadences and things like that, just an opportunity for us to keep improving, something to learn from."
RB Darren McFadden
On first touchdown since October: "It felt good being out there with my guys. We played hard, came up short, but it felt good being back out there."
On the game:* *"I thought we made too many mistakes. We had a lot of penalties and that's something that we need to correct. You can't win with that many penalties."
On penalties: "It's one of those things that are self-inflicted. Pre-snap penalties and things like that you can control. But, we cannot do anything about those pass interference calls. As far as the pre-snap penalties, we have to control that ourselves."
On his Raiders career:* *"I love being a Raider and hopefully I'm back here next year."
WR Rod Streater
On his touchdown ruled incomplete pass: "I thought I had a couple of feet down and I made football move to go into the end zone. I thought it was a touchdown, but the referees thought it wasn't so you have to go with them."
On if he thought it was a touchdown: "Yes, but it happens sometimes. What went through my mind was you have to make up for it when the ball comes my way. You have to forget about it."
On zero first downs in the third quarter: "We hurt ourselves with some penalties and got behind early. We just have to continue to put drives together, make plays for our quarterback, and keep the drives going on third down."
LB Kevin Burnett
On being back in San Diego: "It's good to be living. To have another day to come out here and play the game that I love. Other than that it pretty much sucks right now. I don't know how else to put it."
FS Charles Woodson
On defensive mistakes: "We had a bunch of off sides and things like that. Just things you can't do. We shot ourselves in the foot all game long. That's how it's been all season. We have made costly mistakes in critical situations that have hurt the football team."
On how to approach the final game: "You continue to fight. We still have to play the game regardless of what has happened so far. You have to go out there and play. It's the last one for the season and we would love to go out on a good note."
On uncertainty of player and coaches contracts affecting team after losing five games in a row: "I don't think so at all. That part is just part of the business. There are a lot of teams going through the same thing. You don't worry about those things as far as who is going and not going to be here, you just go out there and play football and try to get wins. When the season is over what's going to happen is going to happen. There is no control over that part. We have played hard all year long. We just haven't play very smart. It's part of the reason why we have had this slide, especially these last few games. It's frustrating for the last few games going the way they have gone. Especially coming here and being tied at halftime and then allowing them to take control of the game. We have one more game left. We would like to go out on the right note."
