DT Richard Seymour wraps up Chiefs QB Kyle Orton. AP Photo
Head Coach Hue Jackson
ON THE GAME
Merry Christmas to Raider Nation and all of the people back at 1220, Merry Christmas. What a heck of a win by this football team. I keep telling you that this team is not going to quit. I sometimes get all of the different things that are said, that we're left for dead, that we're not this, that we're not that. No, we're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I understand that. But we are a group of men that will fight and will keep playing, and we're going to play this thing out until the end. We have a big game next week at home against the Chargers, and I expect this team is going to come out and play better than we played today. But, a great win for our football team, our organization, being on the road right before Christmas, coming up here in a hostile environment against a good football team, a lot better team than a lot of people think they are. Again, this team will keep fighting. We do some things that are uncharacteristic of us that makes it a little tough, but that's pro football, and what you've got to do is stay the course and you've got to find a way to win and that's what we were able to do today.
ON THE WIN
This is what it tells me: That everything I keep telling you guys that we're going to become, we're going to become. Everything that me and Coach [Al] Davis used to talk about, those things are true and it's still alive. I'm going to say this, and I believe it in my whole heart. I've never said this to anybody else, but the man told me, he said, 'Hue, we will win it in the end,' and I believe that. I don't know how it is going to happen, I don't care how it is going to happen, but I know this much: I truly believe in a guy who was my leader, who told me that before he passed. That's what he told me. He said, 'Hue, we will win it in the end.' I've shared that with the football team, and they played like that today. They had a lot of fight, a lot of fire and it did come from down within. They're going to keep bringing it from down within and we're going to keep going, and that's what we've got to do."
ON BIG PLAYS
What I want to talk about is some unbelievable performances by [Sebastian] Janikowski, what a big catch by Darrius Heyward-Bey, two field goal blocks that obviously were huge, huge issues in the game for them. We were able to keep them off of missing those field goals. What a big catch by Denarius Mo.ore. How about Carson Palmer bouncing back after throwing two picks that I know dog-gone well that he wishes he had those throws back. That's what this team is all about right now. We're not pretty, but we fight. If we can just learn to eliminate some of the things that are hurting us, I think we'll continue to get better.
ON MICHAEL BUSH
That's what you have to do. I keep telling you guys that sometimes it's not about the yards, it's about the attempts. Sometimes you've just got to keep slamming it up in there. That's a credit to him. That young man went into this game battered and bruised, sore shoulder, and he said, 'Coach, just keep giving it to me.' He didn't blink. That's what you love about Michael Bush. He does a tremendous job for our football team.
ON DARRIUS HEYWARD-BEY'S CATCH
Sometimes you save a play in your pocket. I've told you guys that before. We'd been running, running, running and that was a play that in the first game we played them we had some success running, so I wanted to set that up. We had a little motion, a little ghost fake and Darrius kind of came up under control and then hit it on a corner route, and what a great throw by Carson. That was Carson at his finest right there, in my opinion, and that's what he's got to be for this football team, and that's what I expect he will be for this football team. He's just got to keep pushing.
QB Carson Palmer
ON THE PASS TO HEYWARD-BEY
Just a great call at a great time in the game. The protection was flawless, the route was great. Just a great call at the right time.
ON RUNS SETTING UP PASS
Yes. And that was the game plan coming in, to run the ball and try to wear them down, wear them down and obviously we wanted to be more successful on third down but just a grinding game. They were going to grind the ball, we were going to grind the ball and we came out on top.
ON OFFENSE WINNING FOR THE DEFENSE
You try not to be frustrated. We knew it would be a grind. They've been playing great defense, obviously they played great defense last week against one of the best offenses in the league and we knew it was going to be a physical game, we knew it was going to be ugly. We talked about it being ugly and getting an ugly win because an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. For us to block that field goal and stop them and get to the coin toss and once you get across the fifty with Sebastian [Janikowski] you expect perfection by him just like he was and he hit a good ball. Great blocking upfront after we had the slipup last week on the field goal. So just good to reward the defense, reward our team and then also to look across the scoreboards around the league and see what happened to help us out.
DT Richard Seymour
ON TWO BLOCKED KICKS
Even though my hand went up to block them, I can't take all the credit. I have to give a lot to our linebackers for giving me good push and the coaching staff for coming up with the calls to put me in the right position to make plays. That's what we talk about all the time, the coaching staff putting players in position to make plays and when your number is called, making it and that's what happened.
DT Tommy Kelly
ON BLOCKED FIELD GOAL
Make a play, make a play, that's all, and Big Rich [Richard Seymour] made a play.
ON THOUGHTS WHEN IT WAS 13-6
Get home, sack, fumble, get home, but for some reason it didn't work out that way. You've got to take you hats off to them, they made plays.
ON THE WIN
At the end of the day, if we win 16-13, I don't care how we get there. After last week losing 28-27 and giving up 14 points in the last five or six minutes, I don't even care to tell you the truth. I just want to win and go to the playoffs for the first time in my career.
DE Lamarr Houston
ON DEFENSIVE STOP
I was happy. We needed a big play and it was just a blessing I made the play. I was thankful and I was glad my teammates were helping and it just cleared up and I found the ball.
ON THE WIN
The win overall could have been a lot better but we won today and we are just happy with that for now, but we've got to go back to work.
ON ROAD RECORD VERSUS AFC WEST
We are just building a good team right now. I think we play well on the road as a team and we've got to go back home for this last one and just get ready for that now.
