Bills Head Coach Chan Gailey
Opening statement:
"My take on the game was it was a gut check. I'm impressed with the way our team fought through adversity. The first play of the game, we fumbled the ball. We played great red zone defense. We didn't play as consistent on offense but did enough good things in all areas to win the game on the road against a good football team. It wasn't pretty at times, but it was a gut check and that may go a long way for our football team."
On the relief of getting the win:
"It's huge, but it's not relief. It's excitement about where our team can go. This was a tough football game, and it was against a good football team. To come on the road and win it the way we did, I am impressed with the way the team played."
On the emotions when the Cardinals 61-yard field goal was made to tie the game:
"You can't explain the emotions. There is just no way. You don't think there is any way a guy is going to make a 61-yarder, and then you think for sure he is going to make the short one and he doesn't. There are highs and lows. As football teams, you have to handle highs and lows not only in a game but in a season. You just keep fighting. That was impressive by our football team."
On the decision to go with the wildcat pass by Brad Smith in the fourth quarter:
"We were trying to throw it more in the middle of the field to keep it away from the outside. We designed it to go to the middle of the field, but it ended up not hitting the middle of the field. If we hit that, we are all talking about what a great call it is, and if we don't, it's a dumb call. So it was a dumb call. If I had to do it over again, I'd run it. That's the way life is."
On if the decision to go with the wildcat pass was based on the Cardinals defensive look:
"Yeah, we had already seen it two or three times versus what they had given us, and we thought we had a chance going right down the middle with it."
On the decision to punt in overtime:
"They were playing with a backup quarterback. If you can get them inside the 10-yard-line with a backup quarterback, you like your chances, especially with the way your defense has been playing."
On whether or not the new overtime rules made a difference:
"Yeah. You didn't want to give them a short field, especially when they had made a 61-yarder."
On the defensive line getting pressure on Kevin Kolb:
"They really did. There were five sacks in the game, and I bet we hit him a bunch more and could have had a couple more in the grasp sacks if they would have called it. It was a great effort by that front line. I thought Kyle Moore stepped up. I thought he did some good things in that ball game. The rest of them all played well too."
On if he is happy now with the decision to spend the week in Arizona before the game:
"Yes. I didn't know it at the time we set it up or during the course of the week. Talking to the guys late this week and hearing the guys talk to each other, I think it was valuable for us."
On the performance of Mario Williams:
"I think he played extremely well. I'll have to watch the tape. I hate to go out on a limb, but it felt like he played really well. He played both the run and the pass. They were trying to chip him a bunch and he was still getting pressure on the quarterback. His presence was duly noted by them during the game. I really know that."
On if he is excited by the win:
"I should be. I am excited for those guys who have worked their rears off. They lost some respect the last couple of weeks, and they were out to gain some respect back. I think they did that."
On the success Kevin Kolb had running the ball:
"Yeah, we really played good run defense except for him. We gave up 180 yards rushing, but 66 were his. We were surprised about that, because he is a scramble to throw guy not a scramble to run guy. We were telling everyone to stay back because he likes to throw it when he starts to move, and it hurt us today."
On the injury to Da'Norris Searcy:
"I don't know. It was an ankle, but I don't know the extent. Everyone else came out okay."
Bills FS Jairus Byrd
On the atmosphere in the locker room:
"We're really excited. We fought back and this was a really big win for us. Coming from our performance we had for the past two weeks, this is big."
On the leadership in the defense huddle:
"A little bit of everybody, but mostly Kyle (Williams) and George Wilson. They were just getting our heads right, making sure we were staying focused, and at tentative to the situation."
On both interceptions:
"It was just the principles of our defense. The way we play it allows me to, depending on what the receiver does, frees me up to make plays. Fortunately, I was able to do that. From what the receiver did, I was able to go to the middle and help out."
On what the receiver did:
"It was a post route. He tried to bring it over across the middle and I was able to jump it."
On what he was thinking during interceptions:
"When that ball is in the air, I always think I got it. If it touches my hands, I feel like I got it."
On the last run:
"I was trying to get in the end zone, but a lot of people were just coming out of a lot of different directions. Finally, I just felt myself going down. Like I said, all game we had pressure up front. The defensive line did a great job of getting to the quarterback. He was flustered all game. My hats off to the front seven."
On what was different about the team this week:
"In Arizona we were away from the distractions. It was just us in there. It was a chance for us to soul search and correct what we needed to get correct without the distractions of being back at home. It was like a getaway and great for us mentally to just be able to regroup."
On the emotions on the sideline after the 61-yard field goal:
"When they made that, it was hats off to the kicker. I don't think I've ever seen something like that. He did a great job of nailing that. After that, we knew we were in for a fight. We expected that overtime. All the guys just stayed in it mentally and hats off to them. We rallied together and stayed together as a unit and were able to come out of it with a victory."
On the importance of this win for the defense:
"It was great. Coach called a great game. He put us in positions to make plays. His calls were really good and so was his timing. All week he had said that if something came down to it, it would be us winning on defense. It played out just as he said it would."
On pressure to make a play:
"They put a lot of pressure on us, but we were ready for it. We already had it in our mind that it was going to come down to us winning the game. We were prepared for that type of game. A dog fight."
On his chest pain:
"The training staff did a great job in keeping me together. I've been battling stuff in the last couple of weeks and they've been keeping me together so I was able to go out on the field with my teammates."
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Bills K Rian Lindell
On if he thinks about the consequences of a game-winning kick:
"Well I just try and hit a good ball. I don't care when it is, if it's March or whenever it is. But I just try and hit a good ball. It was a great hold and great snap. I give Garrison (Sanborn) and Shawn (Powell) credit for that. "
On if he wanted to kick a field goal on the first Bills drive in overtime:
"I was certainly warmed up and if they said 'field goal,' Im going to go kick it. If they wanted me to kick from 68 yards a couple quarters earlier, I
ll get out there and hammer it out. I`ll go wherever."
On what he said to Cardinals K Jay Feely postgame after Feely's potential game-winner was blocked:
"I think somebody tipped the ball. It makes it a little easier to stomach. I told him, 'hey man that's a nice day.' Even the first field goal was big, but obviously that 61-yarder was huge."