NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. WASHINGTON REDSKINS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2017 ● MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME

WASHINGTON REDSKINS HEAD COACH JAY GRUDEN

On losing a two touchdown lead in the fourth quarter: "We gave up too quick of a touchdown on the initial one. They scored, so we got the ball back. We had a third down and one and did not convert, unfortunately. We punted it right back to them and they went 90 (yards), I think it was. Hat's off to them for making the plays. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done."

On why he called a timeout before the team's fourth quarter third and one situation:
"We actually lined up incorrectly. We lined up with a tight end on the wrong side, so we had to get that fixed up, we fixed it. I thought that we had a good play call. It didn't work."

On what happened on the intentional grounding play:
"We had 25 seconds left and a first down. We were in a position where it was (on the) 35 (yard line). It wasn't quite close enough for a field goal, so I was trying to get his attention and hand signal a bubble screen out there. If we get it out there and get it out of bounds, we get another play called. Unfortunately, Jamison (Crowder) didn't get it. And, he just threw it away. I don't know why that was a penalty, but it was."

On Semaje Perine:
"Semaje ran hard. I was impressed with Semaje's running style. I figure with that type of game and the type of player that he is, he will get better with more carries. And, that is what he showed today."

On how it feels to lose this way:
"It's terrible. I feel bad for the players. We laid it all out on the line. We came out to a hostile environment against a team that has won seven in a row. You don't get anything for close."

On why he called the fake punt: 
"Coaches (Ben) Kotwica and (Bret) Munsey came up with that. If they had the right blocks in there, we figured that we could get it in there for a yard. It had to be less than two yards. We just lost Chris Thompson on the play before that. I felt like the momentum was changing a little bit. I thought that it was important to try and get it back somehow. It was a helluva risk, but a great reward."

On losing Chris Thompson to injury:
"He's one of the most important players on our offense, especially when you get the ball back and need him for pass protection routes coming out of the backfield there at the end. We just, obviously, have to make do with guys that we have. And, we will."

On why Josh Doctson wasn't targeted much in the second half:
"I think we were into some bigger people type of personnel. We were running the ball pretty well and making some keepers off of them. We were still moving the ball pretty effectively. Then, Jamison got going a little bit. Obviously, Vernon (Davis) had a couple of big catches against some matchups that we liked. It wasn't that we weren't going away from him to take it away. We were just going to other people."

On his message to the football team after a deflating loss like today to the Saints:
"It stings. It stings a lot of people. It stings everybody involved with the Washington Redskins, that's for sure. We just have to bounce back. We have a short week. It doesn't get any easier. The Giants are coming to town on Thanksgiving. We have no choice but to keep grinding and keep battling.

On what he recalls about their offensive drive in overtime:
"We had a good play (called). It was a nice, little sail route for Vernon (Davis). He'll catch that ball 99 times out of 100. He got it to his chest and dropped it. On the second attempt, we had a sack, I believe. On the third down and long, we took a shot. We checked it down to Semaje and he dropped it. It was a big drop and a sack on back to back plays."

On designing three touchdown pass plays to receivers that were wide open:
"It does not matter to me, really. What matters is walking out of here with a win or a loss. A loss is not very fun. We have got to bounce

REDSKINS PLAYER QUOTES

Quarterback Kirk Cousins

On intentional grounding call in the 4th quarter:
"We had a run play called and based on the defensive look they were giving, it was going to be a tough run to get and we were probably going to get stuffed and have to clock it and then hope for the best with a field goal. We were hoping for maybe a few more yards to be a more makeable field goal. I looked over to the sideline out of the corner of my eye, and I just saw the coaches saying, 'throw it.' They wanted potentially an audible, get to an actual pass play. I thought they were saying that if you just throw it by Jamison (Crowder), in the general area of Jamison, there is an eligible in the area and there's no penalty. So what I didn't understand was had Jamison turned around and looked at me and the ball been thrown past his head, up and away out of bounds, would that be a penalty? Is it just that he was not looking at me? He was looking to go block somebody that made it a penalty, I don't know. I thought if he is in the area of where the ball is thrown that they wouldn't flag it, but I can understand why the flag was thrown in the sense that it appeared like he was not trying to catch it. So, it looks like I am throwing it to nobody."

*On once his options once he decided that they weren't going to run it on play that ended in intentional grounding in the 4th quarter: *"My thought process was the ball goes in Jamison's direction, in the area, how do you define an inaccurate throw from an intentional grounding? I thought if he had turned and looked at me and the ball had been ten feet over his head, I could just say, 'oh it slipped out of my hand, it was inaccurate.' And that's what I didn't understand was how do you separate an inaccurate throw from a no eligible in the area. I felt like an eligible was in the area, so I threw it in the area, but I can understand why the call was what it was, but it certainly hurt us."

On if he asked the officials about the intentional grounding call: 
"I didn't. I didn't take the time to. I am nervous about getting the next play called, the play clock running down. I can't have a conference with them for 30 seconds. I would waste too much time and I am trying to get our guys going for the next play."

On falling to 4-6 and the pressure it puts on for the next few weeks:
"I don't view it that way. There was pressure week one when we were 0-0. There's pressure if you are 8-0. You just go one week at a time. It's so cliché, but it's the best way to operate. Whether we are 4-6, 6-4, 10-0, I would go into the next game with the exact same approach and mental make-up."

On Chris Thompson getting injured: 
"I didn't know until he had gone inside and my quarterback coach told me, 'it looks like we lost Chris for the year or for a while with a broken leg.' So, I understood at that point, into the 4th quarter that that had taken place. It's tough. Chris was one of our best players, if not our best player, this year. This game has tested all of us, including him. He's just had a phenomenal season and it's going to be challenging to continue to move the ball with all the guys that we have had injured, but we will find a way. Just keep grinding and believe that if we do that, good things will happen."

On series of events when Thompson got hurt, the fake punt, then the drive to score:
"I think it is a great example of how it is a team game. We relied on special teams to keep us on the field and they came through for us. That drive was a combination of running the ball, throwing to a variety of different receivers and tight ends. We counted on everybody. That's the way you have to win in this league, especially on the road. You have to find ways and it may not always be pretty. Today we just didn't make enough plays, but we certainly gave ourselves a really good chance."

On throwing 50-50 balls to Josh Doctson and the connection with him:
"Josh did a phenomenal job and we have talked about it. We have said that is something he does really well. We need to continue to give him opportunities. On the last play of regulation, when I got hit, I was trying to give him a similar throw. I have to see the film, but I believe I was hot and the blitzer was free and got me, and I couldn't get the ball to Josh. We were trying throughout the game to get him opportunities, but a lot of times it's just the play call and the reads. They took him away for whatever reason and I worked somewhere else.

Tight End Vernon Davis

On Chris Thompson getting injured:
"Obviously, he is a great player. His ability to help this team win has been unprecedented. To have him go down is a huge setback for us, but thankfully we have other guys that can get the job done and do really well. I'm pleased about that, but it's really, really unfortunate to have him go down."

On how hard it is to replace Chris Thompson:
"Chris Thompson, he is one of the best in the league when it comes to running the ball and catching and making plays, so to lose him it's tough, it's tough. It's hard to replace a guy like that. With his talent, his ability to do what he does, it's just a tough situation to be in."

On response after Thompson injury:
"I feel like we have a lot of warriors on this team. Guys who are winners. Guys who want to come in and compete and do their very best every single play. We have that here. I am not worried about that. We have had that since I've been here. That's a good thing."

On last drive and offense in overtime:
"Yeah, that last drive was tough, it was so tough. We put ourselves in that situation. The situation where we had to really get in there and execute, but unfortunately we had some plays where it didn't go our away. I had a drop. A few other guys had some drops. Collectively as a team, we couldn't really pull it off at that moment. I will say that I am excited about the next one. I am excited about practice. I know the rest of the group is, so we are just going to have to move on from this and get ready for the next opponent.

Running Back Samaje Perine

On Chris Thompson injury and increased responsibility in running game:
"I was just feeling sorry for him. I just let the game play out how it played. I was just thinking about him and how unfortunate it is for him. He was doing so great and possibly having a Pro Bowl type season and just to have him go down like that, it's never good."

On the offensive line:
"They played a great game. (I) couldn't ask for anything more. I feel like I left a couple yards out there, but overall we played great as a unit."

Linebacker Junior Galette

On game today and Drew Brees:
"Once he (Drew Brees) gets into his rhythms, he's getting the ball out quick and doesn't give the rusher a chance to get there. In 2-minute, he is one of the best I've seen, but still we got to (go) down and (tie) our defense up and be disciplined. They are a really good team, but I honestly feel like we beat ourselves today. That's is a really good team. One of the better teams we've played all year. If you watch(ed) that game, then you know that we beat ourselves."

*On Chris Thompson injury: *"(It) really hurt. I know how hard he has been working and the kind of year he has been having. One of the years I was here, he was hurt or coming off IR, so I understand. I know personally how it feels. You feel like you're on top of the world then you go down. He's such a vital part of our offense, but Samaje (Perine) stepped up today. He grew up a lot. He grew up today."

On playing in four days against New York following this loss:
"You got to dig down. You got to see what are we really about. Are we really a team that wants to be in the Wild Card race right now or nothing. It is what it is. I am actually happy to have a quick turnaround because this one hurts. It is going to sting for a while, but if we can get a good win Thursday, get this divisional game. It feels like one and a half games, divisional opponent so."

Safety D.J. Swearinger

On last few defensive drives for Washington:
"I tip my hat to (Drew) Brees. That is what he does. That is what great quarterbacks do, but at the end of the day we got to make plays. It wasn't (like) he was dicing us up. It was just guys, whether it is here or there, guys didn't take their man. Whatever it is, it happened. We did not execute. He did not do anything special. Like I said, I tip my hat to Drew Brees. They got the W. I tip my hat to the whole Saints organization. They came back and beat us fair and square. At the end of the day, we didn't do our job. We beat ourselves for sure. For sure beat ourselves…We for sure beat ourselves. Like I said, tip my hat to the whole organization over there and Drew Brees and the whole offense, but we definitely beat ourselves."