What Did Brandon Staley and Justin Herbert Say after Close 'TNF' Game

Dec 17, 2021 at 11:39 AM

Here's what Brandon Staley, Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen and Uchenna Nwosu had to say during Thursday's postgame press conferences following an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Head coach Brandon Staley on tight end Donald Parham Jr.

"We're trying to play for him the rest of the way. That's what our guys did tonight. They laid it on the line and played a whale of a game for him. I hope he's proud of that, and we're just praying for him right now. That's where our thoughts are right now, they're with him. That's one of those things that's the tough side of the game. He means so much to us and he's having such an incredible season ... We love him, we're thinking about him, and we can't wait to see him soon."

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Staley on putting Thursday's game in perspective with three games left in the regular season

"This is just one game in the NFL, that's what tonight was. Whether we had won it or lost it, it's just one game in the NFL … Our whole season is in front of us … We just went through something really challenging. Then, we have to come back Monday and get ready for the Houston Texans. That's what I told our players and our coaches. That's exactly what we're going to do, is we're going to come back a better football team than we left the stadium today."

Staley on going for it on fourth down against the Chiefs

"That's the way we're going to play. When we have a quarterback like ours, and we have an offense like ours, that's the way we're going to play because that's how you need to play against Kansas City, for sure. That's how we're going to become the team that we're ultimately capable of being, by playing that way. I'm really proud of our guys. I thought we competed like champions today."

Staley on the Bolts' run game

"I loved our design tonight. I thought that [Offensive Coordinator] Joe [Lombardi], [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach] Frank [Smith], [Assistant Offensive Line Coach] Shaun Sarrett, [Running Backs Coach] Derrick Foster, those guys has really good designs. I felt like we had a lot of balance, in terms of zone scheme, gap scheme, inside plays, outside plays, runs from the gun, quarterback under. We felt like that would be an advantage for us because we felt like they would play some shell with their corner being out and [Chiefs DT] Chris Jones not being out there. Just felt like that would be something that we would be able to do to control the pace of the game. I just really felt like that was a strength of ours today. I thought all three of our backs ran at a high level today."

Quarterback Justin Herbert on close games against the Chiefs

"We're awfully close. I think that's the toughest part. We've played with those guys. I was really proud of the way the defense, the offense and special teams played. The defense came up with some big stops. We came up short on a couple of fourth downs, but everyone is going to ride with us and we're going to trust each other. We love to be in that opportunity, and the defense feels the same way. We believe in those guys 100 percent. We were close. We fell short today, but we couldn't have tried any harder. I'm really proud of those guys."

Herbert on when they don't convert on fourth down

"It's always tough and you'd love to be able to convert those. I think we need to be better on third downs so that we're not in those situations, but we believe in each other. We believe in the guys in that locker room and that huddle, and we believe in the defense. I think that's a statement of trusting everyone on the field and off the field, as well. We love to be put in those situations. Unfortunately, we didn't convert as many as we would've liked to have today, but we're going to ride with each other and we're going to be right back."

Herbert on learning from a loss

"As hard as it is, we're going to have to watch the film and have to get better. If you don't watch it and just kind of turn a blind eye to it, you're missing out on a learning opportunity. I think for the coaching staff and the players, there is so much for us to learn and so many things we could've fixed out there on the field. Unfortunately, we fell short, but it's one of those opportunities that we're going to learn. We're going to have to get better. We're just thankful to be playing football still."

Wide receiver Keenan Allen on the team's performance

"I feel good about our team, man. Even with the loss today, I feel like we played great. Just a couple moments man, couple moments and a couple plays. Just gotta be able to turn it around and build. Gotta make plays when it's time make plays."

Allen on if rookie wide receiver Joshua Palmer starting last week helped him against the Chiefs

"I think so, last week was a big confidence game for him. Just him being able to play the whole game, get the reps in and then today you see him make him a big third down catch, so that's major for us. Big time."

OLB Uchenna Nwosu on his first career interception

"Shoutout to my teammates you know everybody that celebrated with me, but it felt good. To be able to get my first career interception, I'll cherish this moment forever…I noticed throughout the night that [Patrick] Mahomes was trying to get the ball to running backs a lot. I think it was like a jet or something, but I saw someone run across my face super-fast and noticed it was third-and-short so I just tried to get out there and got my hand up and came down with the ball."