On what led to his sack-fumble and fumble recovery:
"It was just technique. That's something that we preached about all week, just being able to hone in on our technique and our assignments. Once I was able to get that ball out, I stayed with the play and was able to recover it."
On improving in run defense:
"We feel great about that. Any time that you hold a team like that, especially with the running back they have, [Bengals RB] Joe Mixon, who is a very explosive running back, to be able to hold him under his average and hold him to three or four yards per carry, it's amazing. That's what we practice. That's what we preach. That's what we hang our hat on. We're very prideful about that. We just have to keep going. We have to use this game as fuel to build off. We put it on tape, so people know exactly what we can do. We believe that we can do it. If we just keep honing in and keep that the main focus, keep the main thing the main thing, we'll be able to keep this going into next week."
On Giants RB Saquon Barkley:
"A great challenge. He's another dynamic runner who is very daring and dangerous in the open field. He is just like the rest of these good running backs that we've played. We've played some good running backs — [Vikings RB] Dalvin Cook, [Bengals RB] Joe Mixon, [Steelers RB] Najee Harris. This is another good test of what we can do. Looking forward to another good challenge ahead."
On yesterday's defensive gameplan:
"Going into the game, the gameplan was to stop the run. That's what we haven't been doing too well. These last couple of weeks, we've been doing pretty well, but that's what our main focus was, stopping the run. Once we stopped the run, we knew that we had them. That's how the game kind of went. We stopped the run early. We got after them early. Then, we were able to pass rush and get guys involved."
On his two sacks yesterday:
"On the first strip-sack, I was able to get the tackle, work his edge. Credit to the secondary, those guys held up in coverage, which gave me that extra second that [Bengals QB] Joe Burrow had to hold the ball. It gave me an extra second to get there and get that strip-sack. Rush and cover work together. When the DBs are covering well, we rush well. When we're rushing well, the DBs are covering well. It's all a testament to each other. It all goes hand-in-hand."
On what has led to 'his recent flourish':
"That Baltimore week, going into the bye week, is really when I figured out, 'Hey, I can do this.' I've settled in a little bit more, wasn't really trying to push everything. I know [LB] Kyzir [White] mentioned about contract years, so guys are thinking about what is in the future. I can say that that was kind of getting into my head in the beginning, but once I settled in, knew what I was capable of doing and trusting my path, my coaching and my practice habits, it just all fell into place. It's starting to come along. I'm starting to get into a rhythm now. Hopefully, I can keep this thing going."
On if he is currently 'playing the best he has in his career':
"Absolutely. I was talking to Brandon [Staley] back in OTAs and he was telling me, 'You can play in this system. You can do it. I believe in you.' It's all starting to come to fruition. I'm starting to trust the process a lot more now, getting into a rhythm. Hopefully, we can keep this thing going."
On his mindset when OLB Joey Bosa departed the game yesterday:
"Losing Joey, that's a big loss. He's one of the premier pass-rushers in this league. Any time he is not available, it's a huge loss for us. It's the next-man-up mentality. We have a lot of guys that are able to contribute — [OLB] Chris Rumph [II], the rookie, getting his first sack, that was huge. [OLB] Kyler Fackrell got constant pressure on the quarterback. He might not have gotten a sack, but he affected the quarterback by getting pressure. I was able to contribute a little bit. The D-line stepped up. We had interior guys getting sacks. Everybody stepped up. It wasn't just one guy. The next man has to be that guy. Everybody, collectively, came together and did their part."
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