HEAD COACH RAHEEM MORRIS
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 2, 2025
RM: We got to go back and look at the tape, go back and find out what went wrong. We still had the opportunity to win that football game. We have to find a way to win that one, for our team and fans and everybody else that's watching.
Q: (Question about turnovers.)
RM: Obviously you can find really good points of the team all over the place today and how they played, particularly in the defense, being able to get after the quarterback, six sacks. Obviously having the two turnovers to give us the opportunity to win there. Some red zone offense being able to score some touchdowns today and keep us in that football game. But you got to find a ways to get off the field on third down, find a way to give you more opportunities to win. We'll go find those ways. Quick turnaround and be ready to go.
Q: They were 75%, you were 11% on third down. How do you try to get up from third and keep going?
RM: You just named it: got to find a way to move the chains on third down, maintain possessions. Got to find a way to get off the grass. That's part of the keys to victory today. We weren't able to do that. We did get two turnovers to combat that, to allow us to have an opportunity to try to win that game. We just came up short.
Q: 14 runs, threw it 37 times. You talked that the running game is your lifeline. What changed that?
RM: Obviously you got to find a way to win every single game. This team is extraordinarily good on the run game. We had to find a way to win this game. We knew we were coming with some quick passing games, some targets to Bijan, whether it was getting the ball quick, letting him run the football at the back field. Obviously we knew it would be tough sailing trying to run the football against this team. It was. We found a way to get into the end zone. That's our job, our requirement each and every week.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: I don't yet. I don't as of right now.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: Team came out and fought. That's what you coach for, that's what you look for. You love the way they was able to go out there and fight. You love the way they was able to go out there and give us an opportunity to win the football game. We just got to find a way to win it.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: I'm sorry?
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: It was a low body injury. We'll figure all that stuff out with the foot. I know he came out of it. We'll figure it out.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: No. Confidence is never an issue with the team. The team came out and fought. They'll come out and fight next week. We'll find ways to get a win. That's never an issue for us.
Q: What has changed since the Buffalo game?
RM: Nothing. That's the National Football League. These guys, you got to come out and play every single week, got to find a way to get a win. We almost found a way to get a win today. We just felt short.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: We talked about uncommon effort last night. What he did today was come out and play with uncommon effort. It wasn't just Drake. It was men across the board that played that way. Trying to give us a win versus a very good football team.
Q: How do you think Mike played today?
RM: Obviously you go back and evaluate a bunch of things. Look at it all. Mike gave us an opportunity to win today, gave us an opportunity. He stepped up and played well. Was able to move around in the pocket, keep himself out of harm's way. He did a bunch of things that we love about Mike. He'll get better and continue to grow as a player.
Q: (Inaudible.)
RM: They did a nice job. They simulated a snap. The ball came early, was snapped early. Within that snap, that was when we got the intentional grounding. Nice job by those guys. Great situational football. Great play. Got to snap the ball. That's why the ball was snapped early on Mike. He wasn't ready for the snap.
QUARTERBACK MICHAEL PENIX JR.
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 2, 2025
MP: How y'all doing?
Q: Talk about the connection you and Drake [London] had today.
MP: Yeah, it was great. Obviously he's just being the same person he's been since I got here. Guy is going to make big-time plays in big-time moments. He did that today. It was big props to him. We couldn't do it without the offensive line, running backs and tight ends all in protection to give us time to make those plays.
Q: In the grounding play, there was clapping. Thought it was your clap.
MP: Yeah, supposedly. Supposedly they were clapping. For us, whenever I'm clapping, that means I want the ball. I knew he said he heard them clapping, and he thought it was my clap, and he snapped the ball. I threw the ball in KP's direction. He had just released on a route. I thought I was going to be okay with the grounding part. Obviously that wasn't the case.
Q: How is this team's confidence? High coming out of Buffalo.
MP: I mean, it's still high. It got to be. It's NFL football. We still in it. We still in it. We still got a lot of games to go. I know this team is going to bounce back. Like you said, we did before. I know it's nothing new to us. We got to go out there and just make sure each and every day of practice we give our 110% effort like we always do, be ready for this next game coming up. Obviously long flight out to Germany, but we'll be ready for it.
Q: How big was the touchdown right before the half?
MP: That was real big. You know, that was real big. It was awesome to see that momentum obviously for us going two plays and scoring a touchdown. That was big-time to bring the game into a one-score game right before the half. It was a great job by the defense. That one and also Jessie's pick. Those two I felt like helped bring us back in the game, brought a lot of momentum for the offensive side of the ball. We carried it. We put points on the board to help us be in position to win the football game today.
Q: What was slowing you down on third down? What were they doing?
MP: Yeah, we just not executing. Not executing. I got to be better, if it's getting through my reads, moving on, finding an open guy, or just whatever it could be. But that's something we got to look at on film, assess, figure out.
Q: Fourth quarter drive, big plays. Drake superhuman effort (indiscernible). How frustrating is that?
MP: It's not frustrating. It's football. It's NFL football. Anything can happen. But obviously you talk about not tying the game, but we still had a lot of time on the clock. I think it was four and a half minutes still on the clock. Defense went out there and got a stop, gave us an opportunity to put more points on the board, we didn't do it. It's never on one person, never on one play. It's a whole collective thing. It's a long game. We have to find ways to execute whenever it's needed the most.
Q: (Inaudible.)
MP: Maybe because they got out in front. I'm not sure. I just run whatever is called. I don't know. Zero out question.
Q: Drake's performance in general...
MP: Yeah, for sure. That's just him. That's him. He's going to go out there and ball out every time he step on the field. He's a special player, special person. He does special things each and every week. It's exciting to see. Happy that he's on our team.
Q: Are you excited about the Berlin trip or...
MP: Yeah, so we going to get to that. We still got to watch this film and figure out what we can could better so we can be better for that trip. We going to flush this game after tonight, tomorrow watching the film. We will be ready whenever we go out to Berlin. It's exciting to be able to go out to a different country, go out there and display what we love to do, doing that at a high level as well. It is definitely awesome. We looking forward to it, though.
ADDITIONAL FALCONS PLAYERS
Parker Romo, K
(On the missed extra point)
"It's a tough one. Nobody wanted this win more than I did in this locker room. Obviously, that was the team I played for in the preseason, so I got to keep my head up. A lot of teammates still have faith in me and came up to me. I have got to move on to this next week. Can't let this one kick affect me. Anytime I go out on the field, I need to make the kick, and that's all it is."
(On how it felt when kicking the ball on the missed extra point)
"Yeah, I felt good. Anytime I push it a little bit to the right, maybe your steps are a little bit just too fast and makes you swing a little bit inside out. So, just got to keep focusing on my fundamentals and get better and put the ball down the middle, so there's no question if it's good or no good."
(On if he thought the late-game miss was close)
"I'm not sure, but if I put it down the middle, it will leave no question. You know, don't put it in the hands of the refs to make that decision. If I put it down the middle, there's no question."
(On wanting this win badly)
"Yeah, just because of the fact that, I did really well for them in training camp and ended up here."
(On who came up to him on the sideline after he missed the extra point)
"I'm not sure. I mean, there's plenty of guys on this team that I love, and I want to do better for them, and every time I go out on the field, I want to make points, because I've got a great operation here with Liam [McCullough] and BP (Bradley Pinion), and I got to be better."
Jalon Walker, EDGE
(On how it felt to be back on the field)
"It felt great to be back. I have been yearning for this moment for about two weeks now, to get back on the field to get back playing."
(On his feeling when he saw James Pearce Jr. recover the strip sack)
"It was a great feeling, you know, it was a great turnover for us. That's what we needed to go into the half."
(On the feeling in the locker room after a couple of straight losses)
"I don't feel like we're in a somber moment at all. I feel like we learn through every loss that we have. And today was a close game, of course, and then it just comes down to the minor details and things that we have to just work on, and just clean up. It's just the little things that gets us."
(On putting it all together and remaining consistent)
"Right, like I was saying earlier, just those little minute details. Just to clean up those little things. It's just — it's a great league. We play against other professional athletes. So those things, they will capitalize on, so we just got to be on top of our stuff."
(On comparing the impact of mistakes in college to the NFL)
"I mean, I played in the SEC. It's a competitive league out there. Plus, I played at Georgia, of course, so everybody gave us their best shot. And I just feel like those little details do make an impact on the game."
James Pearce Jr., EDGE
(On his fumble recovery)
"We were making a great play when we needed it, and me being there in the right place at the right time, picking up the ball."
(On finding consistency on defense)
"Just trying to find a way to stay consistent and rush the quarterback out and keep getting the results we got today. We're getting the quarterback down. [We need to] find out how to do it at a more consistent level when we need it and all throughout the game."
(On Jalon Walker's return to the field)
"It was great. You see how much he means to the team, just with his impact and his energy. He made the plays out there today. Keep being consistent and find our way. We are in our first year in the league. It felt great. Just little plays like that, you have confidence. You just want to feel like you finally are at the party."
Brandon Dorlus, DL
(On the pass rush)
"As a group, I felt it was a good response game to get back to doing what we do, you know, attacking the quarterback. We've got a great group of guys. We're hungry, and at the end of the day, we just find a way. It was a one-point game. It's a game of inches and there's 20 players. It was right there. We just have to finish plays and find a way to win."
(On getting back in the win column)
"We came up short. Those moments we came up short are the ones we've got to capitalize on, and we've got to finish. We have a great team. At the end of the day, we've got to go back to work in Atlanta and get ready for the Germany trip. I'm excited. It's my first time out of the country, and I can't wait to go out there and I just want to get a win."
Jessie Bates III, S
(On his interception)
"It was just an overthrow on Cover 3, and I just took advantage of it."
(On the play of the defense)
"We got settled in and did a good job in the second half, stopping the run and getting off the field on third down."
(On if the pass rush makes it easier for the secondary)
"It definitely does, for sure. It makes the play a little bit shorter. We're covering out there. It gives us a little more confidence to be a little bit stickier."
(On moving forward with the season)
"We are going to continue to focus on the good, work on the stuff we need to get better at. It is still a long season. You never know what will happen. We've got nine or ten weeks left. We'll see what happens and go to Germany and try and take care of business."
