HEAD COACH BEN JOHNSON

Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, October 22, 2026

Opening Statement: "OK, the two injuries of note here, we've got (DB) Malik (Muhammad) with a toe and (TE) Cole (Kmet) with a knee. So, hopefully we'll find out more information there tomorrow about those guys. Man, we're really proud of the group. Ended up being a lot of ups and downs throughout that game. It's a good ball team. (Patriots Head) Coach (Mike) Vrabel has done it at a high level for a long time. He had those guys playing. We knew it was going to be a physical brand of football, even on a short week. It's going to take all 60 minutes to beat that team. That proved to be be true. All three phases made critical plays throughout the game. (LB D'Marco Jackson) D-Jack's interception in the end zone was huge for us. Gave us points. I thought all of our pass catchers stepped up and had some big nights. (WR) Luther (Burden III) started us off with a big spark there early. Then (TE) Colston (Loveland) kind of took it in the middle. Then (WR) Rome (Odunze) came through with some big ones there at the end that were huge for us. Then, of course, the on-side kick recovery helped seal it. Special teams comes up for us almost every week right now. Our kickoff coverage is phenomenal. It was good to see another kick return with (WR) Zavion (Thomas), he's starting to heat up a little bit. But, really, it's (K) Cairo (Santos) being able to make that 58-yarder there at the end; that was huge to put that game away. So, we'll go ahead and open it up."

On the 'decision' to have Cairo try the 58-yard field goal:

"It's close. But, it's one of those things, a lot of time and effort goes into it. Our process pregame tells us a lot about how he's feeling and what we feel like those maximum distance lines are. One, we felt good about being inside that line, and two, we asked him, he said, 'Absolutely, I need redemption because I missed one earlier.' He came through for us in a big way."

On 'overcoming adversity':

"We talk about it, but those are just words. So, we try to put those guys in those situations in the spring and during training camp; things not necessarily always going our way. That's where there's always a silver lining when bad stuff happens to us. You can learn from it and you find out what you're made of. I know we've got the right guys in this locker room that can handle anything that's thrown their way. They have a lot of belief in each other, too. I think that's really a big part of it is they know that even when things get a little bit funky or haywire, that we can right the ship and get it going back the right direction really quickly."

On what the handoff to OL Joe Thuney was 'supposed to look like':

"Very similar to what it looked like — It looked clean in practice for us. I'll have to see in on tape."

On QB Caleb Williams on third down:

"I think he did a pretty good job throughout the night. I know he had a number of explosive plays. He found some of those guys in the second level that were huge for us. It took us a little bit to get the running game; feel in the running game. So, he was able to extend those drives by being fairly accurate there in the passing game. We'll have to look at that tape again. Once again, it's hard for me to answer right off the cuff there. But certainly 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns was a good night."

On Kmet's injury:

"We'll know more tomorrow, but I don't think it looked very good."

On the screen pass touchdown to Burden III:

"He did a great job catching it and then finding some green grass. I think really what caught my eye was the blocking down the field. I think we had Colston and it might have been (WR) Kalif (Raymond) with the wideouts. Then the whole calvary came, the whole o-line showed up, and it was like a wave carrying him through there. He saw a little crease and hit the jets. It was good."

On the team 'working through a short week':

"I thought they handled it really well. We stressed the recovery aspect of just making sure our bodies were as close to the top-notch as they could be. Yet, that's probably an illusion. No one was feeling great tonight. I think we had a number of guys fighting through some things. Yet they wanted to be out there battling it out, which was good to see. The recovery was a huge part. Then everything was all mental from there on out. We still loaded up the game plan very similar to what we normally do, and I thought our guys handled it really well. So I'm proud of them."

On the 'high-level' that both quarterbacks played at tonight:

"It felt like he was a little bit back and forth there for a while. Just watching (Patriots QB) Drake Maye play; he's an outstanding player. It's very hard to bottle him up. You only rush four and he finds a way. If he doesn't see anything down the field; to find an open gap and skirt on through. I think what's really impressive is how he can find these little outlets and dumps where they're still running vertical for catch-and-run opportunities. I think they had a number of those tonight. It's really effective. You can tell he's kind of caught his rhythm now in this part of the season and will probably continue to do that. Caleb, it was good to get him now two weeks in a row, finding some open receivers. I think I always feel more comfortable as a play caller when we get a full week of practice so that I can see all these plays come to life in practice and we can talk through them a little bit more. So, for a short week, which we really haven't had many of since I've been here together, I thought he did a great job."

On the Patriots touchdown to end the first half:

"I think we could have rallied to the ball there and gotten him down."

"Thank you."

QUARTERBACK CALEB WILLIAMS

Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, October 22, 2026

On the 'importance' of the first drive of the second half:

"The coach called it a great game. The guys ran great routes. The lanes opened up, I just used my legs. I want to protect the team, help the team in those situations. And then deliver a good ball, like I've been preaching each week. Since (Head Coach) Ben (Johnson) got here, deliver a good ball to the guys. Let them go make plays, and that's what they did today. And then obviously the whole line, they blocked their tails off today. So, I appreciate them, appreciate the running backs running hard, and also blocking in pass pro."

On Johnson sending K Cairo Santos out for the 58-yard field goal:

"I didn't know how far it was. I know I took the sack. We're going to go back and look at that. I thought I could take the sack in that situation, keep the clock going, or maybe make them use their last time out. But in that situation, we'll go back and look at it. I'll learn from it if we get in that situation again. But that's my guy, Cairo. So, we believe in each other. Whenever anything happens, Cairo misses, cool. I've got your back, the defense has got your back. When maybe we don't score or put us in that situation, Cairo has our back. And that's the type of guy Cairo is. He said at the end that he wanted to have our back, 'Put me out there on the field.' And that's why coach puts trust in him. We trust him, and that's what we are, we trust each other."

On the touchdown pass to WR Luther Burden III:

"I didn't do anything. I just threw the ball. And O-line and wide receivers blocking. That's who we are. That's our identity. Our little guys block. Obviously our big guys, they run through a wall. And so, Luther did a great job catching it, getting vertical. And from there, we always say it turns into a proper turn. He got back out, got on the sideline, got vertical and scored for us."

On being competitive against a player like Patriots QB Drake Maye:

"Of course. I think any competitor, it doesn't matter the sport, is when something happens and the other guy, that's a great quarterback, he's been a great quarterback for years. And so, when that happens, you want to go out there, let's go get one. Let's put the score back up. Let's match that from there. And I think we did just that. And it's a great team over there defensive-wise, they do a great job. Offensively, they obviously do a great job. Special teams, they do a great job. And so, they're well-coached, and we just made a few more plays today."

On the third-down conversion to WR Rome Odunze on the final drive:

"They went to their tricky two. With (Patriots S Kevin Byard III) KB in the middle, gun five, and he decides to let it rip. That's always something I preach to myself each week before every game. Decisiveness wins. And so I was decisive about the throw. I was decisive about going to Rome, believing in him, trusting in him. And then, obviously, O-line and everybody else did a great job. And so, from there, it's up to Rome to go make the catch. I told Rome, we looked at each other right after we had that pass interference, OPI, down there in the red zone. That I'll come back to you. We didn't know when, and it ended up being a big part of the game."

On the team through the first seven weeks:

"We're in a good spot, obviously. Long season. We've got guys that go down. We've got guys that come back off injuries, all of that. So, like I said, long season. Feel good going into this extended period before this next game. Be able to get an ample amount of time to rest, ample amount of time to focus on these next guys and be able to get exactly where we need to be as a team."

On his handoff to OL Joe Thuney:

"I have no idea. I don't know. It was a special play, and the special play didn't work."

On what the play was 'supposed to look like':

"Joe was supposed to score (laughs). I didn't know that rule. So, I'm going to go back. We're going to talk about it, coach and I and the other people that are in charge of that. So we'll figure it out. Hopefully we can figure some cool plays out."

On playing prime time games at home

"Yeah, these nights are awesome. You play against another good team in a prime time game in a short week. These games are awesome because you get to see who you are as a team, and that's who we are. We're a smashmouth football team. Innovative team. And then when things happen and things don't go our way, when the water's rocky, we stay steady. So, we're going to keep going. We're going to keep fighting. That's who we are. That's who I know who we are. Like I said, it feels great."

On the key to Burdens explosive plays

"Yeah, I said it throughout the week about Luther, problem child. So, let's get the ball in his hands. We've got a bunch of other guys that are the same. Somebody asked about (TE) Colston (Loveland) and his nickname and all that, I don't know yet, but Luther's a problem child. And we want to keep getting the ball in his hands. I heard that he's 17-for-17 when the ball's thrown to him so far this season. We've got other guys that make plays. Obviously, (WR) Rome (Odunze) and Colston get in the end zone. Luther gets in the end zone. So, we've got a tandem over here on this side and so we're going to keep using him. We're going to keep getting explosive. We're going to keep having fun.

On TE Cole Kmet being carted off

"Yeah, it was tough. Obviously, I don't know exactly what it is and all of that, but obviously getting carted off is never good. You're at least going to miss some time. I don't have the words to describe what Cole is to me, what Cole is to this team, this organization. He's the longest tenured bear, I believe. And so, he's been through it. And it's challenging. He's tough. And I'll be with him. I'll be right there with him through every step of whatever the injury is. Cole's been there for me every step of the way. Through the first year, the second year and now through this year. So, I can only do the same for him."

On what makes a good 'runners' ball'

"Yeah, that's more of a let's keep focusing on those small details. Let's keep figuring out how we can do that, how I can be better, how we can get a better ball, how we can get the ball in our guys' hands. That builds confidence there in that department. And so, I've got to keep doing that. I've got to keep finding ways to get the ball in these guys' hands fast and get the ball in my hands and deliver a good ball."

On sitting on a folded towel throughout the game

"Keep it warm, yeah, just keep it warm. I had a hamstring injury for the past couple weeks, so just keep it warm. Long game. It's a little chilly outside, so yeah."

On 'building confidence' with various players

"Yeah, that's who we are. That's who we are. Things happen and you don't shy away from it. That's who we are. We don't shy away from it. (K) Cairo (Santos) missed. Obviously, Cairo wants that. We want that. But that's who we are. That's who we are. We show up for each other. And then when things don't go our way, like I said, we stay steady. We keep going. We find ways to get it back out. We find ways to go attack it again. Like you said, Colston came back to me. I looked Colston in his eyes, and I said, when he shows up again, and they play this coverage, or they play him in, things like that I will come right back to you. Same thing happened. Came right back to him. We made a great catch."

On what he respects and enjoys about Santos

"Yeah, Kyra, he's so consistent every single day. His routine. We don't really get to see it, but his routine. He's consistent. And that's all you can ask for as a man. As a human, it's the hardest thing to do as a human. And so that's who he is. And then from there, he has confidence in himself. He knows that we have confidence in him. He knows his quarterback has confidence in him. And so I think that only builds his confidence in himself, his routine, his everything. He's been doing it for a while. So, excited for him. Excited to be able to hit that for us as a team. It was big for us. Thank you."