Chargers React To Week 10 Win Vs Steelers | LA Chargers

Chargers React To Week 10 Win Vs Steelers | LA Chargers

Man, that’s so big. Uh what we plus four now, plus three. So, especially winning an AFC game like that, we know that team’s going to be there in the end. So, it’s it’s good to come on in our stadium and get a win like that. You see RJ interception towards the end of the first half. How big was that for? Man, that was so big. Uh I always tell him every day, man, just be the best. And um just making a lot of plays and everybody making plays, man. Um it was just a overall good day on defense. What do you think? What do you think you guys have found here over the last three weeks? cuz I know you’re knocked out early in the Vikings game, but it feels like this is closer to what you guys expect to be on defense. Oh, yeah. We just trying to uphold our standard. Uh, from all the other talks I told you, man, just trying to come out and be that team that we know he is, be the defense we know he is, and u can’t just do it by talking. So, just getting it fixed and um these last few weeks, we’ve been playing better balls. So, just keep stacking them. Obviously, Naji goes down uh so does Omarian, but Kamani’s really stepped up in these last couple weeks. Just what has that meant for your guys’ uh offense? A lot of respect for Kamani. tell him every week, man, you don’t know when your opportunities gonna come. And he’s been taking full advantage of. I got so much respect. He playing like running back one in this league, man. And um he he’s doing a great job for himself, honestly. Man, a big piece had to have been Deshan Han getting uh reactivated from IR. How big was that for your guys’ defense? So big. Eliminating the run game, clogging up gaps, being physical, pass rushing, just having guys out there like Tart, Dehan, Khalia, Tulie, Adolf give us a chance to make our job easier. guys have talked about Khalo being you a little vocal this week and giving tips having played against Rogers before. What’s it like when when he when he’s vocal that way? Uh it’s very vocal. We look we lean on him. He’s our captain man. He’s one our captain on this team and just when when Max say something, man, everybody listening. We got a lot of respect for him. We doing it for him, man. We know he ain’t come back uh for us to be average. So we we going out there every game to compete for him. What you emphasizing this week? Uh just uh just being disciplined cuz man, it’s not Rogers didn’t seen every look. He didn’t seen every blitz, every coverage. So, Khalil basic was basically, man, keep it simple and go out and play fast. What was that moment like when uh Keenan caught that last pass at the end of the game and he passed Antonio if your former teammate Antonio Gates and now to see Keenan as a number one, what does that mean? my brain just reverted back to when I was a rookie and just seeing him for the first time and I was like man I already knew he was special round people up eight years ago and uh to now see it come for full eight years later and he’s number one player in charge of history until somebody else come break it they won’t be able to take it from him and a lot of respect man that’s my brother what does it mean to have him back it means everything man I already told y’all so many times he’s moving the chain so many times he’s making a play uh third and keen tough sled at the beginning of this game but your pick kind changed things for really the entire team. Man, walk me through that play. Uh, you know, I was just playing over the top, trusting uh that my hook player was going to be there and uh Deion did a great job getting in the window and then Aaron made a bad throw and I capitalized. Your second pick in prime time. This is wild because your dad played when Aaron Rogers was a rookie. I think you were four years old when he entered the league. How wild was it to to pick off Aaron Rogers? Uh, you know, my dad actually told me that uh earlier in the week and then I I actually talked to him after the game, Aaron, and told him that and he was like, “No you know, it was kind of full circle moment and, uh, he’s a great player. He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. So, uh, you know, just being able to play on the same field and pick off such a great player, you know, is just amazing. There was another third down where Elijah and Derwin pointed to you and they said, “Hey, watch Gainwell as he came in motion.” To have two veterans like that, and you obviously made the tackle. Just what does that mean to have two veterans like that helping you out? Oh, I mean, it means everything. They’re uh great leaders, great role models, and uh really just helped me uh you know, just form my game. You know, they’ve really helped me develop ever since I’ve been here, and they’ve been nothing but like big big brothers to me. Talk about the What was the key, you think, defensively? I mean, I don’t think until that garbage time they picked up a third down or a fourth down tonight. Yeah, I mean, we were just everyone was locked in. I mean, everyone from the front to the to the backers to the secondary corners, everybody was on the same page and um just played great team defense. I mean, everyone uh just trusted their job and uh we just made the most of the opportunities that were there. We didn’t try to force anything and it was just a great team team win. N for sure. It really really crazy. You know, we talked about it all week. Um but I ain’t really never look at it as like no revenge game thing, you know. Um I don’t have nothing bad to say about that organization. You know, they treated me so well, you know. Um but I’m just, you know, grateful to be where I’m at now with these guys. And um to get a dub on Sunday Night Football is um in that fashion is is is dope. And uh we we going to ride this wave for real. That offense has a lot of firepower running back-wise, receiving wise, tight end wise for you guys to be able to hold them to three basically the most of the night except for that obviously the final drive, but just what does that take? Could this be a turning point for the uh your guys’ defense? Yeah, I mean all week we preached it. we knew um that the best defense was going to have to show up and uh that’s the team that was going to win and um that that was our mindset, you know, can come in here prime time ball and be the best defense on the field and um that’s what we was able to do and we was able to um to to to to really just run run them out the stadium for real and um that that’s really was the was the mindset all week for real. I want to talk to you about the the way the offense has kind of grinded this thing out tonight. You dominated the time of possession, keeping Aaron Rogers off the field. Uh it was just a just a grind out allaround victory for you guys, man. Tell me about it. I mean, I think it’s a testament to the guys that were out there. I mean, they had the right mindset going into the game. We knew it was going to be a physical game. They have a very physical front on both sides of the ball. Um and do a good job of establishing that. So, you know, obviously our job is to be the the the antagonist in that story, and I think the guys that are out there did a good job. How satisfying, you know, Pittsburgh fans travel. It’s known for a long time, been doing it for decades. But how satisfying is it when they come here and you guys put it on them like that and they’re leaving early? It’s always a good feeling. You know that the stadium showed them the fans leaving and stuff like that. It’s always a good for us. So, uh, you know, at the end of the day, I asked them why, you know, why me? I don’t know. But anyways, yo, it’s always a good boost for our sideline, our fans to be able to watch their fans leave. I’ve always took good pride in that at any point in my career. So, three in a row for you guys. Uh, feel like the level’s picking up week after week. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think this team is resilient. I mean, we had guys moving and shaking um and and guys filling in different roles and never played before and this is everywhere across the team. And so, for us to be, you know, at this point seven and three, you know, it’s really big deal. Shows a testament to the guys and the coaches. I mean, Khalil goes out and gets the safety. He looked like he kind of leaned on him a little bit and said something in his ear. Did he share what that conversation was? You got to ask him about that one. I think I think he’s been sacking him a lot of times throughout his career. So that’s you got to ask him about that. Thanks. What do you see from your defensive unit these last three games? Oh, man. We’re playing we’re playing lights out, man. But we kind of gave up a late touchdown that we shouldn’t have gave up, but um uh yeah, we just looking to stack weeks, man. Stack weeks. How do you explain them? I mean, they they ended up getting one third down conversion, but for the majority of the game, they weren’t able to convert on third down. What were you guys doing that was so effective? Uh, I think I think the biggest thing was just making uh we was making uh A-Rod uncomfortable in the pocket and it kind of made it easier for us especially made it easier for the DBs as well. And um that’s like I said before that’s a big shout out to OG. He came up with a great game plan coming into this weekend based off of studying. He’s a Hall of Famer and so for that us to do that is it’s not the easiest thing to do when you have a guy back there. He’s he’s he’s a hell of a talent obviously we all know but we just believed in the match up front. We believed in the four guys he put on that field to go win their their one-on- ones. And so we gave them a lot of chances to to do that. And our coaches talk about uh you know earning the right to pass rush. And so for them them guys they do they dominate on rundowns so they can pass rush and get to the quarterback. Did you get a sense he was getting frustrated? He didn’t look very happy on the monitors. I can tell you that. M we we know Aaron Rogers and and he has like this this level of of play that you know he wants everyone to meet. So, we know that if we can get, you know, just try to raise the pressure up on them and, you know, just try to get them to to go at each other instead of, you know, us. So, for us, when you got a Hall of Famer over there who’s trying to raise the bar for his teammate raising standards, we got to make sure it’s hard for him to do that. And so, shout out to Aaron Rogers, Hall of Famer. I mean, but we was able to just get today. Earn the right to pass right now. Prime say again. Earn the right to pass rush. have to. So for us, earn the right to pass rush is is winning the rundowns, you know, winning first, winning second, so you can get to third and long so you can pass rush. You know, earn the right to pass rush. That’s that’s the payoff. You want to get a sack, you want to be the guy, get the glory. Our coach says, “Earn the right to pass rush.” So earn the right to rush is is a is a mantra or a motto that our coach Jesse Mentor has passed on to the defensive line and them guys, they do that. What do you think you guys have found here over the last three weeks? Um, just trying to be consistent. um as possible. Um you know, the week before we kind of gave up a little too much um to the Titans and so looking at the film um just making sure everything everybody fundamentally sound um playing on one accord 11 as one um and and running to the ball and um trying to bring a level of physicality to the game and um yeah, we we were able to pull it off um today. But um just still look looking to make strides um and get better each week. How how did you guys rediscover that that physicality after the the Colts game outside of you playing more snaps, but just like on an overall basis? Like how do you think you guys say something like that? Well, I guess I was I figured it’s part of it. Yeah. No, it it started with all 11 guys believing uh believing in one thing. Um and we pre we talk about it all throughout the week. During B Tulie, all the guys talk about it throughout the week and um we got to bring that level of physicality on Sunday and uh we able to bring it. Yeah. Able to shake off the right tackle and then you see Roger standing there in the end zone. Were you a little surprised? Absolutely. Absolutely. Don’t try Don’t try to. Absolutely. But um just knowing just playing against Aaron for all these years uh I know he wanted to press the B gap especially when he felt pressure um high and so just spinning it back. But yeah, I definitely was surprised then I was surprised I got the ball especially just knowing the level of competitor he is. Um but um yeah, I was trying to get it from him so I can score the ball. Yeah. You’ve been with Keenan now for a couple years. Just what did it mean for him to get to pass? And I guess I just saw LeBron James congratulated him as well. But just how big was that? Oh man, that was huge, man. That was huge. Uh for him and his family. Um just to be recognized as the the reception king of the Chargers, man. He is much deserved. Um I think he said he did it in 88 le game, 87 less games. And so um yeah, man, just a all-time great receiver in this league. And um yeah, I’m glad he was able to solidify himself in charge of history. Does this feel closer to what you guys had going last year on defense these last three games? Not worried about last year, man. Um I think the the the the response has been to uh just try to get better each and every uh each and every week, man, and not really worried about the past u whatever how many games, but um just just getting better each and every week. Was there a a moment leading into that Vikings game on the short week, a meeting, a conversation, any sort of thing that you felt like you could point to as sort of a turning point? Cuz it feels like the play on defense has been like to turn the turning points and all these different things. It’s just a you got to make your mind up. Um and we made we’ve made our mind up and um yeah, not getting too high, not getting too low, staying even, kill and getting ready for the Jags. We’re going to celebrate this one a little bit, but getting ready for the Jags.

LA Chargers players Derwin James Jr., RJ Mickens, Donte Jackson, Jamaree Salyer, Tuli Tuipulotu, Daiyan Henley, and Khalil Mack react to their Week 10 win vs the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium.

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