What Steve Wilks Said Following the Loss to Tampa Bay

Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks met with the media after Sunday's game.

Opening statement

"Turning the ball over led to ten points. You can't win against a quarterback like that turning the ball over."

C.J. Henderson's day

"It's hard to say right now on the surface. I saw exactly what you saw. Giving you the reason why I'd have to watch the tape, and then I'd be able to give you a more detailed answer on that question."

If there were any thoughts on playing Josh Norman more

"We talked about it as a staff and defensively we didn't want to put him in a strain situation like that. We talked about it but decided to stay with the guys that we had."

Message to the team

"We didn't do what we wanted to do. They made more plays than what we did today. So, we got to give those guys all the credit. We didn't play according to our DNA which is physicality and effort, which I thought for the most part, you saw that. We didn't play smart. Not at all. But the one thing I stated to those guys, the last element, that's what we're going to do this week. We're going to finish. That's what men do. That's what good football teams do regardless of the record, regardless of the circumstances. We're going to come in tomorrow and put this game to bed and have a great week of practice with that leading to gameday execution. We're going to finish next week. That's our mindset."

Passing the ball more

"I think everything is based off what they're doing. As you could see, they were loading the box somewhat like Pittsburgh. So we had to loosen them up a little bit. I believe in taking what they give you and coming back to be able to take what you want. I felt like at times we were able to get the ball out in open space and guys could do some things but we shot ourselves in the foot when we turned it over."

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