Raiders' QB Brian Hoyer After Beating the Patriots
LAS VEGAS, Nev.--It wasn't pretty, but the motto is "Just Win Baby," and that is what the Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) did, 21-17, over the New England Patriots (1-5) on Sunday.
It was a gritty football game that saw the blue-collar Raiders fight and overcome adversity to get back to .500.
Games like this create confidence in teams that find ways to win when things aren't pretty.
Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down after the first half with a back injury, so backup Brian Hoyer came in and carried the offense behind another stellar performance by the Silver and Black defense.
After the game, Hoyer spoke to the media, and you can watch his entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Quarterback Brian Hoyer
Q: To come in and to watch how this defense has won you the last two games, would you talk about the grittiness approach of your defense?
Hoyer: "Well, I think for me, obviously, I didn't play the first half, but I sat there and watched them play. And when I knew that I was going in I thought: ‘OK, just complete the balls that you see out there, the defense is doing a great job.’ So, they gave me that confidence to go out there and not try to force anything, not trying to do anything outside of my abilities. Playing quarterback, when you have that, it gives you a lot of confidence. They did a great job."
Q: Coach Josh McDaniels' offense traditionally thrives in the red zone and it's struggling a little bit. Is there something you can put your finger on, or is it just maybe a multiplicity of things?
Hoyer: "I mean, I could have made a better throw to Davante [Adams] down there and definitely let him touch the ball. Same thing with Jakobi [Meyers]. But like I said, knowing the situation, the way our defense is playing, I wasn't going to let them touch the ball. And that was the mentality I had and unfortunately it got a little closer at the end, but the defense came up big again. And it's something that we can keep building on, that is complimentary football. We've been talking about that. Look, the defense is playing good, don't put them on a short field, don't put them in a bad situation. And especially coming into a game like that with the emotions that I had, obviously going against a team that I've been a part of for a lot of years, it gave me the confidence to just be smart and take the throws that were there, and the defense came up big at the end."
Q: You guys found out that Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't going to come back in at halftime. Did that make it any easier for you to get ready to go out there and kind of have that halftime period and not in the flow of the game?
Hoyer: "I mean, it gives you some chances to take some snaps with the center. I mean, I haven't taken a snap with Andre James in probably three weeks. So, it gives you a little bit of time to refocus, get some snaps, get some throws. So, obviously, it took a little more time happening in the flow of the game, but it is what it is, that's part of the job. We've talked about this a lot of times with the media asking me: ‘What is it?’ Well, you always got to be ready, you never know."
Q: You have obviously been in this situation before, but how was that when you got the call to go in?
Hoyer: "Yeah, I mean, look it's my 15th year, so I've pretty much seen all the situations and really what it comes down to is playing football, regardless of the situation. Obviously, I've played in this offense for a long time, and like I said, the defense was playing great which gave me the confidence to go out there and just make sure that I'm making good throws, making good decisions. And the offensive line did an incredible job. I mean, those guys blocked really well in the running game, passing game, and that gives you a lot of confidence too."
Q: On the long pass to Tre Tucker, what did you see that made you believe you could make that play?
Hoyer: "Yeah, I mean, having been there for the last seven years, I know a lot of times on third downs the Patriots want to take away your best players, and for us that would be Davante [Adams] and Jakobi [Meyers]. And that was something we were keyed in on. So, I'm just waiting to see what they are going to do, because you never know when it's going to come up. It's usually sometimes in the red area, sometimes in the field. And Tre's [Tucker] worked his butt off. I think everybody in that room has a lot of confidence in him. You see his speed and that's a play that we've kind of had in our pocket for a while and it's just a matter of the right coverage and he executed it perfectly. So, he's a guy who puts in a lot of hard work for a rookie, the same thing with Michael Mayer. And those guys are coming along and obviously it breeds confidence in them and the rest of the offense."
The Silver and Black will head on the road to take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1:05 p.m. EDT/10:05 a.m. PDT.
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