How Did The New England Patriots’ React To Their Win Over San Diego?

Dec 7, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacst on the sideline against the San Diego Chargers during the fourth quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady

What are your thoughts on being able to win as a team?
“We battled and I knew it was going to take 60 minutes. This team has been in more close games than anyone else in the league and they fought hard. It was a physical game and it is great to come out with a win. It’s always tough winning on the road, especially against a team that’s 8-4, so it was a big win.”

What were you thinking on the throw to Julian Edelman and how happy were you to see him break it for 69 yards?
“Great play. It was a good opportunity for us to throw it because they were pretty heavy on the run. We found a little spot to throw it and Julian made a great catch and run. We needed that type of play at that time of the game and the defense took over from there.”

On how important the play-action pass was in a critical situation:
“It’s so important because you can separate the defense especially when you’re running it like we were. LaGarrette (Blount) had another great game, Jonas (Gray) ran hard, Shane (Vareen) ran good so it was a great team effort. That’s what we needed and we got a big one next week.”

On the play of the defense and special teams:
“They were phenomenal and did a great job. That was the key to the whole game the way the defense played. We turned it over a couple time and we always hate doing that but the blocked punt was huge, the interception was huge and we kind of got the momentum once we kicked the field goal. It was a great kick and then we had the long score to Julian (Edelman) so everybody needed to contribute and everybody did and I’m real happy.”

On what the Chargers did to frustrate the offense:
“They have a good team. They play well at home, they challenged us, they’re physical, they had a good rush and they covered well. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked offensively but that’s the NFL so hopefully we’ll be better next week.”

Brandon Bolden

On if he had hoped to block a punt going into the game:
“You go into the game thinking you can block one every time it’s called.”

Was there an alignment issue that helped you?
“No, I think I just got a really good jump on the snap count. I don’t think there was anything he did extra or I did extra. I just got off it quick.”

On if he gave Chargers punter Mike Scifres a wink after the play:
“I didn’t even know he was hurt until after I made it back to the sidelines and everything calmed down. I went and checked on him and he said everything was going to be fine.”

On if he sensed the momentum turn after the blocked punt:
“Special teams can be a big momentum shifter for any team. For this team it was that boost we needed, and when that happened everything picked up. That momentum shifted and we rode that wave, so I think we did a good job offensively and defensively after that play to stay in the ball game.”

On why the team always wins after a loss:
“After a loss nobody likes that feeling. We especially don’t like that feeling, so everybody just takes it on their shoulders and says we have to go out there and do better.”

Vince Wilfork

On defensive effort:
“We played well. Going into this game we knew that, defensively, we would have to play well against Philip Rivers and his bunch. They are explosive on offense. We took the challenge. Coach challenged us and we came ready to play tonight. It was a good job. We worked very hard this week. Being in San Diego for a week gave us a chance to bond, watch extra film at the hotel, and talk football. We ate together a lot, and bonded. A lot of the time we talked about what it was going to take to win the ball game this week. Everybody prepared well. We have three good practices this week and the focus was unbelievable. I have to tip my hat off to my teammates. They came in ready to work. Once we came in San Diego and got situated, everybody had their head down, ready to work. It showed tonight and that’s a big win tonight for us as a team.”