Sounds bites from the Jets' and Cowboys' locker rooms at AT&T Stadium following the Jets' come-from-behind, last-minute 19-16 victory on Saturday night:
Head coach Todd Bowles asked what it means about the Jets after "nearly blowing the game but coming out on top"...
"Well, it's mental toughness. You don't nearly blow games when you win them. You blow them when you lose them. You win is how you win. All of them aren't going to be 15-, 16-, 20-point wins. You've got to win the tough, gritty ones, and we've won two of those now so we're building some character."
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on Kenbrell Thompkins' 43-yard reception that set up Randy Bullock's go-ahead field goal...
"Kenbrell's just a smart football player. Before the play he said to me, 'Hey, against this coverage I can get down the sideline.' He called the play and got the coverage. I don't know if I've ever thrown that one to him before. It was just a trust throw. I had to get rid of it and he made a great play."
Thompkins on the "hold shot" play that he caught the pass on...
"I thought we had that look the whole game. There was another opportunity. He happened to throw the ball and I happened to make the play. It was the just the hold shot. In Cover-2, sometimes corners get a little lazy. Like I told Fitz earlier in the ballgame, we had that look. If that look comes again, don't, you know, fall asleep on it. I guess on that play, he was wide awake."
DE Muhammad Wilkerson on the Jets' style of football down the stretch...
"That's what this team is doing now in December — fighting to the end. We started off slow, then stepped up big at the end."
DE Sheldon Richardson on the game and the Cowboys and AT&T...
"Truth be told, we shouldn't have been in that situation. It was a big stadium but it wasn't a big team. We should have beat them a lot more than what we did. They made that game too close. Just started out too slow on both sides of the ball."
Fitzpatrick on the gash on the bridge of his nose...
"I'm done with photo shots with Decker, I guess. That's out the window. I didn't see it till the game was over when everybody kept telling me I looked ugly, but that usually happens during the game anyway."
WR Eric Decker on leaving briefly when his knee was twisted as he made a first-half reception...
"Just the way I fell and the position of the knee, it just scared me more than anything because of the past injury I had this year and what I've been dealing with all year. Living right or whatever it is, it came out fine and it was not as bad as I first thought."
T D'Brickashaw Ferguson on the Jets' seven first-half penalties (but only one in the second half)...
"That's never our aim. We've really got to tighten that up. But the defense really helped us with all the turnovers they were getting and we were able to capitalize when it mattered most."
Randy Bullock, a Texas A&M grad and former Houston Texans player, on kicking against the Cowboys...
"That was awesome, kind of a homecoming for me. I wish the rest of the game had gone a little bit better, but I'm glad I was able to come through for the team. ... I was frustrated with how I started out, that missed PAT. I focused, got back into it, and did my job at the end when it really counted."
Redemption. https://t.co/yRuWYqZ6Zk — New York Jets (@nyjets) December 20, 2015
LB Calvin Pace on if something special is brewing with his team...
"I felt that way from the jump. We have more than enough talent. We have great chemistry. We have a good mix of old and young players. Well, let's not say 'old,' lets say 'seasoned.' It is working. I think finally everybody bought all the way in. It is tough, the ebbs and flows of a season.. You're up, you're down, things are going great, things are going bad. The one thing I can say: We have stayed the course. We have executed when needed. Listen to Coach Bowles with the things he is preaching week in and week out. It's coming together for us. I'm happy, proud of everybody. Everybody is playing a part. A lot of guys who are not household names are stepping up and making plays for us. That is what you have to have if you are trying to make a run to get in this tournament."
