ADRIAN CLAYBORN, defensive end
On his big game:
“You always envision it, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
On the team:
“I feel like we now know what we can be. We showed proof of that. We have to take it and keep going. ... “It shows that we can do it. We’ve been knowing that we could do it. Now, we’ve shown it. We got that feeling. We know that we can do it.””
On his style:
“I’m no Everson Griffen or somebody like that, so. Pass rush isn’t as good as them, but I play the same way every game. It lucked out for me today.”
On his moves:
“I only have one move and it works.”
On help for the tackles:
“They chipped me some and it hurt. When they didn’t I just took advantage of it.”
On the fourth quarter:
“They were still chipping me. They were still chipping. But when they didn’t I took advantage of it and the (defensive) line rushed accordingly.”
On going to a dark place:
“You just have to take yourself to that mindset that you not going to get beaten. That’s where I went today.”
TAKKARIST McKINLEY, defensive end
On Clayborn:
“Pass rushers get paid the most money in the league. That’s the honest truth. Pass rusher, offensive line and quarterbacks get paid the most money. A.C. came in clutch today. The defense in general came in clutch today. For us to have a statement game like this, we have to build on it.”
VIC BEASLEY, linebacker/defensive end
On Clayborn: "It was pretty amazing. I've never seen a person put on physical actions like that. It was great to have him on my team. I think collectively, it was our best performance."
JAKE MATTHEWS, left tackle
On the offense:
“They plays just kept coming in and we kept getting chunk plays. You keep adding those things up and good things are going to happen like they did tonight.”
On Dallas’ defense:
“We just wanted to wear them down. Anytime that we can get our hurry-up offense going. We get confident that eventually, they’ll tire down and we can put a big drive together. We did a pretty good job of that. We mixed up the run real well. We have a couple of big chunk run plays.”
On Tevin Coleman’s 1-yard run:
“When you’re on offense, you have to think from the 1-yard line that it’s a guaranteed score. We got it in.”
On third-quarter drive:
“What was really cool about it was how long we had the ball and moved on in. We didn’t have any negative plays. Bit by bit, we took them apart, taking it down the field. What was really cool was how we mixed it up.”
On rushing attack:
“When we can run the ball like that, as linemen, it gives us a completely new dimension to the game. We are not throwing it on every play. We mixed it up well and they did a really good job of reading the holes and getting up the field.”
RICARDO ALLEN, free safety
On the team's performance:
"This is amazing. Going against a really good team like the Cowboys, they play really good ball against everybody. To come out at home after being on the road for so long and get a win is amazing. To take that losing out of our mouth is great. We have to come with it every week."
On Clayborn's performance:
"It was amazing. I didn't know it was him at first because I saw all of them up there going crazy but once I got to the sidelines, everyone was like AC got five sacks. I went up to him and said anyone can do it five times and he said he could get the sixth one. He ended up going and getting it. That is an amazing game for a guy who comes in every day and prepares as hard as he does."
On putting the game away after halftime:
"Coming out of halftime and our offense going out and scoring again was huge. Everyone wants to try to play us slow but you can't do that when our offense is rolling."
KEANU NEAL, safety
On the team's second-half performance:
"We stopped them on defense. The offense kept pushing it down and getting points. And the special teams did their job. In all three phases, we did our job. In the second half, we continued to do that. We got back to playing together and it showed."
On the offense coming together:
"If they get three points, that's enough for us to win because we have to do our job. They put more than enough points on the board. We all tightened together. We all connected in a way. It was cool for that to happen."
MOHAMED SANU, wide receiver
On Matt Ryan being the fastest to 40,000 yards and what he means to this team:
"He's a special guy. He leads this team each and every weekend, and the way he prepares is bar none. You see him throughout the week come in early and leave late, that's repetitive."
On how the offense was able to enhance their production in the second half tonight:
"We just stayed focused and kept doing the little things right, and the big things took care of themselves."
On how the momentum from this win will carry over into Monday night vs. Seattle:
"It helps us out a lot. We played well, especially Julio. Hardy, Gabe [Taylor Gabriel], those guys stepped up and made plays. TeCo [Tevin Coleman] ran the ball really well, so did [Terron] Ward, so we really did a great job all around.
JULIO JONES, wide receiver
On whether or not a win like this can be a catalyst for the second half of the season:
"Like I always say, this is a different team. It was a great win for us, a great team win. Offensively, defensively, special teams, it's a good game for us to build on. Playing a complete game, obviously, there are some things that we need to work on, but everybody is going out there hitting on all cylinders and just feeding off of one another. It was really good for us."
On whether the Falcons offense is finally finding its groove:
"We've always been one or two plays off and things like that. It's going to be ups and downs in a game, but we can't let those things throw us off track. That's what the brotherhood is for on this team. We had some things; offsides here, holding there, throughout the game that we overcame by just sticking to the plan and just trusting your brothers. And we just have to do that from here on out."
On the running backs performances when Devonta Freeman went down:
"It's next man up. We did a really good job. Tevin Coleman, he's a one. Devonta, he's a one. Everybody on our team, I feel like it's not "you're a two, you're a three," everybody is a one and we're just waiting for our opportunity. Terron Ward, he stepped up and made some good runs for us late in the game. He did a great job coming in and he and Tevin fed off of each other. It was a great addition that he came up, and having that mentality that he's one play away allowed him to do what he did.
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