How does the loss this week prepare you for the next game?
This game was a tough one, no doubt about it. We’ve been doing a great job protecting the football all season, especially in recent weeks, and then we go into Atlanta and have a game where we turn it over four times. That’s just not a recipe for success, and we know that. When you give a team that many extra possessions, it doesn’t matter how well you move the ball or how strong your defense plays—mistakes like that will come back to bite you.
The good news is, we know exactly what we need to correct. This isn’t about reinventing the wheel; it’s about getting back to what we do best—smart football, disciplined execution, and playing clean. The mistakes we made today were uncharacteristic, and we’re not about to let one sloppy game define us. If anything, this serves as a wake-up call. We’ve seen what we look like when we’re at our best, and we know how good we can be when we take care of the football. So, we’ll take the lessons from this one, lock in at practice, and make sure we don’t let turnovers be the story again next week.
Can you summarize what it was like playing against the Colts last week?
The Colts are a tough team on the rise, and we knew we were in for a battle going into that game. They’ve got a young core that’s playing with a lot of energy, and they don’t make things easy. That being said, this time, we were on the right side of the turnover battle, and that made all the difference. Games like this show how momentum can swing in an instant, and for us, it turned on a huge sack-INT by one of our linebackers right before the half. That was the moment where everything shifted.
When you get a defensive play like that, not only does it take points off the board for them, but it fuels your own sideline. After that, we were able to take control, play our style of football, and put ourselves in a position to close it out. It wasn’t perfect, but we executed when it mattered, and that’s what got us the win. The Colts are a team to watch, but on that day, we made the plays we needed to and got the job done.
Can you talk about the development of Khordae Sydnor so far?
Khordae Sydnor is showing exactly why we brought him in—he’s a playmaker, plain and simple. He’s still a rookie, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s finding ways to get involved and make an impact. That sack-INT he had against the Colts was a game-changer, one of those plays that completely flipped momentum in our favor. It wasn’t just a great individual effort—it was a sign of his instincts, his ability to read the game, and his knack for being in the right place at the right time.
What’s been really impressive about Khordae is his growth week-to-week. You can see his confidence building, and he’s getting more comfortable in his role. He’s physical, he’s fast, and he’s learning how to use those tools effectively within our scheme. We’re just scratching the surface with him, and that’s the exciting part. If he’s already making these kinds of impact plays as a rookie, I can’t wait to see what he looks like once he’s got a full season under his belt. He’s got all the traits to be a force in this defense for a long time.
