Read the full transcript from Head Coach Mike McDaniel's Postgame press conference on October 26, 2025.
Q: What role did the ability to stop the run play in the victory today?
"Fundamentally, I think it extended the distance for third downs to a point that we could play a little bit on our terms. I thought the plan led by 'Weave' [Anthony Weaver] was phenomenal. I think the execution matched that. I think stopping the run not only changed the time of possession, but it also was an assistant to the third-down execution, where we could be a little aggressive. There were a lot of things at play, but the starting point was for us - we knew they would try to give it to a dangerous player, we needed to have multiple players on every play around the ball. We did a great job doing that."
Q: In terms of complementary football, where does this game rank since you've been here?
"It's up there, for sure. The opening drive was three-and-out. To get a stop and then to have clean execution on special teams. We had some frustrating, over-indulgent penalties that we cleaned up. The offense going down the field for like 13 plays, with one of those being a fourth down deep in their territory– the outcome of the game is much different, in my opinion, if all three phases aren't working in concert atthat point. It continued through the game, so it was cool to see the most complementary football played in what I thought was the most complementary practice week of guys investing into each other and the plan. From the scout team out, giving looks, it was a highly motivated team. They were able to execute. I thought collectively, the coaching staff and players did a great job being focused. The results are nice to finally get them in what seems like forever. It's something we have to be able to replicate more in the coming weeks."
Q: What makes it the decision to lean heavily on the run, especially in the early stages of the game?
"I've liked the way we've blocked in the run game and developed as the season has progressed. The games haven't played out every week the way where you're able to fully lean on that development. I think the complementary football was a big part of it. There were some really good plays made by the runners, in particular on third down. We gave some run-offs, the extra yardage that Ollie [Gordon III] and 'Von' [De'Von Achane] were able to get. The way that Jaylen Wright's late drive was, we were able to incorporate all three. I thought that helped us a lot for this game, for sure."
Q: Can you take us through everything with Tua [Tagovailoa] today, what you found out in the morning, the decisions from when you woke up and then be able to send him out there?
"It seemed to be more cosmetic than anything. It's one of those things that I'm pretty sure – the way I understood it was a Benadryl-type situation. I don't think he took Benadryl. It was one of those uncomfortable, random things. It wasn't the ideal, but once I could hear in his voice that he was focused, I knew it was just going to be another thing when we were focusing on executing the game plan."
Q: Can you walk us through the decision to deploy Daniel Brunskill in some of those six-line packages?
"Utilization of your roster, we had a couple injuries. We saw the opportunity to dive into some of the things that 'Dan' [Daniel Brunskill] has done. Knowing him from all the way back to, I believe, 2019 in San Francisco, I know what type of professional he is and his versatility. We had some injuries at the position, so it gave us an opportunity to do something new. Having not done that one time since I've been here, I knew they wouldn't be preparing for it. It's a credit to him. Offensive linemen typically, in the segmentation of the play call, don't even listen to the formation at all. It's kind of like Charlie Brown. For him to in a week's time, be able to digest the play calls and the assignments and the alignments, it takes a special breed. That's why I think it was his sixth position that he's started at in the National Football League. It was an effort. He encapsulates the effort of the team, where it didn't matter the mission. Everybody was on board to write a football experience that everyone had a tremendous distaste for the week previous. There's one thing you can do when you have outcomes or you have an outing that you don't want to co-sign, it's you can go back to work. I think that's what everyone did, including Brunskill, who learned formations this week."
Q: What did it mean for the team to have Frank Smith on the sideline this week?
"I think it was something that I hadn't planned on. It was more of a reaction to the work week. I just thought that for some of the stuff we were trying to get done offensively, Frank [Smith] just did a phenomenal job staying on the guys. They responded to him during the week. I really wanted them to have that extension of the work week and practice on the field. I think Frank is a problem solver, a solution man, so to speak. He invested in the players. They responded to him, so I wanted to continue that going into this game. When you start the season at 1-6, you're looking for things to adjust and change up. Who are the people that are going to step up and how do they engender a response? Frank certainly did that this week. I'm very proud of the job he did. Obviously, it's all about the execution of our players. They really responded in kind to him, which we were all fired up about."
Q: What does that look like with players responding to Frank [Smith] being the problem solver?
"Football can be very complicated or very simple, depending on the way you look at it. I think Frank [Smith] really pushed the guys all week. We've been talking about our communication within the offense, the way we break the huddle, the way we approach the line of scrimmage, and keeping it about the most fundamental parts of the game, which we were failing at the week previous. In that process, I saw them literally run to the line of scrimmage every play. I think we had a pre-snap penalty on Wednesday, one or two. We had one on Thursday, and then we had zero on Friday. I just wanted to lean into that. I wanted the guys to have that consistency with which they responded to, to try to get this done in this game. Fortunately, you're able to do stuff like that when you have a lot of good coaches on staff. I was able to, without blinking, have Frank down and Bobby Slowik up and didn't lose the information that you get from upstairs because it's a very vital job, too. In cohesion with the rest of the staff, I thought everyone did a very good job executing that adjustment that we've made this season."
Q: How much was it even more important, knowing that Kirk Cousins was going to be starting at quarterback and making his first start since December?
"I think that came to us. It wasn't really on the forefront of our radar. You're very skeptical about things just in general in the NFL season. Banking on Kirk [Cousins] playing wasn't the move we were really making. We kind of realized that last night when they announced it. Being in Washington in 2012 when we drafted him, I know that he can get on a heater if you let him. The plan from the onset was to have a pack mentality on the runner, that it wasn't going to be one player that was going to have 45 tackles to stop him. It was going to have to be a lot of population around the ball and a lot of strain because a small window or shortcoming in your run fit and they make a living on the explosives and having those big gains. Trying to keep them one-dimensional was a priority, regardless of the quarterback, just based on the offense they have."
Q: What was your view on the trench play? In other words, the physicality of the game from a global perspective. Did you like it?
"Yes, I think it was something that we knew going into the game that if we didn't win or didn't feel good about our line of scrimmage play, we'd probably be facing the same result. That's a really good team that is battling through some injuries, but at any time they can really take the momentum of the game by their line of scrimmage play, both how they run the ball and if they're able to hang on time of possession. They have a lot of good pass rushers and a really, really good scheme that if you're not winning and you're not able to run the football, they will get you into a one-dimensional game and cause takeaways and all sorts of stuff. It was vitally important that we had our best line of scrimmage game. Guys have relentlessly been working at their craft, and I thought it showed today. That's definitely what our team needed to change the last game's outcome for sure."
Q: Was this game just one of 17, or is it more than that?
"I think it is one of 17 that I think this team has the ability to utilize this work week in the coming weeks. The next opponent, Baltimore Ravens, will not care about whatever happened in this game, nor should they, but you can replicate the things for this team that produce results. I think any time you have an embarrassing outing in the National Football League as a team, you go one of two ways. I didn't see the negative way being something that was on the table for our locker room. Generally, if you can sustain through tough times and continue to build momentum in your game without results, the results do come, but easier said than done. I think it was an important one of 17. Unfortunately, I don't think it will count in any other box score. I'm going to be very clear and direct with the team. I think they already know that, but making sure they know that, because the outcome of this game had to do with what guys put in and how they played together. I think that's the main takeaway from our team's perspective, but I was very proud of the guys staying together and look forward to our next opportunity to play, which comes sooner than later."
