On when he knew he was going into the game: "The doctors were checking out (Vick) on the sideline and then I was over there seeing how he was doing and (offensive coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg) came up to me and just told me to warm up. So I grabbed my helmet and started getting warm."
On his performance after entering the game for Vick: "Not good enough to win. I made some mistakes. I can't turn the ball over and that's the most important thing to win games. You can't turn the ball over. I turned it over twice and they ended up being touchdowns and I can't do that. But that's a learning experience. I'm going to learn from it and get better. We'll get back to work and that's something I've got to get better at. Can't have that."
On whether the pace of the game was faster than he expected: "I mean it's a fast game, but I felt comfortable out there. I felt like the guys, we fought hard. I felt comfortable in the offense. I've said before, when I get in the huddle with those guys, you're a team. You're brothers. I looked into their eyes and I felt comfortable. I knew I had ten other guys out there with me that were going to play as hard as they could and that gives you a sense of comfort and you just have to play fast."
On how hard it was to not get first team reps during the week and go into the game today: "Hey, it's my job. I mean my job is to go out there and if something happens to Mike like tonight, I have to be ready. I have to be ready to win the game. I didn't get the job done tonight, but I always have a 24-hour rule with dealing with games and looking at film and you know the emotions of it because it's an emotional game. You want to win every game. You want to fight every game. And it's back to work."
On the biggest difference between the preseason and regular season action: "I think it's just, the speed of the game is faster. It's a faster game than preseason, but I felt comfortable. That's no excuse. I was out there playing and made some mistakes and we didn't get the job done."
On his touchdown pass to WR Jeremy Maclin: "It's just one of those things where I felt like my first reads weren't there and I just wanted to slide a little bit and (WR) Jeremy (Maclin) got open through the seam and I saw him. Luckily the line was doing a great job blocking and I just got him the ball."
On what he has to do to get things going if he's the starter next week: "I mean that's like anything else, you have to work one day at a time. It doesn't matter who the quarterback is, the team has to keep working hard. There's going to be tough times. There's tough times in life and you know this is a tough time. I mean on the team, everybody cares. Everybody loves this city, loves everything about it and we're fighting and we just have to keep working. It's like anything – just keep working, keep working, keep studying the film, practice, work hard. It's like anything else, we just have to keep fighting."
On whether it crossed his mind that he might start for an extended period of time due to Vick's concussion: "I'm just focused on this game right now. And I'm just thinking about this game. I'm not worrying about that. All that's the coaches. Right now I'm praying for Mike's health. Mike's – like I said before – the leader of this team and he was doing a great job and it was unfortunate and I'm just praying for Mike's health."
On what happened with the interception intended for Jackson: "I have to get him a better ball. Simple as that. I have to deliver to him. I have to give DeSean the ball right in front, right on so he can catch it and get up field and I have to be more accurate. It's as simple as that."
On whether that play could have been avoided if he had had first team reps in practice during the week: "Nope. I've thrown several slants in my life, hundreds of them. I've just got to deliver it. It's as simple as that. It didn't' have anything to do with that. I've got to deliver the ball. I've got to be accurate. I feel confident that I can be, no matter what the situation and I've got to deliver it. I've got to get DeSean an accurate ball so he can make a play."
On whether he was aware of the standing ovation given by the fans when he went into the game: "You know, I was so focused on the game. I sort of just zoned everything out. I was really focused on the play, the guys in the huddle and honestly, I was just playing."
On what he saw in interception returned for a touchdown: "You know, it just goes back to I have to be accurate with the ball. I've got to get DeSean an accurate ball. I didn't do that and they intercepted it and returned it and you know, it's really as simple as that. I've got to be more accurate. That's on me. As a quarterback, that's on me. I've got to be accurate and get one of our playmakers the ball and make a play."
On whether he had butterflies going in to the game: "Sure. I mean, that's natural. It's with anything. You get the butterflies, you get that but it's taking deep breaths and you just remind yourself that it's football. It's a high-level football. It's the NFL but it's football. Like I said before, when I get in the huddle with the guys and I see them, it's a calming thing. You realize you're with 10 other guys out there playing together to achieve a common goal. So, sure there's butterflies. It was my first time to go in the game but I felt comfortable. I felt confident and I was ready to go."
On how the offensive line did with protection: "You know, I thought they were fighting all night. They were fighting all night. They were giving me time and my job as a quarterback is to move around the pocket. I thought they were fighting. They were going as hard as they could and that's what you want from your O Line. You want them to fight every single play. They were opening holes for our running game, they were giving me time to throw it and sometimes stuff is going to happen. That's part of football but they're fighting. They're not giving up and as a quarterback, you move around, you make plays with your feet and, you know, I was really proud of them. We're going to keep fighting and I think they played their butts off."
On how he felt when he knew he was going into the game: "I mean, it's just 'Alright, it's time to go.' It's as simple as that. 'It's time to go. It's time to play.' Nothing more. I've always stayed in tune with the game. Every rep (QB) Mike (Vick)'s playing I'm staying in tune with what he's doing, I'm watching the coverage, so just staying in tune with the game. So when it did come I was like, 'Alright, it's time to go.' That's my job as a quarterback is to be ready for anything to happen. I didn't get the job done tonight but I'm going to work my butt off every single day to get better as a player. I know our team is too."
On whether he has spoken to Vick: "I just said hi to him. I wanted to see how he was doing. It was really just as simple as that. I love Mike to death so I just wanted to make sure he was ok."
