On the defensive performance and how they were able to contain RB LeSean McCoy:
COACH GARRETT: Obviously the defense was outstanding today. They did a fantastic job. That offense challenges you in so many different ways. Number one rush football team coming into this ball game today and they have a really good scheme that challenges you with their tempo. LeSean McCoy is a fantastic football player. We have seen that for a number of years now, we see it on tape. I just thought our defense did a really, really good job playing sound defense, playing together, playing what the defensive scheme was. I think we were really, really strong up front and we did a good job setting the edges, and then really running to the football. I thought we were physical and the pursuit was outstanding and I thought our tackling was outstanding. When you watch tape of [McCoy], he makes a lot of people miss. I think setting the edges and everybody getting to the football and making him go down and tackling him, and tackling him hard, I thought that was the difference in the ball game.
On Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin handling Kelly's offense:
COACH GARRETT: Kiff is an outstanding football coach and we have outstanding coaches on our defensive staff. I thought they did a really good job coming up with a plan that was effective against this up-tempo offense. One of the things that they really challenge you with is everyone not playing together on defense because of their tempo. I thought our practice week was good getting ready for it. I thought we were all on the same page and played good sound fundamental defense and it starts with a plan that Kiff and the staff put together, and I thought they did an outstanding job.
On his thoughts on PR Cole Beasley and WR Terrance Williams and if they made a lot of plays today offensively:
COACH GARRETT: They did. Each of those guys in their role has stepped up over the last few weeks and I think [QB] Tony [Romo] has a real comfort level with them and he is not afraid to go to them at all. In fact, when there is a match up that is favorable for us involving those guys he throws the ball there with confidence. They have made a lot of plays for him and when you add that to the mix of some of the other play-making guys we have on offense it can be challenging for the opposing defense.
On where you are right now being 4-3 in the division and on how important today's game was for you:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah you know we live in the day by day, week by week world and this was a good win for us to come up here to Philadelphia and get a division win on the road. It's an important win for us. We played well enough on all three phases to win this ball game. We will go back and correct it and look at it over the next couple days and get ready for Detroit, that's really where our focus is.
On the secondary and what they were able to do today and in taking DeSean Jackson out of the game:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah they have some play-making guys outside as well. DeSean Jackson has been a great player in this league for a long time. He has outstanding speed and those guys outside, whether it's [CB] Brandon Carr or [CB] Mo Claiborne or [CB] Orlando Scandrick we challenge them to play some man coverage on those guys and not have a lot of safety help and they did it throughout the ball game. The key for us to play good run defense is being able to have an extra guy down there in the box but that challenges the outside guys and they stepped up big throughout the ball game.
On your offense responding when they had to today and making big plays especially in the second half:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah when we had to we did what was necessary to win the ball game. We will go back and look at in all three phases and look for areas to improve and certainly will do that on offense. We did step up with some big drives and on a game like this going down and kicking a field goal or scoring a touchdown and making it a two score game, those are really important things that happened. I thought they stepped up. [RB] Joseph Randle was a guy getting his first start and he did a good job running the football. We made some plays in the passing game. The touchdown to [WR] Terrance was a big play in the game, extending the lead for us.
On QB Tony Romo throwing that interception but then getting a touchdown and responding to that turnover:
COACH GARRETT: It actually was a pass to Beasley and we had a little miscommunication with where the back needed to go on that particular play. I think it was [Eagles LB] DeMeco Ryans who did a nice job making that play on that ball, he was actually covering [RB] Phillip [Tanner] on that play. That's a big play in the ball game for the defense to get a stop and sudden change there and not allow them to score, there that's really important, and a significant part of the ball game and then we responded back on offense to extend the lead one more time.
On how big the two plays were that SS J.J. Wilcox made for you today (deflecting a pass in the end zone and the interception):
COACH GARRETT: Yeah [SS] J.J. [Wilcox] has done a nice job for us. He is a rookie and hasn't played a lot of snaps but he is getting better every week. He plays with the right kind of demeanor and has a little bit of a play-making ability about him. He seems to make a lot of plays on the football. Those were two important plays in the ball game, no question about it.
On WR Dez Bryant's demeanor in the ball game today, despite it being very physical outside:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah Dez has matured in so many different ways, and that is one of the ways he has matured. Just to be able to maintain his focus throughout the ball game. He is one of those players when he breaks the huddle he is going to get a lot of attention from the opposing defense, whether it's with their scheme by doubling him or just maybe it's their best corner or maybe it's just somebody trying to lock him down and talk some smack to him afterwards. I thought he did a really good job making sure he stayed focused throughout this ball game and he made the plays when he needed to.
On his thoughts when watching the first half and it being scoreless most of the time:
COACH GARRETT: We just gotta keep battling, just gotta keep battling and trying to find some good answers on offense to allow us to move the football and score some points. Keep encouraging the defense to play like they played. And you come up here and play a division game, you know it's going to be this kind of a game. So you just have to keep battling throughout and keep finding some things to get to where our guys can function and make some plays for us. I thought we did that as the game went on.
On not having Ware today and on rotating a lot of guys on the defensive line, on how they played overall today:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah, losing DeMarcus Ware is a significant figure on our defensive front. I think it was his first game he missed in his career so he has been in here week in and week out but when something like that happens somebody else has to step up. We have a lot of different new defensive linemen here over the last few weeks and they come in with the right attitude and demeanor and try to take advantage of the opportunity. They are well coached. We give them a chance to take full advantage of it. We rotated a lot of different guys and I think they understood the opportunity they had. They played hard and I think they contributed to us slowing down the run game and certainly affected the passer throughout the game.
On playing FS Jeff Heath and whether that was part of the plan to deal with the pace:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah a little bit, we were going to keep an eye on our players throughout the game and make sure that they were staying fresh and be willing to substitute certainly the defensive line and the linebackers and the guys in the back end as well.
On what he thinks enables Defensive Line Coach Rod Marinelli to get these players ready and play at this high of a level:
COACH GARRETT: He is just a heck of a football coach. He has been a great football coach for a long time and has coached a lot of different players. As much as anything else it's just the mentality that everyone in our organization has, that when something happens to another player, the next player has to step up and play. And that has to come from the whole organization, from the coaching staff and the players themselves. And again injuries provide opportunity, an individual opportunity for a guy to come in and establish himself in his career but also a chance to help and step up and be counted on a football team. I think our guys understand that and I think they have done a nice job approaching it the right way and taking advantage of the chance they have gotten.
On compensating without having RB DeMarco Murray today:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah we felt like there were some opportunities we wanted to get after in the passing game and certainly when your starting running back is not available to you, you might be more inclined to do that. So we used some different personnel packages, threw the ball to those guys with some high percentage stuff to help us move the football. We thought [RB] Joseph [Randle] did a nice job, didn't seem like the situation was too big for him. He stepped in there and ran the football, ran hard and protected the ball. When he had chances to block he did that, so I thought it was a good day for him. Again, you try to use all your pieces to attack the defense a lot of different ways.
On whether he was still being cautious with WR Miles Austin today because of his injury:
COACH GARRETT: Yeah Miles practiced on Wednesday but then didn't practice on Thursday and Friday and we wanted to warm him up, he warmed up well in this ball game. And we felt he could play some, but again we wanted to use the other guys. [WR] Terrance [Williams] played in his spot a couple times, and then we used different personnel groups to take some of the snaps off of him.
