Following the firing of former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen, interim coach Darren Rizzi was up next with a shot of helping snap the Saints’ seven-game losing streak.
During postgame availability, though, Rizzi expressed that he was persuaded that his pregame jitters could’ve ruined his debut, along with the plumbing in the head coach’s locker room in Caesars’ Superdome.
After clogging the toilet before the game in the locker room, one thought overruled Rizzi’s mind heading into the game.
“This is going to be a crappy day,” Rizzi said.
The day ended up going the opposite of what Rizzi thought, however. New Orleans snapped the skid against the Atlanta Falcons, 20-17, anchored by wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s two touchdowns in his second game for the Saints.
Here are some other top post-victory quotes in Week 10.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs’ undefeated record was tested on Sunday afternoon when facing the Denver Broncos, who led most of the contest. Kansas City didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter with a field goal from Harrison Butker at the 5:57 mark.
The Broncos marched their way down the field in the final moments of the game, converting on a number of third downs to find themselves in field goal range.
With the Chiefs’ undefeated season held at the foot of Broncos kicker Wil Lutz, Kansas City found a miracle in linebacker Leo Chenal, who got a hand on the field goal attempt to save Kansas City’s perfect record.
Did the Broncos see Chenal coming? Or could they not see him like the WWE legend John Cena?
During the postgame news conference, Mahomes referred to Chenal as Cena due to his heroic act in crunch time.
Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin
“We’ll never know, will we? You know I’m a degenerate.”
The Steelers went to the wire with the Washington Commanders in a tight matchup starring quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jayden Daniels. The Steelers, who trailed for most of the second half, didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter when Wilson connected with wide receiver Mike Williams for 32 yards. The extra point from Chris Boswell gave Pittsburgh just enough for a victory.
After stopping the Commanders on their final offensive drive of the game, the Steelers regained possession where they found themselves on 4th-and-1 with a minute left in play. After Tomlin called a timeout, Pittsburgh returned to the field in run formation before forcing a neutral zone infraction to seal the victory.
But the question for Tomlin remains: Were the Steelers going to go for it at the end of the game?
A sly Tomlin left reporters without an answer in the postgame news conference, joking with degeneracy in his defense.
New England Patriots LB Jahlani Tavai
“Right now, I just want to go home and see my daughter.”
The Patriots handled business on the road against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. New England’s defense held Chicago to only 142 yards, racking up nine sacks in the 19-3 win.
The Patriots were anchored by Tavai, who finished the game with nine tackles — seven solo — one tackle for loss and one sack. Two nights prior, Tavai was welcomed to fatherhood on Friday night with the birth of his daughter, Kalei. The only person that seemed to be on the linebacker’s mind was his child, who he was eager to see following the win.
He now has two wins on the weekend, one with the Patriots and the other with daughter.
Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin
“Man, be real slow comparing people to Lamar Jackson. That’s a multi-time MVP. That’s Mr. Jackson. ”
Game plans can only go so far when preparing for certain players. For the Steelers, they’ll probably require a lengthy film session in preparation to take on the Baltimore Ravens and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson in Week 11.
Though the Steelers sacked Daniels three times and held him to no passing touchdowns, Jackson is a bit different. As one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Jackson’s dual-threat ability — along with having Derrick Henry in the backfield — makes contain the former Louisville standout quite a challenge. Tomlin put some respect on Jackson’s name during postgame availability.