On the meaning behind the Redskins' comeback win in Dallas:
"In general, I would say that [last night's game] was a tribute to the character and fight of our football team. When you go three quarters without getting much done on offense, the defense could have gotten discouraged--they're playing their guts out. They could have gotten down on the sideline. Instead, they were [walking] up and down the sideline saying, 'Hey, look, we're hanging in there.' They kept a positive attitude about it. They kept swinging. We got heroic story after heroic story. [LB, #98] Lemar [Marshall], playing pretty much with a pulled groin, refused to come out and stayed in the game the whole way. [OT, #76] Jon Jansen plays with two broken thumbs and plays his guts out. The natural tendency would be for guys to say, 'Hey, we're not going to get this done.' Instead, all the way across the board, everyone just cheered each other on. They were pulling for each other. To come back in the fourth quarter like that and make some heroic plays on defense, [special] teams, and offense, I'm just really proud of our guys. I was happy for everybody because certainly it was a big win for us. Our guys can enjoy this and we can get healed up some [during the bye week]."
On the Redskins' rivalry with the Cowboys:
"[Last night's game] was as hard fought and as physical as any game I've been in. The last three times [we've played Dallas], we've had three-point [differentials or less], with two miracle finishes."
On whether the Redskins' emotional win in Dallas compares to Gibbs' three Super Bowl victories:
"It does for me. As far as competitive, athletic wins and having great thrills, this win] ranks right up there with them. For me, there was so much emotion wrapped into it, [including] where the team was, all the things that have taken place, on Monday night against the [Dallas Cowboys, [and] all the things that happened to us last year. When you roll all of that into one, it was very emotional. I don't know what else you can say about it. We were just thrilled with it. For everybody, [including] all of our fans and front office people, we're really proud. I'm just proud of our players."
On WR #89 Santana Moss:
"He has unusual reaction to a ball that is in the air. He caught one on our sideline and it was one of the most impressive catches I've seen. He kind of veered out to the outside, and the ball is out here [away from his body]. He just reached and snatched it. He has fantastic ball reaction. Very few people can snatch the ball out of the air that quickly. The other thing is that he has great burst. When you put him downfield, with his ball reaction, he can be running and he doesn't even [need to] put his hands up until the last second because he has such confidence about where the ball is. Even though he is a shorter receiver, he is very much a downfield threat because of that. Then, of course, he has great speed."
On the performance of QB #8 Mark Brunell:
"Almost everything was a negative deal for three quarters. To see him hang in there like that and make three of the best plays for a quarterback that I've been around, and in one quarter, [is impressive]."
On how he will avoid sugarcoating the team's victory in Dallas:
"You have to make sure that you cover all of the things that we did poorly. Sometimes in a win like that, you have a tendency to say, 'We played great and made a lot of great plays,' which we did, [but in that case], you miss a lot of things that we did poorly. Penalties were definitely a problem. We turned the ball over, [including] a turnover when we were looking at a field goal. Those things are upsetting. Last week, there were two teams that won with a negative turnover ratio. We were one of them. If you keep putting yourself in that box, we're going to get in trouble. I think we have to hammer that home. Our guys are smart. They know the basic principles. Somehow, we have to get it across to them that if we continue to do that, we're going to wind up getting ourselves into trouble. We have to be realistic. We have to be very critical of ourselves. We always talk to the players about looking at the film and being their own worst critics. We have a lot of things in there that we need to fix and improve upon. We need to be tough on ourselves. We don't want penalties like that. We don't want sacks like that. We can't turn the ball over when we're looking at a field goal on third down. You just can't do that. We've been riding a ragged edge here. That's not good football. We have to fix it. That's what we'll go to work on now. So we'll look at it as a very emotional and great win, but there are a lot of things that we have to improve upon."
On CB #27 Walt Harris:
"When we made that decision with Walt, I think that was one of the best decisions we've made. It was in free agency. He had an injury that was a 50-50 thing. He has bounced back from that and has been a starter almost his entire career. He's a real pro. He played extremely well in this game. So that's a great story."
On LB #98 Lemar Marshall:
"What a professional he is. He started for us last year at outside linebacker. We moved him inside because of everything that happened. In this game, the trainers were telling me that he had a good groin strain. [Yet] he refused to come out."
On whether the victory in Dallas will serve as a spark for the season:
"[Winning] is not [just] Xs and Os. It's people and character and making great plays. Yeah, you have to be talented up here [in the NFL]. You're not going to pick a receiver that runs a 5.0 [second 40-yard dash] flat. But it's more of a personal thing. It's character. It's the fight. Because up here, most of the guys that get up here are talented to a certain extent. It comes down to bringing the group together and getting a feeling for each other. Certainly I would hope that this victory will be one that the guys say, 'Look, we're never out of something. We're going to keep fighting no matter what.' They showed that some last year with real adverse things, but I'm hoping that we can build on that and correct the things that we did poorly."
