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HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT

Opening statement

“I’m obviously really happy we were able to hang in there and get the win today. We had our moments today which were unfortunate, but I think what I’m proudest about is the way our team fought through it, and especially pulled together in the end and won the game. You’ve got to give Coach Schwartz and the Lions a lot of credit; they were down 17-0 and they made some plays to get back in it and they fought hard. That’s an indication that they’re doing things the right way. What I’m really pleased about is that we made plays today—we didn’t finish though. I’m disappointed we didn’t finish but I am pleased we were able to take the ball there at the end and drive it down and score a touchdown, that was big for us. It’s a sign of progress for our football team that we were able to make the mistakes that we did and still come back and win it. I’m really excited that we got the win, we get a chance to go out next week and, depending on what happens today obviously, get a win and it doesn’t matter. That’s big for us.”

On RB Beanie Wells

“He did nice. We didn’t put the ball on the ground from our running backs today, which was progress, and he ran the ball very well. He had a couple that he broke out of there (where) I thought he was going to go the distance. Especially that one goal-line run where he finished down there, a strong run. It’s nice to see Beanie getting the confidence like that. He’s been doing that for a number of weeks, but I think he got over 100 yards today, which I’m very pleased for him. That was something that was important to him and I’m glad that he got it.”

On if he felt like they had lost control of the game at any point

“I didn’t think so. We came out and obviously we went three- and-out our first series on offense, but after that I felt like we had the game pretty much in control, especially being up 17 at the half and had missed opportunities. I didn’t feel like it was that at all. The feeling that I did get in the second half, especially when they came back and tied it up, was that we stuck together, that we knew we could win the game if we made our plays. And I think the offense responded twice with touchdown drives, which up until that point we really struggled a little bit in the second half with two three-and-outs, and then our defense made some plays. Once again, we played like this was an east coast game, one o’clock east coast game for us, and we were a little bit sloppy. The thing that I like the best was that we came out of it and did win the game, and that’s important.”

On the interception return for a touchdown by Lions S Louis Delmas

“I thought that was definitely a big play. Any time you have a turnover like that—and you know, give them credit they made a play we thought we had a touchdown there. When we got the pre-snap look I thought that it was a touchdown to Steve, and it was close and that’s the way it is in the NFL. It looked to me like he stepped out of bounds coming back but I couldn’t see a replay in order to challenge it, but they made a play. And then they made a long run and the next thing you know it’s a close game and then obviously we had a turnover on the punt return, which put them down in the territory, but our defense stopped them on fourth down, they made some plays today and certainly I was pleased with that.”

QB KURT WARNER

Opening Statement

“A win is a win, one step closer to (our) goal.”

On the team’s performance

“I think we’re excited for the win but disappointed that we didn’t play better. Sometimes that happens in this business: that you win ugly. It’s kind of an ugly win today but again, it moves us one step closer to our goal. We’ve got to continue to get better and get polished up for the next couple of weeks but we’ll take it any way we can get it and sometimes it’s not as easy as you hope it can be but when you find a way to win it still counts.”

On the offense’s inability to move the ball

“When we needed to or when there were certain times we weren’t having any problems moving the ball and there were other times when we were hurting ourselves. We weren’t making the right adjustments, the right throws. We weren’t blocking the right guys and there just seemed to be a bunch of things that seemed to hurt us. Those are the things we have to eliminate. We have to be better at those things. We have to be able to see and react and do those things better. We just didn’t do them well enough today and when we did, I thought we moved the ball well. When we didn’t, that was when we continued to struggle and those are things you just can’t have moving forward. We were fortunate to get out of here with a win today and we’ll take it but those are the things we’ve got to clean up.”

On whether Detroit’s halftime adjustments caught the Cardinals off guard

“No, not really. I think it was more of the things that we weren’t doing and the adjustments that we weren’t making across the board that I think were hurting us throughout the game as opposed to figuring anything out that they were doing differently. I just think that when we buckled down and had to make plays we did. But for whatever reason we didn’t sustain that throughout the game and that’s what allowed them to get back into it. A couple mistakes on our part gave them some big plays which put the momentum back on their side. We were fortunate that when we needed to, we made the plays both offensively and defensively and got out of here with a win.”

On whether he was confident that the team would score after the Lions tied it in the fourth quarter

“I don’t think there was anyone doubting that we were going to get ourselves in position to score. I don’ think anyone doubted that. After the kickoff return, we got good field position and we felt like we could make a few plays at least to get us into field goal range. Guys stepped up, blocked well up front; Beanie (Wells) made a nice run; Q (Anquan Bolden) made a nice play to get us in the endzone. Guys stepped up there when we needed them to and we felt like we weren’t going to be denied. You’d just like to see that sense of urgency, especially in a game where we were up 17-0 and probably could have put them away earlier in the game but like I said, we let them back into it.”

RB BEANIE WELLS

On his performance

“The guys did an excellent job blocking and there was a seam and I hit it and the guys weren’t really trying to tackle me, they were after the ball, so I got in the end zone then with the ball.”

On how it feels to win after last week

“It’s definitely nice. Today was a hard fought football game, but definitely the feeling is to get it out of the way and look forward to next week and focus on [our next opponent].”

On the game getting close at the end

“It was close, the guys were a little nervous, but we held together and fought.”

CB DOMINIQUE ROGERS-CROMARTIE

On the Lions’ second half comeback

“I have to say, their offense came out with a lot of fight in the second half, especially running the ball and the pass kind of opened up a little bit. You could tell, the crowd got into it and they really wanted it. They fought back hard.”

On intercepting two different quarterbacks in the same game

“We got good pressure on the quarterback which (forced) him to make a bad throw and I just made the play. When the opportunities present themselves, you want to be there to make (a play) and that’s what I did.”

On being one step closer to the divisional title

“Yes sir, even though we didn’t get that win last week, it feels good to come out here and get the win. Hopefully, things go in our favor but if they don’t, we just have to keep our head up and keep going forward.”

On his interceptions

“We had good pressure and when we have good pressure like that it allows us to play better on the back end. The ball was up there; I saw it and made a play off it.”

DT DARNELL DOCKETT

On his thoughts of coming away with a win after losing a 17-0 lead

“We knew we were going to get their best shots. We could have played better, but I’m going to walk out of here and have my head held high. I’m not worried about it.”

On fighting for the NFC West division title

“It’s in our grasp. You still have to go out there and accomplish and get it. Yeah, we could get some help from Philly, but at the end of the day we control our destiny. We can’t get caught up in it and say, ‘Oh what happens to them,’ or anything like that.’”

On how he thought Lions played

“At the end of the day we want to win ballgames and despite what their record is and what our record is, you are trying to get a win. They played well. We have to take our hat off to them. We gave them hope and they kept fighting, and that’s what you expect.”

On how it is for him to play a team has nothing to lose

“There are a lot of guys on that team playing for their jobs. When you get playing for your job and you get past the emotion, usually playing for your job comes out on top. They play well and I have nothing to say bad about that team. They got some momentum and made some big plays. They gave us a run for our money.”