### HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 8, 2026
**Q: As you watched the game unfold, what went through your mind in terms of what you were seeing?**
MV: Just needed to get some stops early. Obviously, take care of the football. It wasn't the start, and I thought that we made it competitive. I thought we did some things before halftime that it was a 10-point lead last week. Then we just talked about what's done is done, trying to be able to come out and get a stop. I thought if we did that, we would be able to get back into the game. That didn't happen. It's tough when you don't get any turnovers and allow X plays, and then you turn it over offensively.
**Q: Obviously a tough loss all the way around, but what did you see from Christian Gonzalez who obviously struggled today?**
MV: Again, when your best players don't play good, you don't have much of a chance in this league. So, we expect a lot more. He expects a lot more. We need more from him and everybody else. It wasn't just him. Again, we got to be able to coach and be prepared, and then we have to execute. Just like it is every single week when we don't win, it's all of us, and it starts with me.
**Q: How disappointing were the four turnovers, and what were the Packers doing to make life tough on Drake?**
MV: The turnovers are disappointing because, first of all, that's what they've done all year, so that's not a surprise. Seventeen percent, eighteen percent of their drives end in a turnover. We've just added to that. So, between the pressure, I think probably a little bit of scheme, and a lot of execution on their end. Guys made plays. I thought there were some positive plays that we had, and then certainly some ball placements and decisions that certainly have to be better.
**Q: With Rhamondre Stevenson, I'm curious, we obviously saw him go out at the end of the game there. Was the decision to rule him out immediately due to the score at all, or was there something bigger there?**
MV: He wasn't able to return, so I have to get. I'm not sure the extent of what it is. It just came off, so we'll take a look at it, and we'll see. I don't want to speculate right now, but.
**Q: You had stressed during Drake's tough start about decision-making, being decisive with the football, playing free. It looked like he had gotten past that period of time in the first three weeks. Were you surprised to see him maybe fall back into that a little bit?**
MV: I'm surprised about just the way that the day went, the way that it started, and then I guess how the third quarter went. I think that would be part of the, whether it's the surprise or just disappointed. Again, sometimes in this league these things happen, and it's unfortunate, and we certainly didn't prepare for it. I'm sure he'll rebound, and we'll get him ready to go. We got a tough challenge looking ahead of us, but certainly can't win playing that way, turning the ball over, not creating turnovers defensively, and giving up X plays.
**Q: This is three straight weeks now with a slow start. It was 10-0 against Chicago, 13-3 against the Dolphins, now 17-0 against the Packers. How troubled are you by this, and what can be done to fix it?**
MV: We'll just, we'll have to try to practice and maybe change. There's a lot of things that we'll have to think about and try to do, focus on how we start practice. Making sure that we're ready to go. It's tough to spot good teams any sort of lead, and we've done that. So that was something that we talked about going to Miami, and that didn't happen. Then something that we continue to talk about this week, and we just have to realize that what we're going to get early in the game is we're getting everybody's best, and certainly whatever they feel like their scheme plays are or things that they feel like are going to help. We just weren't able to get off the field, and then certainly the turnover there early kind of derailed us.
**Q: Off the top of your head, what parts of this game felt like they were reflective of the team you have right now at 5-4, and what parts felt like sometimes stuff just happens in a game in the NFL?**
MV: I mean, I think there's a lot of those situations. Again, we lost, and we got our asses kicked. There's no two ways around it. That's what happened tonight, and I give them credit, and also know that we can play and have to play much better. We have to play much more sound, and tackle, and affect the quarterback, and create some turnovers, and we have to find ways to be balanced offensively. So it's just not, you get into a passing game, you get down, turning a drop back passing game in this league, bad things happen. Turnovers, sacks, negative plays. There was some good, like in every tape, there's going to be some good stuff in there. I know that there is. Defensively, while we didn't get some turnovers, we got some fourth down stops, got some short yardage stops, and forced the field goal, but just the X plays when you know that they lead the league in X play passes, and that's a huge key. That's the difference in the game.
**Q: Looking at this Packers team coming in, I'm sure you wanted to. They live off of turnovers, and they live off of big plays in the pass game. I'm sure you hit on that. How frustrating as a coach to see that all evaporate in the first half?**
MV: I think just frustrating. Losing's frustrating. Again, whatever the plan is or the thought, yeah, certainly those are the keys. We're in this together. We are. I'm going to, we're going to get them back, and we're going to get ready to travel and figure out who's healthy and put 48 guys out there that care and that want to try to exhibit some sort of identity. We'll see how we respond.
**Q: During the week, you mentioned you're trying to play aggressive on the snap count, but today you got another three pre-snap penalties on the defense. What's going to be your approach moving forward?**
MV: Somebody's going to have to play, so I don't know. Can back them up a yard off the ball and see if they can get there or not, or we can just move when the ball moves. We'll figure something out. I'm really, I don't have an answer for that right now, other than it's part ridiculous. We practice it. It's not like we don't hard count them or didn't know that the guy was going to raise his head up and not snap the ball or whatever their silent count was. So just add to the list of things we'll have to talk about. I want it to be hard. I want it to be hard. That's the only way you can do it in this league. Winning in this league is hard. Preparation is hard. We, it's going to have to be difficult here moving forward just to the amount of time that we put in and the emphasis that we have as team and coaches. That's what it's got to be. It's got to be tough. Can't be easy.
**Q: You had the challenge flag in your hand on \[Matthew\] Golden's catch on the sideline. Why didn't you challenge that play?**
MV: Because I heard that he was in bounds. Was he not in?
**Q: I think he was juggling the ball.**
MV: Then I, we didn't see a good view, I don't know, within the time that we had. But I wanted to, and then got a report that he had caught it, so. Again, if the one that they kept the catch down there, and I knew that the DPI was going to stay, but thought it may go back to the six or seven yard line on the DPI. Then try to gain a couple yards there to play red zone defense. Don't always win the challenges. You got to try to be better on the challenge.