HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL

*(Opening…) *  "Well, that game was a little different than a number of the games we've been playing this year. Totally different in the way it came off and the way it felt. A really nice job by the offense again of doing the things we needed to do, being really efficient running the ball in the first half, we didn't throw very much, but 3 touchdown passes out of 6 attempts, that's pretty rare. So, a lot of good stuff happened on that side of the ball and the defense did what we needed to do. Kept them in check, got the ball a couple times. It was a nice game in general. But, you can't talk about this game unless you talk about Bobby Wagner. He just had a phenomenal game. There's not many more things the guy could do. He had 10 tackles. He took the ball away from them on a fumble. He had a sack. He had an interception for a touchdown, all-time ever longest play in the history of the franchise. Just did another marvelous job of taking care of all the leadership stuff that he does, too. There were a lot of fun plays in this game. We gave up a lot of yards, but taking away the ball gave them extra chances and stuff, so I didn't worry about that so much, But, we didn't tackle as well as we need to. We missed some tackles, and some of their guys did a nice job of running in the open field. But, that's a really good ballgame for us. Glad to be at home, glad to be playing in front of the 12s. It's a great feeling to be able to represent and play like that with another big one coming up on Monday. So, a good day."

(On the play of Bobby Wagner…)  "He's playing as good as you can play the game. He's a phenomenal football player, really in the peak of his career, doing a great job, making all the plays. But, he does so much more than that for us. He's a great Seahawk, and we're lucky to have him."

(On Russell Wilson's play…) "I thought he did really good. He just missed "No-E" on a crossing route and other than that he really had a great football game. There's always a couple of passes that get away in there somewhere, but the way he's running the club, it's a great way for us to play. To be able to hammer the football like that, and he takes full advantage of that by having guys open. The throw he threw to Tyler Lockette was exquisite.  It was just a phenomenal throw. On most of those bigger plays, and the touchdown plays, it's worth noting how well he was protected. The pass protection was excellent, and only in a couple of situations and real long situations did we have a breakdown. But, it wasn't because we couldn't protect him. We held the ball a little bit, just trying to make some plays. Russell's doing a phenomenal job with our offense. I love the way it's fitting together. We have to keep going." 

(On Wilson being among the leaders in touchdown passes despite the Seahawks not throwing the ball as much as other teams… )  "It's phenomenal that he's able to continue to execute those plays, and the receivers are doing a fantastic job. A great game for JB today, to make a couple touchdown plays and find some open space in there on the scramble. That's great play by those guys. Our guys are really connected, chemistry-wise, and understanding what's got to happen after the normal rhythm of the play and they're really good at it. You've seen this week in and week out. We keep finding guys, and it's not always the same guy, they're all in on it and doing a good job of finding Russ in his throwing lane."

(On the kickoff return by Tyler Lockett…)  "That sequence was about as good as it could have been. Didn't they score right after that, too. It was just big-play-o-rama here for a bit.   The kickoff return was beautifully executed.  He hit it just perfectly. He had a plan to beat the kicker, and just ran out of space or he would have scored. It was a great job. And then the great play after that, with Penny coming right back with the touchdown run."

(On the play of Rashaad Penny…) "Yes, he did really well and Chris ran great today, too. Both those guys looked so good. Chris on the little flat route he catches, and turns up, it was just a gorgeous run. His movement, his burst, his make-you-miss, all that stuff. Those guys are good. It's fun to give them the ball."

(On Wagner blitzing a little earlier in the game today…) "We did pressure some. He was involved in the pressure stuff today." 

(On the impact that had….)  "I thought it was impressive right off the bat that we were able to get some heat and let them know, they have a new quarterback, and just make it hard on them, and make it hard here in our place and all that. I wanted to see if we could make him feel it, and I thought the guys did a great job to do that."

(On the play of the team right now, with three wins in a row…) "Feeling good. We're putting together the right formula for us to make a push here. I said to our guys last night that, that I don't know if there's any time in the last 9 years when we've been here when we knew what was going on after Week 12. We didn't know, we had to keep finishing, keep working. And we've had a lot of good finishes, and played well in December and I'm hoping that this can be one of those years that we can classically look back at, and say 'we did it.' We did all through the month of December and put ourselves in position to do something with the season. Right now, we're nowhere. It's great to have 3 wins in a row, but we have a long ways to go because of what happened early. So, we'll see what happens."

(On having another unique score, and being 9-0 in those games…)  "Did we get one? Awesome! That's ridiculous. I don't know how that happens. I'm thrilled that that happened again, for no reason. I have no reason. What was the score, was it 43-16?  That's never happened in football before? Wow. It's just something we've been working on in the offseason. Did you really think Sea-Bass tried to kick the ball and make it with that last one? If you look back, he kicked it right-footed." 

(On the pass rush…) "I thought the push was good, although they threw for a ton of yards and they had to throw a lot, and all that. I thought Nick [Mullens] did a really good job today. He did a really good job. We didn't know what to expect. He's looked good on film. He stood up to it all and did a nice job. I thought the pocket was knocked down quite a bit. There was some good stuff happening up front. The guys are really pushing hard. It's been kind of consistent for the last three weeks it seems, and hopefully we can keep pushing there, keep going."

QB RUSSELL WILSON

(On throwing 3 touchdowns in the first half on just 6 attempts…)  "I thought we did a really good job tonight of being explosive in the first half and making a lot of great jobs. Guys made some unbelievable plays. J.B. catching that ball on the scramble in the red zone that first time. Tyler Lockett scampering down the field, deep, for that 50 yard play, or whatever it was. Then the third one to Doug, right before the half, with just one minute to go in the half. Doug making his move, he's just so special. He can make every play. The fourth one was to J.B., too, at the end of the game. It was just an exciting game. Guys were making a lot of plays. Our receivers were excellent tonight. They made tons of plays when we needed to. We didn't throw that much, but we were able to make a lot of huge plays when we did. So, that was exciting. You have to give credit to the offensive line for giving me enough time to make those throws."

(On the importance of the running game…)  "You always want to have great balance because it causes problems for the defense. We have great running backs. Chris Carson ran his tail off. Penny ran his tail off today. Mike got in there and made a couple of nice runs, too. J.D. is now up now, so that's a good thing. So, those guys are electrifying. We even had some penalties that brought some of those huge runs back, so think about what we could have done if we wouldn't have had those penalties. It helps definitely, for sure, in terms of what we can do across the board. We want to play action it, we also want to drop back in the empty game, we want to be able to throw it around the ball park, but also we want to be physical, and we want to be able to run the ball downhill. Just that mixture is key for us. I think coach Schottenheimer is doing a tremendous job, he's dialing everything up. It's a lot of fun. We get to work, you get to study a lot, and get ready for the week. You go into the game, and you feel really excited and prepared. That's key.  And it all starts with our offensive line doing a great job."

(On getting on the December roll…) "We'll have to see at the end of December. We believe that we can get on a really good hot streak. We have some tough teams coming up. It was one game tonight. I will always be that way because I know the reality of the situation. There's a lot more to do. There's a lot more things to work on. We didn't come here just to get through the season and just play good. We came here to be the best in the world by the end of it all. We have a long ways to go, but we believe that we can do that. We have a lot of great young guys. We have a lot of guys who are great leaders. You think about Bobby Wagner, his leadership, and him being a captain, and the difference that he makes in the game. You think about different guys across the board, from Doug, to Tyler's growth. Having J.B., Jaron Brown, just to see what he can do for us. David Moore. There's so many different guys. So, it's an exciting time. We come back, next week, play Monday Night Football, here in a big matchup. We're looking forward to that game and what we can possibly do."

(On the play of Bobby Wagner…) "Bobby and I always have this discussion on who's faster. He always talks about how he can chase me down. Today, he was rolling. Just watching him catch. First of all, the catch. I mean, he could play receiver if he wanted to, just him catching that football the way he did, how he reacted. I don't even think it was 98 yards, I think it was 100, because I saw his foot on the one yard line, or the goal line I thought, but maybe not. We'll have to check the stats there. Just to see him accelerate and go down the sideline. He had a special game tonight. He's the best linebacker in the game and nobody can argue that. I think that he's been making a lot of great plays. He makes our defense tick, he does the right thing, he knows how to do it, and he prepares the right way. One of the things that Bobby and I will always say is don't get bored with consistency. He believes in consistency, he believes in his approach and how he prepares. We just love him being the quarterback of the defense, and vice versa, it's pretty fun to be able to work against each other and work together every day."

(On whether he saw Tyler Lockett lined up against Malcolm Smith on the long touchdown…) "That was one of the parts of the read. It was really more that I thought the line did a tremendous job of allowing me to step up there and give us some extra time. We had Doug underneath coming across the field around 10 yards running in. I just kind of pumped it, stepped up and then here goes Tyler behind the defense. That's always a good thing when he can run. He made a great play and a great catch, and scampered into the end zone."

(On the shot he took from Malcolm Smith…) "Oh, yeah, we talked about it. He said he didn't mean to hit me that way. It was really, I didn't see him. I don't normally get hit very hard when I'm running around, I usually kind of see people. I kind of stepped up, slid to the right, slid in between, slithered through and I saw some guys to the right, and he came out of nowhere. I guess that's why he was able to win MVP of the Super Bowl. He is pretty talented. But, we chopped it up after. He said 'I didn't mean to hit you that way, or whatever.' He's a great player. It's a physical game out there. I was trying to get down, and sure enough, he's quick as a cat."

(On whether he consciously avoided throwing to Sherman's side…) "No, I have no fear. I know what to do. There's certain things you don't want to do around him. He'll catch it if you throw it to him, that's for sure. That's what makes him one of the best to ever do it. Just playing football. We really didn't even throw it that much today, anyway. I've never really said, no, I'm not going to go in a certain direction, or anything like that."

LT DUANE BROWN

(On if D.J. Fluker exiting the game sent the offense into a bit of a frenzy) "No, I mean I don't know exactly what happened on that drive. We got down to the one-yard line, I believe, on that drive. We got backed up a little bit, but I hated that for him. I don't know what the extent of his injury is but I'm praying for him. He's a big part of our offense and a big part of our team. That's his mentality outside of his performance. Hopefully, everything works out for him."

(On the win improving the team's playoff odds) "It's huge. Huge win for us. It's a big-time game (against) a divisional opponent in December. These are must-win games for us. Every week, we approach it like that. We approach every week like a playoff game and that's the kind of intensity guys came out with from kickoff on. It's a total team effort. The offense did a great job putting up points on the board (by) running the ball, passing the ball, defense getting turnovers – Bobby (Wagner is the) best in the game. That big 90-plus yard interception return, the special teams, everybody. We're right where we want to be."

(On starting the second half strong) "That was huge. We knew that they wanted to come out with some great effort and we talked about coming out with a lot of intensity. You can't do any better than that. Get a return like that from (Tyler) Lockett, he's been due for a long return like that so it was great to see that happen for him. Then, we got the ball on the edge with (Rashaad) Penny scoring. I think that took a lot of wind out of the field for what they had planned for the second half."

RT GERMAIN IFEDI

(On the offensive efficiency) "Yeah, we stuck to that plan and they believed in us to keep running the ball and when we needed to throw it, we threw it and we were very efficient both run and pass. We've just got to cut out the penalties and watch film to see what the common theme was but I thought we played really hard and I thought we played a lot cleaner than we were given credit for but it's okay. We just keep playing. The result came in our favor."

(On if the efficiency is due to the balance of the offense) "We just run what's called. We have five guys up front, receivers and backs – we don't think we can be stopped anywhere. Whatever's called, (if) we've got to throw it fifty times or we've got to run it fifty times, we're going to do it. We believe in our ability that much to be able to hold up to whatever is called so we just appreciate our coaches putting us in great position and I appreciate these guys on the line and on the offense and on the defense who were just playing their asses off."

(On if they're playing their best football) "We're just building. We're just building one day at a time, one moment at a time, one opportunity at a time. We're just building. We're going to keep doing that. We don't want to start patting ourselves on the back and giving ourselves props. We know we can be better, we will be better and we have to get better. We're just going to keep building and see how far it takes us."

WR TYLER LOCKETT

(On if they have more touchdown celebrations stored away) "I mean, every week we've got a couple of other ones that we've got and I think the biggest thing is, as much as we keep on scoring as receivers, we've got to figure out some more. We've got about a week to figure it out again. We've still got about two or three that we already had in mind just in case. We've still got a good amount. We've just got to come up with some more just in case something like this happens again."

(On the efficiency of the offense) "I think the biggest thing is we start to understand the game plan (and) where we're trying to attack the people at. Whether it's in the run game or the pass game, that's the very thing that we focus on. I think that's the biggest thing. When we played the last two teams, we hit them exactly where we wanted to hit them at so it all goes into understanding the scheme, understanding the game plan and once we understand the areas we want to attack, that's what makes us better."

(On getting caught from behind on the kickoff return) "I mean, yeah they talked about it a little bit. I didn't stretch after halftime. I was just sitting there and I had to run, but I thought he was closer to me than he was. Like, when I looked back, it looked like he was right there next to me so I tried to stiff arm him a little bit and then I realized he wasn't as close as I thought. I probably just got to look forward and keep running."

WR DAVID MOORE

(On how many celebrations they have in their back pocket) "We actually lost them all today. We've got to start all the way over."

(On FOX catching him practicing The Macarena) "Ah. We were trying to figure out what other celebrations we had so we could do it the next time we scored."

(On if it was nice to get the interception in this week's celebration after getting stepped over in the Allen Iverson celebration) "Oh, heck yes. For sure. I would say that was a great one. That was a good one. That was Doug (Baldwin)'s, actually."

WR JARON BROWN

(On Russell Wilson's efficiency and what worked for him)"That's just Russ making plays. That's just Russ, a quarterback making plays."

(On what play he had to make on the 45 yard play) "Yeah, I should've scored on that one. I was surprised I was that open to be honest. When you have such dynamic running backs and once you get in the running game, it opens up for the play action."

(On his celebration on the touchdown a few plays later) "In that celebration, I was at quarterback and Doug seemed to tipped the ball to another defender who was on his team. I don't know, you guys should know that one, you have to get the reference. I'm pretty sure it was the NFC championship, same corner maybe, I don't know"

(On who came up with the celebration) "I have to get credit to Doug. He's the one that came up with that. I just had to play at quarterback."

(On how today was defined as a balanced offensive attack). Yeah, that's kind of what you want to be. You want to be balanced. I have to give credit to the offensive line. They do such a great job week in and week out. They don't get enough credit. You want to be balanced. When it's offense, we try to be dynamic in the run game and pass game as well."

(On how Tyler Lockett's play changed the momentum of the game) "Such a momentum shifter. Tyler has game breaking speed. He's really one of our playmakers. To finally get that return was big and I was happy because I was blocking for him.

WR DOUG BALDWIN

(On imitating the Sherman tip for a touchdown celebration…) "That was a tribute to my boy [Richard Sherman]. I know all you guys think that we're robots and that we're not humans and that we don't have emotions, but when you spend so much time with guys and doing what we do, day in and day out, it's hard. You spend those hard days with guys that you love. Sherm is obviously one of those guys that has done so much for this organization that we thought it would be nice to give him a tribute and we had an opportunity to do so. I know it was kind of weird, we're scoring, he's on the other team, we're doing the tribute, but that was in our hearts this week."

(On Richard Sherman being well-received by the team and the fans…) "It meant a lot to me. I think a lot of times, the relationship between players and fans can get distorted and sometimes I feel like they don't look at us like human beings, and so in this situation I thought that was a step in the right direction as them seeing him as a human being with him having no control over the situation that happened and him just wanting to play football. And him still having brothers on this team that he cares about and that he loves and obviously vice versa. I was really proud of that. It made me happy and glad that our 12s represented the right way."

(On building momentum towards the playoffs with a win tonight…) "It's huge, especially against this opponent because we knew coming in that this was not a game that we could just accept a win. We knew that they were going to come in and fight and they did that for the majority of the game. For us to get this win at home, knowing that we're continuously keeping our playoff hopes alive and that we're in the driver's seat is a good feeling to have going towards the postseason."

(On playing against Richard Sherman for the first time…) "It was fun. It was fun. We got to talk and have a little bit of a conversation during the game, during the timeouts, during the breaks, so it was good to spend some time with him and see him in person again."

(On the season that Tyler Lockett is having…) "I told him on the field, I couldn't be more proud of him. Everything that he's battled through mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically coming back from the broken leg, he's one of a kind. I can't say enough about him. I get emotional talking about it because I know the process that he went through and what he's overcome. I love him to death, I'm so happy for him and his success. I told him today, we've got to get you 16 touchdowns this year."

RB CHRIS CARSON

(On the key to the running game today…) "Just staying with it. We knew that it was going to be tough in the beginning and then as it went along, it started to open up more. We just stayed with it. I kept trusting and the offensive line did a great job opening up holes for me and Rashaad [Penny] and Mike [Davis] and everybody."

(On how it feels for the team to be in a playoff spot right now…) "It feels great. We have to take it one game at a time. We can't really rush it and look past the next game. We're in a good position and we have to keep winning."

(On his finger injury late in the game…) "I dislocated my finger and had to get stitches on it, but I'm fine."

(On seeing Rashaad Penny get in the end zone again…) "It was good. He's my little brother so it's great to see him do well. He's like a breath of fresh air. We talk a lot so sometimes he gets frustrated with himself, but he's a superstar in the making like I said. He's a great running back so it's great to see him do well."

RB RASHAAD PENNY

(On if he needs a lot of carries to get going…) "At the beginning of the season, I was one of the guys that felt like I needed a lot of carries to get going. But then I started realizing, off of one carry, you can make something. And that's when I said with every opportunity, you just have to do something and I started doing that. We have a lot of great [running] backs so I know there's not going to be a time when I'm going to get the ball a lot so when I get the ball, I have to make the most of it."

(On being able to process the game quicker…) "I think it's all starting to come slower. With me practicing harder and making the right reads and doing a little film study with my coaching and with the other running backs, I think that's going to make a difference. That's just how it is."

(On if Bobby Wagner made a case for running back today…) "I heard he was a running back when he was in high school. He was pulling away from that quarterback, he looked great."

(On how they feel as a team starting December…) "I always prayed as a little kid that I would be able to play in the playoffs and be in this type of situation so we just have to take it one game at a time. Fortunately, if it comes, it comes and if it doesn't, it doesn't. As of right now, we're happy. We just have to take it one game at a time."

LB BOBBY WAGNER

(On if he finally was able to catch his breath) "Yeah, I just caught it. It was a crazy run, I was super tired, and I was trying to figure out which celebration I can catch my breath on. I figured what better celebration than to go to sleep."

(On what he saw happen during that play) "I kind of watched on film that when they have two by two, or whatever, if he didn't have anything he might try to throw it to the back. So, I was trying to make it look like I didn't see the back and when he threw it to the back or threw it to the guy in the middle, I just broke on it, caught it, and tried to score and make sure I didn't get caught by the quarterback because I would never hear the end of that, for the rest of the year."

(On where the belt came from). "We have that all the time. It's something that we do every Thursday. It really happened last week but we forgot the belt. This week, the stripping was tied, so we said we would settle it on the field. So, whoever got the most turnovers on the field gets the belt. The linebackers have the belt."

(On the last time he sprinted 98 yards) "Never. I don't even remember, I think that was the first pick six in my life. Like I said, I was just trying to make sure the quarterback didn't catch me because if he did, everyone was going to give me a little crap. It was extra nice to be running along the 49ers sideline. I tried to look at [Richard] Sherm, but I didn't see him."

(On his conversation with Sherman after the game) "He was just telling me that I was slow. I was telling him if I'm slow, then what does that say about his team. We were just talking trash. That's my brother, it was an amazing time for us to play with each other and to see him on the opposite side in the other jersey that he looks ugly in was cool."

(On what he was going to do when the quarterback was approaching him on the run)"No, I was going to keep going. I was like 50 yards in by that point, so I was losing my breath already. I didn't have time for jukes, I just put my head down."

(On winning 3 games in a row) "We are very confident. It's a thing that we preach, to finish. It's just what we are trying to do. We are in the position where we control our own destiny. We have to treat each game like it's the championship game. We can't overlook any games, just like this game. It could've been easy for us to come in and see a 2 and 9 team and kind of relax. We came in pretty focused and we wanted to make sure we came out with a lot of energy and keep building towards the season's end. We have a lot of stuff we need to improve, we gave up way too many yards in the passing game. It's always good to walk away with the W."

DE FRANK CLARK

(On what this win means for the Seahawks playoff hopes) "We've just got to keep going up man, that's all we can ask for. We don't want to get too complacent, we don't want to get too comfortable because it's still more work to do. We let a couple of runs get out the way there. A couple of passes – I believe they passed for over 300 yards. At the end of the day, those aren't things that we want to see on the board. We want to hold them under 300 yards total. At the end of the day, we want to continue to cut down on those big, explosive plays. I feel like we had enough explosive plays for our coaches to complain about. At the end of the day, we just have to correct those mistakes and tighten it up for next week."

(On if the defense was physically ready to go back and play after Bobby Wagner's 98-yard interception return) "It's never that hard. This is what we do, this is what I do. At the end of the day, if you aren't ready to turn the ball over and then go back out there, you ain't no defender. You've got to be able to suck it up. I was dead tired (after running 98-yards downfield), but you see everybody else tired and they're willing to go out there and battle. They are willing to go out there and sacrifice. Whatever they're feeling, however they're feeling, they're willing to go out there and sacrifice for their next teammate. That's one thing we preach, we preach the family-like atmosphere. We preach being there for each other and enduring each other's pain. We share pain, we share the scars, we share the surgeries and all the stuff that happens and comes with football. At the end of the day, you've got to be able to go out there and sacrifice for your brother and I feel like that's what we all did. I feel like offense, defense, no matter where it is, I feel like that's one thing we've been doing for these last couple weeks is just understanding the sacrifices that we've got to make for each other for us to be successful."

CB NEIKO THORPE

(On recovering the 49ers muffed punt) "It's like a dog that ain't ate in a month you feel me – that's your lunch right there and you got to go get it. It's definitely a 'by any means' mentality. It was a big dog pile and I was at the bottom, but I definitely couldn't let it go – it was too great."

(On being able to contribute after being out in the beginning of the season with an injury) "It felt great (to be back). Last week was my first week back (after) a couple of weeks off. I felt like I was knocking the dust off last week, getting frustrated with plays I couldn't make. Just to help my team and come through like this is very important for me."

LB AUSTIN CALITRO

(On Bobby Wagner) "Bobby, he's a great leader and he's a great football player. Playing alongside with him, it's been awesome. Seeing how smart he is, he's helped me with my progression as well."

(On the point of emphasis on forcing turnovers) "First and foremost, we want to stop the run and we did that in my opinion. Once we did that, we kind of focused on getting the ball out in the passing game and I think you saw the result."

(On how the offenses production fires up the defense) "It gets us real fired up because we see what they're doing and we want to make big plays as well to keep them juiced up and keep the special teams juiced too."