HOUSTON TEXANS POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Bill O'Brien
(on QB Tom Savage's performance) "He can't turn it over. I thought he did some good things, but we turned it over too many times on offense. They weren't all his fault, but the interceptions, we have to do a better job there. We've got to block better, run better, and do a lot of things better. That's what we are going to try to do."
(on give-aways and take-aways) "You're not going to win any games when you turn it over, and you don't get any take-aways. You're not going to win any games."
(on how concerned he is with getting three field goals) "You can't kick field goals down there. We've got to score touchdowns. We've got to do a better job down there."
(on QB Tom Savage's pocket awareness) "Are you talking about the [Terrell Suggs] strip sack? I would say, if you put a clock on that, he might have had one second to get that ball off. You could have the greatest pocket awareness in the world, and you have no chance there. We tried to chip both edges. We're doing everything we can, and the guys are playing their butts off, but I wouldn't put that one on [Tom Savage]. I think the interceptions, we have to do a better job there. You can't throw interceptions, and I have to do a better job coaching."
(on the 90-yard drive in the first quarter but not sustaining drives) "It's hard to run the ball on these guys and try to stay balanced. We couldn't really run it. We had a goal to try to stay balanced. We moved the ball. I'm not saying we had a bunch of yardage, but we moved the ball. But we had penalties. We got the ball down there in one drive in the red area and had a holding call. We had the other penalties that hurt us in the red area. Those things will kill you. And then, obviously, the turnovers. We just have to do a better job."
(on how frustrating it is to lose this way) "Losses are horrible. It's just a bad deal."
(on WR DeAndre Hopkins) "He's a great player. He was battling. He's a playmaker, and he's a great competitor."
(on DE Jadeveon Clowney) "I thought the defense played a heck of a game. 'JD' [Clowney] is playing great this season, and those guys did a great job."
(on battling injuries this season) "These guys fight. These guys are great guys. It doesn't really matter to say that anymore. This is pro football. We've got to win, and we're not winning. These guys are fantastic guys to coach. They practice hard. Nobody in that locker room has given up. We're going to show up on Wednesday, go back to work, and get ready for the next game. We're going to play hard in the next game. And we'll play hard in the game after that. I don't doubt that with these guys. These guys care about each other. They're good guys, and we're in it together. We've got to do a lot of things better. Like I always say, 'It starts with coaching.' We've got to coach better and see if we can get them to play better."
(on what makes the Ravens so hard to run on) "I would say their players, their scheme – there's a lot of things. I could be here all night telling you what makes it hard to run on them."
(on how tough it is to leave a winnable game with a loss) "It's tough. It's just a terrible feeling. It's been a season of a lot of those. We're going to look back on it, and I know that we had some opportunities we didn't take advantage of. We'll just have to figure out moving forward how to do a better job."
CB Kevin Johnson
(on what is was like to play at M&T Bank Stadium) "It was a great feeling to come out here and play. I had 70 tickets for my family and friends. Growing up, this was where I watched pro football. We had season tickets, and it was so much fun for me to be able to play here. I just wish we could have gotten the win."
(on how frustrating this loss was) "It's all part of the game. We just go out there, play hard, and try to do our best."
(on the fake punt as a turning point) "It is what it is. We put ourselves in a position to win this game, and we just couldn't get it done."
(on Texans' injuries) "It makes it hard, but this is the NFL. Everyone has injuries, and we have to learn how to deal with it."
QB Tom Savage
(on how he felt he played) "Well, I threw two picks and lost one fumble. That's not my goal, but that's all part of the game. The Ravens have a really good defense, and they played well."
(on his level of frustration) "Really, there are no words for it. I don't go out there to throw picks, but it's called the NFL. We just need to do better."
(on his first drive) "We came out of the gate with some consistency, and we started fast. It was huge for us to start drives with positive plays. I'm not sure what happened after the first drive, but we never had that rhythm again."
G Xavier Su'a-Filo
(on his thoughts on the game) "This is a very tough loss. We just didn't get it done. We had a good opening drive. Then, I'm not sure what happened. We tried to execute and do our jobs, but they're a very good defense, and they played really well. There's no sense making excuses. We just need to play better. Now, we will try to figure out a way to get that done."
(on the Houston injuries) "This is the NFL – everyone has injuries, especially at this time of the year. We can't use that as an excuse. We still have to play through them and do our best to win."
DE Jadeveon Clowney
(on the game) "It's tough. We came in here wanting to win this game. We competed at a high level, it just slipped away from us. Stuff happens. They made more plays than we did."
(on the fake punt) "It makes you mad, especially on a fake punt. The defense got a three and out, and you expect to give the ball back to offense. But they run a fake punt and get a first down that changed the momentum of the game."
(on his game) "I'm just trying to get better every year. Every game I'm trying to better myself. The way I play is to help the other guys around me. I just come out here with a competitive attitude. I just want to win. On just trying to show up and play. I have a good group of guys here. My coach puts me in the right situations to win. I just go out there and play hard and try to be aggressive every day."
(on all the injuries) "It's the National Football League, injuries happen every game. I don't think there's been one game this season that a player hasn't come off the field. Injuries happen, it's next man up. That's why you go get guys that you think can play. That's why they put together a roster like they do so that guys can step in and play big minutes."
LB Benardrick McKinney
(on the defense) "We tried to execute our plays and fly around and do what we do best, but we gave up a lot of running yards."
(on playing on Monday night) "I don't see a disadvantage or advantage to that. We come out every game trying to whoop the offense, but we lost tonight. We're just going to get back into the workshop and correct what we did wrong. We hate to lose. It always sucks to lose, but like I said we're just going to get back into the workshop, watch the film, see what we did wrong and correct it."
(on the injuries) "We're going to fight to the end, we don't care what the score is. I don't care if we are losing fifty to seven, we're going to fight to the end. That's why I like this team. We're just going to keep fighting. It was a tough loss but we're just going to get into the workshop and fix what we've done wrong. It's the next man up. Brian Peters did an unbelievable job coming in. He's an inside linebacker but ended up playing outside linebacker and did an unbelievable job. It's next man up."
WR Braxton Miller
(On the offense) "We just came out here and tried to execute the gameplan; play as one. Things go wrong, you've just got to come back."
(on the opening drive) "We started fast, that's the whole gameplan. We wanted to come back and do the same thing in second drive. But if it doesn't happen, we need to rely on the defense to get the ball back."
(on his game) "I'm just trying to come out here and do my job, block, catch the ball and get open for Tom [Savage]."
DE D.J. Reader
(on the defense) "It just wasn't good enough today."
(on the Ravens' running game) "It wasn't anything special. I mean, they won the game, [and] they surprised us with a few plays, but it wasn't anything crazy."
(on the season) "It's tough, but we're going to keep fighting and keep playing. That's one thing about our team, we're always going to play hard. We'll see how it ends up."
WR DeAndre Hopkins
(on the loss) "Every loss is frustrating. It's a tough league. No win is easy. We came out and fought. We just didn't capitalize on some plays."
(on the Ravens' defense) "They're a good defense. You can't take anything away from those guys. Great coaches, great scheme, great players. Their statistic is what it is for a reason."
(on not scoring a touchdown after the first drive) "We just didn't capitalize on some plays that were there. It's not one person, but it's a team effort. There's 11 guys on that field, so it's not just one person that decides if we're going to score or not. It's a team effort. We just couldn't get it going."
(on his season) "I've got some good quarterbacks back there getting me the ball. I can't throw it to myself, so, I've got to thank Deshaun [Watson] and Tom [Savage] for giving me a chance to go out and make plays."
(on playing well personally despite losing games) "I don't celebrate self achievements if the team achievement isn't where it needs to be. Obviously, my team isn't where it needs to be or where we want it to be. There's no celebrating here."
C Nick Martin
(on the touchdown on the first drive) "We started fast. We've got to keep that going through the whole game, though. You've got to finish strong and play a whole game."
(on the mentality during the game) "We were moving the ball, but you're always going to think you are going to win to the very end. The thought of losing never enters your mind."
(on the Ravens' defense) "They have a great front seven. You want to go up against the best. They have some big guys up front, and you love the challenge of going against them."
(on facing DT Brandon Williams) "You really have to be on your game. When you face a guy like that, your technique has to be on each and every play. If it's not, he can get the best of you. You really have to fight each and every play. If you love competing, you do love those games. He's a bigger guy. You have to make sure your hands are inside and your feet are on at all times. You have to try to move him as best as you can."
CB Johnathan Joseph
(on the play of the defense) "We played pretty good as a defense. There were a few plays we'd like to have back. We definitely wanted to get our hands on a couple of balls and create some turnovers. It didn't work that way. We can't give up that many points. We have to keep the score close to where we can pull some of these games out. It was a solid effort, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't win the game."
(on facing QB Joe Flacco) "He's a talented quarterback. Been playing in this league for a long time and is a Super Bowl champion. I know the type of competitor he is. It's never over with him. He can extend plays, run and scramble, and he has an arm where he can throw it 80 or 90 yards. We knew what type of day it was going to be. We just couldn't give up the explosive plays, and we did a good job of that. At the end of the day, we didn't get the turnovers, and that was the outcome of the game."
RB Lamar Miller
(on facing LB C.J. Mosley) "He's a good player. I wasn't really focused on him to see what he was doing, but, when watching film, he's a great player who makes a lot of plays."
(on facing Mosley and the Ravens' run defense) "It's the whole interior, actually – their front seven. They have a good D-line, and their linebacking corps is real good. I hold myself to getting positive plays on first and second down so that we have good, manageable third downs."
(on returning to the game in the second half) "I was a little banged up, but it's part of football. I got back in there in the second half, trying to make a play, just help my team find a way to win the game."
(on improving the offense) "We have to keep improving. We have to find a way to finish drives, getting seven points instead of three. When the game is on the line, we have to make a play. The defense did a great job giving us opportunities to win the game, we just have to find a way to finish."
