HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
(opening statement)"OK, thanks for coming, especially you who are here late at night on Thursday. Ainsley, my niece, and her friend, Abby, and [former NCAA men's basketball coach] Tom Crean, and Joani Crean, my sister. So, what questions do you have?"
(on what the second-half performance without TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman says about this team)"I just think it was a team effort. You say a team effort, I would kind of include the fans in that, too, just an all-around team effort. We had a lot of fans here. When they shouted the 'O' [during the national anthem] at the start, it sounded like a home game down here. I don't know what the numbers were, but they were loud, they were into it the whole game, and it really helped us. It really boosted us, because this was kind of a fight to the end kind of game from an energy standpoint, in terms of not wearing down and executing when you're tired. Trying to wear an opponent down, both teams were trying to do that, and our guys prevailed in that, and I think our fans were a big part of that. The depth; Isaiah [Likely] stepping up, Nick Boyle stepping up the way he did, Josh [Oliver] stepping up the way he did. The offensive line was tremendous. Defense, defense played really well the whole game. They had a couple drives here and there, a couple penalty-aided drives I might add. (scratches head) On some of those, but I'm really proud of the guys because at the end of the game, our guys just had a little bit more left. You could see it in terms of the execution."
(on having seven rushing attempts in the first half and if adjustments were made at halftime)"No, no, no, no. That was the plan; we had a plan going in in terms of how we were going to try to approach this game. It really laid out exactly how we had anticipated, in terms of what we called, when we called it in terms of the run-pass ratio. I thought we'd do a little bit better than three points; we all thought we'd score a little bit more than three, but their defense is tough, and we couldn't get going with first downs and getting drives extended, but that was how we planned on doing it."
(on QB Lamar Jackson going 8-of-8 on passes in the second half and what changed from the first half)"It was; plays play out the way they do. A couple balls got batted down in the first half too. They were covering us... They kind of got into a zone game, and they were playing pretty good in terms of matching us. They had good pressure; the pressure faded a little bit in the second half when people get tired, the pressure isn't as good obviously and you have a little more time. I think too, the scrambling part of it. That scramble to start the second half, that long scramble when he got out there and got that first down, was it a 30- [or] 40-yard gain? That was big; I think that took a little steam out of it, too, in terms of the pass rush because you don't want to see that happen. It slows you down a little bit."
(on QB Lamar Jackson's unflappability after only scoring three points in the first half)"No question. I think it's disappointing, frustrating, whatever you want to say, but there's nobody in the locker room screaming; nobody's upset. Everyone just kind of locks in, [we] talk about what we need to do and come out and try to do it in the second half. We were able to finish again. Fourth quarter, we talked a little bit about that; that was nice to see. So, I'm proud of our guys. Lamar [Jackson], to your point, probably does lead the charge on that."
(on what TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman said to the team during halftime) "I don't really remember, to be honest with you, but I know it was very powerful and very influential. I just can't remember exactly what it was."
(on the production from secondary receivers today)"No doubt. Of course, to see Isaiah [Likely] step up, we saw it in training camp and preseason games, and 'Duv' [Devin Duvernay] has been doing it all year. 'D-Rob' [Demarcus Robinson] had a heck of a game; he came out and made some big plays for us getting up the sideline. 'Duv' did it, not just in the passing game, but the run game as well. I thought both running backs did a great job; all three running backs did a great job. It was a team effort; it was an all-around team effort."
(on injury updates for TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman) "They are not serious. Rashod [Bateman] was a tweak of what he had before, and Mark [Andrews] is not a serious, long-term injury."
(on if QB Lamar Jackson was lobbying to go for it on fourth down at the end)"No, not at the end. That was a no-brainer on that one. I know I had some fans worried about that, but I was not going for that. I thought about trying to draw them offsides, that was the conversation, just for the record. I had a fan grab my hand coming off the field [as] I said hi to the fans. He said, 'Kick it. Kick it,' that's all he said to me was, 'Kick it.' I appreciated it."
(on injury update for RB Gus Edwards)"Gus [Edwards] with a hamstring; it doesn't look too bad, but we'll know more tomorrow."
QB LAMAR JACKSON
(on the offense's performance tonight)"Execution. I feel like the whole offense is hungry. [Our] main guys went down, and everyone stepped up. James [Proche II], 'D-Rob' [Demarcus Robinson], 'Like' [Isaiah Likely]. We all just went out here to just finish the job."
(on how big it was to win without TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman)"It's huge. A lot of people don't know about our guys, but I feel like we do. We do a lot in practice, and those guys show it each and every day. They got an opportunity tonight, and they showed up."
(on if they made adjustments to the run game in the second half)"Our approach earlier was just throwing the ball, seeing what they were going to give us. We had opportunities and just came up short. In the second half, we just called a lot more run plays, and our guys blocked their tails off, and our running backs were hitting the holes and doing what they're supposed to do."
(on how close he feels this team is to firing on all cylinders) "I feel like we're very close; we're right there, but there's still room for improvement. The little mistakes, we're still making them out there. [If] we change those, then I feel like the sky's the limit for us."
(on if he wanted to go for it on fourth-and-2 late in the game)"No, no, not at all. Just trying to get more yards if anything, draw them offsides, but kick the field goal. We have 'Tuck' [Justin Tucker]."
(on what he saw from TE Isaiah Likely]"What you've seen from him, I've been seeing it. I've been talking about it since camp, OTAs. He showed up and showed out. He got his first touchdown, primetime game. Hats off to him; I'm proud of him, I'm happy for him."
(on scoring on every drive in the second half while missing key guys) "It means a lot. Like I said, we have guys who do those things. 'D-Rob' [Demarcus Robinson] made a terrific catch on third down to get up the field, get the first down for us; we converted that. Our guys blocked their tails off; running backs hit the holes. We just have to keep stacking though; it's a long season."
(on if the gameplan was to wear the defense out with the passing game in the first half before closing out the game in the second half with the run game)"Those guys were still playing defense out there; I wish it was that easy. You can say that; you can say that then."
(on how he determines when he's going to run and pass when he has open lanes) "I'm going to throw it first. If I see the hole, I'm not going to try to force anything down the field; I'm just going to try to get yards and live for another play, see what happens then, but I'm throwing the ball first, no doubt."
(on how good it feels to not play until next Monday after a short week this week)"It feels wonderful. Like you said, a short week, quick turnaround to have to learn and see what the Bucs were going to bring for us. I feel like our team did a terrific job."
(on what he saw on his long run to open the second half)"I don't know what to tell you; [I'm] playing football."
CB MARLON HUMPHREY
(on loving this team)"We just have a lot of great guys on this team. It's kind of crazy, even the guys who aren't playing like Tyus [Bowser], and Josh [Bynes] and Ronnie [Stanley] sometimes, everyone's just talking from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. Excitement... It just seemed like today was such a team win; it seemed like everyone had a play that affected the game, that changed the game. Coaches, it's just a pleasure being on this team, and the way we work. All season we've been talking about stacking the games, stacking the games, and I feel like once we stack, it's just going to take off for us. We did that today, and it was great."
(on the team overcoming the loss of TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman to win the game)"It means a lot. When I came in at halftime, I saw [Rashod] Bateman was out... No, I saw [Mark] Andrews was in here, then I saw Bateman was out, and I was like, but it was just crazy how quickly guys stepped up and were able to replace those guys. We just lost J.K. [Dobbins] like what, a week ago? We lost so many guys recently, and it's been no complaining; guys have just stepped up, tried to fill in the best they could, and we were able to come out with two wins these past two weeks."
T MORGAN MOSES
(on if running the ball like the Ravens did in the second half is an offensive lineman's dream)"For sure. Playing for so long, you get a rhythm of the game, and you kind of get a feeling from the [defensive] guys across from you, and you know when it's time for them to tap out. So, that was just me feeling out the game, feeling the d-lineman, feeling like, "hey, this is an opportunity where we can take advantage of it. I think we executed well, and I think everybody that ran the ball, who touched the ball... You look at the first half, I think we had negative yards, and we come out and finish the game with [231 rushing yards] so it was a [heck] of a job, not only the offensive linemen, but the quarterback, the running backs, the receivers blocking, the tight ends blocking, all 11 people on the field."
(on the strength of the Ravens' run game)"It's just a part of our offense. Anytime you have a dynamic quarterback like Lamar [Jackson] and a plethora of running backs, you never know who's going to get the ball with all the misdirection... and 'Duv' [Devin Duvernay] too, him carrying the ball. So, when you add that element to it, it's just when we're clicking, we're clicking. Obviously, we would like to click a little bit faster in the first half, but that's how the game goes. It's a short week of preparation, it's a dog fight out there, and it's really just who's going to last longer."
G KEVIN ZEITLER
(On if there was any frustration at halftime and how the team made adjustments)"Um no, we were actually pretty calm [in] here. I think there was, 'gosh that really wasn't Raven football in the first half.' No one was really happy. We did some good things but we didn't finish anything basically. We were like 'hey we have to do what we do and go take it the second half.' Obviously, we were able to get it done on a short week down in Florida against a really tough team. You know, I'll take it."
(On if they put more of an emphasis on the run in the second half)"No, there was really nothing like that – you know we've been doing things so whatever we need to do, we have to do it in the second half. Obviously, we were able to get the run game going and we stuck with it."
(On if the volume of runs in the second half wore down the Buccaneers' defense)"You know I'd like to think that but I think we were able to execute – we got some good execution, guys made plays."
(On if playing with a quarterback like Lamar Jackson gives them hope that they are just one big play away from changing momentum)"You know, I think that's a great way to put it. Lamar is truly a home run just waiting to happen, you never know when it's going to come, it could be the darkest time but boom, he is the sun coming just like that. He's awesome to play for, I'm glad I'm on his team."
TIGHT END ISAIAH LIKELY
(On getting his first NFL touchdown)"It felt great. I mean, always giving thanks to God and just really just living in the moment. My motto is just being where your feet are and not living dwelling on the past, not living too far in the future and just being where your feet are and playing every play like it's your last."
(On if he has the game ball in the press conference)"Yeah, this is one of them right now. This is one of them."
(On the team's second half performance offensively despite losing some of its key playmakers)"It really shows you a family atmosphere. It shows you how hungry we are. I mean, when [Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman] both went down, they're a big piece of our offense, so you look at your brother – you look at how they want to be out there with us, so you really want to lift their spirits up and show them that we're going to do it for them. Whether they're in the game or not, we're going to bring this home for them."
(On what was said at halftime)"It was really just a confidence thing. It was them looking – Rashod [Bateman] and Mark [Andrews] just looking the offense in the eyes and telling [us], 'Y'all got this. Whether we're there or not, y'all got this.' Just having us be the offense we are.
(On if Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews spoke to the team at halftime)"Yes sir."
(On if the offense being spread out in the second half gave the offense better opportunities)"I felt like we were just sticking with the things that work. I mean, if it was giving us positive yards then we were obviously going to keep doing what we were going to do. I felt like that was what was going on in the second half and it won us the game. So, it was great football."
(On if he's ever recovered an onside kick)"Yeah, I recovered one in college before – same scenario."
(On the team's running game)"I felt like we did a great job in the run game. I mean you heard 'Big Mo' (Morgan Moses) shouting to the sideline to run the ball. I mean, when you're a Raven, you're going to run the ball. I feel like Coach [John] Harbaugh is going to be really impressed when he sees me on film blocking."
(On clarifying that it was T Morgan Moses shouting to run the ball)"Yeah."
OLB JUSTIN HOUSTON
(On importance of game and being a gut check)"Any Thursday night is a gut check. You don't have time to rush, you don't have time to think about – you just [have to] go. So, I think any Thursday night is a gut check game. We're trying to build momentum and I think that's what we did tonight. I think a lot of guys had to step up and you saw that. I think we [have] a deep team, so at any given moment somebody can step up and make a play and you [saw] that all tonight."
(On what was said in the locker room at halftime)"Nothing major, that's what we do. Don't panic. There's four quarters for a reason. You [have to] play all four quarters. Just [have to] keep fighting for the team – do what we do. You go in there and make corrections off the things you were doing wrong in the first half and you're making adjustments. I think [the] offense did that – you saw the adjustment they made, and I think defense just kept playing ball."
(On the key to stopping Tom Brady)"I think it was all-around. I think it was great coverage down the field. I thought we were mixing up coverage, making him hold the ball and I think we had some pressure up front the times he did hold the ball. So, I think any time you can pressure him and make him hold the ball, that's the biggest thing. Tom [Brady], he's a coach on the field so he sees everything before it even happens so any time you can adjust and make him think just a little bit, that's what you want."
(On how rewarding it is to come up with strong plays and performances)"Man, God is good man. I'm just happy he chose me to play through, man. I'm playing well, I feel young again. Like I said, I'm blessed beyond measure. God is filling my heart with joy and he's playing through me, and I'm just so happy to continue playing at this age."
(On performance from Lamar Jackson in the second half)"I think he put the game on his shoulders. You saw the plays that he made. They were big time plays. I think he didn't panic at all. I think he showed what he's about and what he [does] best and he did it."
(On if he knew he was responsible for Tom Brady's all-time sacked QB record)"I did not. It's not surprising because I'm pretty sure he's the oldest quarterback and played the longest out of everybody, so it's not surprising that that's the case but I didn't know that at all."
(On if he means anything that he was responsible for the record)"I think any time you can put that under your belt against Tom Brady, I think that's a plus, so I'll take it."
(On how important the extra time off to recover and prepare for next game is)"I think it's big. Like he was saying here, I think we had a lot of guys go down tonight, in the previous two games so we look beat up. I think this mini bye [week] is [going to] help us get everybody back together and let us rest and recover for that game."
