Head Coach Hue Jackson:
Opening statement:
"That is the National Football League when you don't finish the game. We are not going to complain or anything about the calls or anything like that. I just think we have to play better. We started off like a house of fire the first half, and then we weren't able to maintain it and finish it that way. That is what happens in the National Football League. You have to keep scoring. We didn't do that in the second half. They scored, and they scored more points than we did. I know there was a swing there from the blocked extra point to the field goal right before the half and a turnover and those things. This is a young football team that showed fight and grit a little bit. We just have to learn how to finish. That is my job and that is this staff's job. We make no excuses. We are an 0-2 football team right now. We have a lot of work to do to continue to get better, but I saw us get better from Week 1 to Week 2, and hopefully, we can continue to do so."
On if the taunting call at the end of the game was fair:
"I'm not going to say if it was or wasn't. I haven't seen it. I've heard different sides of it, but they called it so we have to do a better job of making sure that we get the ball to the official and go from there."
On what is physically wrong with QB Josh McCown:
"I'm not totally sure what is wrong. We will probably get a chance to talk to the medical staff. Obviously, there was something there but the guy kept battling and playing.
"The last ball, I know everybody wants to say we just threw it up and it is on Josh. It is not on Josh. At the end of the day, he has obviously got to protect the ball better, but again, I know he was trying to make a play and I take responsibility for all that. The guy battled his tail off, and I know he played under a little duress from their defensive front. Also, he was battling a little injury but he fought as hard as he could."
On if McCown will play next week:
"I have yet to talk to our medical people about it."
On the stretcher in the locker room postgame:
"Stretcher? I didn't see it. You know how it is as a coach, you start replaying this game over and over again. I did not see a stretcher in the locker room. I will find out as soon as I leave here."
On WR Corey Coleman's two TDs and personal foul penalty:
"Can't do it. They are always going to see the second penalty. That is a moment for him to grow and learn. These games are tough. People are going to say things to you. People are going to push you and all that, but you can't retaliate. If you do, you are taking a chance of them seeing you do it as opposed to the other guy. That is what happened. It is something we have to learn from. It is something we can't do."
On if McCown's injury impacted the Browns offense in the second half:
"It had a little bit. I wanted to protect him a little bit, but at the same time, I thought we played. Plays were still there to be made. Whether we were throwing the ball and running the ball, there were some plays we didn't make. Some we made early and some we didn't make, and that is pro football. You just have to make more than you don't make. I'm disappointed as anybody for the guys. They have worked extremely hard. Last week, they had a great week of practice. They were ready to play and that showed, but again, it is my responsibility to make sure in the second half that we are ready play two (halves). We can't just play one half. We have to play for 60 minutes. That is the difference. We had our chances to win this game, but we didn't. I tip my hat to Baltimore. They did. We have to grow from this and keep learning and get better."
On if the game came down to the blocked extra point and missed FG:
"I'm not going to say it directly did. There were a host of other plays, I'm sure, but when you look at the point swing, that is what people will point to will be the difference. Obviously, it had a huge effect on the game, but there were so many other plays that I saw that we were standing out there that we had chances at. We just have to continue to grow from it."
On if the Ravens player who blocked the extra point came through the middle:
"Off of our left side."
On McCown's lower third down completion in the second half was a result of him not getting the ball out in time:
"Not getting it out on time, I think Baltimore made some adjustments. We still had some chances. I thought we didn't protect as well. It is something you always have to do, especially on third down when everybody probably knows you are throwing. We are not going to make excuses. We just have to get better. We are not where we have to be yet, and I am being very honest. That starts with me. That starts with all of us. We get it. We have some work to do. I know one thing about that group, they are going to keep battling and they are going to fight, just like they did today. We will watch the tape, we will grow from it and we will get ready for Miami."
On if QB Josh McCown is as tough as any QB he has played with:
"Josh? He is tough. There is no question he is tough. That is why he played in this league as long as he has. He is very tough. He knows how to make plays. He made some outstanding plays,* *and I am sure there are some he would like to have back, but that is the NFL at its best. You are going to make some, you are going to miss some and you have to make more than you miss. That is just the way it goes."
On not hesitating in sending K Patrick Murray out for a 52-yard field goal attempt:
"Yeah, I thought he had a chance. I thought, boy, if we could get that, we would seize momentum a little bit. Hindsight is 20/20. You look back, maybe you punt them down there and hold them. Maybe you do not put them in a situation to make a score, but at the same time, you have to give your players a chance. You have to give them opportunities. I have seen him do it, and unfortunately, that is one he missed."
On what he learned about McCown today:
"Nothing surprising. He plays. He is going to battle and go out there and give you everything he has. He wants to be on the field all the time, and I appreciate that. I appreciate what he does."
On WR Terrelle Pryor Sr. and if the officials are looking at him closely for possible penalties, particularly after multiple penalties in the preseason:
"I'm sure they are. He is a big guy. I'm sure, just like we do, we see things on tape that we ask the officials to take a peek at, and they are going to do the same thing against us. I'm sure the officials are looking for certain things and sometimes those things will get called."
On how to rally a young Browns team after losing a game when the team held a 20-point lead:
"We rally. It is not how. You go back to work. We have a game next week. Can't hang our head in the sand, nobody is going to feel sorry for us. I don't know what that means. We have to go to work, and that is all it is. That is two games. There are 14 more of these. Who knows what is going to happen the rest of the season, but I think if our players will keep getting better and keep growing – we keep talking about this young team – and learn from the things that are happening to us, I think we will be where we need to be as we get going. That is what is important for our team."
On how close the Browns came to taking McCown out of the game:
"I came very close until the medical staff told me that he is back up. He is out until he is up so there was a point he was out, and then they came back and said, 'Josh is back.' He went back out there and played."
On OL Cameron Erving's status:
"I think the first part was some cramps in his back. Those things happen. I didn't hear the second part of it when he went out there at the end. I was trying to focus on making sure we got the right call. I am sure I will find out here exactly what is going on with Cam."
On TE Randall Telfer's status:
"I'm not sure yet about Randall. As soon as I get more information from the staff, I will make sure that you guys get that information."
QB Josh McCown:
On his left shoulder and arm:
"It is alright. I just fell on it a few times. I'll be alright, though."
On what X-rays on his shoulder showed:
"I'm going to defer all of those questions to the medical staff. They will take a look at them and let me know what they find out."
On if he ever questioned whether or not he would be able to return to the game:
"No, not really. It wasn't in my mind."
On if he will play next week:
"That is my plan."
On how deflating the taunting penalty called on WR Terrelle Pryor was for the Browns:
"I didn't see what he did. Obviously, very deflating because we are going to get down there tight and have some shots at the end zone where the clock is kind of no longer a factor. That hurt, but again, I didn't see what he did or what happened. All of us kind of had little things here and there that we should have done different that would have helped the outcome be different. We will look at that and make those corrections."
On the Browns momentum in the first half and losing it a little bit and not scoring in the second half:
"It is disappointing. For us, who we are as a young team, there are things we have to learn and how to ride these waves back and forth and grab some momentum back and go put the ball in the end zone. We will have to look at the tape and see. I know, certainly, just as you look at the interception before half by me was one of the things that attributed to that, and that can't happen. I will speak for myself on the part I did in kind of losing some momentum, and I just can't do that."
On WR Corey Coleman's two TDs and a penalty late in the game:
"It is what we talked about. Everybody kind of did something. For me, I'm focused on the interception before half. I'm really disappointed in that. I think Corey will look at that and go, 'Man, that is something that I have to clean up.' It can't happen because it bumps us back out of field goal range. You get three there, and we are driving with a different mentality at the end. All of these things are part of the growing curve with a young team. It is just disappointing because we were standing right there with a chance to win the ball game against a good team. We just have to reload and go back to work."
On getting hit continuously and landing on his left shoulder and the source of his ability to play through discomfort:
"It think it is just not wanting to not be out there with your guys. I have a dad and an older brother who get up and go to work and sometimes they don't feel great and they go. They go and they grind. I have two little boys that are playing football now. They get hit and they get banged up, and I am trying to teach them what toughness means. For me, it is those things and just knowing the window for me right now and understanding that I don't want to miss snaps. I don't want to be out there without my guys. Unless it is going to fall off, let's try to make it work and make it go. That is my mentality.
On if he knew he would come back to the game after being taken into the locker:
"Yeah, we just got an exam to make sure we were in the clear and then let's get back out there and playThe doctors did their job and everything was OK so I went back out there."
On OL Cameron Erving being taken to the hospital strapped to a board and not having another C on the roster:
"First of all, when anyone leaves here strapped to a board, it is not good. My prayers and thoughts are with Cam. Hopefully, everything will be alright, but I told (OL John) Greco he did a heck of a job sliding over. He did everything he could for us. The snaps were great. It is a hard to just slide over to center and be in the shotgun right away. Grec did awesome, and we were moving the ball down the field. We will let the coaches and manager figure out how this will affect us, but for the guys that are here, we know that it is the next man up mentality. Greco did a great job of sliding in. We will make the appropriate changes if we need to. Hopefully, Cam is alright and we will move on from there."
On if his shoulder injury is alright or if it could potentially be something serious:
"We will see. My mindset is that everything will be alright and we will move ahead business as usual. It is just a matter of letting the doctors and trainers do their job, and my expectations are to play some ball."
On continuously landing on his left shoulder when hit:
"Yeah, just for whatever reason, it just kept going down on the left side. It obviously was pretty frustrating. Our guys fought. It never goes without saying how hard they fought. It just was one of those deals and you just happened to keep falling on that left side. Obviously, it does not feel good, but that is part of the game."
On if he felt the Ravens defense was targeting his shoulder, specifically after the play when he was hit when giving himself up:
"I don't know. I can't speak for them. I just know in that moment that I thought I had given myself up. I thought that was clear. More than anything, I just thought there would be a little bit more protection there from the refs, but they make their calls and we trust their calls and we move forward. I don't know. I can't speak for what their defense was doing. They are a hard-nosed defense. They play hard and they play physical. They did that today."
On responding to the Ravens big hits by converting on third downs during the first half of the game:
"My goal and our goal in every category is to be up there in the league in third downs. That is something that we shoot for because it allows our offense to stay on the field and our defense to stay off the field and let them rest. It was one of the things that we came into this week knowing we needed to improve on. For me, it is just an area of emphasis. It is just a heightened awareness whenever it is third down that we have to go and convert. I feel like we did a good job of that in the first half, and it could have been better in the second half, obviously."
On if there was a point that he felt the lead and the game was starting to slip away from the Browns:
"Like I said, I think there are different moments, but for me certainly, I just walk away going that the interception at the end of the half was definitely one of those points where we gave a little bit back and gave them there. I am just disappointed in myself for that one. It can't happen. (WR Rashard) Higgins was trying to and was working a guy on the route, and he and I have to get on the same page on what was going on. If I can get off of him and check the ball down or something but just keep the ball in play and not turn it over there at the half and not give them three, I think we let a little bit of momentum go there."
WR Corey Coleman
On his first regular season game at FirstEnergy Stadium and his performance:
"I would rather take the win than the way I played, but it didn't work out that way. We are going to go back to the lab and keep on working."
On the momentum shift in the third quarter:
"We just have to keep on going and have to finish better. We played a great team, and we just have to focus on finishing."
On QB Josh McCown's performance:
"Josh is unbelievably tough and is a great leader for this team. He battled the whole game."
RB Isaiah Crowell
On the offense's second half performance:
"I just feel like we couldn't execute."
On his 85-yard touchdown run in the first quarter:
"It was just a power play. The linemen did a great job blocking the double team, got a great push. I just owe it all to my linemen. I think it was them that really got the touchdown. I just ran it."
On what the Browns offense accomplished early to jump out to a lead:
"We really had momentum just running the ball, throwing the ball, just everything. We were capitalizing, that's why I feel like we were able to get the lead."
On QB Josh McCown's performance:
"I feel like Josh did a great job. I feel like we have got to protect him more. Period. That's it."
LB Demario Davis
On what happened during the Ravens comeback:
"We started fast, but we have to find a way to be consistent. There were a couple plays in there that we needed to get back. We just need to find a way down the stretch to get off of the field. I have to look at the film and find different ways that I can get better in order to help this unit out. Our defensive guys played phenomenal, but it wasn't good enough. I have to find ways to help out a little bit more."
On his responsibility on the defense:
"I take all of the responsibility. As a captain of the defense, I have to play at a high level every week. There is always area for improvement, and I take that responsibility proudly. I am happy the way that the guys responded with passion and energy, but we came out just a little bit short. We have to find a way to get better next week."
On Ravens QB Joe Flacco's play:
"He has been an elite quarterback in this league for a long time. For a guy to be an elite quarterback and have that type of consistency, it tells you the kind of toughness that he has. I have nothing but respect for them and the way they play. They fight until the very end and you have to give them credit."
On QB Josh McCown's play:
"McCown did a wonderful job of stepping in and leading the offense. Those guys came out on fire, and I was happy with the way they played. When the offense gives you 20 points, we have to find a way to come away with a win."
* *
OL John Greco
On QB Josh McCown:
"I'd go to war with that guy any time. The guy gets the [stuff] knocked out of him seven, eight times a game and keeps getting up and making throws. Credit to him. We have got to keep him clean."
On McCown's toughness:
"Like I said, I'd go to war with that guy any day of the week. He has proven himself as a leader each day, every year, every year that I've played with him. Keep fighting with that guy."
OL Cam Erving's status:
"I don't know. It seemed like he was battling cramps. When that happens or if something locks up on him, it's tough. Credit him for sticking in there as long as he can. I know that we're going to have to kind of scrape him off of the field for him to come out. It looked like at the end, he just couldn't take it anymore. Credit to him for fighting through that second half battling that. That happens. Guys go down, next man up. I thought we were able to give ourselves a chance at the end, but we just have to make the plays."
On RB Isaiah Crowell's touchdown run in the first quarter:
"Any time you can pop an 80-yarder or whatever it was, that's a good feeling. We had all of the momentum and for some reason, it stalled out. Credit to them. They outplayed us in the second half. We didn't make as many plays. We have to do some soul searching this week and find a way to finish the game because that's what it's going to come down to. We can't let up with a big lead in the first half. These NFL games are so close. Rarely do you see a team get blown out. Everyone is going to keep fighting. The momentum is going to switch. We have to be able to keep the foot on that gas in the second half and find a way to finish games."
DB Joe Haden
On WR Terrelle Pryor's catch and the penalty:
"I didn't really have a good angle. I had to look up at the jumbotron to see what the call was. I think he probably thought he was putting the ball down."
On having the Ravens on the ropes:
"We felt pretty good, but at the end of the day, we knew they would make plays. I said before the game (Ravens QB) Joe Flacco is a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He is very comfortable with his game. He was able to matriculate and make a lot of plays."
On the performance of the younger Browns defensive players:
"I feel as a defensive group that we are coming along really well. Everybody is giving fight and effort. We just have to hold down our gaps, tighten up and make a couple more plays. We just have to keep working and keep grinding, but I'm happy with our defensive efforts, especially with the younger guys stepping in and doing their thing."
On the officiating:
"I try to leave that stuff out of it. If I am worried about the officials, then that is going to hinder my game. I just hope for the best, but you can only control what you can control. You just have to go out and make the next play."
On if he looks forward to making big plays:
"I just go out and try to do my part. If the ball comes over to my side, I have to make a play. I was just excited to get the ball back to our offense and create turnovers because when you win the turnover battle, you usually win the game."
WR Terrelle Pryor
On the shift in momentum after the blocked extra point:
"We have got to keep on fighting. Defense played a phenomenal game. Hats off to the defense. Special teams played awesome. We have got to step up on offense and that is on us."
On QB Josh McCown's performance today:
"Josh is a warrior. I've been telling you guys all week. He is a warrior. Josh McCown is awesome. He is a great leader."
On the Browns liking their chances on the final drive:
"I thought we were going to go down there. We were on the way."
DL Danny Shelton
On the Browns defense's performance:
"I definitely think we fought out there. Nobody went out there with a mindset that we are going to let them walk away with a win. We tried our hardest to bring that W."
On the pressure put on Ravens QB Joe Flacco:
"He is a veteran quarterback and he knows how to play his position. He got the ball out quickly and we had to continue to push the pocket. We didn't come out with the win, but we have to continue to fight to be a dominant defense."
