HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "... Merry Christmas. [It was a] great win. [I'm] proud of our guys. These guys took these three games in 11 days and smashed it, obliterated it, tore it up and made into a bunch of smithereens laying around everywhere. I'm proud of the guys [and] how they did it. They did a great job. Alright, what questions do you have?"
Big picture, to come out of this stretch – you were two back in the AFC North – and to come out of this now a game up with a chance to clinch at your home field and to win all these games by double digits, what does that kind of say about the group as a whole? (Jeff Zrebiec) "It says so much. It says we're not done yet, because it's been done, and the next thing is going to be the next game. We need to be 1-0 to win the AFC North, and that will be our focus after we get some rest. We'll have rest until ... We'll get the guys out, bring them back on Monday, and we'll get started for the Browns, which is always a very tough team, tough opponent, division game, but it will be for the AFC North crown, and we're going to need to be locked in for that. The fact that they did it – they did it in this short stretch – I think our team probably handled it the best, arguably. I guess the Chiefs did a good job too, so there you go. Have to give them credit; give credit where credit's due. I'm proud of our guys, man. I'm really proud of our guys for what they accomplished – our coaches, our strength and conditioning coaches, our nutritionist, our trainer [and] our performance coach."
Did you come into this game thinking you were going to be able to control the game by running the ball? (Jamison Hensley) "We thought we had a chance. Yes, we thought we had a chance to run the ball. [The Texans have] a real tough defense. They play super hard. Their DBs show up. They play downhill. I don't know if we anticipated coming out of the gates so quickly running the ball well, but I was really happy we did. I was happy with the guys."
What can you say about QB Lamar Jackson's performance? (Reporter) "What could you say that would maybe parallel what [Lamar Jackson] did? It's just another phenomenal performance. He set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards [by a quarterback] in the National Football League [and] pro football. That kind of speaks for itself. It's just kind of what he does every week. [He] made some plays on the run. We had some tight coverage. They covered us well, but he was able to extend those plays and make those big plays in the passing game, which is kind of what he does a lot of times. It was great to see."
It sounds like QB Lamar Jackson always amazes you, but does he ever surprise you at this point? (Brian Wacker) "Sometimes I just shake my head and say, 'That was really a great play. That was a great play.' I've seen a lot of great plays from Lamar Jackson. I told him I was proud of him. I'm not just proud of him just because he makes great plays. I'm proud of him for all the things that go into making great plays and also for all the things he's overcome along the way. I put his mom in the same category; what they've overcome together, all the narratives and all that kind of stuff, it's quite a remarkable story. It's historic, but the story's still being written, and there's a lot more to accomplish."
All early in the season, people were slinging arrows at defensive coordinator Zach Orr and criticizing the defense. How pleased are you with how that group has turned it around this season? (Jeff Zrebiec) "I'm very pleased. The guys went to work, and we knew that it was all correctable. But you have to get to work, and you have to do it. I've said numerous times, it's a week-to-week league, and it's important to keep things in perspective. It's a good lesson for everything else besides football too – keep things in perspective. You can improve. You can get better. I'm proud of those guys, [Defensive coordinator] Zach [Orr], obviously, spearheading it [and senior advisor] Dean Pees helping us, of course. Let's look at all the players and all the coaches and what a great job they've done. But you know what? We're just getting started. We said, 'Alright, it's the January season now. The December season is behind us. It's the January season now.'"
The goal line stop that you guys had on fourth down with S Ar'Darius Washington coming in. How did that kind of set the tone? (Jonas Shaffer) "What a massive play. I don't know ... The ball was down there on that pass interference [penalty] – I want to look at it – but to get that stop ... We've been good on the goal line all year, and we've given up some extra chances sometimes when we've gotten the stop with some grabbiness, and we didn't do that in the passing game today. I like that. Ar'Darius [Washington] has made two [big plays] in a row, two weeks in a row. [That's] probably what you're alluding too, right? Two huge stops around the goal line for us. Just big plays; that's who he is."
How would you kind of characterize the significance of the turnaround from this defense? Early on, there's all these questions, and now you guys just seem to be ascending. (Brian Wacker) "I can't say that it's surprising. We're not surprised by it. We knew and believed that we were going to start playing better. We knew we were going to play a lot better. I said it; the good news is that we can play so much better, and we were good enough to do it. We were healthy. We had our players. We did have to move some pieces around; that was good. We moved some scheme pieces around; that was good. The guys just kept working on the fundamentals and trying to get better. We appreciate that, and we'll be thinking about the next game [and] trying to play great defense the next game."
RB DERRICK HENRY
On the team's recent stretch: "We did it. It's over with. We [are] done. Happy we got the 'W.'"
On if he expected to have this type of success against the Texans: "I mean, we never doubt ourselves or think we [are] not going to have success against any team. We believe in ourselves to go out there and do our job."
On QB Lamar Jackson breaking QB Michael Vick's rushing record: "Lamar [Jackson] is Lamar. He does it every week. It's [not a] surprise to [anybody]. He definitely deserves it. I'm sure he [is] going to break plenty more records, so congrats to him and [it's] a special moment for him."
CB MARLON HUMPHREY
On their defensive performance tonight: "Man, I'm not going to lie. I'd say we've come full circle. But no, it felt good. I was talking with [senior advisor Dean] Pees. He was here when I was a rookie, and I think we had maybe one or two shutouts. I was telling 'Z.O.' [defensive coordinator Zach Orr], it feels good to play good defense. We had some things out there, but it's always good when you can have their offense not score. You've got to say you played pretty well. This is a testament to it all kind of coming together. I felt the coaching was there, and I just felt as players, 'What is the formula to continue to get high percentages of 11 guys doing 11 guys' jobs?' Obviously, we had some mishaps here and there on a couple things, guys were kind of wide open, but man, a shutout – even though they got a two [points] – it feels great."
On if he's a little upset that the game doesn't technically count as a shutout: "I will say, you know, I'm a little upset, but Derrick [Henry] sits next to me on the plane, so we're going to let him slide." (laughter) "He's put up a lot of yards for us, so it will be OK."
On how far this team has come since the beginning of the season: "I'm not going to lie, I think when I have conversations with some of the guys one-on-one, two-on-two, there were some tough conversations. We were just like, we still believed, but it did seem far away, because it just seemed like every single guy was having a mishap at just the wrong time. Like I said earlier in the season, it seemed like luck just was not on our side. I think when you watch defenses across the league, there are guys running open all the time and different things, but it seemed like whenever someone else had the inside leverage, and they ended up outside leverage, the ball went there. It seemed like every time we were out of position, not called right, we were getting hit on. I think football is a lot of skill, but sometimes it just straight up comes down to luck. The luck has been on our side, and we've also just been, like I said, doing our job. So, the good thing is earlier in the season, we kept being like, 'What are we doing wrong? What are we doing wrong?' And it was simple. We just needed to get all 11 guys doing their job, and so the coaching hasn't necessarily changed. A couple pieces have shifted, and that's kind of it there. It's just getting 11 guys to do their job, and when we do that, we're a really tough defense. When we're not, we look average, and that's not the standard. But today, I thought the standard was there."
On if it feels like this team is hitting its stride at the right time: "Yes, we felt that it's playoff time, so you lose and you're out. Our plan now is to peak at the right time, and I feel like we're doing that, and we want to continue that effort."
On being one win away from winning the AFC North division title: "That feels good. I know the [Cleveland] Browns are probably just as excited as we are to try to not let that happen. So, it's very exciting to be able to enjoy this Christmas, enjoy the days off. But man, I'll be honest with you, I'm going to go home and enjoy the baby, enjoy the wife, but I'm ready to get back to work. I want that AFC North. It feels good to get that hat and t-shirt, and hopefully everybody can enjoy a day or so and then lock back in."
On how he puts into perspective what this team has accomplished over the last 11 days or so: "Man, I really like the plan that we had. I think our plan mentally to get the work in, but then also physically. The walk-throughs that we did went a little bit fast. I talked with [director of high performance] Sam Rosengarten, one of our guys that does all the DARI and all the data with speed and how fast we're going and the catapult and everything, and I think the plan we had, it was unmatched to what other teams did. I felt that we came out fresh, ready to go, but that quick turnaround is about who can recover the best, who can have the best plan, and I felt that we had a better plan than them, and I thought we were a little bit fresher than them. So, I think hats off to the weight room [staff] and all the guys doing the catapult and all the different things, because I thought our plan worked really well."
On QB Lamar Jackson breaking the all-time quarterback rushing record and if he's ever seen any other quarterback run the ball like him: "I need Lamar [Jackson] motivated, so I'm going to say I think I have seen it." (laughter) "But no, Lamar, that's a great thing. [It's] big time to pass Michael Vick. I know he's never satisfied, so I will just help with his non-satisfaction. He needs to do it again and keep doing it a little bit more, but that's super cool to hear that. Everybody wanted to play with Mike Vick in the video games, so that's really cool."
QB LAMAR JACKSON
On being one win away from winning the AFC North: "That will be dope, but the time hasn't [come] yet, so I just have to stay locked. Stay locked in. That would be dope."
On breaking QB Michael Vick's rushing record by a quarterback: "It feels unreal, to be honest with you. I just give God all the glory. I'm grateful, man, because that's a record that's been held for a long time with Michael Vick, one of my favorite players. That's just dope."
On what he saw on his 48-yard touchdown run: "Mark [Andrews] and 'Zay' [Isaiah Likely had] great blocks, and the rest was end zone. Yes, sir."
On if it felt like that was the fastest run of his career: "I was jogging." (laughter) "I didn't have to do anything, but what was it though?" (Reporter: "Twenty-one-point-something miles per hour.) "For real?" (Reporter: "That's what they told me.") "That's crazy. That's cool."
On the safety: "I'm sorry to the defense for that. We're going to take full responsibility."
On what it meant for the defense to get a fourth-down stop in the red zone: "They've just been playing lights out the last few games. I believe it's starting in practice, with those guys communicating and how they're preparing for the games. Like I said, I'm sorry for the two points. We're sorry. The offense is sorry."
On if he's been working on buying time to find touchdown passes or if it's instinct for him: "I'm just playing football. I'm trying to win. I feel like the world knows I'm trying to win, so that should explain everything."
On if he feels like other players are reading him and keeping the play alive: "Yes, the receivers and tight ends and running backs, everyone is doing a great job at keeping their eyes on me, making defenders miss when I'm going scramble drill, because I'm not just a tuck-and-run quarterback. I'm going to keep my eyes down field, but if the defense does a great job at covering, I just do what I do."
On if the game feels easier to him at times: "No. I'm just having fun though. It's not easy. The NFL is not easy. I don't care what [anybody] says. The NFL is not easy. It looks easy, but it's not."
On how he'd describe the turnaround of this team after the bye week: "I believe how our season has gone – the regular season – it just explains how the NFL is. It really doesn't matter how you start off. It's about how you finish, and I believe we're finishing pretty well right now."
On if he feels good about this team going into the playoffs: "Yes, but we still have the [Cleveland] Browns to lock in on. We can't be ... We clinched a playoff berth, but we just have to stay locked in, because we have the Browns coming up, and that's another division opponent."
On how tough three games in 11 days was: "It was dope. We were on Netflix. I've never been on Netflix. I don't think any of us have ever been on Netflix, but it was dope."
On if he saw Beyonce at halftime: "No, I was locked in. That was just for you all. I was in here, in the locker room preparing for the second half."
T RONNIE STANLEY
On controlling their own destiny for the division title: "It feels great. We did what we came to do, played a high-quality game, and I think that's what we're focused on, is our own performance and results will be in our favor if we do that."
On winning three games in 11 days: "I think we just did it together. We knew the challenge at hand. We knew it was going to be a tough week, tough schedule, and we just kind of leaned on each other and just pushed each other through."
On if he sensed that today could be a day where the team's rushing attack could dominate the game: "I think that could be any week. I think we go into every game with that mentality."
On if the opening drive felt like a tone-setter: "Yes, definitely. We started the game fast, and that's what we want to do. I know we haven't done that every game, coming out with a touchdown drive, and we did this weekend. That's how we want to start every week."
On if he's ever seen a quarterback run the ball like QB Lamar Jackson: "No, I've never seen someone run the ball like Lamar [Jackson] at quarterback, or honestly any other position. The effortless nature of the way he runs the ball and makes these defenders not look as fast as they are, so I'm impressed by everything he does every day."
On QB Lamar Jackson's growth: "I'm just super proud of [Lamar Jackson]. Seeing his growth since he was a rookie, every day, and to become the player he is now, I'm just very proud of him and the way he continues to grow. I'm just kind of in awe that I get to play with two [Pro Football] Hall of Famers in our backfield every day, so it's definitely a blessing."
On what winning three games in 11 days says about the team: "I think it says a lot about our resiliency and our hard work when you put us in a tough position and our backs against the wall – that's the type of team we are."
S AR'DARIUS WASHINGTON
On his fourth-down tackle in the second quarter: "I was just relating to my coverage on that play, and then I saw them throw the ball, and I was like, 'There is no way I'm going to let [Joe Mixon] get in her,' so I just had broke on the ball."
On defensive coordinator Zach Orr jumping on him after that play: "Honestly, I don't know. I was just so turnt out there. I don't know. I saw [defensive coordinator Zach Orr] flying towards the end, but in the moment, I was just in the moment at that time."
On if defensive coordinator Zach Orr said anything to him after that play: "Oh yes, definitely. [Defensive coordinator Zach Orr] said, 'Let's go.' [He was] screaming let's go. That was pretty much it."
On if defensive coordinator Zach Orr told the team that it was the anniversary of the last game he played: "He didn't. No, I didn't know that actually. I did not know that."
On what it means to play this well for defensive coordinator Zach Orr: "It means a lot. [Defensive coordinator Zach Orr] puts so much sacrifice in us, and we go out there and sacrifice for him. So, it means a lot for us, for sure."
On what it means to be playing at this high of a level: "It means a lot. It just shows my determination and my hard work paying off and everything. A lot of the success goes to the whole defense and the coaches, so we came in here, and we had made a commitment to each other that we were going to go out there and turn things around, and then the coaches made the changes that needed to be changed, and I got in there, and I just helped out."
On how much of a momentum shift his fourth-down tackle in the second quarter was: "It meant a lot. I always [want] to get the momentum on our side and give the offense more chances to go get the ball and go score."
