Head Coach Bill Belichick
(opening statement)
"Well, that was kind of about the way we expected the game to go, I would say, having to play 60 minutes against the Ravens. It came down to key plays there in the fourth quarter, especially in the last couple of minutes; some good situational football. I thought our guys really hung in there. It wasn't perfect. We had three turnovers, obviously hurt us. But we kept battling and made some big plays in all three areas of the game there at the end when we had to make them. That's the important thing, is to come out of here with a win against a good football team."
(on the third-down sack by Rob Ninkovich and touchdown pass to Chris Hogan)
"Yeah, huge; huge. That was a big third-down stop. We played – I'd say probably both teams played quite a bit of zone defense tonight. We were able to make [Joe] Flacco hold the ball just a little bit and get to him. On the touchdown pass it looked like play action. It looked like it kind of held [Eric] Weddle a little bit over on the weak side. [Matt] Elam, it looked like he was rotated down to our right. We had thrown the pass to Julian [Edelman] a little bit earlier in the game so it looked like they just kind of got stretched on that with the safeties. Chris [Hogan] split it so obviously that was a huge play for us in the game, but our play-action game overall was pretty productive. We hit Marty [Martellus Bennett]. We hit Chris. We hit Julian. We got some big plays on those play-action passes which of course always comes off of a productive running game. They're tough to run against but I thought we hung with it. We had some patience and we hit some solid runs and that was a key for us in the game, just to be able to punch out some yards in the running game."
(on the field-goal block)
"Shea [McClellin]'s pretty athletic. He timed it up perfectly and made a good, clean jump and a good, clean block. Joe Judge did a great job of designing the play. We worked on it all week and just felt like we could take advantage of that and Shea really executed it perfectly, as did the guys up front. Malcom [Brown] and Alan [Branch] were charging in a way to kind of keep the pad level down for the field-goal team so we could get through there."
(on beating a team like the Ravens)
"Every game is tough to win in this league. Each week we kind of go through the same process. Build through preparation, go out and play as hard as we can and then empty the tank out there and leave it all on the field then come back and start it all over again. We'll do the same thing this week. The Ravens are a good team. They're tough. They do a lot of things well. We just did a few things a little bit better tonight but we'll take it."
QB Tom Brady
(on the final touchdown pass to Hogan and what he saw on that play)"Yeah, he made a great play. It was off a run fake. Hogs [Hogan] and I – he was just kind of, not really the primary receiver on that play, but he saw what I saw and kind of adjusted his route and I just tried to put it out there for him. It was a big play. We needed it."
(on the Patriots' final drive)
"Yeah, Coach [Belichick] made the decision to try to gain some yards throwing there and I thought Jules [Edelman] made a great catch to get it to second-and-2, so it was a great play by Jules. Those guys played really hard tonight. It was a tough defense, the first-ranked defense in the league. We kind of had some self-inflicted errors out there, there were plenty of those, but I'm glad we found a way to win."
(on his level of intensity)
"Yeah, it was a big game for us. We played at home in December on Monday night against a great defense. It was important for us to come out and play well. We knew it was going to be a 60-minute game. They're a tough defense. Like I said, I think there were some plays I wish we all would have had back, but they're a competitive team, they force you into some errors, and it was great to finish the game with the ball in our hands. We always love doing that."
DB Devin McCourty
(on his interception)
"I didn't really expect it. I was trying not to get a pass interference just knowing Mike Wallace, the speed he has. Being in just that two-high look, running back there and getting into the double coverage with [Patrick] Chung, [I was] able to make a play. I wish they didn't take my returning yards away though."
(on the Patriots' energy to start each half)
"That's big. We talked about getting off to an early start, playing well early, and that's big when we can do that. Just giving the ball back to the offense, getting three-and-outs – we let up a big play early in the game but just getting back, holding them, making them kick a field goal, that's big for us. Actually, blocking a field goal with Shea, we've just got to keep doing that. As we get later into the season, we're going to be in tough games, guys have got to make plays. We've got to just continue to be resilient."
(on giving up points versus yards)
"Well, points win the game. But it's a part of playing defense. You get in games like this, you can throw away all those stats. They don't matter. You've got two tough teams – teams that are used to playing in big games, two teams that are used to playing each other in those big games. We know them well, they know us well, it's just a battle of who makes a play in different key situations. You saw tonight, we got off to a great start, took an early lead, [then] they were able to make some plays, score, I think it was 17 straight points to get back in the game and make it tough. It's just a battle, so the stats don't really matter when you get in games like this."
(on if it felt like a playoff game)
"Definitely that type of atmosphere. I mean we went out there on the first possession that we went out on defensively [and] the stadium was rocking. It was loud. We were screaming to try and make checks. I feel like I lost my voice. You love that though."
TE Martellus Bennett
(on whether he had possession on his touchdown catch)
"I had it. Sometimes there's one slice of pizza left and there's two hands that reach into the box. I'm always going to eat mine. I'm always going to get the last slice."
(on how the team reacted to Baltimore's comeback)
"The whole week we knew it was going to be a 60-minute game. They're a really good team and we knew they were never going to give up. They are mentally and physically tough so we knew that we were going to have to battle throughout the whole game. We didn't know how it was going to go, we just knew it was going to take 60 minutes to win and it really came down to the last few seconds to get that victory."
(On why they were so successful with their running game against the strong Baltimore defense)
"I mean LeGarrette Blount is really good and our offensive line is doing a great job."
WR Julian Edelman
(on what it means to get a win against a team of Baltimore's caliber)
"It's always good to get a win against Baltimore. It's a tough team. You know you're going to be playing a 60-minute game. This time of the year the games get harder because there's more to play for so that's kind of what we expected."
(on what the feeling on the sideline was like after the two special teams miscues)
"We were just trying to stay mentally prepared for when we were going to have to get back on [the field.] That's just how the game rolls sometimes and I've been in that situation. Those guys work hard on a weekly basis. Sometimes that just happens so it's unfortunate and we have to get better and have to learn from it. But, it was good to get hit in the face and go out and still get a win."
WR Chris Hogan
(on the touchdown catch)
"Me and Tom are on the same page. It was something where I had the option of going to the corner or the middle of the field and we saw the same thing. Tom made a great throw and I think it was the time and the point in the game where we needed someone to step up and make a big play. I was just happy I was able to do that for this team."
LB Shea McClellin
(on the field goal block)
"It just comes from practicing the last couple of weeks and watching film with Special Teams Coordinator Joe Judge and Bubba [Ray Ventrone], so it just comes from that – preparation and film study."
(on the key to executing the field-goal block)"Just time it up right. That's all you've got to do, time it up right. Fortunately I did, but it's not all me though. The big guys up front Branch and Malcom did a great job of keeping those guys [on the Ravens] down."
