Head Coach Marvin Lewis
Opening statement: "As we settled down on defense and began to play leverage, we did a much better job of attacking [Lamar Jackson]. [Jackson] runs a little differently and basically makes it 11-on-11 football. We just had to understand that and run for leverage and get him on the ground. A couple of throws he may have completed, we came out of coverage on, and he got the throw that set up the field goal before halftime. And then, later in the third quarter, they kept it going. That was just something we had to understand and do better."
On why they weren't able to control Jackson: "It's hard for me to say right now. I have to look at the tape. We just had to make sure we stayed sound in the gaps and so forth. A couple of times we had the first guy there and made the tackle. But when we started to run the leverage with him and not wait for him, then we got him on the ground. We can't wait. We have to run and go take the leverage with him and get his legs down. It's option football, and everybody has to stay sound in their responsibilities all the way through. That's what matters. But, he has a big run on the quarterback draw. Probably the biggest run all day. We just had to get guys understanding the change at quarterback."
On facing a quarterback making his first start: "It's more the schematics of it and the guys understanding the difference is it ends up being 11-on-11 football. We have one guy where, generally, you have an extra guy. Today, it's one-on-one football, and, if you're supposed to keep leverage inside/outside, you've got keep leverage and get it done. That's the difference with a running quarterback. That's why the quarterbacks don't run forever in the NFL. Sooner or later, they get hurt, and they don't run the same. But, today, he could run, and he did a good job. We weren't able to get him stopped enough. We stopped him some on third downs, which was good."
QB Andy Dalton
On whether he thought they were going to score on the final drive: "No question. I thought we were going to go down and score, just we like we have in other games this season. We were close. We didn't get it done, but everyone had a feeling we were going to get a late score."
On how much they missed A.J. Green: "That's a huge part of it. With A.J. [Green] out there, I'm sure the pass coverage would have been different. He has made so many big catches over the years. If we had him, we would have given ourselves a better shot."
On the Ravens' defensive focus: "They did a really good job of shutting down the run game. That's the way they've always played. They focused on stopping the run, and we couldn't get anything going. I'm getting used to all of the new receivers. That's just football. Guys get hurt, and new guys take their places. You just have to trust everyone to make a play. John [Ross] made a great catch in the end zone on that one-on-one play. I saw him do that in a lot of his college tapes, and it was great to see him do that today."
LB Vontaze Burfict
On facing Jackson: "It's like facing two different offenses. With Joe Flacco, he just stands back there and isn't very mobile but he throws the ball hard. This guy [QB Lamar Jackson] is very unpredictable."
On how Jackson did: "He's a really good runner. He's very quick and he likes to run the ball. He really surprised us when he ran a draw on third-and-10. I don't know how well he throws the ball but I guess we'll find out."
LB Vincent Rey
On what it was like facing Jackson: "It was very different. He is not Joe Flacco and we didn't know what to expect. Most of us saw him play in college. He's a good quarterback and reads plays well. He's very tough and has great quickness. He hit on some things that we weren't expecting. He made a play on a quarterback draw on third-and-long and we weren't expecting that."
On Ravens running back Gus Edwards: "Some of our guys may have been surprised by him, but I know all about him. He's a tough guy, he's got good size and he runs hard. I saw him play when he was at Rutgers and I know he has the ability to be a good back."
CB Dre Kirkpatrick
On facing a Ravens offense with a different philosophy: "It was totally different, a running quarterback who is a dual threat, pass and run. It makes you play smart. You don't know whether he's rolling or not, if the receivers are going to block you, or try to allow you in. So, it was a guessing game for the most part on things like that. I feel like we did a good job. We stopped them on third-downs and fourth-downs. For this team, that's what we've struggled with. For us to do that is a good sign."
LB Hardy Nickerson
On preparing for facing multiple Ravens quarterbacks: "We had as good a week of practice as we've had all year. Guys were on it. We were kind of up in the air until yesterday on whether [Joe] Flacco was going to play. We had a plan based on that and one with changing coverages. Before the game, we knew it was going to be Lamar [Jackson]. They had a lot of running with him being a feature back."
On facing a different Ravens offense: "The last time we played them, the run game was heavy, big fullbacks, lead, all of that. This game was more like a college offense with speed options, RPOs, things like that."
S Shawn Williams
On Cincinnati's defensive performance: "I thought we came out in the first half and played slow. As a team, we kind of picked it up in the second half. We came out slow, because we didn't really know what to expect. But once we calmed down and the more we played, we got comfortable in what we were seeing and we just started playing more physical and relaxed."
WR Tyler Boyd
On the similarity to last year's game in Baltimore: "I knew that, and we knew that we wouldn't be put in the same position for that play. I knew I would get coverage over my way. It's hard because we always make it work. We just have to find a way."
