Head Coach Sean Payton
(opening statement): "Obviously, a hard-fought win. Two really good football teams. I felt, situationally, the game was going to be back and forth. Third-down, red zone area, I thought we did a real good job on the kicking game creating good field position. There were so many different elements to the game that were running through my mind."
(on the missed extra point): "You're talking about one of the top kickers, and I don't think he's ever missed an extra point—ever. So, it's funny sometimes how this game is. It was a significant play."
(on how Drew Brees played): "I thought he played well. I thought the plan going in, he executed it very well. There was a certain element to patience, a certain element to running the ball, time of possession, how we wanted to approach third down. Defensively, I thought we handled third down well. We have to work on our last two minutes of the half and game. There's a lot of things I thought we did well on the road that I was pleased with."
(on being aggressive on fourth down): "There's a plan that you want to take, and it's not with reckless abandon. It's with a confident approach. I felt like, on the fourth down call in the red area, I felt like we had the first down on [Mark] Ingram's third and a yard run. We hadn't obviously, and, in hindsight, I would kick the field goal. My mind was prepared that we had gotten the first down, but we wanted to come in and play that way. We didn't think it would be a high-scoring game and points would be a premium and field position would be more of a premium. We wanted to play as much as we could on their half of the 50 [yard line]."
(on watching Brees from the sideline): "The last game we played, it was so much going into it. Look, it's a significant benchmark. And yet, you're in the middle of the game, so you're not really paying attention to it. I think more importantly it's the final team that he needed to beat in his career. And we hadn't beaten them in the time that we've been here together. John [Harbaugh] has done a great job. That team has been a real salty team and a tough team, and they've been a hard team to beat. But I think he [Brees] would value that as much."
(on John Brown's last touchdown): "It was Cover-2, and we let a guy out of the hole. It was bad football."
QB Drew Brees
(on his 500th career touchdown pass): "Obviously, it's a significant milestone, but I am more focused on winning, and the stats will come. I will forever be grateful to those teams that gave me the chance to play with such good coaches and great teammates. One of the greatest things about the 500th touchdown pass, it was caught by one of my favorite teammates of all time. I couldn't think of a better guy to catch this touchdown than Ben Watson. He is a terrific veteran, and I look up to him."
(on beating the Ravens for the first time): "I am really glad, obviously. We only get to play them every four years or so. But, they've had some tremendous defensive teams in the past. Guys like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Adalius Thomas, Peter Boulware and Haloti Ngata. Those guys are household names in the NFL."
(on the missed extra point): "When they scored, I knew they had one of the greatest kickers of all time on their team. I automatically was thinking about overtime and what we were going to do. I was very, very surprised when he missed. But, I've been on the other side of games like that, when my team loses by a missed extra point. So, it was nice to be on the winning side for a change."
(on facing the Ravens' blitzes): "They had some elaborate blitzes prepared for us. They were ready with some new stuff. We were fortunate to beat the blitz a few times, for positive yards. You know what they say about 'live by the blitz, you can also die by the blitz.'"
TE Benjamin Watson
(on beating the Ravens in Baltimore): "That was a crazy game, but winning on the road, in this hostile environment, is a big win for us. This builds confidence. We respect the Ravens, and we knew this would be a tough game."
(on the missed extra point): "We were excited when he missed that. He is a great, great kicker. When I was playing in Baltimore, I know he won plenty of games for us. We respect him a great deal."
K Wil Lutz
(on winning this game): "It's nice to come back here. The Ravens are the guys that gave me a chance. It's not easy to play here, and this is a huge win for us, and we're on cloud nine."
(on the missed extra point): "Justin is a guy who would never miss an extra point. I will say, the conditions out there were pretty brutal, especially in the first half. I told Sean, I could try anything with the wind at my back, up to 50 yards. But everyone knows, Justin is one of the best kickers of all time, and it was just a tough day at the office for him."
RB Alvin Kamara
(on his touchdown run): "It was a nasty run, and a lot of them were today. The O-line handled its business up front, and I burrowed right behind them and got in there."
(on the Saints' offense vs. the Ravens' defense): "We won, so I really don't care. It is what it is. I think we're the best offense. I don't know about their defense, but they're pretty good."
RB Mark Ingram
(on facing the Ravens' defensive front): "We knew it was going to be dirty. We knew we were going to have some dirty runs. They have a great front. We just stayed with it. We were able to get that going in the fourth quarter, gash them a couple times. We knew it was going to be a dirty game, and we just kept wearing on them, wearing on them. We just moved the ball, maintained our composure, time of possession, converted on third down and made the plays we were supposed to to get the 'W.'"
(on if they were aware that the Ravens hadn't given up a second-half touchdown): "We were aware they were 13-0 when leading at the half. Now they're 13-1. That's a really good team. Good team, good coaching. They don't take anything from anybody. Really good program, and it's a great win for us."
WR Michael Thomas
(on it being a hard-fought game): "We knew what we were up against. We knew their defense was strong. We knew in order for us to win that we had to eliminate the mistakes and execute at a high level and get off to a fast start; all the things coach [Sean Payton] preached to us all week. We did that, we got the victory and that's what happened."
(on his touchdown catch): "Jimmy [Smith] is a great competitor. We were competing all day. I just executed on it; running a great route. Drew had trust in me and I made a play for my teammates."
DE Cameron Jordan
(on the Saints' aggressive play-calling): "The Ravens offense tries to play some bully ball; it's fast paced. The defense is full of bullies, and they're arrogant. It was going to be a hell of a battle, and we were ready for the war."
