Head Coach Mike Vrabel
(on how it feels to advance)
"It feels great. It feels great to watch the players execute a gameplan that the coaches worked very hard at. All the credit goes to the coaches and, most especially, the players. They're the ones that went out and executed. They were locked in all week. We came here in a hostile and difficult environment and were able to get off to the fast start we talked about."
(on the fourth down stops)
"Huge. To change the line of scrimmage provided great momentum in complementary football. You get three turnovers and four fourth-down stops against an amazing offense with really great players."
(on changing the Ravens' dynamic)
"They were catching people in shock and awe in the first quarter. I thought we did a great job. The players understood the scheme. Some of the keys to trying to stop [Lamar Jackson]. We saw when he was gaining yards. When he gained yards, he was getting them between the hashes and the numbers. When we defended from number to number and made him go laterally, they weren't big plays. And then we were able to get some stops. It could have been a lot better if we were able to get him off the field on some of those third-and-long situations, but we didn't. We played great red zone defense."
(on Derrick Henry's jump pass touchdown)
"[We were] just trying to find the right time to call it. It was very well executed. I thought Corey [Davis] did a fantastic job of going up to get the football. Attacking the football is something that we practiced. You've got to have some plays for when you get down there."
(on how much it helped to get a big lead)
"I mean [Jackson] is just as dangerous when he drops back to throw it as when they designed to read somebody. We knew we weren't going to just completely eliminate a dynamic player, but it certainly helped. I thought we played the situations very good, when we got down in the red zone. Our guys' two-minute drill did a fantastic job on keeping their poise and coming up with some big stops. Dane [Cruikshank] is a guy who is a core special teams player for us — an excellent special teams player. And it was great to see him get a stop down there on fourth down."
(on controlling the Ravens' offense)
"We knew we had to do it with some turnovers and fourth-down stops. That's the only way we can do it — by making [Justin] Tucker kick field goals. [Lamar Jackson] is a fantastic player, and he's going to be amazing for this league. I give [credit to] a lot of players. They were ready to go. The coaches did a great job. [The players] were ready to play, and they executed."
RB Derrick Henry
(on if he spoke to Ravens S Earl Thomas III about tackling him)
"Well, you know, I think that's a part of the game. Some guys like to say something to get their defense fired up, and that's what he was doing, and I just go play."
(on if he had words with Thomas and what the words were)
"I just said, 'It's good to see you, Earl.' That's all I said. 'It's good to see you, man.'"
(on his 66-yard run)
"I feel that the O-line did a great job on the double-team block, and I tried to get behind it. The tight end did a great job coming back on the end, and I got under it, broke a tackle, and then I had to haul it."
QB Ryan Tannehill
(on the importance of getting off to a good start)
"It's huge. We talked about it all week. They've outscored a lot of opponents. … I don't know exactly by how much, but it was a lot to a little. We knew coming in that was going to be a critical point in the game for us … to get out early, score points and move the ball and get some stops. We knew we had to do that, and we did."
(on the touchdown to WR Kalif Raymond and if it was overthrown)
"No, I felt good about it. He did a good job. They rolled late. The safeties stayed back in the middle. He kept it thin away from them, and I had great protection, great blocking, and I was able to step up. He made a great catch. It's not an easy catch when the ball is going straight over your shoulder down field. He made a heck of a play."
(on Henry as a passer)
"As a passer? Well he's 1-for-1 with a touchdown, so that's pretty good, right? That's a play we've had in for a few weeks now and finally got it called. It looked great in practice. We got it called, and it's a touchdown. It was a big play for us, obviously. It was a great throw. Corey [Davis] going up making a contested catch in the back of the end zone was huge."
(on having two playoff games with under 100 passing yards in both games)
"Yes, it's definitely unusual. I can't say I've seen it before, but that's kind of the way the games have played out. Not dropping back much, not throwing the ball much, but we're moving the ball up front on the ground. Derrick [Henry] is doing a great job making big plays. The offensive line is doing a great job moving around on the line of scrimmage, so at this point in the season, it's about doing whatever it takes to win. Whatever it takes to win, that's what we're going to do."
(on why it's important to run the football in the playoffs)
"Dominate the line of scrimmage, control the clock, control the football. Keep your defense off the field. All those factors go into it. Just being a physical team, a physical team that can finish."
(on if he talked to QB Lamar Jackson after the game)
"Briefly, yes. Lamar is a guy I respect. I remember watching him in college at Louisville. He's a special player. He's fast. He's elusive. He can fling it. [This was the] first time I got to see him in person, so he's a special player. He's going to be fun to watch, and I wish him the best."
S Kevin Byard
(on QB Lamar Jackson)
"We understood he was the No. 1 key to this game. He was the heartbeat. He makes everything run. He's an elite athlete. We understood that, but I think we did a great job coming in and playing with poise. He did run a few times. We made him run lateral. Of course, he got a couple good runs because that's the type of player he his. But, to get two or three interceptions, force him to fumble, stop them on fourth down … those were crucial. I'm really proud of our defense playing with a lot of poise today. We did a great job understanding the situations and understanding what they like to do in certain situations. When he did try to run the ball, we stoned-walled him. We talked about the run game edge wall swarm, and we did a great job of that today."
DT Jurrell Casey
(on the win)
"It was definitely a great win. To come in here and play against a dominant offense and a dominant team like that and come out with a victory is definitely great."
(on containing the Ravens' offense)
"The biggest thing was to keep him [Lamar Jackson] from running sideline to sideline. Don't let him get going downhill. When we let one of those plays happen, you saw what he could do. The whole gameplan was to get him going sideline to sideline as much as we could. We knew if we could make him throw the ball, we would win the game."
(on winning the turnover battle)
"That's everything. We forced them into turnovers. That came with stopping the run and making him [Lamar Jackson] throw the ball. Our DBs did a great job of getting tips on the overthrows."
(on his sack and forced fumble)
"It was beautiful. They made a check on the front line. I kind of knew it was a pass coming. I had been beating these guys all day. They tried to bring the running back and chip me, and it actually helped me out. When he chipped me, it bounced me into the inside gap and the tackle had overset. Next thing I know, I was on top of the quarterback. Coach [Mike Vrabel] said, 'We need a turnover,' to make sure we kept the lead, and I was able to execute."
DL Jeffery Simmons
(on the win)
"It is big. It is hard winning on the road, and it's in the playoffs, which is much harder than winning in the regular season. The best teams are in the playoffs. This was a great team we played. Our defensive mindset was to come in, stop the run, stop Lamar Jackson. Overall, as a team, we played great. There are a couple things we have to fix, but it really was a great win."
(on containing the Ravens' offense)
"We just had to be disciplined – not even just playing zone teams or read-option teams. In every game, we need to be disciplined. This game, everybody played disciplined and stayed on their keys."
(on their pregame routine of running to the midfield logo)
"We meet in the middle of the field. We don't change, no matter if we're home or away. When we go out, we lock the gate no matter where we're at and treat it like we're at home. We have another to go. We're not done, yet."
T Taylor Lewan
(on controlling the line of scrimmage)
"They have a great defense. We played the No. 1 defense last week and the No. 2 defense this week. I don't know who we're playing next week, but this is cool. We just have to keep it going, because this is sick."
CB Logan Ryan
(on the play of the defense)
"Shout out to [defensive coordinator] Dean Pees. He's the best defensive coordinator in football. He's one of my favorite coaches I've ever had, and I've been coached by some good coaches. To go into New England and not allow a touchdown and to come into tonight's game and only allow one, it's been impressive. We're a bunch of guys that are not picked to win and probably won't be picked to win next week either. To come in as underdogs and not fear the group you're facing, we had to play a fundamentally sound game and assignment football... Obviously, knowing about the option, Lamar Jackson and stuff. Guys showed up. Adoree' Jackon had four PBU's. 'KB' [Kevin Byard] recorded his sixth interception or maybe seventh. Kenny [Vaccaro] played out of his mind. I'm happy for the group. We're playing at a high level."
S Kenny Vaccaro
(on slowing down QB Lamar Jackson)
"He's a dynamic player. We play as a team. We play together. He might juke one guy, but then there's the next guy and the next guy. It's not going to be just one guy doing it. Our plan was to string him out to the sideline and not let him get downhill where he's spinning and going for 60-plus. He's a dynamic player, and those players are hard to stop."
(on the turnovers)
"Yeah. I got me one. It felt good. I actually saw the same play earlier in the game, and I said, 'I'm going to pick it off next time he does it.' I have a lot of trust in our secondary. 'KB' [Kevin Byard] is a ballhawk. Logan [Ryan] is a ballhawk. I try to get some picks when I can. I smack people, but it's what we have to do. It's a team game."
(on the win)
"It's huge. The Ravens were 14-2. We weren't supposed to be here. Nobody had us to win it. That's why it's huge."
_TE Jonnu Smith _
(on his touchdown catch)
"I just went up and made a play and just tried to establish possession all the way throughout the play. Once I saw I got that left cheek down, I saw them put it up."
