On the lateral attempt: “[It was] really just a bad decision on my part. [It] shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t know if it was actually a lateral, but it was just a bad decision.”
On the false start penalty where he thought the Patriots jumped offsides: “It was just one of those situations where the guy across from me, I felt like he was far enough over that I felt I could point at.”
On the change of quarterbacks from Lamar Jackson to Tyler Huntley: “It’s tough. Obviously, we love having eight [Lamar Jackson], but Snoop [Tyler Huntley] played his butt off. I feel like really all around, everyone fought their butts off. But it was just the little things, and it wasn’t enough.”
On how they’re processing this tough loss: “Like you said, it’s a tough loss. For us, it’s just about taking care of what we can take care of. Every single one of us – we just didn’t do a good enough job today. I think we had some control of this game, but we just didn’t finish.”
On the conversations when QB Tyler Huntley came in the game: “We have confidence in all of our quarterbacks, so we believed in ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley], because he knows the gameplan. He studied it. He practiced, so we believe in him.”
On his fumble on the last drive: “I tried to make a play. I [saw the defender] overrunning it, so I cut back, tried to get up field, get a first [down], but somebody behind punched it out.”
On if he thought the offense was in a groove with QB Tyler Huntley: “I feel like we were in a groove the whole game. [We had] a few mistakes here and there [that] slowed us down.”
On the team’s playoff chances not being in their control: “We just have to play ball now, finish out the season.”
On head coach John Harbaugh’s message after the game: “Basically what I just said; finish out the season strong. Play our ball.”
On how challenging it would be to win the next two games if QB Lamar Jackson is out with an injury: “It’d be a challenge. You’re talking about losing a guy [Lamar Jackson] who’s a multi-time MVP and one of the best in the league. I have said this before, but I have the utmost confidence in ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley] and ‘Coop’ [Cooper Rush]. We beat a Bears team with ‘Snoop’ at the helm, and you can see what kind of team they are now. So, we’re capable of doing it no matter who’s out there. But, obviously, [we would] love to have [No.] 8 out there, but whoever is out there, we’re confident in them.”
On if he feels like this game was a microcosm of the team’s struggles with turnovers and defensive stops late in the game: “Yes, it’s been a theme for the past couple years, honestly. It’s frustrating at this point to keep having the same conversations with you guys, and I’m sure it’s frustrating on your end to keep asking these questions. It’s redundant, and [there are] no excuses at this point. You said we had six losses at home. Is that right? Yes, that’s terrible. Our fans, whoever’s supporting us coming out to these games – it’s not like the attendance has dropped off at all – there’s people still out at these games on a Sunday night. It’s cold outside, the stadium’s packed out, people have work tomorrow, and we’re not making it worth their while at the end of the day. So, that’s on us to right that wrong. But, yes, we still have a chance to get in the dance. So, we have to assess the opportunities we have going forward and do what we can to get in said dance.”
On why New England Patriots QB Drake Maye was able to create successful drives late in the game: “It’s a different game being played kind of when you’re down like that. As an offense, they hadn’t been able to run the ball at all. It’s been kind of a theme for us as a defense these past few weeks, and in the latter half of the season, I think we’ve been a pretty stout run defense. So, teams become one-dimensional and that dimension of defending a pass is – there’s so much, obviously, very talented and have talented dudes on the outside. [The] ‘OC’ [offensive coordinator] calls a good game, but [there are] so many different things they can do throughout a passing attack. [They can] check the ball down for four yards; that’s a positive run if you just run the ball. [They could] get a seven-yard gain on second-and-9, that was third-and-2, and pretty much the whole playbook’s open in plus territory. You’re defending a lot more grass when it becomes a one-dimensional game like that, but now it also gives us opportunities to get the ball off [Drake Maye], pick the ball off and sack the quarterback – and shout out Ar’Darius [Washington]. He got a sack and fumble tonight. It’s a double-edged sword at the end of the day, but we just have to finish games.”
On if there was any miscommunications on defense on the last New England touchdown of the game: “I actually don’t know. I’d have to watch the film to see exactly what happened. I think we were just communicating how we would normally, talking about who’s got what and pre-snap [communication]. But, obviously, something went wrong. So, I’ll just look at that on film.”
On if S Ar’Darius Washington not being able to break up the Patriots’ fourth-down conversion late in the game was a pivotal moment: “Probably, the pivotal play was a touchdown, but I mean, there’s a lot of pivotal plays. I think there were a few third downs on that drive. I don’t know. The whole drive was just, it felt like we were just taking on water, taking on water, and then finally the dam broke. That’s nobody in specific’s fault that I can think of right now. It’s just [that we] have to play better defense. But, yes, Ar’Darius is just trying to make a play. He’s a playmaker. It’s just him being a football player.”
On what he was going through, physically, during the game: “[It was an] ankle; [it was] good enough to play. It’s Week 16 – everybody has something, so I’m not alone in that category. I think just the fact that it happened later in the week was probably a little bit more of a hurdle, but I’m alive.”
On what it was like to see QB Lamar Jackson have a successful start to the game and then go down with an injury: “It’s a physical game. Obviously, [Lamar Jackson] is going to put his body on the line for us, and he has done so ever since I’ve been here, and ever since he’s been here. You don’t get all the rushing accolades that he’s had without taking some hits, and he’s taken some hits for this organization and for some wins. We all appreciate that, because he plays to the best of his abilities and to the highest extent that he can play. He just plays really hard, and it sucks to see that happen to somebody like that. Injuries [are] part of the game. Again, ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley] went in there; I thought he did a great job. It was kind of a seamless transition from that point. I think it’s rare around the league that a backup quarterback comes in and can run the offense that well.”
On if he was surprised to not be in the game on their second to last drive: “No. We’ve been doing a rotation for I don’t know how many weeks. Keaton [Mitchell] has been doing a great job in the run game, and we are both in there doing the best we can. We have a lot of good players, so everybody has to get their touches and get opportunities, and Keaton is deserving of it. It didn’t work out that way, but [we have] another opportunity to look forward next week. This one definitely hurts. Like I said, at home again, [and we] come up short. It just wasn’t good enough today.”
If that’s a situation where he would like the ball: “Any player would just like to be able to have the ball in their hands and make plays for the team just to give ourselves a chance to go win. I think any player would have that same response, if you’re a competitor, and you love the game – and I definitely love the game – but this didn’t go our way tonight. And they were the better team, and that’s where they won. But like I said, we have two more games to look forward to. Hopefully the football Gods bless us, but that is just to see on another day and see how that plays out, but just looking forward to the next game, and I’m looking to be the best player I can to help us win the next game.”
On how rotation decisions within the running backs group are made during games: “It’s just something that we’ve been doing the last couple of weeks, and it’s been a good flow. [Keaton Mitchell] goes a series, and then I’ll go a series. I don’t think this would be a big deal if we had won the game. There wouldn’t be any questions about it, but I understand that when you lose, everybody’s going to want to know or try to analyze every situation. But this is something we’ve been doing. We did it last week, and everything was fine, and we won.”
On his first fumble in the first half: “Yes, it’s just really embarrassing. I feel like some of that momentum that we had in that drive – I feel like we would have scored, and that would have given us seven [points] – so I took seven points away. And I feel like I took a little bit of momentum from the team and the defense, and they went on a long drive and scored, and it’s just been disappointing. Kind of like this whole year, you kind of work hard to be the best player you can [be], be consistent and have the most success, and sometimes it doesn’t go that way, which is upsetting. But like I said, I’m going to keep working and try to do my best for this team. But yes, this year has kind of been frustrating; not as a team, but like for me, for me as far as my play and just the mistakes, it costs the team.”
On seeing QB Lamar Jackson battle through injuries: “You never want to see the QB, the leader of the team and the best player on the team go down like that. We want [Lamar Jackson] out there. We want him to be healthy, and we want him out there so we can have the best chance to win. It’s a game of injuries, and stuff [like] that happens. But Lamar, he’s a competitor, and he’s a fighter, so I know he wanted to be out there, but circumstances didn’t go that way today. Hopefully we can get him back this upcoming week.”
On his expectations for this season after signing his extension: “I think that’s self-explanatory. I think you know the expectations. We’re not really trying to have expectations; we just want to put the work in and then let our work show. Last year was a fun year, and [we] did some great things. We came up short. And this year, we just had some unfortunate circumstances, and things that haven’t swung our way. We have had some adversity, and it just hasn’t been good enough, honestly, as a whole. I think everybody on the team would say that we just haven’t been good enough, and like I said, we have two games left, and we can end it the way we want to end it. But yes, it just hasn’t been good enough. It’s as simple as that.”
On where the team is at with two games remaining and not being able to control its destiny: “Right now, this sucks that we lost, but we’ll dwell on this for a little bit, and then we have to look forward to Green Bay because we have a quick turnaround playing on Saturday going over there. And I look forward to playing. We play this game because we love it. So, I’m sure everybody’s going to want to come back and be ready to go, and we’ll prepare the right way and see if we can go out there and win the game.”
On what his emotions are after tonight’s loss: “It sucks. [There are] not a lot of words [to say]. It sucks. [When] you are up like that on the team, you want to be able to finish them, and we didn’t. So, it hurts.”
On what his thoughts are on their playoff chances now being out of their control: “When we were 1-5, we knew that we were still a good team, and that we had a chance. We just had to correct some things, and we did that. We went on a little run, but obviously this is the NFL. You have to bring it every week. You go up against teams like the Patriots, who are well-coached and execute. You have to execute better and make more plays than them.”
On what he would say to WR Zay Flowers after tonight’s game: “Zay [Flowers]’s been through a lot of adversity throughout his life. So, I always tell him, ‘Man, this is a game at the end of the day. So, just know that you’ve overcame a lot in life, and just use this as motivation.'”
On how he thinks the offense responded after QB Lamar Jackson exited the game with an injury: “We went out and made some plays. Obviously, we didn’t do enough as an offense to finish, but we still thought we had a chance. ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley] has played a lot of ball. He’s played a lot for this organization, so I think everybody believes in Snoop when he gets in.”
On if there is anything that this team can learn in order to execute better: “I’m a player, not a coach. So, I go out and do what’s called on me to do. I don’t complain. I really don’t ask too many questions. So, that question is something I really can’t answer, but guys just have to do their job.”
On the emotions of the game finishing the way it did: “We didn’t want to give up a touchdown. So yes, it wasn’t good.”
On the mentality of the defense when QB Lamar Jackson went down with an injury: “I don’t know if anything changed. I figured he wasn’t coming back, but nothing was really said. At least I didn’t hear anything said about a quarterback change. Obviously, Lamar [Jackson] is a great player, but nothing really changed for our mindset.”
On what the Patriots’ offense was able to do in the fourth quarter: “Honestly, I gave up an explosive [play]. They were able to get explosive throws and explosive passes. Giving up the deep ball has been an inconsistency of mine this year I would say. But yes, explosive plays are kind of what they had done all year. I think they were the No. 1 passing team in the league. And it seemed like we had them bottled up pretty decent throughout the game, but then in the fourth quarter, we had some lapses. Drake Maye made some great throws, and they were able to kind of come back.”
On the message to the team these last few games: “To be honest, I have no idea what just got said. I’m still processing everything, so I can’t really answer that.”
On if he was surprised that RB Derrick Henry wasn’t in the game on the last two drives: “It’s so hard to just really pay attention to who all is in until you get in the huddle, and then you get the play call. Then, you just try to put all of that together. But, it’s so hard to keep up with who comes in and who comes out. We just get a personnel [signal] and the play call over the helmet. So, that’s how I call it in. So, it’s so hard to even [know].”
On what was going right and wrong offensively: “Everything that we did, and had success – that was going right. After that, we just fell a little short and just couldn’t just turn it over in the last little bit or what we needed [was] to make the plays that we needed to make.”
On how he would describe QB Lamar Jackson’s mood after he was ruled out with an injury: “[Lamar Jackson] was bummed. Once I saw him on the sideline after a drive or two, he was bummed and couldn’t barely move. You hate to see him like that, but I know he is going to be ready to get back out there when he is ready, and we are going to do everything to get him right.”
On if he had optimism that QB Lamar Jackson would return to the game or if he was just focused on executing plays: “No, I was just focused on the task at hand of trying to get us to score and just get it rolling.”
On how it feels now that their playoff chances are not in their control anymore: “I don’t know how you would – shoot – we have two games that we have set in stone that we have to go out and play in. That’s all we can focus on. I don’t know how else to answer that one.”
On what the communication on the sideline was like with QB Lamar Jackson: “Well, I would just tell [Lamar Jackson] what I saw, and then [he would say] what he saw. We just talked a little ball, and I just asked him a couple times how he was feeling, and that’s it.”
On how frustrating it is to lose a game like this: “It’s very frustrating. I think just the talent we have and not being able to translate that onto the field is frustrating. But we have an opportunity with two more games left to finish how we want. Although it’s out of our control whether we’re in the playoffs, all we can do is go out there and play our two best football games to finish off the year.”
On how the offense responded to the quarterback change: “Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley]’s a dog. We can definitely win football games with Snoop. We’ve got to do our job as an O-line to block for him [and] run the football. We just have to look at the tape and see how we did ultimately as a team. But this one stinks. It’s definitely frustrating. At the end of the day, you’re up 10 points in the fourth quarter, and we have to find ways to win those games.”
On what was working to allow RB Derrick Henry to have a big game: “We have the best running back in the game. If we can’t move the ball with him, then we’re in trouble. He’s a fun back to play for. He plays the game the right way: physical [and] hard-nosed. He’s the guy you want to have back there running the football.”
On if he was surprised that RB Derrick Henry wasn’t in there the last two drives: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who’s in there. We have to just go out there and find ways to win football games.”
On the vibe of the team going into Green Bay on a short week: “[We] just lost a tough one. This one’s obviously going to sting. Now we’ve got to turn around and find a way to beat the Packers in a tough place to play.”
On his thoughts on how the game ended for the defense: “I think it’s very simple: We didn’t play winning football. I think that’s what it is when it comes down to the clutch moments. We didn’t play winning football. We all have to do our 1-of-11 – including myself – play-in and play-out.”
On his message to the locker room as a leader of the team: “You just have to control what you can control, and that’s just how you go about things as a man and as a football player. So, I think it’s just that simple and it’s just going to be a reflection of who you are, day-in and day-out. When adversity hits, how do you respond? So, I think that was the main message.”
On what the New England Patriots were able to do to make a comeback in the fourth quarter: “I think it’s simple: They made plays and we didn’t play winning football. We didn’t do our 1-of-11. Each and every one of us, play-in and play-out. That’s what didn’t happen. So, when that doesn’t happen, you don’t win in these types of games.”
On if he felt like there was a momentum shift in the fourth quarter: “I just take it one play at a time. That’s all I focus on, and that’s all you can focus on. Flush it. If something bad happens, flush it and move onto the next play. So, that’s what it is.”
On if there was anything on defense that changed after QB Lamar Jackson came out of the game: “No, not at all. That’s the offensive side of the ball, and I play defense. I’m all the about defense and what we do, and we didn’t do a good enough job to get the job done. And yes, prayers for Lamar [Jackson], whatever’s going on – I’m not even sure – but he’s a warrior, so I know he’ll do whatever it takes [to get back].”
On his emotions at the end of the game: “We just didn’t do enough to close out the game. Having an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter [and losing], that’s just not what we wanted to do. That’s not Ravens football, and we know that, and I look at myself first for that fourth-down play. That’s a play I should have made, so I’m not looking at anybody else but me.”
On what the defense could have done better in the fourth quarter: “Really just make plays. They were able to drive it down on us twice, long drives with big plays. We’ve got to stop that, and we know that.”
On his personal journey back from the injury: “It was a great accomplishment to come back early, but it really doesn’t mean anything after a loss like this. [It’s] so tough to go day in and day out and work so hard to get back and then have this disappointment. We know the season is not over, but we know it’s going to be tough. We’ll just pick back up, get back to work and hope for the best.”
