RAVENS HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening thoughts:
"The Seahawks are a good football team. The environment here was amazing. I thought the crowd was incredible. It was so loud. You could see how it affected us. I have to give all the credit to Lamar and the whole offense. We did not have a lot of pre-snap penalties. We had a couple of issues with the snap. The noise was incredible.
On top of that we had a bunch of Ravens fans here...It was a great day for the Ravens and the Ravens fans here…For those people to come out all the way out here…It says so much for our fan base and Ravens nation, for Baltimore and what Baltimore is all about. And what the Ravens mean to them and what they mean to us. So thank you very much to all our fans."
Talk about going for it on 4*th* and 2:
"He (Lamar) came over. I could see it on his face, he was really upset. To get all those yards back like he did. I was pretty much going to go for it on 4th and 1. But 4th and 2, 4th and 3 it felt those points would be valuable to take it to a two score game and are pretty valuable…
But could see it in his face. I said "You want to go for it." He said "Yea I want to go for it, let's get it…So I went down and called timeout. It was just a great play. I want to say one last thing about that. Greg Roman obviously did a great job with our offense. All of our coaches on both sides did a great job. Our defense had two scores. Greg Roman had been fighting for that play. He thought that play would be there. It was nice little motion to get Dexter back at the point of attack at a good angle. It was a really well designed play. I told the guys make sure you know that Lamar on the inside. And he goes only in a critical situation, only when we need it the most. So there you go, it was a critical situation."
Was Lamar as demonstrative as you have seen him today:
"I think it shows he is just genuine. This guy is just a competitor. He is a competitor of the Nth degree. I don't know how to describe how competitive Lamar Jackson is. He wants to win at everything, all the time and we feed off that. He carries that and that's who we are as a team. That's why he fits us so well. And it showed today, you saw that fire."
Talk about your new defense players:
"Those guys are just good selections and good football choices by our personnel department led by Eric. We were really stabilized by Josh Bynes and by L.J. Fort. They know how to play. They know how to play the position. And they had us calmed down. So that was big for us…The coaches have done a great job. Our coaches are great teachers. I think the system is built really well. Wink (Martindale) does a great job of including everybody and bringing them all into it and give them all chances to shine."
Thoughts on Marcus Peters today:
"We'll see how it works out. I loved him when he came out. The thing about Marcus Peters that I appreciate is that his dad is a coach. I feel like I can get that, I can understand him a little bit. I don't see all the stuff that people talk about. I've never seen it. I haven't seen it since he has been here. So we'll take him as he comes. He is a great addition and is just what we need. He is a hard worker and you know, what a play."
Thoughts on Earl Thomas and the sign by a fan saying 'the Ravens are big and slow and so is Earl':
"I did (see the sign). I might have said something to the guy. I can't exactly remember what it was. I guess we proved that guy wrong and so did Earl. Earl had a great game. And it meant a lot to Earl. Earl did not have much to say. He just wanted to go do. He played great, no big plays, nothing over the top. Earl and Chuck (Clark) both were there patrolling the back end, and had couple of critical tackles. Sometimes you forget about the safety when he is doing his job so well. And with that quarterback Russell Wilson who is an outstanding player and those wide receivers who make plays, Earl played a really disciplined football game. That was great to see."
QB LAMAR JACKSON
On the fourth down touchdown and the decision to go for it:
"I told him we need to go for it. I told him we need to go for it because we didn't score. We moved the ball down the field in the first quarter twice and kicked field goals. I'm like, 'this time we aren't kicking no field goal because Russell Wilson is getting the ball again and if we didn't score, it might look ugly."
On what it meant for him to have an input in that decision and the trust to go for it:
"Nothing, really. He's been having confidence in me the whole season so I just told Harbaugh 'we need to go for it' and he has faith that I'm going to get it."
On the delay of game penalty that they took and if he went into another level emotionally at that point:
"I did. Like I said, we can't kill ourselves. When we kill ourselves it's my job to make us right. I had to do it."
On the long drive in the fourth quarter and what was working for them as they tried to ice the game:
"Offensive line did a great job. They were pushing those guys, getting our running backs great running lanes to hit. Our guys did a great job when we dropped back to pass. When I'm not getting the look I wanted, I just have to make guys miss and do what I do."
On if it was special to get a win with Earl Thomas in mind:
"Heck yeah. I told him, I said, 'we going to win for you'. I told him 'I know you been here for years, this was your original home and we got your back. I'm going to put you on my back, put the team on my back if I got to and we are going to win."
On if he felt like the fourth down conversion pumped the team up and allowed them to take control:
"It did. It gave our defense more confidence to stop those guys. It gave our offensive line great confidence. It just gave our whole team confidence - even the coaches were pumped up. So, we just have to do that week in and week out. We can't be stopped I feel if we just play our game."
On what he is seeing down the field on passing downs and how he feels he is evolving as a passer:
"It's just film study. It's just watching a lot of film and it helps me out… Defenses approach me different, so I just have to play off of them and I just take advantage of them."
S EARL THOMAS
On how emotional of a day this was for him:
"Today was big, man. My teammates been telling me all week they had my back, and it felt good for them guys to show up how they did today. It felt so good to get that win, to come here against an MVP-type quarterback, and the defense played the way we played today, man, we're on the right track."
On how he felt when he took the field:
"I felt focused. That was my main goal—just come in here and feel focused. I had my juice right. Just ready to communicate and fit in anywhere I could."
On what it means to him knowing teammates said they wanted to win this game for him:
"That means everything. That means everything. To come here . . . the guys just fight so hard. Lamar Jackson—I can't say enough about that cat, bro. When we needed him he came through, with his legs and his arm."
On what goes through his mind when he sees his coach send the offense back on the field on fourth down:
"Everybody on the sideline was like, 'Go for it.' You just felt it. Like, we wasn't scared. Just go for it. We did the same thing against KC. It just didn't pay off for us then. We came through."
On if he had something to say to the Seattle bench after the turnovers:
"You know I'm going to say something. I definitely said a little, what I had to say. It was between me and him. It felt great, man, just to see Marcus run down the sideline, then Marlon scooped that big fumble recovery for a score. That's a good way to close the game."
On what it's like to be in the visitors' locker room in this stadium:
"It's not that bad. Other stadiums, their visitors' locker room is trash. But this is still well-kept."
On if he traded jerseys with Russell Wilson at the end of the game:
"Yeah, I had a little trouble getting my shoulder pads off, but yeah, we ended up trading jerseys."
On if he still has a friendship with Wilson:
"Oh, yeah. There's always going to be love. That's my boy."
On if he felt he proved himself today:
"Yeah, along with my teammates. Couldn't have did it without them. But I definitely came in here with a purpose and we got it done."
On if Lamar Jackson should be in the MVP conversation:
"Yes, yes. Any time you come into a hostile environment like this, you're making powerful plays like that, all it does is just energizes the sideline, like that guy is the truth."
On if he noticed signs held by fans:
"I saw a lot of signs. I think Marlon was telling me a fan that had a sign, 'The Ravens are slow and fat like Earl Thomas,' or something like that. It's all good. Like, as long as we got the dub (W), like that sign don't got nothing to do with that dub, so it's all good."
On if this was as satisfying a win as he has been a part of:
"Yes, yes. Very satisfying, bro. Just to come here where I started, and to get this win like that, and we dominated, too. It felt really, really, really good."
On how he evaluated his overall reception:
"It was a mixture, like I thought. Some people are stuck in their ways, they want to boo. Other people was happy to see me. They had love signs, 'We miss you, Earl,' and stuff like this. So it was cool."
On if it was weird to walk into this locker room:
"It wasn't weird, man. When I got off the bus I saw the cameras, like following me off the bus, I thought, 'Oh, it's Go time.' I was just locked in, ready to go."
RB MARK INGRAM II
On coming into a tough environment and beating a good team like Seattle:
"Russell (Wilson) and Seattle – great team, well coached, great players, and we were able to do enough to get the win. Lamar (Jackson) put the team on his back scrambling when it's third and long, third and short. Staying in bounds, leaning on the ankle – I don't know how he do it – but man, he's a beast. I feel like he's going to be the greatest one day."
On the defensive effort and how they helped to get the offense going:
"That's Ravens football right there. We always had a stable of being strong defensively and they came out and held their offense to limited success. They made their plays but they were able to stand up and bow up when it was time to. Two defensive touchdowns – that's huge, man."
On his Peters' interception return for a touchdown:
"Hey man, that's why we got him, that's why we got him! That's why we got him – to make plays like that. He has a knack for getting the ball, a knack for getting in the end zone. Shout out to our GM for getting him, because that paid dividends today in getting this victory."
On their passing game today and how it affected their offense in the whole:
"Yeah, it was difficult. We know that they cause pressure with their front. It was a little wet and rainy. And, we have to establish the run, so once we established the run I think that will help our passing game out and be more successful."
On how Earl Thomas' return to Seattle changed their approach to this game:
"Earl is just a grinder. He puts in work, he puts in the preparation and he was really even-keeled all week. Really even-keeled, really calm. Shoot, we told him we had his back. He said he really wanted it, and one day after practice he broke us down and we told him we had his back. We're glad we were able to come through for him."
OLB MATTHEW JUDON
On the defensive line and containing Russell Wilson:
"We were just trying to contain Russell (Wilson) in the pocket as much as possible. He's very good in the pocket and in his escape-ability. So, we just tried to contain him as much as possible and stop the run game, and try to limit the big plays and the chunk plays and I think we did a good job of that."
On if Earl Thomas helped with insights into the Seattle offense in preparation this week:
"Earl didn't tell us nothing (laughs). We studied the film and he let us know about some tendencies and stuff about a couple things they do. But, we studied. We have to study each week and we did a good job of preparation and planning with each other and we came out here and executed."
On Peters' interception return for a touchdown:
"Man, I think that was Russ' first pick of the year. It was a pick-six by Marcus Peters. He came in here late, late last week and he made it happen. That's the type of player he is. He has been getting picks his whole career. That's literally all he does is make plays. When he had that open field and no one was in front of him, he knew exactly what to do with it."
CB MARLON HUMPHREY
On what it meant to get this win with Earl Thomas on their side:
"It definitely meant a lot. All week we kept saying 'Earl, we got you.' The Seahawks moved on from him. I think everyone knew that they felt like he didn't have it anymore. It wasn't like a happy go-away, it was more like 'you don't got it anymore, we don't really want you.' So we felt like it's just a game, but for Earl it a little bit more."
On if he felt like they were more aggressive or physical on the corners today:
"We definitely were a little more aggressive, especially in the first half. Caught some zeros, all-out blitzes a little bit. We felt like Russell Wilson is just so good in the pocket that you send one extra guy really isn't enough. We felt like you have to send a lot more, give it a lot of different looks."
On if he things that a win like this will bring more deserved attention to Lamar Jackson:
"Probably not. People just don't really want to give Lamar the respect he deserves. What I saw today, I felt like , you know football is a game of aggression, a lot of emotions. We had a little snap count infraction with our center and when I saw Lamar I felt like it was something different that came out of Lamar. He get's the first down, gets up pumped – that's the quarterback I really like to see… We are looking you. At the end of the day you're snapping the ball, it's going in your hands every play, so when I saw that I got pumped. He gave me a little boost there and it was good."
On the play of S Chuck Clark:
"I told Chuck Clark that if he keeps making pass breakups he's going to a corner (laughs). I don't know how many PBU's he had but I think some of that was from early in the week with Tony Jefferson and DeShon (Elliott) going out, is there a little bit of panic? I told him since we came into rookie mini-camp, like the second day I was struggling with the playbook and Chuck, he knew the playbook like the back of his hand. He's in those books. Coach was asking me questions at rookie mini-camp that I didn't know the answer and I'm hearing a little something in the back from Chuck and he's giving me the answers. I had no panic in Chuck at all."
CB MARCUS PETERS
On what he saw on his interception:
They ran the concept that they usually run with Tyler [Lockett] as the two. I took some steps and I thought he was going to throw it and I was going to play that ball too. I just came back and made a play. I think he kind of threw it too late.
On if he knew he had it when it was in the air:
Yeah I kind of felt like he was too late and I was just trying to plaster it. When I first got here, we were in the red zone and I just wasn't plastering it. I think it was because I was so excited to try and make some plays in practice. I just plastered back to my man.
On if he had seen that play two weeks ago:
I think the whole NFL has seen it.
On if he could've scripted this any better:
No I just try to live life as it comes. I try not to complain and just work hard and keep moving forward. I'm not here to complain, I'm here to do my job and be an excellent teammate.
On what it was like to watch Lamar Jackson play:
Oh my gosh. Let's not even get to that. Unbelievable. The guy is a play maker and the guy is a tremendous leader. He's only going to get better, it's only going to get better.
On how it works out for him now that he's here:
I'm just here to do my part. My part is whatever they tell me to do. If they tell me to go run into a wall, then I'll go run into a wall. I'm not here to complain about anything, I'm just going to keep doing my job and move forward.
