The Texans and Ravens battled on Monday Night Football, and the coaches and players from both teams answered questions from the media. The following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
Houston Texans Head Coach Gary KubiakLT Duane BrownDT Shaun CodySLB Brian CushingTE Owen DanielsRB Arian FosterWR Andre JohnsonCB Glover QuinQB Matt SchaubDE Antonio SmithDE Mario WilliamsRT Eric Winston
* *
Baltimore RavensHead Coach John HarbaughQB Joe FlaccoMLB Ray LewisWR Derrick MasonT Michael OherDE Cory ReddingWR/KR David ReedRB Ray RiceOLB Terrell SuggsRCB Josh Wilson
* *
Houston Texans Coach Gary Kubiak(on what happened the last play and who called it) "I sent them all in. It's the play we ran earlier in the game that we had a pretty good positive gain on. Obviously we didn't this time. But I sent them all in."
(on if this is a low point in his career with Texans) "Every time we lose it's disappointing. Tonight is a low point because it's tonight. In the NFL you work your tail off all week. If you win you feel good, if you get beat you feel bad, so I feel bad right now."
(on what happened tonight) "We played so sloppy in the first half. We really struggled. We dropped balls, struggled getting in and out of the huddle a few times. The same type of hole, no flow. I think we were three and out the first two possessions. I think we ran six plays. Down and out. It didn't look like that against Tennessee a couple weeks ago. That has happened a great deal and we somehow find our way out of something and have our opportunity to win and we don't do it. It has occurred too many times this year and it's disturbing. It's hard to put your finger on. If I could I would change it right now so that we would start faster. In the big picture we had a chance to win the game in overtime and we didn't."
(on defense playing well tonight) "I think our defensive line has been very consistent. Especially from an effort standpoint. (Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Line) Bill (Kollar) get's great effort out of the group on a consistent basis. We were very disappointed last week in how we played on the defensive line. That was addressed and obviously they came back this week and played extremely well. I'm proud of their effort. They gave us a chance, got the ball back for us. We were backed up but at least we got the ball back in our hands. I think we went 95 and 97 (99) yards the two drives before, so let's go do it again, but we weren't able to do that."
(on assessing QB Matt Schaub's whole game) "When you throw it 60 times, which we had to do, we had to find a way to win the second half, you're going to have some good ones and some bad ones. Bottom line is, he got his team in position to win. He basically took that last drive on his own. We couldn't help him. Our headset was down all night long. We struggled getting plays in the huddle. You should never have that problem at home, so we've got to get that fixed. He got his team in position and stayed aggressive. I had him throw the ball back to back on the 10. To me, he was the guy who was going to give us the chance to win the game tonight. I wanted to give him the chance to do that. I put him in a tough position right there and I feel bad about it, but we would not have been in that position, with that opportunity, if it hadn't been for (QB) Matt (Schaub)."
(on Mario Williams' condition with his injury) "I don't really know. I just know he's being bothered. Basically he's been told when he can't go to raise his hand and we'll take him out. (DE) Tim (Jamison) is playing good so we're trying to just be smart. It's going to be a gut check all the way through with him. It's been that way though for eight or nine weeks. It's just didn't start, this kids been playing for us hurt all year long. Give him some credit from that standpoint and we'll be fair with Tim. We'll see where he's at week to week."
(on having trouble with the headset) "They were messed up all night. It's disturbing. I've got to go figure out what the problem was. We had problems with it all night long. When you go on the road you kind of expect it sometimes because you're not in control of it, but it's our stadium. It's our place and it should not happen. It hurt us. It made us use a timeout that didn't end up costing us, on the fourth down play, because we couldn't get the play in. It's something we have to go address tomorrow."
(on how he addressed the team after the game) "I wish I had the perfect words. I always tell people the truth. The truth is, I didn't know what to tell them. We dug ourselves into a whole. Tremendous effort getting out of it. I told (QB) Matt (Schaub) to keep his head up. We wouldn't have been in that position in the end if it had not been for him. I told him that we're playing for our pride these next three weeks, and there's a hell of a lot of pride in that room. We will play well. We will work hard and we will play well."
(on Houston as a city being hungry for a win) "I'm from here, and that's why I came here. I know how hungry this city is to win. That's why I've been here working my tail off so we can do that. We've had a good climb over the past four years and six weeks, but it's been a rough seven weeks if my math is right. We've lost some tough games, but that is the NFL. You keep fighting, you keep your chin up. I tell everybody out there that we're hurting just as bad as they are. We're hurting as bad as they are, but we're fighting our tails off because we want to win just as bad as anyone else. I grew up here, I want to win too."
(on the Texans' record not reflecting talent of the team, on what's missing) "I can just kind of speak from where we were and where we are now. The first thing you want to do with your organization is get it to the point where it can compete every week in games like this. Then, when you learn how to play in games like this, you play in January and win championships. We've worked hard to get ourselves in positions where we play in games like this. We've struggled the last seven weeks to win games like this. You've got to keep going back, you've got to find a way to keep playing in them, and you've got to find a way to get it done."
Houston Texans T Duane Brown(on his reaction to the tough loss) "The second half was some of the best football we played all year. We got back into it, just couldn't quite close the deal. It's a surreal feeling."
(on what was said at halftime) "We just had to get back to what we know. We were hurting ourselves. There was nothing that they were doing that was throwing us off guard. We just had to make plays and also have a better sense of urgency. We came out and just played ball."
(on the recurring slow starts) "You can't start slow out here and we knew that. We had to crawl and fight our way back into it. When you get into games like that it's tough to come out of it."
Houston Texans DT Shaun Cody(on how he feels about the team starting slowly) "I don't know how to put my finger on it. I wish I could. I wish our guys started fast. I think that's the message Coach (Gary) Kubiak gives every week. We never did it as a team. We never punched them in the mouth on defense or moved the ball on offense early. I showed. We always have to battle back and make these tremendous runs. It wears on you. It's tough to bounce back from twenty-one points. You have to be in the game sooner to get our offense a chance to run the ball. We have to play good enough defense.
(on whether he was embarrassed by the loss) "I think the biggest emotion is hurt. To lose like that again hurts. Definitely I know frustration set in. It's a bad world to be in right now. Hopefully, we can bounce back and play with some pride for the rest of these games.
Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing(on how he feels after the loss) "It seems like it has kind of been the theme this season to be completely honest with you. We just never found a way to finish all year. It's frustrating. It's heartbreaking every week week-in and week-out. I don't really have much to say right now."
(on the team starting slow and coming back) "I wish we could put one together a full game. It's just really disappointing with how we have just let those games get away. I was pretty sure we had this one."
(on what was said at halftime) "It really was nothing crazy. It was mostly simple. We just have to play better football than we have been doing. We had to be more physical at the point of attack. We just didn't play well in the first half and it was simple stuff. The team responded and got back where we needed to be. We played a second half of full football."
* *
Houston Texans TE Owen Daniels(on his reaction to the loss) "You can lose game but we the way we lose game in the last seconds of the game it's tough to swallow. We did all we could to fight back in that game. We put ourselves into position to win and they made the play."
(on his first game back from injury) "It felt really good to play football and be out there. There were some missed opportunities. I got bailed out a couple times but it felt good to be back out there with the guys and contributing however I could."
(on his drops during the game) "There is no excuse. I don't really make excuses. I think it was just a case of being so wide open that I wanted to run with it before I had it. I had the one part down getting open versus man coverage. I'm glad I got that back into me. I just have to be able to catch it. I can tip it to myself and catch it but I can't catch it when I'm wide open."
Houston Texans RB Arian Foster(on how he felt emotionally about the game) "That was about as up and down as you can get. We came back with two 90-yard drives. That's hard to do on a defense like that. We had a lot of momentum. The defense got a stop and we gave it away."
(on why the game was so up and down) "I've never really been a part of a team like that. But this is our team. I don't really have one (an explanation). We always found a way to get back in it. We fight, so that is a plus."
(on if there was a different emotional tone the second half) "A lot of times the defense gets real lackadaisical and we take advantage of what they do. They play real off and we'll hit them with a draw. They play up and we hit them deep."
(on how he feels about the team not making the playoffs with tonight's loss) "You play the game to win. You play it to try to win championships, and if we're not in contention for a championship, it's tough. I'm going to go to work. I signed up for 16 games so that's what I'll play."
(on what Head Coach Gary Kubiak said after the game) "He said he doesn't have anything to say to us to make us feel better. It was a tough loss for everybody. It puts us out of playoff contention. He asked us to keep fighting for him and I'm going to do that."
(on if he feels the team has let Head Coach Gary Kubiak down) "Obviously. It gets to me because he is the best coach that I've ever had as a player. I try hard. I go hard for him. I try to win for him. I try to make as little mistakes as possible. I try to get everything I can out of every play. I try to be a reflection for everything he stands for and what he does. It's real disappointing."
Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson(on the emotional highs and lows after the two-point conversion was made) "We were down in the first half and come back in the second half, fight our way to get back in the game and tie the game up. Emotions were running high and everyone's excited. The defense makes them punt. I didn't even see the play. When I looked back, I saw the guy running the other way with the ball. I don't know what happened exactly, but to go from everyone being so excited to something like that happening, you really don't have words for it. You really don't know what to say. That's pretty much it."
(on how tired is he going through another disappointing season in his career) "It's frustrating. The only thing you can do is keep working. One thing I know about this team, no matter how down we are or what we're going through. We are going to continue fight and fight our butts off. Somehow or someway, we just got to find a way to win those fights."
(on what he would like to see as for as changes in the coaching staff in the offseason) "I'd rather not talk about that right now. I don't make those decisions. Those decisions are made upstairs and the person that makes those decisions, I'm pretty sure they'll do what's best for the organization."
Houston Texans CB Glover Quin(on his thoughts about the game) "It's kind of how our season has been. I really can't put it into words."
(on how he felt he performed against Baltimore WR Anquan Boldin) "I knew what kind of game this was going to be. He tries to play physical and I try to do the same thing. I knew going into the game it was going to be tough. I got a little chippy there for a minute, but that's football. He made plays and I did too."
(on his break up of a pass on a third-and-two being the defensive play of the game) "I don't think it was the defensive play of the game, but it was a big play. We had a bunch of plays that could have been the defensive play of the game. A few plays before that he (WR Anquan Boldin) had a comeback route, and he got up and said a few words. We said a few words to each other. The next play was a run play and he came off and tried to hit me, but I knew it was coming. It was a nice little scuffle. Third down was actually a big play in the game. We got caught up in the heat of the moment. It was just football."
(on if he felt he had a good understanding of Baltimore's offensive scheme on the play) "We were in man-to-man coverage and it was third-and-two so nine times out of 10, they're going to run something short to the sticks. He (WR Anquan Boldin) came off and broke out, but I knew they weren't going to try and double move on third-and-two so I kind of played it back. I saw the ball and made a play."
* *
Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub(on what Coach Kubiak told him after the game) "He really hadn't talked to me. He addressed the team and we'll talk tomorrow."
(on the key to the comeback) "Just the players making plays. We had things set up where our guys were just making plays. The last stuff we were doing was off schedule, just moving around. Guys were running their routes and then getting open and finding their holes. It's a good defense we were facing in there."
(on maintaining his composure when they were down 28-7) "It's the only way you can play. As a quarterback, you have to maintain your poise whether it's good or bad. You have to go to the next play, have a short-term memory and just keep playing. We have guys that can make plays no matter what. There's a couple here and there but in the end they made the plays."
(on the last play of the game) "I didn't make a play. As a quarterback at this level, when you have an opportunity to take your team down to win the game, you have to do it."
(on the pride in their locker room) "At the beginning of the year, we had a different plan of how this season was going to go and it wasn't exactly this. We are a resilient group; we've shown that throughout the year, throughout games, especially tonight. We are going to fight tooth and nail in each of these last three games no matter what, regardless of the situation or what lies ahead."
(on the same play as the last one that went on earlier but was successful) "They just had a different coverage than they ran the first time. I hit (WR) Kevin (Walter) for about 12 yards on it and they ran a different coverage this time and got a little pressure. I was trying to give (WR) Jacoby (Jones) a chance to make a play and get his hands on the ball and I just led him too much."
(on the team struggling with the headsets) "It can be an issue. Unless you get it solved quickly and we did but there were some times that it cuts in and out and you just have to go with the play that you have on your head and just go with it. It was more in the first half. There were a couple of times in the second half but you get bits and pieces of it and then as a quarterback, you just piece it together with the right formation."
(on how he is dealing with this loss) "It's tough. It's right up there especially on this stage in December, Monday night at home. Our backs are against the wall. You fight back from 21 points down in the second half and get a two-point conversion inside a minute and then have it end the way it did. It's right up there with every single loss."
(on whether he is concerned about a possible coaching change) "We're not thinking about any of that. We're not even anywhere close to that. Right now, we're just going to go in and find a way to beat Tennessee this week."
(on why they have to make comebacks) "I have no real good explanation for that. That's been asked before. We just play the game and however it unfolds."
(on how their confidence during the second half) "We had to drive the length of the field twice in the fourth quarter and make plays. We had guys open. We got it down there and got it done and then in overtime we didn't do it. It's a tough defense to drive the length of the field once in a game, let alone twice in the fourth quarter. As an offense, we're able to do that because we have some weapons out there on the field."
(on whether this is the low point for him as a Texan) "Yes, because it's our most recent game and we didn't win. It's one of the reasons we didn't get it done. Yes, it's a low point right now but we're not going to shy away from the next game from the next situation. We're going to go out and we're going to meet it head on."
(on his leadership role now) "Yes, no matter what, as a quarterback of the team, you're always looked at as a leader and you have to assume that role in good times and in bad. Now is a good a time as ever to assume that role."
Houston Texans DE Antonio Smith(on what is his feeling after the loss) "My feeling is that I just don't know what the plan is. I had so much faith in winning this game. Even to the end when we were down 21 points, I just knew that once we hunker down and get together we could comeback in this game. Once we did come back, I felt like we had it won. I think that's how we took the field in overtime and in the fourth quarter. I think that's probably the best we played against a good team in the fourth quarter as a defense. To have it happen like it did happen, I don't know what to think. Somewhere, God has a plan. I just don't know what it is."
(on the nature of the close losses during this season) "It's hard to fathom and it hurts more than anything. Especially in a rollercoaster game, first you're down and then you're going up and thinking you're on top of the world. Then to get shot back down. To tell the truth, I actually been through a lot of them. The story of the Cardinals team the year before they took it to the Super Bowl, but I said the same thing about this team last year; it just feels like you're right on the verge. Thos winning teams always seem to come out on top of games like this. We just got find a way for that favor to be upon us."
(on what does he say to the fans) "It's hard to say the right thing and the positive thing because you that they're hurting too. They put so much belief in us, but for us to hold strong and believe. We need for them to still be in our corner. I don't think it'll do us no good for fans to go in the tank and for us to go in the tank. That's not the football team you want to be. You have to start all the way over and trying to learn to be a positive winning team the next year. Stick behind us, is the only thing that I can say. I know it's hard and we going to have to hunker down and play our best ball even when doesn't mean we are going to the playoffs."
* *
Houston Texans DE Mario Williams(on how encouraged he was with the defensive performance tonight) "We were out there flying around, especially in the second half. That's way it's supposed to be like. We're supposed to be making plays and getting after it and playing sound football."
(on if he suffered a setback during the game due to his sports hernia injury) "It is what it is. It's definitely something that is continuing in agony. It's a lot of pain, but you're just out there trying to give it all you can to help us to get in position to win."
(on how severe was his pain from the sports hernia) "It just hurts. It's a lot of pain and a lot of soreness. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. It's just something that I'm faced with and I just try to work it through."
Houston Texans T Eric Winston(on his reaction to the loss) "It's been that kind of year. We fight and I'm proud of the way we fight. We never give up and always keep playing. It's just real disappointing."
(on his reaction to always having to come back from big deficits) "I can't give you any explanations. They are a good defense so it's going to be hard to put up points sometimes. I think that we see things that we don't see on film. So halftime is a good adjustment period for coverages they are playing to (WR) Andre (Johnson) or fronts they are playing because of our zone scheme. I'm not saying that was the issue. I thought we picked up a little steam toward the end of the second quarter and we carried it through halftime. Obviously, we came out and had a good second half."
(on what Head Coach Gary Kubiak said to them on the sideline) " He said it was time to go. We were out of sync. We were giving up some pressures. We were dropping some passes. I think he was just enforcing the fact that everyone needed to get their head out of their butt and start playing. I think once we did that we were fine."
Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh(opening statement) "I just want to congratulate our team first of all, on finding a way to win a tough football game. I want to credit the Houston Texans for a tremendous effort. That football team is a very good football team. Their defense played extremely well I thought, and that's something they've been struggling with and they stepped it up today. Their offense, like always was advertising. When you put that offense back on the field as often as we did, it's going to be tough to stop and they made some plays. We were battling but their playmakers made some plays. First half offensively, field position, (CB/RS) Chris Carr's interception, all those things combined to put us in a good position. I thought our offense capitalized. We even had one drop early on that would have given us another touchdown. Then (WR Derrick) Mason came back and gave us two great catches. (QB) Joe (Flacco) stepped up and made some great throws. Defense and special teams set us up with some good field position. (WR) David Reed's kickoff return to start the half was huge. It gave us a little bit of cushion which we ended up needing every single bit of it. I thought our defense fought but we got a little worn out at the end. We couldn't get there with pressure. You've got those big receivers making plays, a couple fourth down plays that were tremendous plays with tight coverage. Of course (CB) Josh Wilson, hero of the game. Made a play, in a critical situation, on the road, in overtime, in December, in a playoff hump. I think that's the critical thing. We've got nine wins now. We move forward from here. We've got the world champs coming in and it's a short week so it's going to be tough."
(on how concerned he was about the second half collapse) "Concerned is probably a good word. They were closing the gap. I was concerned that they were going to tie it up and they did."
(on his thought about having to punt the ball in overtime) "First of all I think (P) Sam's (Koch) punt was a huge part of that game. I don't know how far it was but it was a huge punt, and it made a difference in the coverage. When you punt the ball that deep and you've got (WR) Jacoby Jones back there, the way he runs, to cover the ball the way we did, our special teams were fantastic the whole night. I was concerned because we were tired more than anything. I thought it was really important that we won the toss. The play of the game might have been the toss. Our defense had been out there so much in the second half and we were tired. They were probably in a position to take advantage of that because their defense was fresh. That makes a big difference in overtime.
(on if playing tight games helps them) "I think finding a way to win in overtime is big for us. We haven't done that at times. This football team has lost a lot of close games by some crazy situations, and now you're down here playing Monday night football, they had the red deal going on, and this place is electric. We quieted it down for a while, but then obviously it was amped up again for the second half. Don't think it's easy to go on the road. We've been in eight straight Monday night games on the road here in the last three years. One of these days, we're going to get one at home. Hopefully. Our guys overcame a tough situation and they found a way to win and in December that's really what matters. Do we have things we are worried about? Do we have things we need to work on? Absolutely. At this point in time in the season, you've got to find a way to win."
(on if he felt the need to change the way they were playing when up 28-7) "We didn't really want to pressure with a 28-7 lead too much in the second half with their receivers, and give them a big play with a one on one coverage situation. It's not something that we felt was smart. Make them go the distance. They converted a couple fourth downs. I thought they did a nice job and those were in tight coverage. When we did bring pressure, we did a nice job of picking it up. They made some tough throws and catches against one-on-one coverage."
(on if he was surprised by the decision to pass on third and two) "We had a conversation about that and (Offensive Coordinator) Cam (Cameron) felt strongly. I wanted a first down there. It wasn't so much about the clock. It was about getting the first down and our offensive coaches felt that that was the play. You know what, we had a chance and we just didn't get it done. You know you can run and get stuff too. We need to convert. Offensively we need to stay on the field and convert and all that stuff."
(on his opinion on flaws in pass protection) "There were some spread issues. We missed a sight one time, we missed a high another time. We probably got beat one on one a couple times. That's a concern. We've talked about the pass protection before and it goes for everybody. It's the offensive lines, it's the tight ends, it's the running backs, it the receivers, and it's the quarterback. Whatever we need to do to get that cleared up we have to do and we're capable of doing that."
Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco(on the difference between the first and second halves) "We didn't have many possessions in the second half, but when we did we didn't extend those drives and really make anything of them. We tried to, we were moving the ball pretty well, but we just didn't convert them on the third down. We just didn't have many possessions and that's the key. You've got to make sure you do a good job of converting first downs and putting as many points on the board as you can and we didn't."
(on if he thinks it natural to loosen up after scoring three touchdowns) "No I don't think so. We were trying to put points up every time we were out on the field. Like I said, we had three possessions in the second half and we said to each other every time, 'Hey, let's go put this game away.' We felt like if we put points, we wanted a touchdown, but any kind of points on the board there we really would have solidified the game."
(on if he thinks the momentum dropped in the second half) "You try not to think of that, but at the very end when they get a two-point conversion, that's when you know we've got to get ready to play here. We didn't want it to come to that, but it did. Like I said, we had confidence that it wasn't going to, but it did."
(on if he feels more relief than joy) "Probably a little bit, but we've got a lot of joy. When you see (CB) Josh (Wilson) pick that ball off and go in the end zone. It was a huge play. You don't like to have these kinds of games when you're up like that. Sometimes they're necessary, but when you're up by the amount of points we were you don't want to have this kind of game. To be able to win that after almost giving it up is pretty big for us right now."
(on if he is ready to have a game that doesn't come down to the fourth quarter) "Yeah, when you are up like that, we don't want the game to have to come down to the fourth quarter. We'd like to play good football for three and a half quarters and let our offensive line win a game for us at the end. It just hasn't happened. It didn't happen today. We'll work on that, but as long as we're winning football games, we'll be happy. We're going to work on things to get better. We're a 9-4 football team right now and we're feeling pretty good about ourselves."
(on if he was surprised about the decision to pass) "I don't know. Like (Head Coach) John (Harbaugh) said, the most important thing there is to get the first down. You've got to make the call that you feel is best to get the first down. I think he wanted the first down and we called the play that we thought would get us the best shot at that."
Baltimore Ravens MLB Ray Lewis(on reaction to a win against the Houston Texans) "Reaction? You want to go to the tales of two tapes? Last week we almost shut a team out and lost. Sick. This week, we win. This is the thing I'm trying to preach to these guys: There's a journey that you have to be willing to go on. Last week everyone wanted to talk about stats and if somebody did this or somebody did that. I talked about it all week coming in here. This is a talented team. They're going to play us with everything they've got. Whether we jump out on the lead or not, they're going to give us everything they've got. We knew that. So when you jump on someone, the only thing you can do is put them away. If you don't put them away in the National Football League, we've seen comebacks from the beginning of time. For us to come in here in a hostile environment, for us to go home with nine victories and four losses, you can't ask for nothing else. Defensively, in December, this is how you win football games. I'm out there on the field telling guys 'We're going to make the play. You just have to be willing to keep playing it out.' That's the beauty of the journey. You're going to have ups, you're going to have downs but at the end of the day if you can end up with more W's than losses you've got a great opportunity."
(on Baltimore Ravens CB Josh Wilson's game ending interception for a touchdown) "It's just one play. It's just one play. You go back last week and look at Pittsburgh's play. The whole game they're losing and (Pittsburgh Steelers S Troy) Polamalu makes one play that changes everything. That's the same thing that happened today but we made the play and it's what good defenses do no matter what. They may bend but when it's time they make a play and today that's what happened."
(on how big Baltimore Ravens CB Josh Wilson's play was for the season) "There's always plays that define where you go. I believe that play ultimately defines where we're going. If we lose to the Houston Texans today, that puts us in that dog fight of not losing no more the games the rest of the year because there are teams under us fighting but for us to get that win the way we got it, in the fashion we got it, if you're not happy then something's wrong. If you've been in the business as long as I've been in the business, you know wins are hard to come by. The [Houston Texans] are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt and for us to come in and do what we did, I take my hat off to my team."
(on if he's frustrated after letting the Houston Texans back in the game) "What frustration is there after a win? We want to keep bringing up all of this old stuff. Last week we played a hell of a game defensively and almost shut them out and guess what y'all said? 'Oh the Ravens blow one.' We didn't blow it today. We win. That's the beauty and that's what we've got to grab and hold on to. I keep telling these guys I've been on the number one defense and all of this stuff. I don't care about stats. Keep giving me W's and let's see what we do in the playoffs. We made the play and that plane ride is going to be pretty good. Last week whether we made many plays or not, we didn't finish it. This week we finished it. You look at our locker room right now and you look at the Houston Texans' (locker room). That's a pissed off locker room. Deservingly so but we felt that last week. We didn't have that this time. We closed it out this time and anytime you close out anybody on the road, you better celebrate yourself because no one else will."
(on playing the New Orleans Saints next week) "We know that's the defending champs. We'll be waiting on them. It's football. When the ref blows the whistle, guess what, a new game starts. 60 minutes. It's going to be one of those shootouts next weekend and I think we're up for it."
* *
Baltimore Ravens WR Derrick Mason(opening statement) "I'm disappointed especially after I was critical of myself as well as the offense last week. I have to be held accountable and I'm the first one to admit that. I was more pissed off at myself than anyone else was and that was throughout the whole game. Even after the second touchdown, I was still pissed off. That was one that I let get away and I owe that to the whole team as well as the organization to catch that. Stuff like that cannot happen and I'm not used to it. I just have to be able to concentrate more and come up with the pass. That's all on me and I take full responsibility of it especially after I was so critical last week of the offense and myself. I just got to go out there and make plays."
(on Texans making the game difficult by tying it up) "I went bleep. It was just a matter of time. Our defense did a great job the first half of stopping them. If you look at their games, they've been scoring a lot of points on some very good teams and you might hold them down for a while, but they still find a way to score some points. We knew it was just a matter of time. The defense played well, but when you're playing an offense like that they're going to make some plays. You've got to be able to withstand the punch and take the game at the end and that's what we did with (RCB) Josh Wilson's interception. We backed him up with a great punt from (P) Sam Koch. We put some pressure on them and he threw it right to (WR) Josh Wilson and it ended the game."
(on last week's lost to Pittsburgh Steelers) "We've put that behind us; we really did. We're not thinking about what happened last week and we knew we had to win a football game. If we dwelled on last week, I can guarantee you that we probably would not have come out of this game victorious. We're very good at putting things behind us wither we win or lose and moving forward to the last game. It just worked for us in the first half that we came out and we scored some quick points. Right after half time, (KR) David Reed hit the big kickoff return, which was great for us. I don't think it had anything to do with last week. There was no residual effect from the lost. We just knew we had to come out and play good football."
(on thought process in overtime) "If we get the ball we're going to score. That was my thought and I knew that was everyone else's thought. We came down and we were not successful at moving the ball. We hit two passes and it wasn't enough to get the first down. I think (P) Sam Koch did a great job at pinning them and the defense held up their end of the bargain in overtime. Regardless of what happened in regulation, as long as we get the win in overtime that's all that matters. Stuff like this is going to happen in the NFL. There's plenty of games that have gone to overtime this year and we're just one of them. I think we've had two now. Luckily we've pulled out this one."
(on being satisfied with today's game) "You're never satisfied. You always want to get better. We're in a pursuit of perfection right now and we know it's hard to attain. Along the way you catch excellence. We're in a pursuit of perfection and as the game goes we know we're going to catch excellence in some way. That's the way it is. We're going to keep on fighting and keep on leaning on one another. Coach is going to lean on us and we're going to lean on him. We're going to continue to fight for these last three games and see where we end up in January and hopefully we'll end up in the post season."
* *
Baltimore Ravens T Michael Oher(on his team pulling out a victory) "It's about getting the job done. This is what it all boils down to at the end of the day. It's about us all going out the and making it happen."
(on how he feels about the outcome of the game) "Every win is a great win. It's so hard to get wins in this league and I understand that, being in my second year."
(on how he is able to keep himself positive even when he is not playing his best, knowing where he came from) "You never wanna go back down that road. Me, I don't have to go back there. I'm doing something I love to do and it keeps me motivated."
Baltimore Ravens DE Cory Redding(on the significance of leading the team out before the game) "It was awesome, just to lead my peers in battle, especially going back home and playing in front of my friends and family. Everybody who was watching me since I was a little snot-nosed kid in Houston. It was great to have that support and to go out there and lead my guys. To go out there and fight the way we did, it was awesome."
(on what he did to get back in the game following his injury) "Whatever it takes. I've been on the other side of the ball. I haven't had successful seasons. To have the season we're having now, I give everything I got to get out there and lay it on the line for my teammates. I'm playing to give it all for my teammates because I know the type of guys we have on this team, the type of character and the type of fight. I just want to be a part of it any way I can. I have to be smart, but I'm going to play until the wheels fall off."
(on winning the overtime coin toss) "I called tails. I called tails at the beginning of the game and we lost it. But I said tails never fails so we have to come back with it. I called tails again and we got it so it was awesome."
Baltimore Ravens KR/WR David Reed(on the last 30 yards of his kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter) "I was just anxious. I really didn't think about anything. I just ran into the end zone and tried to do a little dive and that was it."
(on who the first man to him was and what the reception was like) "(OLB) Prescott Burgess and everybody just greeted me. It was love. I loved it. I felt part of the team, big time."
Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice(on how he feels about the win) "You know, it's tough sledding. When you got them beat like that, you want to put them away. This is the NFL. Monday night games always seem to go down to the wire."
(on how he thinks this win will set them up for the rest of the season) "We are just trying to stack wins from here on out."
(on how his faith has made him who he is on the field right now) "I just want to go out there and make the plays. That I made out there and try to prove that I belong at this level. First off, you have to have faith in yourself. Then you take it from there."
(on them winning a close game) "One thing I know is that we have been battling through adversity all year. We've always had these tough games all year and it's great to see us squeak it out."
(on if he had a loss on his mind when the game went to overtime) "We got the ball back; we have to finish. It shows the growth of our team to get a win."
(on if he felt the Texans made the right adjustments) "When you have a team beat, you have to put them away. It just so happened that our defense had to do it today. I'm sure our defense is hot. We can't force the issue. We have to just go out there and continue to play. A win is a win. You have to take them how you get them. They played their defense. They played good defense."
Baltimore Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs(on the win against the Houston Texans) "A win's a win. The story the whole season is you have to put teams away. If you want a chance to win championships, you have to put teams away. We made one play and it was the play that made the game. Sometimes that's not going to be good enough but a win's a win. Move on, we got to nine and we have to try to get 10 next week."
(on making playoff push) "It's huge. You win out and you pretty much write your own ticket. We definitely have to win out. You can't take anything away from the Houston Texans. They fought a champion's fight, rallied back and it came down to one play and we made it. We have to get this ball rolling, the momentum rolling so we can get to the playoffs."
(on the lack of blitzes in the second half) "I say let's win the game. I believe we can win the game no matter what play is called. I just line up and play and get after it."
* *
Baltimore Ravens RCB Josh Wilson(on being successful against Texans offense and Super Bowl appearance) "It's all about winning. It's all we care about. At the end of the day, it is if we win or if we lose. It doesn't matter what the score is, it's as long as we keep winning. If we win out, we're the Super Bowl champs."
(on interception in overtime) "I still can't believe that really happened. It was man to man and it turned in to a little bit of a scramble. I ran out and in the scramble he was running in, then he pivoted back out and the quarterback (Matt Schaub) threw it inside. I said this can't be happening. I was thinking catch the ball, catch the ball, catch the ball and game over."
(on confidence in today's game) "It's the NFL, every team has great players. When talking about the offense, you've got a Pro-Bowl quarterback (Matt Schaub) and (WR) Andre Johnson, one of the best if not the best receiver. You've got (WR) Jacoby Jones and (WR) Kevin Walter. They've got a great running back that is having a Pro-Bowl season. You've got a lot of weapons over there and you've got to understand that. Eventually they are going to start hitting some of these things and you've got to be able to get more points than them at the end of the day."
(on being shocked about the Texans coming back) "For us, we really wanted to stop them but they are capable. They have a dynamic offense and they care capable of putting up points and getting yards. Unfortunately, that's what happened at the end of the game, but I don't really care. We won."
(on Ravens offense slowing down) "We were out there for a little while. Sometimes the offense is going to lean on you and sometimes we're going to lean on the offense. It was both ways in the first half. We leaned on them in the second half, they leaned on us. At the end of the day, you just got to do enough."
(on ending game with an interception and a win) "Welcome to the NFL."
