Head Coach John Harbaugh
Opening statement:
"OK, good to see everybody. Appreciate you guys being here. Obviously, tough game. Hats off to the Saints for finding a way to win the game today. They did a good job, they played a very good game. I thought our guys fought hard and played a very good game, just came up a little short at the end. So, that's where it stands."
On if he talked to K Justin Tucker about the missed extra point:
"No, I didn't talk to him about that."
On how K Justin Tucker will handle the extra point miss:
"He'll handle it great. Justin is the best – he's the best in the business at what he does. He'll handle it great. He'll be back next week winning games for us; I'm very certain of that."
On what the Saints did offensively in the fourth quarter that gave the team issues:
"They made some plays. I thought the one drive down – the second drive – [Saints QB] Drew Brees made two ridiculous plays that kept that drive alive. That's what it was."
On if he was happy with how the young offensive linemen stepped up:
"Generally, yeah. I thought they did OK. They stepped up and looked like they played well. I look forward to seeing the tape and how it looks. I thought, all-in-all, the guys did a good job."
On if the rookies had a big impact on the game:
"Yes, that was positive. I think our whole rookie class has done a good job. As you said, [Lamar Jackson] had a touchdown, Mark Andrews had a touchdown. Very positive – those guys are doing very well."
On how easy K Justin Tucker makes kicking the ball look, but how challenging it actually is:
"Yeah, I think that's a great point. It's a very difficult thing. A kick like that demonstrates that. It's a tough thing, it's a tough task. That's why I say he's the best in the business. He works very hard. He's won so many games for us in the past. He's our kicker and we love him. You know, it never comes down to one play, ever, in the end. It would have gone into overtime and then plays would have had to have been made. So, I think your point is an excellent point."
On if he thought about going for the two-point conversion:
"You always think about that. Yeah, I thought about it. Decided to put it into overtime."
QB Joe Flacco
On his reaction to the missed extra point attempt:
"Yeah, when you're in the game, you kind of immediately go on to the next thing, 'OK, onside kick, and the possibility of getting back out there and kicking a field goal.' But, it's just one of those things. Everybody thought that was in."
On how proud he was of the players on the final drive:
"Well listen, it would have been great if we weren't in that situation. We did a lot of things well today. I felt like we may have left a little bit out there at times. The second-to-last drive, it would have been nice to do it on that drive. Obviously, they would have gotten the ball back and do whatever they were going to do at that point anyway. It would have been maybe nice to have two chances at it and scored on both of them. It's obviously good to respond in those moments. It's just, at the end of the day, you have to do more at the other times in the game."
On what's the best way to move on from a game like this:
"This is part of football, man. You're going to play tough games. This is a good football team that we played. I think it was kind of our style of play, to be honest with you – there wasn't very many possessions. But, at the same time, it was their style, too, because I'm sure they're a good fourth-quarter team throughout the years. They're used to putting points on the board in the fourth quarter and having to do two-minute drill or whatever that may be. They're used to dealing with that kind of pressure at the end of the game also. You just have to take it for what it is. Really, remember how we feel right now and make sure we nip it in the bud, get it out of our system right now and move onto next week."
On how much of a challenge was the wind:
"It's not like we threw the ball downfield, like, 50 yards. So I really don't think it was too much of a challenge based on what we ended up doing."
On if he watches the extra point attempt after a touchdown and what his reaction was tonight:
"Sometimes I watch, sometimes I don't. I saw this one. You can't really tell from the sideline anyway. Listen, Justin [Tucker] is a great friend of mine. We've all been through football games where it looks like it's … You're the guy that's in the spotlight at the end of the game when it can kind of be determined. You still have to go into overtime and win that game or prevent them from going down and kicking a field goal. A lot of things go through your mind, but I've been there plenty of times. If you play football long enough, you're going to be there at some point. We're a very tight team here, and the first thing you think about is your brother and him dealing with it. Justin's the best in the world at what he does, and he's the most confident person that I know. It's not going to be an issue."
On if he watched the Saints' offensive drives and if he witnessed QB Drew Brees' completion as he was being tackled:
"Yeah, I watched them – I don't appreciate what Drew did. (laughter) Everybody's cursing themselves over there. It's one of those, 'Man, I wish he didn't have that guy right there in front of him.' He kind of double-clutched it, and I don't know how he got it quite as far as he did, but he got it far enough. Then he overcaught that ball and was able to get the next three yards or so. It's one of those plays when, even if he didn't get it, they were probably going to go for it on fourth down anyway. They were going for it on fourth down all day. Drew's been doing it for a long time and he's been making people have neck issues for a while based on what he's been doing. Just watching him out there … I do, I usually watch the other offense on the big screen when I'm done going over the drive. I usually watch the other offense on the big screen, so I was definitely watching today. It's fun to see them. I didn't think they were as aggressive as I thought they would be. They tried to wear us out a little bit. So I kind of thought I had it set up for us, but we weren't able to get the job done."
On how tough it is as a team to bounce back from a loss like this:
"I hope it's not very tough at all. Like I said, I think we've got a really good group. It's one of these games that could've went either way. There's no sense in putting your head down and crying about stuff like this. You just have to move on. There's good lessons in everything. At the end of the year, we can't be looking back and regretting a game getting away because of how we thought about it the week before. You just have to go, ball out, and at the end of the 16 games you have to be able to look back at what you did and be proud of how you reacted to things. I think when you do that, that's how you give yourself the best chance of being in the playoffs. It's not about worrying about what your record is right now and comparing yourself to everybody else right now and where you stand with that. Just keep your head down and keep winning football games, and before you look up – maybe you'll win five in a row and be where you want to be. You can't do that until the very end."
K Justin Tucker
Opening Statement:
"All right, I'll offer this to you guys. Every kicker, every football player, is going to come across a moment, a challenging moment. Every kicker is going to…You play long enough, you're going to have a kick that you want back, and tonight was that night for me. Like Joe [Flacco] said, the only thing you can do is just go to work, and try to make the best out of a bad situation. I appreciate the efforts of my teammates, putting us in a position to extend the game, and unfortunately I wasn't able to put the ball through the uprights. But, more than anything, I just wanted to be here [at the podium]. If I was going to ever teach my son or any young person about accountability, I felt like it was really important that I stand up here and answer whatever questions you guys may have."
On explaining the missed kick:
"I felt like when the ball came off my foot, that I hit it just how I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, today was a challenging day to kick the ball in our stadium, to the right of our bench. The first field goal that we had, I felt like I hit that one well, and that one shook back and forth. The PAT earlier in the game going that way took a hard left, so it was a challenging day to kick in our stadium, but we're here because we make kicks, not only in our stadium, but anywhere we go. And, that's exactly what we're going to do, moving forward. We're just going to keep working out on our practice field, and hopefully turn those kicks there into more made field goals and PATs in games. This one just happened to get away from me. I'll have to look at it. I can't tell you exactly what happened, but at the end of the day, I feel like I cost us the game. Every single one of my teammates thus far has told me the opposite, and no one play wins or loses a game, but that's a tough thing to grapple with when you're the guy in that situation at the end of the game."
On if the kick looked like the kick veered right:
"It did. Like I said, I felt like I hit it well. But, at the end of the day, the ball just didn't go through, and that's all it needs to do to keep the game going."
On if a kick has ever hit him this way before:
"It's hard to say. It's hard to pick any one particular play and think about the feelings that I had associated with it, because, like Joe [Flacco] said just a moment ago, the best players, most confident players, they'll learn from their mistakes, and they'll move forward and do everything they can to correct those mistakes and improve upon their past performance. Yes, this one definitely stings, but at the end of the day, the best thing that I can do to be the best teammate possible is work hard and make the next kick."
On what he will do after the game:
"I'll look at the game like I always do. Nothing will change for me, I'll tell you that. I'll look at the game like I always do, look at the video from it, and do everything I can to compartmentalize what happened this evening and move on from it in a positive way."
On how stunned he felt after the missed kick:
"In the moment I was surprised, I guess, that the ball didn't go through, but you have to let that go as quickly as possible because realistically, there was still a chance, albeit slim that we could get an onside kick and just go win the game. So, I tried as best as I could to just move on quickly. But, I'll let this hurt for another couple of hours, and then I'll do everything I can to move on."
On if the wind factors into his routine:
"Our stadium is a tough place to kick in. That being said, I still should just make kicks, and that's what everyone expects of me here. That's what our fans expect of me. So, throughout the game, we try to gain as clear an understanding of what the conditions are, or what they are going to be for our next kick or our next punt."
On having his teammates with him in the interview room:
"It means the world to me that I have teammates like Morgan [Cox] and Sam [Koch] that are supportive at all times. Not just excellent teammates, but great friends of mine. Having been here in Baltimore for a good amount of time already, I've made some great relationships, and those relationships, the guys in the locker room that have my back, that means the world to me."
OLB Terrell Suggs
On how much he feels for K Justin Tucker:
"We're not feeling sorry for ourselves. We fell one point short. We've got the best kicker in ball, so we're not going to worry about that. We're just going to go back to work. They made more plays than us, and we lost by one point. We're not feeding into anything else other than that. We lost. So, we go back to the drawing board, get over this one quick, learn from your mistakes and get ready for Carolina."
On what he can pinpoint from what New Orleans did on offense tonight:
"They just executed. They executed. They're the No. 1 offense, and they've got one hell of a quarterback. They have a hell of a quarterback. We knew that going in, but like I said, it was going to be a fun game. They made one more play than us. They got the game tonight, and hey, congratulations to them. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. [We're] just going back to work."
On what they did offensively in the second half:
"They were able to keep drives going. They were able to establish their run, that way we didn't get them to concede in the run. Like I said before, they just executed. It's one game. Unfortunately, it was a home loss, but it was an NFC [game] when it comes down to it. We handle our business and hopefully this one won't hurt us. We're disappointed, but we're not feeling sorry for ourselves. We're going to look at the tape Monday, make our corrections, [and] on to Carolina."
S Tony Jefferson
On the Saints:
"Hats off to them. They did a good job coming out and executing. We didn't execute as well as we wanted to. We've got to do better."
On his missed sack on QB Drew Brees:
"Any time that they convert on third down, and you give a guy like that the opportunity to make some plays, it's not good."
On what he was thinking after K Justin Tucker's missed extra point:
"We just need to get the ball back on the onside kick. We've got to get the ball back."
On the emotions of the tough loss:
"We're fine. We just have to go back and watch the film, and correct our mistakes. We have to get ready for Carolina. It's another big game coming up on the road."
QB Lamar Jackson
On keeping the football on his rushing touchdown:
"I was like, 'Man, I'm taking this ball right to the sideline and keeping it.'"
On his level of comfort in the offense:
"I'm just getting the feel of the game more and more each time. They're trying to put me in great situations for my teammates to succeed. That's what it's all about."
On the tough loss:
"We are going to bounce back wonderfully. We're going to watch film and see what they did and see what we did. We'll see what we can work on. There's a lot of things that we can work on, we just have to get back at it and get to it."
On his touchdown:
"That's a play that we were working on all week in practice. It ended up being successful for us. It put my team in a better situation, so that was pretty cool."
On his pass completion:
"Like I said, it's another new play for us. We were working on it all week to make sure we could hit it. I wanted to see if they were going to give us the look to make a big play, or whether I would have to check down. I had to check down, but it was a positive play for us, and we ended up kicking the field goal, so it was pretty good."
On the emotion of his first touchdown:
"It was amazing. I'm in touchdown heaven, or football heaven – whatever you want to call it. I wish that we could have done more."
S Eric Weddle
On the game today:
"Man, what a fun game to be a part of. It was back-and-forth between two really good teams. It came down to the last play. Obviously, you don't win and lose on the last play, but, they made just one more play than we did. It's a really good team on that side; well-coached. They came in here and presented some challenges for us. We answered them and got some stops, we just didn't get enough."
On the battle with QB Drew Brees:
"For a player, like me, that's been around, these are the games that you live for. You try to make it as tough as possible for the opponent. Drew Brees is one of the best ever to play this game. We presented some challenges. We had that string where he had two incredible plays – holy smokes. We had him wrapped up and he dumps it off to Mike [Thomas] – who had an unbelievable game – and the other one he finally got on the sideline. We also had a sack. You have to tip your hat. I think we played well at times; other times, he made incredible plays and got first downs to continue drives. That's what was frustrating at times. We just didn't get off the field. They did some things you knew, but in the flow and in the tempo, and when the bullets are flying, it's just hard to get lined up sometimes. We had a chance, and we just didn't get it done."
On the Saints' final drive:
"What helped us was the guy going out of bounds. We still had a chance. At that point, we just knew we had to get off the field and keep them to a field goal. We knew our offense had a chance – they could go down and score. That was fortunate for us – that he went out of bounds and we could get the ball back."
On overcoming this loss:
"We're fine. This isn't the same Ravens. We're a tight group – we are light years better than we've been in the past. Shoot, 'Tuck' [K Justin Tucker] is going to win us some games. We're not worried about that missed kick. Shoot, I think it's his first extra point ever that he's missed. Let's not get on him too hard. He's going to be hard on himself. That wasn't the only reason we lost. We could have played better defensively and gotten off the field in third-down situations. We could have held them to less points, and obviously, our offense could have played better. It's never one guy, it's a team. We'll bounce back. This is one of the best teams in the league. They made a few more plays than us, but we were right there with them. Listen, we're still building to be the best team that we can at the time that we need it. We're still building throughout the season so that we're firing on all cylinders in November and December, when it's playoff time. We'll learn from this. We'll get back, we'll get coached up and come back to practice hard. Shoot, we have to go to Carolina with a great mindset to go win on the road."
On New Orleans' big fourth quarter:
"Drew [Brees] made some incredible plays. You have to tip your hat to the best ever. He extended some plays – we had him wrapped up – he was just finding a way to make a play. Not many guys can do that in the history of the game. We could have played better defensively at times. We could have executed the plays better and we could have communicated better. But, at times, a guy just makes a great play, or a receiver makes a great catch. I think we could have played better, and if we ever get a chance to meet them again, I think that we will. They made a few more plays than us. We made it hard. But, we made them fight for everything that they got. We could have played better in the low red zone. I think a couple of calls didn't go our way down there. It changed the dynamic of whether it was second- or third-and-5, or now you're first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. That's tough on a defense. You can't give a team like that more chances. They played a great game; it was a fun game to be in. It felt like a playoff game, back and forth. They just made one more play than us."
On the Saints' balanced offense:
"They present a lot of challenges. They bring [QB Taysom Hill] in and you've got to have a plan for that. Sometimes he's not at the quarterback, so you have to have different calls. Then, they're running the ball … Every offense is different. They have a great offense. They came in as the best offense in the league, and I thought we did pretty well. We didn't do good enough, but we gave ourselves a chance to win. We'll look back, we'll get coached up. There will be good plays, bad plays – you always look at yourself first. I could have done better. I wish I would have made that tackle at the end. But hey, I gave it my all and we still got a stop. We just have to go out and play great next week."
On the emotional loss:
"It's not emotional, it's just one of 16 [games]. It hurts because it's at home, but that just means we have to get one on the road. Maybe one that we didn't think we would get. This is a really close group. We don't point fingers. It starts with our head coach. We just didn't play good enough. At times, we played really good and they just made one more play than we did. We just have to come back refreshed, look at ourselves, and have a great plan for Carolina."
CB Brandon Carr
On the game today:
"It was a dog fight, both ways. We knew we were heading into this week into a high-powered offense. We're a pretty good defense, we like to think. We had our work cut out for us, at the end of the day. They made one more play than us. It's tough, but at the same time, Sundays come fast. So, we learn from this game, we reload, regroup … We've got a big game coming up next week, and we can't dwell on this too long. More importantly, we have to learn from it, correct our mistakes, and move forward."
On why the Saints' running game was successful:
"They kept us off balance, and they schemed us up pretty good. There are some plays that we would like to have back out there on the field, but they have a good offense. They know how to move the ball down the field and have success. They found ways to make plays on us today. We'll learn from this."
On how tough it is to bounce back:
"You've got no choice. We're in the middle of the season. We haven't made it to the bye week, so we have to reload and regroup. You can't dwell on these losses, and you can't dwell on your wins. You've got to get ready for the next week. They're a good opponent, a high-powered offense, and they do some good things well. We'll learn from this – 24 hours to get over it and back to work on Tuesday."
WR John Brown
On the last drive:
"We practice that a lot. But you know, we tip our hats off to the Saints. They played really good, and we've just got to move on."
On his late TD:
"I just made a move, and the dude kind of just gave me a push and turned his head, and [QB] Joe Flacco made a great throw."
On how hard it is to bounce back from a loss like this:
"You know, I can't really say too much. We've just got to focus on the new week that's coming."
On K Justin Tucker's PAT miss at the end:
"I thought it was going overtime, but you know, things happen. I've never seen him miss a kick [like that]. He'll bounce back next week. We're still proud of him as a team."
On how meaningful it was for him to be so productive today:
"It was good just to be able to make the plays. The opportunity came to me. That's just all the players on the offensive side; we all made plays when we got the opportunity. I'd rather get the win. You can take all those yards back, the touchdown back. I'd rather get the win."
TE Mark Andrews
On the emotions of a game like this:
"We won three quarters. There's a lot of emotion that goes into that. We did a lot of good things; [there's] some things we can work on. Hard to beat a team like that, and you just got to win that fourth quarter."
On his TD catch:
"[QB] Joe [Flacco] put a good ball on me, good play call, just able to use my big body and then push into the end zone."
On the thoughts about what Saints QB Drew Brees can do:
"He's a 'G.O.A.T.' But our defense is so talented all around. They did a good job. They did a great job to hold them to what they did, and again, unfortunately, we came up short. But credit to them. He did a great job, obviously one of the best ever."
On Saints QB Taysom Hill and how much he did:
"It's impressive. I've never seen a guy like that in the NFL that's able to do so much. They love him over there. Kind of cool to see a guy like that, because they don't come around very often."
On how tough it is to bounce back from this loss:
"It's tough. You can look at it both ways. You can look at all the positives we had, and then work off that, and that's the way that I think we're going to go. Stay positive because this team is so close, so close to being great – and we're going to get there."
On K Justin Tucker's missed PAT:
"He's so automatic all the time. He's done so much for this team. Obviously didn't expect that. He's been a huge playmaker for us all year. We can't put him in that type of situation because we've got to win that game outright – that's a tough one."
G/T Marshal Yanda
On the offense today:
"Just came up short, didn't get it done. We just didn't make the plays at the end there to keep the lead. We had a 10-point lead. No excuses. They made the plays when they needed to and we didn't."
On how the line played despite the injuries:
"There's no excuses. I mean, next man up, this is the NFL. There's no excuses that are going to be made. You know, the guys step up and you play and the production level is still expected. We expect the guys to go in and play well. This is the NFL and injuries happen. We fought our tails off, and we just came up short."
On how hard it will be for K Justin Tucker to rebound:
"I mean, I'll just say we've got all the confidence in the world in Justin. We're not even worried about it. It is what it is. It happened. I can tell you right now that I have 100 percent confidence in Justin. He's our guy, and he's made a ton of kicks for us, and I'm not worried [one] bit about [him]."
On how the team will bounce back:
"On to next week. You've got to make the corrections and improve and learn from the tape and keep rolling."
RT Orlando Brown Jr.
On how he feels after this:
"At the end of the day, I feel good. That's just the reality of it and just how I was raised. No man, no moves scare me. I'm just going to continue to worry about myself and grind."
On he and LG Bradley Bozeman making their first-career starts:
"It says a lot, but obviously we didn't do enough to win. We're worried about us and getting better but also winning. I don't know how well [Bozeman] played. We'll have to see the film."
On how he felt on the field:
"I felt pretty good. I felt pretty good. As far as the gap of really getting 60 minutes with someone. It's been awhile. It felt good to go out there and [do that]."
On his first time playing 60 minutes in a while, did that affect things in the fourth quarter:
"Not at all, not at all. Just finishing. That's all it's about. You work hard with [Head Strength & Conditioning coach] Steve [Saunders] every day in the weight room and making sure we're [ready]."
WR Michael Crabtree
On what the Saints were doing to the offense in the first half:
"We didn't have too many opportunities in the first, so we came out in the second half and tried to make the most out of what we had."
On if he's ever experienced a loss that ended like this with K Justin Tucker missing the PAT:
"I probably have, but it happens. He's a pro; that's Tucker. Same thing I went through two weeks ago. The same thing, man. That boy's a pro. So I'm [not] worried about 'Tuck.'"
On how tough it is for a team to rebound from a loss like this:
"You've just got to go to work, get back to the drawing board, see what you can do better. We've got a road game next week, so it's going to be big for us."
On how encouraged he was by the way the offense played:
"It's hard work. Every day at practice, we're running. Whether it's a spread offense, whether we're running the ball, whether we're throwing, it doesn't matter. We held our own today. We came up short today. We didn't finish, and that's what happened."
CB Jimmy Smith
On if today was frustrating for him:
"I'm definitely frustrated. I had penalties on me. I just didn't play my game today, and I felt frustrated because I felt like I'm the one who lost that game at the end."
On having to play more with CB Marlon Humphrey out of the game:
"I'm going to be 100 percent out there and ready to go every week. There's no excuses, no 'my Achilles,' none of that. Just time to play ball."
On the long pass play on him early in the game:
"I was clueing two receivers and [No.] 13 was by himself. I saw him, and I saw Drew's [Brees] look, so I took off, and then he spotted that guy. I took back off, but…"
On the blitz play early in the game:
"My first time ever… I should have… I saw him, and I missed him."
On if he saw the Saints' player on the play in the end zone:
"No, I didn't see him. I didn't see him, and the referee told me he didn't see a foul. Not the one that called the other one, but they called that. I don't know about that one."
On him talking to the officials a couple of times:
"Oh, it was about that play to clarify. I'm guarding him, and they have a designed rub-route, and I run that way on accident and hit him, is that a penalty on me? That kept the drive alive, and they end up scoring the next play. A couple penalties that I had kept drives alive, so I was really frustrated, and that one really frustrated me. I didn't think I was in the wrong, but clearly I was."
On holding their offense to seven points through three quarters and not being able to sustain:
"That's a good team. Hats off to them. They came prepared, they had checks when we had checks. But, honestly, we just didn't play the game that we should have played on defense, and I'm accountable for a lot of that, I feel like. But we'll go back next week, and we've got a good team on the road. So, we've got our hands full, and we've got to get that win."
G/C Bradley Bozeman
On his first NFL start:
"It was awesome. Unfortunately, James [Hurst] was going through some stuff, but to get the start was really good for me tonight. Got a lot of experience tonight and really got to go in there and go with [C] Matt [Skura] and [LT] Ronnie [Stanley] and all of those great guys. They really help me out, and whenever I was slacking, they picked me up."
On if he had any nerves going into the game:
"Not really. I was just ready to play. I was excited to get out there, excited to show what I can do. We've been preparing since May pretty much, so just to get out there and be able to show what you can do is a great experience."
On how frustrating the calf injury was today:
"It was definitely frustrating, getting my first start and then that happened. But it is what it is. It's part of football. I came back in and did what I could do, and whenever I couldn't go, Hroniss [Grasu] went, and he came in and did a great job, too. So, hats off to him, because he was popping in and out, left and right. At the end of the day, it's part of football."
On if he finished the game:
"Yes, I did."
