Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOHN FOX
On the season ending too soon “Yeah, I think you always feel that way. Unless you’re hoisting that Lombardi Trophy at the end, yeah it is disappointing. So is that game, this game, next week’s game, that has been my experience. We had plenty of opportunies in this game. We just came up short. I think turnovers led to 17 points. I think that was pretty key and critical and has been all season and will be moving forward. I told our guys they battled, they fought a very experienced, tough team. To come here on the road, credit goes to Baltimore. I thought they did a superb job with some adversity and fighting back. You know we did too, but we just came up short.”
On being able to bring the kicker on the field to practice “You know, I think during timeouts, I don’t know, I don’t think there is any new rule that disallows them. But I don’t think that was the difference in the game.”
On his decision to down the ball with 30 seconds left in regulation “You know, again, if you don’t win you get criticized on everything. So, that is par for the course. Thinking was with 30 seconds it is hard to go the length of the field and some bad stuff can happen as you saw at the end of the game with thirty seconds.”
On his thoughts on QB Peyton Manning’s interception in overtime “You know, he was trying to make a play. Again, I’m not going to be critical. There are a lot of different plays in that game that were costly. That was one of many. You know, I’m sure he would like to have it back. But that is not what cost us the game.”
On it being a tough day to gain momentum “Yeah, I think only to the very end, almost the end of regulation to be up seven, it is a pretty good situation to be in. We just came up short. I think right before half, that was a real turning point. We had a chance to go up 10, and didn’t hit a field goal very well. They got the ball back and had a big play. I think big plays were a big part of this game. They are a big reason why they were able to put up some of those scores, with explosive passes.”
On WR Jacoby Jones’ touchdown “We just misplayed the ball. It wasn’t a miscommunication where the guy could have made a play. They made the play instead.”
On defensive adjustments in the secondary “I think we made some adjustments. They ended up going to somebody else. It was WR Jacoby [Jones]. Early on [WR] Torrey Smith was problematic, it wasn’t new. They usually exploited that to our left, or their right. They did it over the whole season actually. Give them credit, they executed better than we did.”
On if there was supposed to be safety help on any of the passes to Smith “I am not going to get into who did it and all of that stuff. They just executed those plays better than we did.”
On if he is in shock they lost “There is no shock. You get to playoff season and everybody is good. My hat is off to Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh and his staff. His players played well enough to win a tough game on the road. This is a tough place to play.”
On if the weather had an effect on anything “Both teams had to deal with the weather. Both teams had to deal with everything. So yeah, they were three points better than us tonight.”
On if QB Peyton Manning was hit before the interception off of WR Eric Decker’s hands “You know, again, I haven’t seen the tape. You know, you deal with a lot of things in these games to try and win. The weather was mentioned, a lot of different factors. We had opportunities in that game to win it and we came up short.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On the two-minute situation at the end of regulation “We were running the clock.” Pretty standard, as it worked out it wasn’t great. Yes, that was it.”
On the overtime interception by QB Peyton Manning “Well, that was just the situation that ended it. It could have ended many times and earlier parts of the game. And it didn’t.”
On Manning’s comeback season ending like this “There is only one winner at the end of this season. There aren’t a lot of happy campers because there is only one winner. Whether you are in that game, next week’s game or this game. This is a very disappointing loss just like it will be for anybody next week, or anybody in that final game. That is even more devastating. But the reality is we had a good season. We got to the elite eight. I would have like to have been that team that hoisted that trophy. But we are not now. Like I told them, “Hold your head high, we had an excellent season.” Somebody mentioned Peyton; we had a lot of guys have very good seasons. Walk out of here with your head high and we had a good year, and we will be back next year.”
On if he felt bad for Manning for having to go through so much, having a great season end this way “I feel bad for everybody in there, they all put a lot of energy and time and hard work. Some guys that couldn’t even play today that were in there on crutches. So there was a lot to win this and so I am disappointed for all of them.”
DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS
QB PEYTON MANNING
On his overall thoughts following the loss “Well, I mean, two different things. [It was] a very disappointing finish to the game. You can go through a lot of plays— certainly offensively—that you’d like to have back; [that] I’d like to have back. Certainly, we did a lot of good things this season, but as of right now it’s hard to think about anything else besides this loss tonight.”
On the late third-down play, where he called an audible “You know, any plays that we call, it’s our job to execute it and try to get the first down. That was an audible. Actually, I called that play, so, don’t put that on [offensive coordinator] Mike [McCoy]. We just didn’t do much with it.”
On if the weather or all the clock stoppages (penalties) stalled the Broncos’ momentum “It’s hard to say. It’s our job, like I said, to deal with whatever elements there are, or clock stoppages. I agree with you: there were, but I can’t say that had any effect on the times that we did not execute. I really think it was more a result of Baltimore defensively doing a good job, and I think we, ourselves, did some things to make it tougher on us.”
“I thought we weren’t as sharp in the second half as we were in the first half. We had some rhythm in the first half, and in the second half I just thought we had some plays that weren’t as good as we wanted. I wasn’t quite as good as I wanted to be, and it probably cost us a couple scoring opportunities.”
On his overtime interception “Yeah—bad throw. Probably the decision [wasn’t] great either. I thought I had an opening, and I didn’t get enough on it, and I was trying to make a play and certainly a throw I’d like to have back.”
On why Denver seemed to favor the run more than the pass in the game “Baltimore was playing back—a lot of two-deep zone [and] man-to-man [defenses] in the second half. Their safeties [Ed] Reed and [Bernard] Pollard both cover a lot of ground. Both safeties were playing some man [defense] underneath, and that kind of takes away some of the deep passes down the field.”
On the mood in the locker room after the game “Very disappointed, just because of how much effort and work this team put into this season and certainly we had plans of playing next week. Guys were excited, and to get beat in overtime by a field goal at the end, it’s certainly disappointing. I think it’s because of how hard everybody worked. We really have put a lot of hard work into this season and made a lot of strides and accomplished a lot. So, it definitely stings, ending on a loss like we had tonight.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On the Broncos offensive game plan, electing for shorter plays instead of really utilizing the wideouts “Like I said, I think Baltimore—I couldn’t tell you what their defensive game plan was—but for a good bit there in the second half [they had] a lot of two-deep safeties [and] man-to-man underneath. They are going to take away some of those guys on the outside, which means you’ve got to beat them on the inside—the [running] back out of the backfield [and] the tight end. That’s how you have to attack that defense.”
On his feeling after the loss “I’m disappointed. Just like the team. [I’m] disappointed that we lost tonight.”
On his fumble that was reviewed but not overturned “I thought it was probably a fumble. I was trying to throw it to [WR Demaryius] Thomas on an end route, and the corner kind of turned in at the same time and had good coverage on Demaryius, who had man-to-man [defense] with a safety over the top. So I was about to throw it, then I realized that I couldn’t throw it, because the corner was going to be there, so I tried to kind of double clutch, and I lost the fumble. So, I thought it probably was a fumble. [It] was certainly a possession I’d like to have back.”
On if KR Trindon Holliday’s returns and the bye week kind of stalled the offense’s momentum “No, I really don’t think so. Those were possessions where we felt like we could have scored as well. We really did. So, those are certainly huge plays by Holliday, but I don’t think that had an effect. I really don’t.”
On how long a loss like this will stick with him “Well, I really don’t have a set time. I know how much time I put into this season, so I think the more you put in, that’s why it does hurt. Everybody’s hurting in that locker room because guys really have worked. If it didn’t matter to you it probably doesn’t hurt as much, but I know it matters, certainly to me, and I know it matters to a lot of guys in that locker room because we really have put a lot of time and effort and a lot of work. So, certainly it does sting.”
On if it is hard for him to believe the season is over “Certainly playoff football. It was a heck of a game. I give Baltimore a lot of credit. They deserved to win and I think they had more plays than we did.”
On taking a knee to end regulation instead of trying to score “You just… I don’t really have a whole lot of thought on it. We had the ball in overtime. Obviously, if you never get the ball, you certainly can think that. We had the ball in overtime. We had chances, didn’t do it. I made a bad throw and I gave our defense, put our defense in a tough spot in a short field and gave them (Baltimore) a chance to win it so you really can’t point to that, I don’t think.”
On being shocked over the loss “I wouldn’t say I’m shocked. That’s not the right word. I’m disappointed.”
On looking back at how far he did come this year “Yeah, I not think, certainly, at a certain time, maybe down the road, you can sit back and reflect a little bit but we talked last night, this is a new season for us. The regular season was over. We did a lot of things to get to this point and really thought we were kind of peaking at the right time, playing good football coming into this and, hey, we played a great team tonight. This is a much different team that what we played against in the regular season and I thought we did a lot of good things tonight, we really did. It’s a stout defense, a lot of veteran play-makers, guys that have been in a lot of big games so we did a lot of good things and certainly, there’s plays that we’d all like to have back, plays that I’d like to have back. That’s just football.”
On handing off the ball on third-and-seven with under two minutes to play and having a chance to end the game “The entire offense wants to end the game right there. You certainly want to never give the defense, or give their offense a chance so we got one first down and certainly, we knew we needed to get another. I think the fact that we got the one first down and made them us their timeouts, I know that certainly had a factor in the decision if you have a tipped ball or a drop or whatever, it goes from giving it to them with 1:35 to go, or I think they got it with 1:05, so I certainly understand the thinking it’s our job, like I said, no matter what plays are called to try to get the first down so on the third down run, we didn’t get as many yards as we would have liked, but we get one first down, certainly was important there to make them use their time outs and run some clock.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On what happens next “I can’t predict tomorrow. I’m just disappointed tonight but everybody will keep their heads held high. It stings – it’s supposed to sting, but we’ll learn from it and move on from it.”
On if he thinks he has it in him to try to do this all over again “I do. I accomplished a lot more this year than I certainly thought that I would have personally and I think this team exceeded its expectations as well. We really didn’t know what to expect from this team. A lot of new players, it’s hard to form chemistry when you have new players and a new team in such a short period of time and we did that and did some really good things and so this one’s, it’s a hard one to swallow but you certainly give credit to Baltimore for coming in here tonight and getting the victory and we’ll certainly deal with the future as it comes about but it’s, I’m certainly proud of this team and what this team went through to get to this point and really appreciate the efforts of so many guys and the coaches.”
On it being surprising to hear that after putting in so much time and energy, he wants to do it again “Well, like I said, I certainly… There’s no question, it takes a lot of effort and energy. It’s a grind. I think as you get older, I’m sure [LB Keith] Brooking and [WR Brandon] Stokley and those guys will tell you that it does require a lot of work and a lot of energy and so that’s why it is disappointing, because of how much hard work and effort and time and extra meetings and extra workouts that we put in to get to this point, so that’s part of it. We certainly wanted to go perfect and to win and to keep going but that’s not the way it always works.”
FS RAHIM MOORE
On the loss “It was my fault. If they wouldn’t have scored on us on the last play, we’d be in here rejoicing so if people don’t like me after that, I’m sorry. That is my fault and I am going to take full responsibility for it.”
On the touchdown that sent the game into over time “It is my fault. When the play was on the line, I didn’t make it for our team. If I would have made that play, we would be in here rejoicing. It went by me personally and I felt like I should have made that play for this team and I didn’t do it today. It is my fault plain and simple.”
“I just misjudged it. I let it get over my head first of all and I didn’t do what I do best which is watch the flight of the ball and I didn’t do that right. I didn’t capitalize and it hurt us. I’m speechless right now. I don’t even know what to say.”
CB CHRIS HARRIS
On if he was surprised by the play call of the Ravens on the touchdown that sent the game into over time “That is their go-to play is all streaks. That is what they ran and it is very disappointing that we let that game slip away like that.”
On the play that sent the game into over time “I’m in the slot in my zone and just making sure that I have my zone. They just threw a fade to the outside and we are in three-deep, three safeties over the top and they just made a play.”
On the Ravens’ protection of QB Joe Flacco “We didn’t hit them as much as we did the first game. They came out with a good game plan to keep it close. We blew the game away. We had the game and they made a play at the end and had enough grit to come back.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
CB CHAMP BAILEY
On the disappointment of the loss “It is tough because we know we played a good football team out there. We felt like coming in, we had a chance to win the game. We preached all week to not give up the deep ball, don’t turn the ball over and that is the way they have been winning games. That is the way they won tonight.”
On his matchup with WR Torrey Smith “He is a good player. I have to give him credit but there are some things I wish I could have done differently. It is one of those situations where you wish you could have it back but my hat goes off to them, they won.”
On what the defense could have done better “Get off the field and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what happened out there. We gave up too many big plays. I don’t even know if he [QB Joe Flacco] had 20 completions but probably had 300 yards. That is never good.”
On the disappointment of the loss “It gets tougher the older you get because you never know when that door is going to close. I just have to keep grinding, that’s just the way I’m built. It is a tough loss but we will bounce back one way or another.”
On the man-on-man coverage against WR Torrey Smith “It is not like they threw a bunch out there. The first one, I just kind of lost him. He got away from me. He is fast. If you lose him at the line, he is going to get by you. The second one, he made a good play. I was in position but he made a good play. That is why he is in the league. Other than that, I don’t think he caught a ball.”
On if he is surprised by the outcome “I’m not surprised that we lost. That is a good football team. What I am surprised is how we made it a little easier for them. I’m not going to take away anything from what they did but we can’t do the things we did out there and expect to beat a good football team. They deserved it.”
On FS Rahim Moore taking personal blame for the loss “We didn’t play one snap tonight. We played about 70 tonight I’m sure. He can’t take all the blame. We all made mistakes in that game and we all wish we could have some plays back. That is why they won.”
On the Ravens converting third downs “We talked about it. If you get them in third-and-short, they have all kinds of options. [QB Joe] Flacco did a good job of managing the game and making sure they converted on those third downs. That is really what killed us.”
On the Ravens protection of QB Joe Flacco “I have to give a lot of credit, their line is really good. With [RG Marshal] Yanda back in there, he is one of the best so that definitely changes things.”
On if the team will be better after this “You have to be. I have been down this road before; it’s not the end of the world. We just have to look at our mistakes, look at ourselves in the mirror and keep grinding. That’s the only thing you can do. You can’t keep crying all day about it.”
On the touchdown that sent the game into overtime “That is the way that [QB Joe] Flacco throws. He will throw some up like that and they are hard to judge. I know that is a play that [FS] Rahim [Moore] will make 99 times out of 100 so I’m not going to lose sleep over it.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
WR DEMARYIUS THOMAS
On his reaction to the loss “It happens. I thought it was over with but they made a great play and took it to overtime. They played great in overtime and got the win.”
On Head Coach John Fox’s message to the team after the game “He just said that a great football team came out and it was a close game in overtime and they won but to just keep our heads high. Basically, get ready for next year.”
On the disappointment of being the No.1 seed and losing “It is not just the No. 1 seed because when the playoffs come, everyone is playing great football. The thing about it, we had our opportunities and left a lot out on the field. That is probably the thing that hurts the most. We could have done better but they got win and it’s over.”
On if the loss will linger in his head “I’m not going to say it’s going to hang over my head. We had a great regular season but when it really counted, we didn’t come through. I’m going to think about it but it’s not going to be over my head the whole time.”
On coming back with more chemistry next year “We had a great team this year and hopefully we will next year.”
LB VON MILLER
On the loss “It is just that all season it took a lot to get to this point. To walk away from it on that note, I can’t even put it into words. It is devastating.”
On if any particular plays will stick in his mind “It is bigger than just today. I am just thinking what I could have done better in the offseason, plays I could have made. When you lose like that, it gets you to second guess what you could do to help us win more. I could have definitely done a lot of stuff different today and could have done stuff different this year.”
On the disappointment of the loss “I have had my losses and I have won some, too, but I think this loss is different from the rest of them.”
On if the loss will linger in his head “I’m not in a rush to do anything. Football is all I really do and all I really got. I will continue to take it one day at a time and attack this offseason and get ready for next year.”
On if the Broncos lost the game due to mistakes “The Ravens are a great team and made a lot of plays. They made more plays than we did today. We could have done a lot of stuff different. It is not like we played bad, we just didn’t play good enough to get the win.
On the success of Baltimore’s offensive line “They were great the last time we played but they were great today too. They are a great group of guys and hard workers. My hat is off to the Baltimore Ravens’ o-line and their whole team,”
On the Ravens facing third-and-short situations “Third-and-seven is completely different from third-and-three but I still think we could have played better on third-and- three, too, with the type of guys we had around. There is a lot we could have done differently today. We could have played first and second down different and that would have helped us out on third. It is a hard loss and we will get back in the lab, look at this film, attack the offseason and get ready for next year.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On the touchdown that sent the game into overtime “I never put plays and situations in other guys’ hands. I like to have it in my hands. On that play, I came around and I think I had a chance to hit his arm and swat the ball but I jumped too early and misjudged it. I think he stepped to the side a little bit too and I let him throw the ball and I felt like that could have been a game changer. It is always inches. If I get my hand on the ball, who knows where it would have went, so I put that in my hands.”
On FS Rahim Moore taking personal responsibility for the loss “I think you can go down the line and ask all the guys in this locker room and there is something that each guy could have done better to help us win today. It is not just on one guy, not just one two guys, not on the defense or offense. We could have played better as a whole. This is a game that I will remember. I think it will burn a little bit throughout this whole offseason, throughout our training camp next year and when we get started next year. It is a devastating loss but I think we will be alright. Keep taking it one day at a time and we will be alright.”
On if this season feels more successful than last season “You measure success by wins and we didn’t win today. Like I said, this is devastating out here losing. I’m sure you could ask everyone in this locker room and they will tell you the same. It is unfortunate that we had to go out like this throughout the whole season and all the ups and downs and all the adversity we overcame. It is devastating. I share the burden a little bit. It should burn and we are going to take it one day at a time and continue to be the Denver Bronco team we know we can be.”
DT KEVIN VICKERSON
On reasons for the loss “I don’t feel sorry for us. Like I said, we just didn’t make the plays we’ve been making all year. We’ve just got to get the job done.”
On his mindset after the game “Disgust. This is the same team I played in Tennessee [in 2008]. Same team, same scenario. It’s still déjà vu all over again. I’m just mad I couldn’t compete toward the end. I wasn’t ready for my season to be over.”
On if the bye week hurt or helped “It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to come out and execute.”
On if he thought the officiating was inconsistent “I’m not going to go there.”
On his reaction when Baltimore tied the game in the final minute of regulation “We’ve just got to go make the plays. That’s on us.”
WR BRANDON STOKLEY
On if the loss is more painful because of the team’s potential “It’s painful no matter what. We had opportunities all game long to finish this thing out. We just didn’t get the job done. That’s really the bottom line. You’ve got to give them credit. They made a few more plays than we did.”
On how this result was so different from Week 15 “This is a different game. It just comes down to making plays. The last time we played them, we made a bunch of plays. We just didn’t make enough [today].”
On S Rahim Moore taking the blame for the loss “No, it’s not his fault at all. That’s just one play in a long game. Like I said, we had opportunities offensively to put the game away. We had the ball, we got one first down. If we get two, the game’s over. It’s as simple as that. It’s not his fault at all. Like I said, offensively, we had a chance to put the game away, and we didn’t do it.
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On how this loss compares to others in his career “It’s a tough as it gets. So disappointing. Such a good group of guys. That’s football, we just didn’t play well enough today.”
RB RONNIE HILLMAN
On the Ravens’ win “They have a good defense. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to them. They did a great job today.”
On why the offense slowed down in overtime “We didn’t change anything. Like I said, we didn’t make enough plays today. They made more plays than us to win the game.”
On what he’s learned this year as a rookie that will help him going forward “Crazy stuff can happen in this league. Today happened, and we’ve got to learn from it.”
DE ELVIS DUMERVIL
On how the season ended so suddenly “It’s very disappointing. We did some good things, we just didn’t do enough. I give credit to Baltimore. They were a better team tonight. The fans are amazing. We fell short for them. We feel bad. It’s just very disappointing.”
On what went wrong “Like I said, we did some good things. It’s just they made more plays than us. That’s why they got a W.
On how long it will take to get over this loss “I don’t know. It’s going to be a while. I thought our guys would come out and strike. We made plays. They’re a good team. We wanted it, we just fell short.”
On how key players weren’t able to produce at their usual level tonight “Give Baltimore credit. They came out. We thought we had a game for awhile. They made big plays. That’s what it was. It wasn’t a consistent thing, but they made the big plays when they needed to. They beat us, so give them credit.”
On if Baltimore’s offensive line made adjustments to keep the Broncos’ defense away from QB Joe Flacco “They moved the pocket. They did a good job trying to get out quick passes. Personally, we didn’t get the rush like we should have. We fell short. It was a great year, but this feeling’s like last year. We did good throughout the year, but we failed come playoff time. That’s where it counts.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
BALTIMORE RAVENS HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
On the win “Thanks for bearing witness to one of the greatest football games you’re ever going to see. Credit to the Denver Broncos. That is a tremendous, tremendous football team with a great amount of heart, and they fought. They fought from the beginning until the end. That football game did the game of football proud. I’m just proud and grateful to have a chance to be associated with this game. Humbled for the opportunity to stand on the sideline in a football game like that. Grateful for the opportunity to stand with a bunch of men that, through an incredible amount of adversity, stood together and never wavered and never cracked. A punt return to start the game; a kickoff return to start the second half; enumerable plays back and forth in a battle. Our guys did not crack. I credit it to the faith this team has in their Lord above. Whoever that is for each one of our guys, a trust and a faith in a greater power, a spiritual strength that is just throughout our football team, and I just have to say that.”
On recognizing the magnitude of this game during the game “It hits you. You do realize it, but it’s a football game and you’re just kind of in the moment with the strategy and different things like that. I thought our coaches did a great job. I thought we kept our poise really well as a football team. We made some adjustments throughout the course of the game. I thought our play-calling was tremendous on both sides. [Offensive Coordinator] Jim [Caldwell] was very patient. He was very patient with the run game, very patient with the rhythm controlled passing game and we took our shots and the shots were big, obviously. I thought that [Defensive Coordinator] Dean [Pees] did a great job of mixing coverage and mixing pressures. [Broncos QB] Peyton Manning is just a brilliant quarterback and there were times when he thought there was pressure and there wasn’t. There were times when he thought there was coverage and it was pressure. And that’s a credit to the disguise of our guys being patient in terms of holding looks and things. So, Dean and the rest of the coaches did a great job.”
On the Ravens shutting down Manning in the second half “We didn’t change much, we just stayed with our game plan basically. We talked about a few routes they were running, but we really didn’t change too much. We stayed with what were were doing.”
On QB Joe Flacco and varying perspectives on him “Perspectives on any player are going to evolve and that’s part of the process for any young quarterback. You look at one of the greatest to ever play the game that was on the other side today [Manning] and if you look back, the perspective on him as evolved over the years. Joe’s going to be like that, like any other quarterback. I’m proud of him. We’re proud of all our guys. I really don’t think any single player should be singled out in a game like this. To me, a game like this makes it so clear that football is a team sport and it’s got an opportunity to show so many things are bigger than just one guy making a big play, although a lot of guys made big plays.”
On the Ravens final touchdown at the end of regulation “It’s almost like backyard football and that’s part of the game. And Joe [Flacco] scrambles out of there and they get a little pressure on him and he puts the ball down the field, really on the money, which is a great throw on the run. [WR] Jacoby Jones kept pressing the deep route. He didn’t slow down, he kept getting deep. We’re always telling our guys to keep pressing the deep route and beat the ball to the spot. I think maybe different judgments were made on the track of the ball and Jacoby was the guy that made the right judgment on the track of the ball on the run.”
On LB Ray Lewis maintaining emotion from last week to this week “I think the emotion was the same. These games are so emotional and there’s so much on the line and so much opportunity. Guys work so hard to get to this point. You have to work so hard, so much goes into to getting to have this moment, to have this opportunity. That’s why winning is so exhilarating and losing is so difficult. But Ray just played really well, but not just Ray. The whole defense played well, every single guy on our team, even our special teams they played their hearts out. They played their hearts out. So, that’s how it was.”
On his previous trips to the AFC Championship Game “I don’t know about comparisons, those were pretty great, too. This is, in its own right, it’s incomparable. We’ve never been through anything quite like this, but that’s how life is. No two moments are ever exactly the same, this has been pretty incredible and unexplainable.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On WR Jacoby Jones and CB Corey Graham “Those guys always say, ‘thanks for the opportunity,’ they always say that. And I’m like, ‘thank you, thanks for coming. Thanks for being part of us.’ Even today they both said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity.’ There’s a lot of great guys in this league that don’t always get an opportunity and those two have gotten it this year and made the most of it.”
On watching special teams give up two touchdowns to Broncos WR Trindon Holliday “It was painful. The first one, the punt, was like a perfect storm. We were punting the ball right, it gets caught in a bad rotation and pushes all the way to the left away from our coverage, he catches it on the run and he’s a human jet, and he was gone. Just like that. It was shocking because we didn’t expect the ball to be there and then it was gone. The second one [kickoff return for a touchdown] was the same thing. It wasn’t the kick we were looking for. It’s tough to kick in these conditions on that ground, but we just didn’t cover very well and they just blocked it really well and this guy [Broncos WR] Trindon Holliday, he’s a really great player. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
On Ravens K Justin Tucker making practice kicks in between regulation and overtime “That’s pretty standard for us. We always do that. You go out there and try to get a feel for the win if you have a chance in between quarters and two minutes warnings.”
On being in the position to play for the AFC Championship “I’m just very humble and grateful. A lot of work has gone into it. I’m grateful to our guys and powers beyond our guys. It’s just an opportunity that you work really hard for. It’s really hard to get to these places. It’s really hard to get into these spots and we have an opportunity to do this.”
On his offensive line “The offensive line, and the run blocking, too….That’s a great defense over there. There were some sacks, but overall, Joe had some time to throw. I thought the play-making was incredible. You can go right across the board – every one of our receivers and tight ends was incredible. The running that [RB] Ray Rice did right down the stretch was amazing. He was carrying guys with him. So many individual efforts (contributed).”
BALTIMORE RAVENS PLAYERS
QB JOE FLACCO
On game-tying touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones “It was crazy. We called four verts, and I started to step up in the pocket and I kept my eye on the safeties depth at that point. I felt I had maybe a shot of getting it over them. At that point in the game you don’t have any timeouts - you have to go a pretty decent length. You have to start taking shots at some point, and it happened to work out.”
On getting the win Saturday “I don’t know if I’m amazed, but it was pretty incredible. We overcame some things today. We fought to the very end and just like [K Justin] Tucker said and [LB] Ray [Lewis] said in the locker room, when some of those things did happen none of us blinked. We just sat there on the sidelines and said, ‘Alright our turn.’ Slowly but surely we were able to score points when we needed to and our defense was able to stop them.”
On whether he felt Saturday’s game was redemption after a Dec. 16 loss to the Broncos “At that point we had lost a couple close games and they came in and beat us. I think our defense played real well in that first game and if it wasn’t for a turnover at the end of the half, who knows how the game could have been in the second half. We just kind of played catch up. It wasn’t a good measuring point for what kind of game we were going to come in and play here. We were able to, first of all, take care of the ball today. I think that gave us a lot of chances and we had some big plays. We were able to move the chains and every now and then take advantage of a big play. I don’t know if it was a little bit of redemption. It was just a regular-season game that we happened to lose, and we have all the confidence in the world coming up here. It was just another win.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On returning to the AFC Championship “We fought hard to get back to this point. We are definitely proud of being here, and we feel like it is going to take a lot for someone to come and kick us off that field come the AFC Championship game. We are going to give it our all and we know what it felt like last year. We walked off that field without that win. We know what we’ve put in to get back to this point. It is going to be a great game.”
On how shocked he was to find WR Jacoby Jones behind the defense “You have to get a little bit lucky, and it worked out. We were able to take a shot, and everybody came through when that one opportunity kind of arose. I just ran for a couple of yards and I’m thinking, ‘Man I should have just thrown the ball away because at least the clock would have stopped.’ We kept going and going and all of a sudden that happened. There is no real way to explain it. The opportunity arose and guys made plays.”
On whether he felt mentally fatigued during the long game “It was awesome. It was an awesome football game. People kept asking me about the cold and I was looking forward to it. It is our type of game. It is what you expect when you play January football in the NFL. It was an awesome game and when it’s 35-35 and it’s going back-and-forth, it is pretty easy to keep your head in it.”
On final drive leading to game-winning field goal “That was exciting. We knew we had to get a certain amount of yards - not a ton - but we had to get a first down or two and give our guy a chance. I think that is what we did. We got a good draw in there with [RB] Ray [Rice], and he got us down to the 34- or 35-yardline and we were able to get a couple more yards.
On the Ravens offensive line “They did great today. I can’t say enough about our offensive line. They kept those guys off me all day, and that is a good pass-rushing football team.”
On whether he sensed during the game that he was playing in one of the best playoff games in NFL history “As soon as I hit [WR] Jacoby [Jones] for that touchdown and tie the game to go into overtime, you start to get a little bit of that feeling. For some reason it creeps into your head a little bit. It was just crazy.
LB RAY LEWIS
On how memorable this game was “Well, God is amazing. When you look back at it and be able to recap, and let the emotions calm down, it will probably be one of the greatest victories in Ravens history. It’s partly because of the way everything was stacked up against us coming in. I challenged my team, this week, to not listen to anything outside of our building, to buy into who we are as a team—everything we’ve been through, injury-wise. Now for us to be here, I think this will go down as one of the greatest victories in Ravens history.”
On being able to extend his career into the postseason and end Broncos QB Peyton Manning’s season “There’s so much respect that I have for Peyton. Him and his wife are outside waiting on me now because of how great of friends we became through the years. To extend [my career] now, to know whenever the road stops, to know it wont be the end but its just a new beginning—to do it for my teammates, to do it for my children, who are my greatest inspiration, and to do it for my city. There’s no other reason you do it. If you was to go out any other way…I challenge people to fight your darndest to go out this way: to feel what this ride feels like, to look into men’s eyes and get everybody to buy in. When you get everybody to buy in, it’s just so special when you see it. It comes to fruition and changes perspectives on what we should pay attention to. I went down to John Hopkins on Thursday night…a friend of mine called me and asked me to come see some kids. I’m looking at these babies who are unfortunate because they have to be there. It took everything away. I made a mistake before the AFC Championship, a very ill child I was supposed to go see before that game. I never got a chance to see him off. I never got a chance to say my last goodbyes to him. This time, when the call came, I had to go do it. I put my iPad down and let studying take care of itself – I had studied so much. To go look at those kids and listen to the things that they were asking me, just to keep going on in life, just the actual opportunity in life, it’s why you do what you do. It’s why you sacrifice everything you do, and there’s just no greater reward.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On if this game tops last week’s Wildcard game “One thing about the playoffs, the only way to top [the last week] is to win the following week. If you don’t, you’re home and pulling into the stadium. Just like our city. Every city deserves certain respect. Coming in here, I applaud the Denver fans because they’re loyal. You see it. There’s only one way to cap last week, and that was win this week, and that’s what, as a team, we spoke about. What if we do the impossible? Man says it’s not possible and God says, ‘I do the impossible.’” For us to come in here and win, nine to 10 point underdogs, that’s the beautiful part about sports. That’s the thing that, if I’ll probably miss anything about my career, it will be to listen to what people say you can’t do, and then to go do it. It’s just special when you end it that way, and do what we’ve done. The plane ride is going to be so awesome, but more importantly our city, those kids are deeply rooted in my heart because I know that they wish for an opportunity like this, and will never get it, probably, one day. If I can give anything back, it’s faith, hope, and love. It’s overwhelming. The energy you give out to come and play this game the way we played the game today. I’ve never been a part of a game so crazy in my life. To end it like that…in fact the only game I remember, Chad has been around a long time with me. I call him friend. I think he will remember in 2000—we was down to Jacksonville like that. We made a drive at the end of that game and won that game 39-36. Tony Banks hit Shannon Sharpe down the middle for a last second win. When K Justin Tucker got ready to kick that field goal, I just dropped my head and starting recited our Father’s prayer, and started to simply say, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper.” Because now is God’s will. When it’s his will, you can never see the beginning of it, you can only see the end of it. That’s why I brought my team together at halftime. I wanted all of us to touch and agree and repeat that “No weapon formed against us shall prosper.” No matter what happened – when that kickoff return went back – we never wavered. We claimed victory on our side line. If you learn nothing else about the game of sports, is that when you make up your mind to do something collectively as people, anything is possible, when everybody buys in. You can’t have wavering spirits because it’s going to take away from the energy. For what we did today, I applaud my team.”
On if this team is special “I think we are special just by what we’ve been through all year, injury-wise. For the first half last week, that was the first time me, [OLB] Terrell Suggs, [FS] Ed Reed and [DT] Haloti Ngata actually played together because of the injuries we’ve dealt with. I’m talking about injuries that people don’t come back from. Sizzle [OLB Terrell Suggs] coming back from an Achilles (injury), fighting the way he did; me tearing my tricep in the sixth week, all the reports I had to sit there and listen to, that I’m done for the year. So as a team, what we’ve done is the reason why we’re here now. That’s the reward – that’s the reward in sports, is that you can learn life lessons while playing a sport, and I just think we learned a lot.”
On if he has a score to settle with whichever team they face in the AFC Championship game “I think honestly the thing to settle is at the end of the day you – you heard me speak about it earlier – whatever is God’s will, it will be done. You just have to be courageous enough to walk it, and if you are, whatever hand he deals you, be OK with that. Today in Baltimore, I can promise you, somebody’s life changed today because they believed that much in what happened. If that’s what the purpose of what this season was, to change a life, then so be it and next week will take care of itself. If we hear those words that I have heard before, then it’s his will, and we will rejoice when the time comes.”
On WR Jacoby Jones getting behind coverage with the game in doubt “The whole day I just needed my team to keep reciting ‘no weapon.’ No matter what we have worked through, no matter the ups and downs, peaks and valleys that you have to go through. If you can stay faithful in a few things, and we did, we did as a team. The energy is crazy, the emotions are crazy, but to stay the course the way this team stayed the course, I tip my hat off to my team. I take my hat off to my coaches. We looked at each other this week and coach Harbaugh did something. He trusted us, he really trusted. He trusted us the way we practiced, the way we prepared. To come out here and grab this victory the way we did today, this is what life is about.”
On beating Peyton Manning after nine straight losses “I didn’t even think about it. I just kept hearing about it. I heard about it so many times. The wars, that’s why you do it. When you finally sit down, the only thing you remember is the great wars that you actually went against some of the greatest of all time. That man right there has the ultimate respect, because he is, in my book, probably the greatest of all time, but by the way he plays the game. When I was preparing this week, I was in awe of time and time again of how he figures things out, how he makes plays. From that being said, to have us win out, the way it happened, like I said, let his will be done.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On QB Joe Flacco “He grew up today. I told him, ‘You’re the general, lead us to victory. You lead us today, I’m just here to facilitate things. Just lead us. “To look in his eyes, he had something different about him today, and I just wanted to encourage him. I’ve always been a Joe Flacco fan and always will be, but to watch what he did today probably was one of the greatest things I’ll sit back and remember.”
K JUSTIN TUCKER
On game-winning field goal “A big thing for us is sticking to our routine. [LS] Morgan [Cox] and [H] Sam [Koch] do a great job for me. With Morgan’s snaps and Sam’s holds it is pretty hard to miss. As long as we are sticking to our routine we feel that we have a chance to be successful. We’re really glad that we made that kick.”
On confidence going into game-winning field goal “I always feel good about going out on the field. Not a lot of people get to do this - this is a heck of a lot of fun. More than anything I try to cherish every opportunity I get and more than anything trust our routine, trust what [LS] Morgan [Cox] and [H] Sam [Koch] are able to do, trust that everybody is able to hold their blocks, and from there on out it is a piece of cake for me.”
On change of field after the first overtime “That was pretty convenient. We were able to get a slight tailwind behind us so I’m really able to attack the ball and hit it straight instead of worrying about anything else. It was pretty nice to have the slight tailwind.”
On practice kicks between regulation and overtime “Usually at the change of quarter you don’t see people run out there and kick the ball but we figured, ‘Nobody has told us not to before so we’ll go hit one. I’m glad we did because it is different kicking on the sideline where the grass is green and plush and it’s all good, as opposed to on the field, where it was straight mud at a certain point.”
On the sideline reaction to WR Jacoby Jones’ game-tying touchdown “I don’t think anybody had a doubt in their mind. [LB] Ray [Lewis] just said it a minute ago. We were down at one point. They ran that kickoff back on us, which I’m not too happy about. So I’m going to look at film on that one. Nobody wavered - not a single man on that sideline; player, coach, staff member. We were all confident in each other.”
CB COREY GRAHAM
On what he saw on his two interceptions “First, it was a tipped ball. You run to the ball and I believe [CB] Chykie [Brown] got his hand on the ball, [and] was able to tip it up and it came right to me. It was just one of those plays, being in the right spot. On the second one, I was in coverage and [WR Brandon] Stokley turned it up the field on me. I was recovering, trying to get back to him, and I was able to undercut it and get underneath it. It was one of those plays.”
On whether Broncos QB Peyton Manning’s arm had less strength at the end of the game “No. I didn’t feel like his arm had less juice or anything like that. It is overtime - you are obviously going to be more aggressive, be more up there and try and make some plays. In overtime the corners tightened it up and we were able to make some plays.”
On his decision to sign with the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason “I knew from the beginning it was the best decision I ever made in my life. Well, one of the best, probably marrying my wife was the best. I knew from the beginning it was a great decision. Coach [John] Harbaugh gives guys a chance to come out and play. He told me before I signed here that if I deserved to play I would. He is a man of his word. He has given me the opportunity to play and that is all I’ve asked for.”
Denver Broncos Postgame Quotes vs. Baltimore – Saturday, January 12, 2013
On whether the team had extra motivation knowing it could be Ray Lewis’ last game “Of course. You always want to go out there and make plays. It is a big game. We obviously want to go to the Super Bowl. We wanted to get this win for [LB] Ray [Lewis], and I was going to do everything I possibly could to help him get this victory.”
On QB Joe Flacco’s game-tying touchdown pass to WR Jacoby Jones “I was watching it. I’m not going to lie - I was a little shocked [Jones] was able to get behind them like that. It was probably the best play of the game. I don’t know how it happened. They had [QB] Joe [Flacco] in the backfield, and he was able to step up and get away from the rush and that’s what gave him a little extra time. It was one of those miraculous plays, and I don’t think it’ll ever be forgotten.”