Ryan Kelly has got a calf. I'll start out with that. What a great team win. they are never easy especially going on the road against a division opponent. Shout out to our defense. Shout out to those guys, they stepped up big time there in the fourth quarter for us getting those stops. Shout out to our defensive coaches with the plan that they had. I think they only 239 yards, so great job by the defense. Hell of a team win.
What are your thoughts on Michael Pittman Jr.'s performance?
He just showed up. Like I said, the toughest guy I've ever been around and when we needed a play, he made the big time play there on third down. We were in the situation where we had to throw the ball there because of the two-minute warning and obviously we had to play a little bit there and to hit him on the little crossing route there on the little naked play, coming up big. And just a credit to him and his toughness. Credit to the offensive coaches. Jim Bob (Cooter) does a hell of a job with those guys every week getting them prepared. I mean it was just a gritty, gritty team win.
What did think of Josh Downs' play today?
He shows up every week too. Obviously, he got the first drive, open-drive touchdown on a little double move there. Got a nice match up there. So, he shows up, made those big plays over the middle and had some huge punt returns for us too. He's all over the field making plays.
Can you kind of just walk us through just for the record, kind of what happened to Anthony Richardson and going to Joe Flacco at quarterback?
Yeah, we went through the week with Anthony (Richardson), seeing how he was feeling and obviously just wasn't there yet, so we went with Joe (Flacco) today.
Did Anthony Richardson work out before the game?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, we had him at emergency third, if he had to play in an emergency situation.
Did you make that call before the game today or later?
Late in the week.
What did you see out of Samuel Womack and Jaylon Jones today?
They were all over. They were playing aggressive with tight man coverage in a lot of those situations and made big time plays. Credit to those guys. They put us to work during the week. (Calvin) Ridley's a hell of a player. We knew that going in and they some talented weapons over there. Credit to those guys. I mean, sure, they had a hell of a game. The defense played a hell of a game. It was great.
Would you consider that almost a walk-off punt Rigoberto Sanchez?
That punt was big time. I mean, he couldn't have done it any better. I mean, when I saw the thing land and I saw just sitting there. Right there, whatever on the two-, three-yard line. He's been doing it for a long time and placing those balls where he needs to place them. A hell of a punt by him.
Talk about both punting for your team, both returning and covering it.
It was just great and obviously flipping the field, you need that. Special teams is a huge part of it and credit to the guys on special teams, all those players that go out there and do that every week. Credit to (Brian) Mason and Joe (Hastings) for putting those guys in position to go make those plays today.
What's the residual effect of Michael Pittman's toughness?
It's huge. I mean, it goes to those guys—like this league. This league is a tough, physical league, and he shows that and it's great for guys in the locker room to see that. And he battles through that stuff, especially young players, a guy that's going through something and playing through it. Credit to him. I'll tell you what, he's just he's just a warrior.
Can you explain the touchdown and Joe Flacco's faith to put it in a spot where Michael Pittman can just make a play?
Yeah, they were in a blitz hero look there, we had a max protection on, and it was a one-on-one, give him a chance. He went up and made big time play in that situation.
That red zone, is that one of those things where when Anthony Richardson is back, you open up a lot more what you can do there?
Yeah. I mean, obviously the quarterback run game would help with that stuff. But obviously I got to do a better job down there with that in that situation. We had to settle for three there in that situation.
Can you talk about the pass protection today?
I thought they did a nice job today. Dalton Tucker stepping in, I thought he did a good job and when he had to, and when (Tanor) Bortolini had to come in for Ryan (Kelly). Obviously, he's been playing good ball, so he stepped up as well. And again, shout out to those guys, shout out to Tony (Sparano Jr.) for getting those guys prepared every week to go and be successful.
Are there challenges with Michael Pittman where you just don't want to maybe put too much on him but also you know what he can do in certain moments?
He's a guy that just battles, you know what I mean? Over his whole career, he battles. And he's the type of guy that is passionate about the game and he's going to give it everything he has. And that's how he rolls.
What was the reaction on the sideline when Julian Blackmon caught the interception?
Yeah, it was big, obviously, to get that interception there at the end. Going up and getting it, high-pointing it there, it was huge. It was a good rush by the defensive line. Getting those interceptions at the end, to end games was huge.
