Chiefs-Ravens AFC Championship Postgame Press Conferences 1/28

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. The Ravens season has come to a close as they lost the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 in Sunday's AFC Championship at M&T Bank Stadium. It was a disappointing and in many ways surprising loss to Kansas City for the Ravens.

And it's a tough way to end the season for a team who was the number one overall seed in the AFC and had so many things go right for them over the course of this year. Putting into words the emotions, the difficulties of losing a game is tough after that. But the Ravens talked to the media after the game, so let's kick things off with head coach John Harbaugh.

John Harbaugh (0:45)

I appreciate everybody being here. Just something I want to start with. Let me say this, this is where I'm hanging my hat at this point, but for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and to not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Wait for the Lord and be strong. And that's for me.

What questions do you have?

SPEAKER_3 (1:08)

John, after a loss like this, what was kind of your message to the players?

John Harbaugh (1:12)

I was proud of them. I'm proud of the season that they had. I feel like it was a team that had a lot of challenges. I don't think it was a team that was too highly touted coming into the season by the pundits and the prognosticators and all that. I think they proved a lot of people wrong all year. The quarterback made a statement all year.

So many players that had so much to prove, I think of a guy like John Simpson, just off the top of my head, who had so much to prove and come in and play the way he did.

Jadavian Clowney and Kyle Van Nooyen, just two guys that came in late, that didn't seem like anybody else wanted. And they came in and played the way they did. So there's so many stories on this team, so many individual stories. The message is to eye straight ahead, your chin up, your chest out, and understand what you did accomplish. And I'm proud of them.

We just weren't able to, we had a couple opportunities to score down there. We didn't get the touchdowns. I mean, it was really a defensive struggle if you step back and look at the whole game. And they were able to score the points and we weren't.

We were fighting like crazy to get back in it. I think strategically we moved the ball back down the field. We were fighting to get the ball back at the end, with the clock and everything, and they hit the one pass. We were close to getting the ball back at the end to have a chance to score, so that's what we were trying to do. I mean, you're against the clock there. A lot of different strategic moves to try to get that done. And then they hit the one pass.

SPEAKER_4 (2:50)

16 rushing attempts is definitely not what you guys normally do.

John Harbaugh (2:53)

It was kind of that kind of a game, I'd say. You know, that's the way it worked out, the game, kind of the way the game went.

SPEAKER_5 (2:57)

John, how disappointing were some of the penalties where it seemed like maybe losing composure at a couple of points, you know, call shifts.

John Harbaugh (3:03)

Yeah, really don't have anything to say about those until I get a better look at them.

SPEAKER_6 (3:09)

And I know he's not going to like that performance today.

John Harbaugh (3:13)

I told him to stand up tall. You know, he's had a great season.

His performance today was all heart. He fought. He went out there and gave it everything he had, so I don't think that's anything that I'd be disappointed in.

SPEAKER_7 (3:26)

What was the message in the locker room afterwards? I know you told him you were proud and all that.

Despite what happened in the regular season, I mean, what was their reaction afterwards? I mean, did anyone stand up and say anything after you did coach?

John Harbaugh (3:40)

No, I mean, guys were talking to one another. We said the Lord's Prayer. We said that.

SPEAKER_5 (3:46)

John, was Marlon not able to go in the second half?

John Harbaugh (3:51)

Yeah, it was just the way we went. I'm not sure exactly where he was at physically, but he played as much as he could, I can tell you that. That's how Marlon works.