Post-Week 7: Ravens Press Conferences 10/25/26

SPEAKER_1 (0:03)

Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. The Ravens fell to the Cincinnati Bengals 35 to 13 at Emmett T. Bay Stadium on Sunday to move them to four and three on the season. After the game, we heard from head coach Jesse Minter.

Jesse Minter (0:17)

All right, give them a lot of credit.

You know, tale of two halves, obviously. Team came out, ready to roll. I didn't feel like we took advantage enough opportunities in the first half to continue to create separation. And then, you know, in the second half, they made a few plays early, got momentum. Once we lost momentum, you know, right now we're too much of a momentum team. So we're riding the wave when it's good and we're riding the wave when it's bad.

I think that's a main focus for us to be able to stay a little bit more even keel and continue to make plays and do things. And so credit to them for the second half. Questions.

Trey Hendrickson (0:56)

Jesse, what was kind of your message to the team after a second half like that?

Jesse Minter (1:01)

The message is that I think in every game we've proven that we're good enough to be the type of team that we want to be and we've proven that we're bad enough to be not a very good team as well. So there's a consistency level that we need to find where it's less riding the wave of momentum and more about staying even keel and finding a way to have each other's back and finding a way to pick each other up. You can look at really all three phases in the second half of completely momentum losing type of plays.

And so that is what it is. In the first half, I thought there was really some good in all three phases. And then again, some opportunities where you can create even more that we didn't take advantage of. And then in the second half, it was just we let the game kind of snowball on us once it got going. And obviously, you've got to find a way for that not to happen.

SPEAKER_4 (1:52)

Is there one play that you could identify to change your momentum in the second half?

Jesse Minter (1:56)

I don't know that there was one play. I just, you know, they went on a nice drive right out.

Again, we didn't really get anything going offensively. They went on another drive. And then I think when they got the short field.

But it is, I mean, it's all three phases. There's a ton of plays in that game where we had a chance to potentially flip it back whenever we were able to. They kept rolling. They hit a bunch of explosives on us in the second half, throwing the ball down to those guys. And so just really not good enough, starting with me and all the way down.

SPEAKER_5 (2:28)

Jesse, you agree that this becomes a psychological thing where this starts happening in snowballs and guys are saying, here we go again?

Jesse Minter (2:36)

Yeah, but only we can change that. And so that's clearly, I would say, there was a little bit of that, but we have control over that. And that's what we need to understand is that we have complete control over that mentality. And we have an opportunity, again, we've proven that we can play, and regardless of what the circumstances are, we can play, and that we can't play, or that we lose momentum. So we have total control over that, and that's what we need to understand.

SPEAKER_6 (3:07)

Jesse, what do you do to kind of get through to them that not have this be a psychological thing?

Jesse Minter (3:16)

Yeah, that's a great question, and that's, I think it's tough conversations over and over, and just continuing to work through it and talk through it. And right now, I think it's just that point, it's a big point in the season for us to determine what type of team we wanna be. So that's what I would say.

SPEAKER_7 (3:36)

Jesse, were you okay with the effort level, particularly from the defense in the second half?

Jesse Minter (3:41)

I really just, I thought we missed some tackles.

Thought we missed some tackles, and when you miss tackles on those guys, they're capable of making you pay, making explosives. Tackles that we made early, we didn't make in the second half, so we'll have to look at the tape and see what it was. Yeah, we certainly missed a bunch of plays where, they're throwing the ball for a two, three yard gain, and we're not getting people on the ground.