Ravens vs. Steelers Wild-Card Postgame Press Conferences

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Welcome in to the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. The Ravens took down the Pittsburgh Steelers 28 to 14 in the wild card round at M&T Bank Stadium. This was a big time win for the Ravens, who will now advance to the divisional round after taking down their division rival. After the game, we heard from head coach John Harbaugh.

John Harbaugh (0:22)

I appreciate everybody being here, and appreciate the opportunity to just be a part of something like this. It's something we're grateful for, and I think you guys have earned a chance to play in a big game like this against our arch rival, and to play the way they did, just so proud of them. So proud of what they did. I think they came out, and they understood how to win a football game like this. They knew how to win it. It's one thing to know it, it's another thing to execute it and do it, and they did it, and I'm proud of those guys for that. What questions you have?

SPEAKER_3 (0:51)

John, I know you're an old school coach deep down. How would you kind of relish winning a game kind of like this, with on the ground the way you did?

John Harbaugh (0:59)

Yeah, my dad's proud. Jack Harbaugh's proud right now, you know.

He likes to pound the rock, and that's what we did. I mean, Derrick Henry was running hard, hard, physical. Lamar started it off. I mean, Lamar carried the ball at different times than the first driver, too. When you get backed up to, you talk about good, t-shirt good, you know, and talk about having faith, you know, little buckets bobbled, whatever they get the ball, we get the ball at the five-yard line, and we go 95 yards for a touchdown, good. You know, whatever adversity you're faced with, find a way to overcome it. They did it with execution, they did it with physicality, they did it by playing one play at a time, by being poised, and just understand that it's going to be a long game, there's going to be a lot of plays, you know, and let's try to put as many good plays together as we could. I think they just kind of kept it that simple. So, yeah, the running game, the running game makes it possible.

SPEAKER_4 (1:48)

You have an appreciation for what Lamar does as much as anyone you see, more of him than anyone, but does he teach you anything new about himself with a game like this, like you said, starting open with a bunch of physical runs and then just doing what he did without his A flowers?

John Harbaugh (2:03)

Yeah. You know, the thing about Lamar, I guess the thing I continue to be amazed with is just who he is as a person. You know, I mean, of course, how the plays he makes and how tough he is. I mean, I mean, you can't get over about how tough he is, how physically tough he is, how mentally tough he is. You know, he's in there running the ball, he's getting hit and he's taking shots and he gets back up and he steps up and makes a play, runs around and throws a touchdown pass. I mean, that's a play at the end of the half, that's what we call a trigger. That's basically a, you hit it or you dirt it or you throw it out the back of the end zone, you know, and he runs around and finds a touchdown pass. And I think, I just think in his head, he knows what 11 seconds is. The clock was going a little faster for me in my mind, you know, I'm like, he threw that thing away. You know, he threw it, it was a touchdown, you know, it's like, all you can say is wow. I think I said wow about seven times right there. So, you know, glory, glory to God for that one.

SPEAKER_5 (2:55)

Hey John, you have, early in the game, you got a play where Henry takes a direct snap, fakes the sweep to Jackson and he takes off on a huge game. Has that play been in the book all year? Did you put it in this week and what would you say broadly about Todd Monk's game tonight?

John Harbaugh (3:10)

Yeah, I mean, I just, I feel like Todd did a great job. He called the game really well. He was patient and, but he also had some, we had a few play actions dialed up and things like that. Yeah, we had some things we didn't get to too, because we were running the ball so well. But that was a play we put in this week. It's a play that went in. And it's a little bit off the Tennessee play that they ran against us last year, you remember in London. So it was kind of off of that play. It's kind of the idea of it. I just set it up a little bit differently. But I think the whole offensive staff is doing a great job. Travis Schweitzer was, coordinates the run game. George Warhop, George Godsey, Willie Taggart does a great job with that. I mean, G. Lou's got those guys blocking out there on the perimeter. It's just a team effort.