HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 15, 2020
BB: All right. First of all, it was a great win by these guys tonight. Really proud of the way the team competed coming off a short week and getting ready for a team that's obviously not only a good football team, but a hard team to prepare for offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, they present a lot of schematic problems. I thought our guys really put a lot of extra time and effort into the preparation and then went out there and competed really hard for sixty minutes. It was a tough, physical game and proud of the way our guys played. We ran the ball pretty competitively, stopped the run competitively, took advantage of our scoring opportunities and just played a good solid sixty minute football game, which is what it takes against the Ravens. So really proud of the way the guys competed and I think we just got to continue to work hard and grind away and see if we can improve and do some things better next week than what we did this week. But we'll just keep making steady progress and we're definitely headed in the right direction here. So great to win, but look forward to the challenge of getting ready to go again next week and developing some consistency here.
Q: Along those lines, how proud were you of the guys for how they fought through the conditions and everything tonight and what was it like out there?
BB: It got progressively worse as the game went along. It wasn't bad at the beginning and then just a little precipitation, a little rain there at the end. But, again, we practice in that during the course of the year and handle the wet ball and all that, so whatever we get, we get. I thought that the hardest part was really the, Jake handling the ball on the punts and the field goals. Those are tough plays. But just in general, David and Cam on the shotgun snaps and the ball handling there, they did a good job on that. Gunner, ball handling there. Some of the Ravens had some trouble with that, but I thought overall we executed those pretty well, which was good. It was good.
Q: What about the defense's ability to control the run game tonight? It seemed like the guys on the edge, especially John Simon really had a good game with the discipline on the outside there.
BB: Yeah, I thought overall we played the running game fairly well. Jackson got a few yards outside and on some quarterback scrambles that were really pass plays. But overall Ingram, I think he only had a few yards, Dobbins only had a few yards, Edwards, had a couple of cutback runs that hurt us and Jackson scrambled around a little bit, got a few yards there. But yeah, overall, certainly played much, much better than we did last year. John or Lawrence Guy and Carl Davis, Cowart, Adam, Wise, those guys did a nice job of really taking care of things inside and, as always with the Ravens, a lot of problems come on the edge of the formation. So it was challenging for us, but overall we were at least competitive on it.
Q: We saw Chase play a different role tonight. How did that come about and how do you think he responded to playing that kind of new role?
BB: I thought Chase had a really good week of practice and he did a good job of, in his role, which again, this is, when you play the Ravens you have to play good team defense, just nobody can stop one, one guy can't stop what they do. They have too many options in the running game and they create too many -- they can hit too many spots all at once on an individual play. But Chase had a great week of preparation and played hard and we'll see what the film looked like, but he was definitely aggressive and I think he did a good job in the role that we asked him to do. He and John Simon were really key guys for us along with the defensive line that I mentioned in trying to handle the running game.
Q: Just a thought on the complementary football that you guys played in particular with the minute to go in the half, you get the touchdown pass from Jakobi to Rex and then with seconds to go in the half, you get the JC Jackson pick as they were driving and then you come up with a four-play 75-yard drive to start off the second half. How important was that, the complementary football, especially in that swing there first to the second half?
BB: Yeah, it was huge, like it always is, those points before the half. And then if you can pick those up at the start of the third quarter you have a chance for a swing there. So our offense did a great job before the half and then drove the ball and hit a couple of chunk runs there and we were able to complete enough in the passing game to complement the running game. So Josh and the offensive staff had a great game plan and Josh, as usual, called a great game, and did a nice job of keeping the Ravens off balance defensively. But that complementary football, offense, defense and using the end of the half situation, I thought it worked out well for us tonight.
Q: We have seen plenty of trick plays, if you call them, with mostly, a lot with Julian Edelman. We know his background as a passer. I was wondering what Jakobi has done to earn the trust to get that call in that spot?
BB: Well, he can throw it, so I mean, I think you saw that. He made a nice pass and a great catch by Rex.
Q: You mentioned in the outset the running game and the run defense and I know this comes up in any game that you play, but given how you're built and how the Ravens are built, how much of this game was really kind of determined there at the line of scrimmage?
BB: Well, the Ravens threw for a couple hundred yards and they converted some third downs and all that, so, you know, it certainly wasn't all runs, but that's a big part of it. You try to play the running game well against the Ravens and try to get them off track and create some longer yardage situations, but again, they're a well balanced offense. They have a good quarterback. They have a good running game and really have good receivers and good tight ends, so they're not an easy team to stop. But I thought we were competitive in all areas and ultimately made enough plays to win, but it's not easy. Like I said, they're a good offense.
QUARTERBACK CAM NEWTON
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Q: What's the last two weeks been like? What's the difference, in your eyes, pulling two games out close late but with the execution?
CN: We're finding ways to win and that's pretty much been it. We're having great weeks of practice and following it up with in-game performance. Coach preached about that and we just have to make sure that we keep doing that and keep moving forward.
Q: Can we assume that it was in your camp that Jakobi learned how to throw passes in the rain on a double pass?
CN: I'm not going to confirm nor deny that. I think Jakobi has always been able to throw it. And I was teasing with him before the play was called. I said, Don't panic now. He said, I got to take off my gloves. I got to take off my gloves. I got to do it so they won't recognize nothing.
So he took off one glove. He takes off another one. I'm like, What are you doing? He says, I got to take off another one, bro. And he did pretty good without being able to, say, warm up or anything. And the height was cover on that play, which was me. Goes to show you the respect in the passing game. But he did a great job. And Burky, only thing he knows how to do is just score touchdowns and he just made a big play for the team.
Q: Does it take a certain amount of poise for somebody who is not a quarterback to make that throw in those conditions in that moment?
CN: Once a quarterback, always a quarterback. I'm pretty sure Julian Edelman is somewhere smiling and, but nervous at the same time, if you know what I mean.
Q: That was a pretty torrential downpour out there. How difficult was it to handle and throw the ball out there?
CN: We had a couple close calls with trying to gather the snap. Obviously it was a factor for them. But having the mentality to stay mentally tough throughout that whole tsunami it felt like, we just wanted to make sure that we do great things while we have the football, protecting the football, making great decisions. It affected just a throw or two for me. But just being in manageable situations kind of helps too.
Q: With a prime time win against a good team like Baltimore, do you feel like this could possibly be a turning point for the team considering where you guys were earlier this season and now getting this big win?
CN: Not going to necessarily say it's a turning point. We just want to keep getting better each and every week and I think we have been showing that, finding different ways to win, establishing our dominance in the running game, and trying to stop the run as well. Those are all keys to victory for us. And as this season keeps going, we just want to keep transcending upwardly in a way that our team is getting better week by week. We have a lot of young players that have big roles for us and especially myself, learning new things in this offense and getting comfortable. All in all, we just got to keep the ball moving forward and staying focused throughout it all.
Q: How important was it for you, for the second straight games you guys didn't commit a turnover. How huge was that for you guys, and then also the offense at the end of the first half with the Meyers touchdown pass and then the beginning of the second half where you guys went out and got more points on that four-play drive?
CN: That's big. That's extremely big for to us play complementary football in those situations not only, you know, to score, it's the timeliness of those scores. Like you said, right at the end of the half, for JC to get a much needed pick to stop their surge, trying to score before the half and for us to come back, getting the ball back and capitalizing on that, I think we have done that two weeks in a row and that's just to keep the momentum in our favor. So for us, those are big momentum shifts and we got to just keep it throughout the game. We just got to find ways to score when we get inside the 5 like that and I know we will.
Q: When you think about your career and playing in bad conditions, where did tonight sort of fall in terms of the worst conditions you've played in? And what would you say about the work of Winnie the Pooh, Smoking Joe, Dirty Dave, Shaq Diesel, Big Mike? What would you say about those guys up there?
CN: Oh, man, you got them all, right? But listen, for us, man, I don't think this team needs atta boys or a pat on the back. We're a hard-nosed, tough football team and we just try to keep improving each and every day. For us, we're coached extremely hard, coached to make sure that our fundamentals thrive in key moments when it's needed the most, and those guys just did a great job with taking on the challenge of this week, playing a great defense, a great physical defense and just trying to create a surge for us so that Dame and Burky and JY can get in between those holes, man, and just run, and that's what we did.
Q: Along those lines, you guys have been running the ball well all year but especially, like you mentioned, a great defense, a great physical defense, what did it feel like to be kind of at the controls of an offense that was physically imposing its will like that, starting with the offensive line for much of tonight?
CN: Yeah, listen, everything that coach coaches throughout the week, it tends to come up and I'm beginning to think he either has like a Staples easy button or a Buffalo Wild Wings button or just a straight direct line to the football gods because he's, like, a football whisperer when it comes to anticipating what the game's going to be like, how we need to win, and things like that. I'm extremely impressed with that. But for me, trying to find ways to keep this team in a manageable situation offensively is one of the things that I have to keep doing and keep doing a better job of.
Q: Did Bill hint or kind of foretell that this was going to come down to the line of scrimmage? Is that your way of saying that?
CN: Well, we have our keys to victory and week-in and week-out, Coach hammers it in each and every day with reminding us about, you know, If we're going to win, this is what we're going to have to do. And I'm just excited that the offensive line was able to, like you said, impose their will and play a great team and this was going to be a great test for us and we knew that and for our guys not to back down, but take it more upon themselves as a challenge, and obviously they did a good job.
Q: Even when you guys lost a few in a row there a couple weeks ago, you were still outspoken in your support of your offense and your team as a whole. Would you say these last two weeks is kind of what you envisioned even during that time when they weren't turning into wins?
CN: No, I mean, look, I said it before, we're a team that's extremely close and I still believe in that. For us to play the way we have been playing here of late, that's what you want your team to be doing. Finding ways and trying to find our identity as an offense, playing complementary football, as defense as well as special teams, that's where we, our meter is pointing upwards and the more and more that we learn, the more and more that we play together, the more and more that we just have opportunities, I feel very confident in this group going into any situation to play football. So we just got to keep doing the small things right, coming to practice prepared, and having the willingness to keep getting better and knowing that we just have to keep having that type of mentality and mindset and we'll be good to go.
Q: Coach mentioned that in weather like this from center to quarterback that snap could be a mess. What made sure that you guys were together, you and David, to keep that rhythm?
CN: Well, we had some close calls, but David does such a great job with keeping his snap point pretty much the same. And I know it's not a big statistic or something that nobody cares about until something bad happens, but he does a relatively great job of hitting the same point, you know what I'm saying, when he's snapping the football and that's key. So for me just getting a clean snap is something that comes with repetition and doesn't matter if it's raining or whatever, my trust in him knowing that he's going to do the same thing each and every time is key.
Q: Wanted to ask you about the execution and your comfort with the offense at this point where you played pretty much mistake-free football tonight, just the one sack, no turnovers, no penalties. How important is that and is that a key to recognizing where the offense is at at this point, the execution and the way you guys were able to play this game?
CN: Without a doubt. Without a doubt. For me I know a couple games I took it personal, because I know what the stat line could be or if it would be different minus the turnovers. And Patriots over the years has just been phenomenal, to say the least, when no turnovers are committed offensively or no turnovers are committed as a whole. So me knowing that, that doesn't make me play conservative, it just forces me to play smarter and not being able to have that type of mentality as I had in the past, trying to do too much to make a play rather than just trusting in the plan and just throwing it away when it's not there and just living to fight another day.
RUNNING BACK REX BURKHEAD
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 15, 2020
(On his touchdown catch on the pass from Jakobi Meyers)
"It's something we've been working on, definitely. Just kind of try to sneak out there, and I saw the linebacker coming out with me. I didn't know if a guy was over the top too, so I was kind of surprised when Jakobi threw it. And he threw an absolutely perfect pass right in there for me to make the easy catch. That just shows how great of an athlete Jakobi is. I've been one of his biggest fans ever since he's gotten here. He's just a playmaker and has no fear, has all the confidence in the world to go out there and make a play. He did that there and it was big-time moment for us in the game."
(On how long he watched the ball hang in the air before he caught it)
"Just trying to track it down and time it up. Really not show my hands too early for the defender to get in there, so just try to get the late hands in there, get on it and get down. I was kind of just shocked after the play for whatever reason. I don't know if it was because I didn't know if he was going to throw it or not there in that situation or what, but just a tremendous throw by him like I said. Good momentum for us to take forward."
(On what it means to win a game like this)
"It was huge. That's a great team that we played tonight, give them a ton of credit. I mean, in all three phases they're very well coached. Offensively, defensively, special teams even. They definitely are a great team and it was huge for us. We were hoping to build off of our win last week against the Jets and we really had a great week of preparation and practice and stacking days on top of each other. So we had confidence going into the game, as long as we executed, controlled the line of scrimmage and were physical throughout the game, we knew we could come out victorious. And that's what we did."
(On the importance of ball security especially considering the weather)
"Yeah, very. Like you said, we always preach about it. Always keep it at the highest importance. Especially with the Ravens. I think they're number one in the league in getting the ball off the other team and turnover ratio and all that. We knew that's something that they always preach, that's an important thing for them. Even without the weather, and you add that factor in and we even make sure we hold onto the ball even more. Especially when it was kind of monsooning there at the end, the rain was really coming down, that was a big focus for us as running backs."
(On how much fun Jakobi Meyers' touchdown pass was)
"It was a lot of fun. Anytime you have a trick play like that and you have a receiver throwing a touchdown pass to a running back, leaking out, it's a lot of fun. And we executed it well, Jakobi threw a tremendous ball, the perfect pass to me. Honestly I was kind of shocked he threw it. The defender, I thought he saw me, I didn't know if some guy was over the top as well, and he put it right there where he needed to for me to make the catch."
(On the development he's seen from Damian Harris)
"He played tremendous. Just his development over the past two years has been awesome to see. Just try to be that mentor for him, he always asks questions, always comes to me and James [White] if he ever has anything, so he's always eager to learn. And he may be a young guy, but he's a pro for sure. I think what you saw tonight is him making a ton of plays where there may not have been such clean look there. You could tell he was definitely in the zone, bouncing runs as he needed to, or cutting them back, or whatever. He runs hard and he's a great teammate as well. It's awesome to see his success out there."
(On the grit and determination of the team)
"Yeah, absolutely. I've said it plenty of times, this team has a ton of character, a lot of tough guys and you can see it in the eyes. That's what you always look at when it's a tough game weather-wise, whatever it is – situation-wise, close game. You can look in each other's eyes and just see the focus and determination – like there's no quit. Whatever happens, whatever's thrown our way, we're going to be locked in on our assignments and go out there and execute to the best of our abilities. And when you get in that huddle at the end, you're trying to move the ball forward and you see it in all your linemen, you see it in the quarterback and receivers, that just makes your hunger for a win even that much more."
RUNNING BACK DAMIEN HARRIS
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 15, 2020
(On the importance of playing well coming off an injury)
"It was important to me to show that I'm going to do whatever it takes to come out here and help this team be successful. This is a tough game and unfortunately the injury rate is 100%, but I just want to show that if I have the ability to come out here and play and still play to the best of my ability and kind of live up to that tough and physical standard that our program has, I want to out here and do it. So, playing in this game was super important, especially because it was such a good game. Such a good team that we were going to be playing and we knew that if we could come out here and just play the way that we knew we were capable of playing that we would have a chance. So, I wanted to come out here and be a part of it and I wanted to try to do my part to help this team win. I feel like everybody kind of did their part tonight. There's still a lot of things we can obviously correct. I mean it wasn't a perfect game by any means but, a win is a win and we'll try to build on it and keep stringing them together.
(On rushing for a career-high 121 yards)
"It's huge. Helps me build confidence to continue to go out there and try to do my job. I wouldn't have had any of the success that I had tonight without the guys up front, and that's first and foremost. I have to give all that to them. They've been so good all year and they've really been the anchor of our offense and they're what makes us go. I can't even put it into words how important our offensive line is to our team. All the credit in the world of those guys. I love all those guys. They made my job a lot easier, so I'm incredibly thankful to have that offensive line to run behind. I'm incredibly thankful to be a New England Patriot. I'm kind of overcome with emotion right now. So, I'm sorry if I'm a little too excited but, you know, I am on cloud nine right now. That was a tough game in that kind of weather. Ever since I've been here I've been hearing all these stories about New England weather around November, so I guess that was my first my first taste of it and I loved every second of it. So I'm just super happy right now.
(On the weather conditions)
"Yeah, I mean, it was interesting because I think when I was in college, I might have played in the rain once and it never even compared to that. And so you know I've always been like, 'I don't want to play in the rain.' It's just not my thing. I've never really had a reason to want to play in the rain. Some guys love that stuff but I've always been kind of one of those guys. I prefer it to be like 65 and sunny, but being out there in that atmosphere and being a part of this team in such a special moment, including the weather. Like I said earlier, I can't even express to you guys, how excited I am and how happy I am and just how much love I have for this team, how much love I have for this game. Tonight was a real special moment in my personal career and I'll definitely remember that for a long time now to answer your question, it definitely makes you more conscious of ball security and just playing the game the right way. Trying to stay on your feet, protect the ball and all those kinds of things. So, they definitely put the stress on that, but that's our job as an offense to go out there, protect the ball, play good, clean sound fundamental football. You know, we know that there's times where it's going to be wet and the winds going to be windy. We can't control those things but at the end of the day we can still control how we go out there and play.
WIDE RECEIVER JAKOBI MEYERS
Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 15, 2020
(On his touchdown pass)
"It was something we practiced over the past couple weeks, just never know when it's going to come up. I'm surprised that it came up during the rain game, but you know I still got a little bit. And I know I had Rex [Burkhead] out there. I mean Rex is a playmaker. A former basketball player I mean, I trust Rex. Put the ball in the sky, let him take a chance on the ball. So, I just put the ball up there, he did the rest. "
(On if there was any hesitation in throwing the ball.)
"Nah, I was throwing that up regardless. Once I saw what back we had in and when I saw the leverage he had on him, I knew I was giving him a chance regardless"
(On throwing a pass as a wide receiver)
"I was just trying to be a playmaker. It's football at the end of the day. I threw the ball as a little kid in the front yard before I was even a quarterback, so just remembering the love for the game. I mean, I still throw. I probably don't do progressions and drop back and do QB drills, but it's still football at the end of the day. Using our tools God blessed me with. Just giving my guy a chance."
(On the second option on the pass)
"Just no bad plays is our kind of mindset with plays like that. So, it was Rex or nobody. And if I couldn't get it to Rex, I was going try to get back to the line of scrimmage."
DEFENSIVE BACK KYLE DUGGER
(On how it felt getting a win in his first career start)
"It felt great and definitely was a blessing to be able to get out there and play with the guys. The energy was great, and the win was great so there are definitely no complaints tonight."
(On how he prepared for tonight's game)
"It was really just by taking it one day at a time and going into practice just like I would in any other week by getting into the film and getting into what I have to get into specifically for myself in order to executive going into today's game. It comes down to the playbook, film and execution."
(On the defensive mindset going into the final drive with the rain to finish with the win)
"My mindset was to just tackle and keep the ball right in front of us without going out of bounds. We were super excited at the point, so the main focus was keeping it in bounds and tackle."
DEFENSIVE BACK J.C. JACKSON
(On his takeaways from the way the defense played against a good offense)
"We played complementary football, which Coach [Belichick] always talks about. The offense had a great game. I feel like as a team, we all played good football, offensively and defensively. We didn't give up` any big plays, the offense didn't have any turnovers and we came out with the 'W.'"
(On what it means to him to set a franchise record with an interception in five straight games)
"I'm just happy to be able to accomplish that. But when I'm done playing, I'll look at all the records and stuff like that. But I'm just proud of my team, the way we came out and competed and won."
(On how he's been able to get an interception in five straight games)
"That's a tough question. I mean, I'm a playmaker, man. I know how to play the ball pretty well. I feel like I become the receiver. When I go up for the ball, I become the receiver and I make a play on the ball, every chance I get."
(On the team's confidence going forward)
"I mean, we've just got to build on this win. Don't get too high, don't get too low, but just keep building, keep building as a team."
(On playing in the weather at the end of the game)
"The weather doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where we're at, how the weather is, you've got to play football man. We're built for this. We practice in it during in the week and we've got to play in it. We can't control the weather."
DEFENSIVE BACK ADRIAN PHILLIPS
(On the game plan against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens)
"Yeah it was mainly just keep the ball out of his hands. If he did keep the ball, get him down as quickly as possible. We knew they were an offense that loves to run the ball and they love to get to the edge of the defense. That was pretty much our whole game plan, do not let them get to the edge. They ended up getting to the edge a couple of times. Mainly just keep those guys contained and make them play behind the sticks and that is what we did. We did that with a variety of different looks and it ended up working out well for us because they could not pick up on it."
(On how the weather played a factor for the Ravens offense)
"They like to run the ball so I do not know if it really affected them that much. I know that they had a couple of bad snaps, I want to say four of them, that they wish they could have back. Other than that, that is perfect for their offense. For a team like them, you want it raining out there, you want the bad weather games because now it plays into what they do. Once we ended up taking the lead it ended up working out badly for them because they had to throw the ball and it was hard to catch in that weather. Once we took the lead it ended up helping us a lot."
(On if the defense felt they had to lock it down in the fourth quarter)
"Yeah we knew that no matter what it was going to come down to the defense. If our offense kept scoring they were going to throw the ball. It was going to be up to us to get them off the field on fourth-down situations. If they stopped our offense then they were going to be right where they wanted to be. We knew it was going to come down to us."
(On if this win gives the team a lift going forward)
"Every win is a confidence builder. Playing a team like that, tough-nosed football team, reigning MVP, good record. In a hard battle like this that is the type of confidence builder you need. You want to keep stacking those wins. We started it last week against the Jets and then you get a big win like this on Sunday night, you keep it going. We know the schedule is only going to get tougher so we have to make sure we keep stacking these wins up."
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN CHASE WINOVICH
(On his ability to play off the ball during the game)
"I have always said that I am a football player just looking for opportunities to help the team win in any way possible. This was a really fun game for a lot of reasons but getting to play off the ball again was definitely something I enjoyed since I view myself as a pretty versatile football player. I am just grateful to my coaches for giving me the opportunity to expand my role, for my teammates, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Terez Hall, John Simon and specifically Steve Belichick, especially with the coverage and assisting with in-game adjustments."
(On the last time he was able to play a game where he played off the ball like he did in tonight's game)
"I have never played a game that much off the ball since high school. It really felt like I was playing high school football in a way and I had a blast. I love being in a position where I can pursue and play physical, so when I am in a position like that it allows me to make the most of some of my attributes."
(On what it felt like to play in the rain)
"I was dancing, and I was having fun. At first you kind of resist the rain and try to stay dry enough where you can still tackle, but after a while it is just a matter of taking the approach and mindset where you tell yourself you want it to pour and be cold because if you have that mindset and your opponent doesn't, that gives you an edge. When you have that attitude, it becomes infectious to your teammates. Playing in the rain was fun."
(On the defense's overall performance in tonight's game)
"Ultimately, it was a huge team win and defensively we did our job where we held them to 17 points. Thankfully the offense was able to play complementary football as well. This was a great day to be a Patriot and we are already looking forward to our next opportunity which starts tonight with a great night's rest."
