On his punch out in the fourth quarter: “Yeah, we were working on it all week. Something we emphasized heavily was getting the ball out. We know they had a couple of speed skaters on their side, but the ball getting loose from the side of their body. So, obviously, that’s time for us to make a play.”
On what he meant by “speed skaters”: “The ball just gets very loose from their body, so if you ever watch a speed skater and how they move and their body, it’s how a couple of their ball carriers move with the ball. So, we already knew going into the game that was going to be a possibility.”
On if they focused on punch outs in practice this week: “We emphasized turnovers and it was in our gameplan throughout the week, was finding a way to get turnovers. Like I said, a couple of their ball carriers, the ball can get loose from their body, and we were able to get some balls out today.”
On winning in comeback fashion: “I think it says everything about this team. Last week, we missed an opportunity to prove that. It was a quick turnaround to make sure that we capitalized and finished this game. It’s all about the will and the want to as a defense, and it was all about making a play when it was your turn to make a play. It’s always exciting for these opportunities to show up big in the big moments.”
On if he could imagine being in the playoffs when he signed in New England: “No, not at all. Obviously, we felt good about the year because we had a great group of guys. In OTAs and training camp, you saw how many guys make plays. I was excited to be around the guys and spend time with them in OTAs. We started meshing really well and building a bond and a brotherhood early in training camp and you could tell it was going to be special. I always try to take it one game at a time and never look too far in the future, but as far as this game, it teaches you to stay patient, stay consistent, and it will always work out how it’s supposed to.”
On the concussion diagnosis: “They said I had a concussion, but I never even touched my head, never even laid on the ground. They monitored me for a concussion, and I said I never had a concussion. I was touching my shoulder, so how did they think it was my head? I was fighting with them to get back out there. It was the first drive, and I wanted to get out there and make plays for my team.”
On his fourth down catch in the fourth quarter: “It was a great ball. You know, I ran a route to try and put speed on the DB. Drake [Maye] put it where only I could get it and nobody else. The DB tried to undercut it. I thought he was going to play through the man, so I tried to put my hands out, and that’s exactly what happened. Just a great ball by Drake.”
On his performance tonight: “I worked for it. You know, people get distracted by off the field stuff, but I’m always locked in, and when it’s football, I’m all football. I work for it, I prepare for it, I expect success, and I look at it as in I want the biggest for my team to want to lean on me. I’m a leader on this team and leadership just doesn’t come from chatting or talking the part, it’s about making plays. In the biggest moment, you know, lean on me. I can usually figure it out.”
On playing in primetime: “My time, primetime. You know, the world is watching, and I always look at it as another opportunity to show the world who I am and how I’m coming. I know my teammates have my back and being a positive influence, a positive force on this team, keeping my energy high, and just letting them know I won’t let them down.”
On how confident they were getting the ball back with five minutes to go: “We were confident even when stuff wasn’t looking as good. That’s a great football team. You know, it’s a four-quarter game, and that’s a really good defense out there. But I don’t care who we were playing, I feel like we grind hard and we’ll get the win. We’ve got a great head coach and we’re all meshing at the right time.”
On forcing turnovers and playing complementary football: “It was huge. We talked about it all week: Trying to hammer out the ball and take the ball off those guys. They’re a very good offensive team and just a very good team, and we knew we had to get the turnovers, and that feeds the team. Getting the turnover feeds the team, so [it’s] something we harped on all week, and it was [Jaylinn] Hawkins and ‘KC’ [K’Lavon Chaisson] that both got the punch out, so glad they got those out, and they came at really big moments.”
On making plays in the fourth quarter: “I feel like, as a DB, you kind of always feel like that. You always feel like you have to make a play. You want to make a play, because life as a DB, as you know, if you make a play, everybody sees it. If you don’t make a play, everybody sees it. Just the team and the guys trusting us to go out there and make plays, and whoever’s in the DB room that makes the play, and it happened to be me on that play. But, there’s plenty of other plays that all of us have made, and we love making those plays.”
On how good it feels to make the playoffs: “It’s pretty cool. It’s cool. I feel like it’s been some time coming. We put the work in. We bought in, and it’s nice to clinch, but we’re far from done. We’ll worry about the playoffs when they come, but we have the Jets next week and another division game, and everybody knows how division games get. So, we’ll enjoy this on the plane ride back like every other week, and tomorrow, we’re onto the Jets.”
On what changed for the Patriots defense when Ravens QB Lamar Jackson went out: “Everybody knows what Lamar [Jackson] brings, but [Tyler] Huntley coming in, he’s not just no slap quarterback. He’s in the NFL, and he’s played for a while and done it. A couple of guys, we got to see him last year, so we kind of knew him a little bit, but it didn’t really change our game plan or mindset or anything when Lamar went out. It was whoever steps out there as quarterback, as a defense, we want to disrupt them and get off the field.”
On what they learned from last week’s loss: “You’re going to learn from the good and from the bad. Just like this game, we’re going to learn from it because there was a lot of stuff that we could’ve cleaned up. There was a lot of stuff we could’ve done better, and even though it’s better with a win, we’ll always learn from the good and bad.”
On his forced fumble on RB Derrick Henry: “It started early in the week. We started practicing punch-outs every day at practice. The biggest thing Coach [Mike Vrabel] was focusing on was takeaways. So, we went out there to go get takeaways. Punching was one of the ways we could get those takeaways. I saw the opportunity, I spun off a block, and I swung like Mike [Tyson] and blessed that the ball came out.”
On what it means to clinch the playoffs: “It’s big, but there’s a lot more work to do. There’s more work we have to do. We have to put more focus on our jobs, and we’ve got to keep going. We need to focus on next week. We’ve still got the Jets and it’s the NFL, everybody is good.”
On how confident they are in QB Drake Maye with five minutes to go: “Really confident. I’m confident in everybody on this team. Confident in ‘8’ [Stefon Diggs], ’85’ [Hunter Henry], Drake, Rhamondre [Stevenson], the defense, and everyone else on the team.”
On the punch out drills in practice: “We did a lot more of those this week, because if you take the ball away in this game, it changes the game. We want to try to get the ball to ’10’ [Drake Maye] as much as possible because we believe in him.”
On the Ravens fumbling issues: “It was an emphasis on their players all week. We felt like they were pretty loose with the ball, so we saw that as opportunities. They’re a very talented team, but that was one of the emphases we had saw and thought the takeaways would be key in this game.”
On reports of all the guys out: “We just battled. We have a lot of toughness, and a lot of guys stepped up. That’s the name of this game is guys being able to step up once their name is called. A lot of guys did that tonight. It’s pretty cool to have the same exact situation as last week. To be able to come through in that aspect was pretty cool.”
On RB Rhamondre Stevenson’s performance tonight and this year: “That’s what we expect of Rhamondre [Stevenson] every time. Obviously, ‘Tre’ [TreVeyon Henderson] going down and him having to step up and almost play every down. Just the toughness he showed, continuing to battle, run hard and obviously come up with the big play at the end. But I think the pass protection, some of the stuff in the pass game was huge. It’s just a lot of fun to have him on our team.”
On tonight being similar to last week’s game and the attitude in the huddle: “It’s what we wanted, honestly. To not come through last week was disappointing for all of us. We felt like we left a lot of plays out there, and it was disappointing to come out that week like we were last week. But, to be able to put ourselves right back in that situation again was pretty cool. And on the road, it’s loud and everybody is against us. It was just us out there, and it was pretty cool to come through [with a win].”
On why they play so well on the road: “I don’t know. There’s a lot of underdogs in there. There’s a lot of guys who play with a chip on their shoulder on this team, and we just kind of feed off that. Everybody was against us. It’s a lot of fun to come in and quiet a crowd, and I think everybody feeds off of that.”
On WR Stefon Diggs on the sideline: “[Stefon Diggs] does it every week. He’s very consistent with his energy and his juice. Obviously, [he’s] making plays. He just brings a high level to the field and off the field also. He just calls everybody up.”
On clinching the playoff spot with two games left: “It’s always good being in the tournament. You clinch a bid in the tournament, and anything can happen. It’s a blessing to be back. It’s hard to get into the playoffs. Obviously, we haven’t been there in a while, but it’s cool to be back.”
On changes he’s seen in QB Drake Maye from last year until this season: “I saw a lot of it last year, to be honest with you. We weren’t winning games, but I saw the talent, I saw the poise and how [Drake Maye] handled everything last year, I think, translated in a big way. I just commend him in a big aspect. He just stayed consistent, and he never rides the ups and downs. He’s very consistent.”
On how nice it was to see everything come together: “It’s huge. We just worry about the next play ahead of you. That’s all we can do. I think defensively, offensively and [on] special teams, that’s all we can do. We put ourselves in a hole in the fourth quarter, but to be able to come back and respond in that aspect was huge for this team, and we’re excited to kind of build off of that.”
