Quotes from:

Zac Taylor

Head coach

Opening Statement

"Just sick after that loss because each half, I thought the defense in the first half gave us a chance. The offense just had four possessions that didn't generate any offense and give us a chance there to take a lead, take a tie into halftime. In the second half the offense came out I thought played well and the defense couldn't quite get off the field. So when we talk about complimentary football that is what we are talking about and it wasn't overall good enough. You see pieces that we can lean into and continue to grow, but losing this game on the road there is no consolation there. We expected to win. I thought we should have won that game. Credit to them. They did all the things that they needed to do to get this win and we just came up short, and that is just a cumulative team effort over the course of the game."

On If the Offense Struggling Early Was Due to a New Quarterback

"I don't want to put it there. He was definitely ready as he came into the game. Just part of it is like you hear me say a lot getting that first, first down and getting a flow there. We went three, three and outs in those first four drives and I think before the half that certainly gave us some confidence even though we came up with no points. We got into a rhythm. We found some things in the pass game. We were able to complement it with the run game so we felt coming into halftime that the defense had done enough to keep us in that game. Getting the ball to start the half we were going to have a shot there. So I definitely think we walked into halftime with some confidence as lousy as it is to say that with zero points on the board, but that was the truth, and you definitely saw that coming out of the second half there."

On the Key to Getting into a Rhythm Offensively

"Just getting the first, first down, and it felt like we had a good plan coming out, good flow. We were able to do some of the stuff that we wanted to get to early in the game, but we just didn't have the plays. We had no normal down plays, it felt like maybe four or five. So you don't get a chance, all the stuff you game plan and are ready for you just can't access it until you get that first down and get into a flow. In the second half we were able to do that a little bit more, and the guys were feeling it, they came off the ball and they played well for us."

On Getting the First First down

"I don't even remember what the first play was that got us there, but we felt like coming out we had a good plan that we had worked on all week and the guys executed it."

On If the Tackling Was Good Enough

"I think that will show when we watch the tape. To my eye I noticed, I don't know how many, but I noticed some, and credit to their group. They have a good offense and they attack you in a lot of different ways. They have physical runners and certainly as we watch the tape we will see if that is something that we have to do a much better job of."

On Going with LB Barrett Carter This Week

"I think that says more about Barrett [Carter] than anything else. Barrett has just been an ascending player and it's time to see what he can do in a full-time role. We have given him bits and pieces over time and it was just time to throw him into the fire and let him go. Logan [Wilson] still has his role that he will play. We have a lot of confidence in Logan as well. This was just more about giving Barrett an opportunity to see how much potential we can out of him as the season gets going."

On If LB Barrett Carter Was Ready for It

"He was definitely ready for it. Yeah, I mean I obviously can't assess his play right now without seeing it, but his mindset has always been one that I have believed in and I thought he had a great mentality all week. We will assess the tape and see how it went." (on the second half false start on the 1-yard line) "Yeah you're on the inch-yard line you are just trying to hammer it in there. We had a false start on the right edge somewhere and obviously that took us back. That is obviously not what we want."

On the Injuries to DE Trey Hendrickson and TE Mike Gesicki

"I think Trey [Hendrickson] was a back contusion and [Mike] Gesicki was a [pectoral]. I don't know how serious either one of them were."

On QB Joe Flacco's First Game

"I certainly thought that he had a lot of confidence and got into a rhythm. There are times when you get in those games where you are having to throw the ball there at the end to get back in it, it is not all stuff that is on the call sheet. We were having to adlib a little bit as you explore how they are playing our guys. You have to adjust as the game goes and I thought he did an unbelievable job of handling that, just a description of a play at times. He just made it work and found ways to get balls to our guys. He knows where to find Ja'Marr [Chase] and Tee [Higgins], whether they were single covered or double covered, he gave them a chance, and it paid off for us. I am not talking about the end of the game. Plenty of our stuff we worked on all week, we executed well and when you get into a pass-fest, you are trying to get your star guys the ball and you're having to adjust to how they are playing. There are some not complicated things, but things maybe we didn't rep during the week, and I thought he did a great job of handling it."

On If He Was Encouraged by the Chemistry with QB Joe Flacco and the Offense

"I think you have to be. We are disappointed that we didn't win the game. We didn't come here to lose the game. We came in here with enough to win and I think if we had done a better job complementing each other and a better job with the field position battle we would have given ourselves a much better opportunity. Turnovers were one to nothing. Penalties, we had three. A lot of things that we came in here and said we are going to have to do to win the game we did and again it was just too little in each half by each unit there."

On If the Long Field Goal Before Halftime Would Have Worked out

"Yeah, that would have been great if he hadn't called timeout. For us to have the confidence for Evan [McPherson] to kick a 67-yarder. I don't know where that would rank if that is the longest, I have no idea. But he made it, so clearly he can make it, and just came up a little short on the next one."

On QB Joe Flacco's Final Drive

"I thought he did a great job. He did a great job with the protections. Did a great job of handling the whole offense and that is a credit to him. You can't just walk in there with nothing, and go into Lambeau and expect to beat the Green Bay Packers with nothing. So we tried to find ways to get in as much as we could and we were able to do that because of the confidence that he really gave us as each day that passed. As he recited the play calls in meetings and at practice, he was handling them well. I know he has played a lot of ball, but it doesn't matter when you are going into a new offense and new receivers, and Ja'Marr [Chase] really was limited two of the days this week, and to go out there and have that connection is pretty impressive."

On If There Is a Common Thread with the Slow First Halves on Offense

"I think that is the best way to say it. It is hard to say that there is a common thread. The common thread is that we aren't scoring and we aren't moving the ball well enough. To say that each game has been the same is not true. One game was turnovers. Another game was penalties. This one we just lacked rhythm early on. We just need to find a way to start faster there."

On Getting Excited After Converting the Two-point Try

"We expected to win the game. When you come here to Lambeau you put pressure on them. You go for two, make it down six, and now they have pressure on them. So I think it just gave our team some energy. It gave me confidence that we were going to win the game. When that stuff happens for us, you feel like we are going to go win. Just frustrated right now because we weren't able to pull it out. These guys deserve that. This is a team, I know we have lost several games in a row now. You don't feel that. I mean this as a positive thing. These guys expect to win. They believe in each other. We are going to break through and we are going to be in the thick of this thing. We are going to find some wins. We are going to hang tight together and it is going to come sooner rather than later. I can promise you that. Just looking at these guys and knowing what they are made of, the lack of finger-pointing, the accountability they all have, the confidence they still have in each other. We just have had a tough stretch and we haven't created the plays that we need to create to win the game. I have been around long enough to know that we have the ingredients, and we are going to figure it out and we're going to find a way to be right in the thick of this thing when it matters most."

On Playing on Thursday Night Football

"You don't have a lot of time to lick your wounds here. It is more of a mental week this week, but what a tremendous opportunity. Look at where our division is at. What a tremendous opportunity to go get the team that is leading it right now, and our first opportunity at home, in primetime. They have a short week. We have a short week. So it's a fair playing field. They are going to come in here with a lot of confidence, obviously, with the way they have won their games and we are going to find a way to get up for it and do everything we can to find a win."

On If the Second Half Offense Will Carry over to the Next Game

"Yeah, I think it has more of a chance to do that then not. You have confidence, but careful because we didn't do enough to win there, but there is confidence on offense with Joe [Flacco] just showing up that we can continue to play off that. It will be an entirely different defense, a different structure, and again we just have to come together as a team to figure it out and find a way to win."

On CB DJ Turner II and WR Ja'Marr Chase

"I thought DJ [Turner II] showed up big time. I thought he made a lot of plays on the ball and he operates with a lot of confidence. He practices hard. It is important to him. I have seen a lot of leadership qualities from him, and so I was excited to see DJ, I am not surprised, I was excited, not surprised. He did a great job of getting his hands on some balls and he was there in some key moments. Ja'Marr's touchdown catch was unbelievable. I can't even tell you the description of the route we ran there because that was one of those here is what he is going to do and let's go do it. I know they had tight coverage underneath and the safety leaning over the top. Joe [Flacco] just gave him a chance and somehow Ja'Marr just found a way to make a huge play for us. Again, it gave us a lot of energy and it gave us a chance. Fourth down."

On Silver Linings

"I'm careful with the silver linings because our expectation is not to be in the spot that we are in right now, but it is where we are. We have to continue to move forward and the way that it is shaking out we are still right there with a perfect opportunity in front of us. Our guys understand that. You don't have to, I don't feel like I have to tip-toe around how I say everything. We have lost several teams in a row and we are still a good team. I don't feel like you have to tip-toe; you don't have to treat them like that. They understand. They know what we have. I know it is probably dark outside the building. They don't really feel that. I think there is a lot of confidence here that we are the team that we set out to be in training camp and the offseason. We are going to find those opportunities and we will be right there when it matters most." (on OT Amarius Mims' injury) "I don't have an update on Amarius, no."

**JOE FLACCO**

Quarterback

On Overall Thoughts on First Game

"Well, I thought as an offense we settled in, you know probably sometime in the second quarter. And I thought that we were able to get over the hump in that quarter but we came out and played a good second half. But usually against a good football team, playing one good half isn't going to be good enough. But we gave ourselves a chance there at the end and did some good things but just not enough early on."

On the Second Half

"I think we settled down a little bit. We started to get in a little rhythm. I think that first drive really helped. I mean any time you can keep a defense, its not easy when you have to go 20 plays to score a touchdown, but any time you can keep a defense on the field that long, it is to your advantage. I think you can wear them out a little bit. It's not like we ran the ball for a ton of yards but we did have some pretty good runs, in terms for first down conversions and you know you can start to feel the physicality of us kind of pick up as the game went on."

On Him Settling into the New Team in the Beginning of the Game

"I probably settled down a little bit for sure. There was at least one or two where I could have taken just quicker, the short one. But also listen, they're a good defense so you got to give them a little bit of credit. It's just kind of how it was."

On WR Ja'Marr Chase TD and Two-point Conversion

"Listen, after the two-point conversation I was pretty pumped up, but in the moment you're just trying to keep it simple, take it one play at a time. I kind of kept telling myself that on the sideline today. Don't get too high in this environment, just kind of, no matter what the score board says, and what's going on, just remember to continue to play each play. In this league, if you're able to do that consistently, then you're going to put yourself in it down the stretch."

On the Difference Having WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins As Teammates Now

"I came over to the sideline a couple of times, and was telling Jake (Browning) like, just the way they pluck the ball out of the air. I threw a quick out route to Ja'Marr (Chase) and I didn't get the ball great and I think it was like an awful spiral, and he still just caught it with both hands. The one that I can think about to Tee (Higgins). We hit him on a little inside slant route for a third down on, I think on that first drive in the second half, and a lot of guys would go down and catch it with their body and slide but he just plucked it, right out of the air with both hands. It's pretty impressive to see where this guy's going."

On the Fourth Down TD to Ja'Marr Chase

"They came up and pressed him. We were able to take a shot, and listen, I mean, obviously when he gets a one on one, I think you'd be wrong a lot not to go his way."

On the Optimism on Turning the Team Around

"For sure, for sure, and listen, this is a long season, and I know it's easy to be down on yourself in hard times, but you know, playing with confidence shows. So, we got to find a way to kind of get some of that back, but I think we do have the ability to do that. Listen, we got a big week coming up, and these division games are always good matchups and going in and playing a good game this upcoming week could help a lot with that. And today probably helped a little bit, but you still want to win the game."

On Second Half Rhythm Carrying to the Next Game

"Yeah, I hope so. I mean you're always looking for ways to play with confidence. I think, you know, they talk about learning how to win, and good football teams know how to do that. That's because they always believe they can win. And listen, I've only been here for a week but, I think these guys in the locker room have a good head on their shoulders and I'm excited to get to work with them."

On First Impressions of Zac Taylor

"Yeah, Zac's been great man. Level-headed. I mean obviously he's been a lot of help for me this week, just putting the game plan together. Not trying to get too complicated with things, using the common sense of it. So far, yeah, he's been great, and then today on the sideline you never know, you get on the field, and you haven't been with the coaching core and what's his demeanor like on game day and I thought he was great. I thought he did a great job leading us and giving us the confidence and the stuff we need to go out there and win a game."

On Mindset Getting Second Chance to Start This Season

"I think sometimes, listen starting in this league is a big deal. I think sometimes you can make it too big of a deal in your head. So, I think for me this time around it was just, hey man, you're playing a game, and basically it just goes in line with that. Let the game come to you a little bit, play each play, do what you're supposed to on that play. Even though it is a big deal, trying to downplay it a little bit so you can go out there and have fun and play your best."

On Communication with Zac Taylor

"I think it was pretty good. I mean there were a couple plays where out there, I remember one play, I think we ended up kind of getting what we wanted. I think they got pass interference on Ja'Marr (Chase) down the right sideline or holding or whatever they ended up calling. But I definitely didn't call the right play, and I said, that's kind of why I signaled out to Ja'Marr, hey you just run this route, I know we can get that done. But overall, I think it went pretty well."

On Anything He Can Say to This Team to Get out of Skids like This

"It's tough to like generally say something for like the team. But I think as you can see individuals throughout the course of the game or in the locker room right now, I think it could be very helpful to go up to the individuals that maybe feel like they're having a hard time or whatever it may be and give them that load of confidence. Listen, sometimes you get so focused on what you didn't do well, and you think everybody is looking at you, oh my gosh, everybody's looking at me and I didn't do this well. Nobody's looking at you man. Everybody's worried about what they're doing. And I think good football teams are made up of guys that can do that, that are so focused on what they're doing, that everything else comes together. So, it's just a reminder to some of those guys that maybe are feeling that way, like hey man, like nobody's paying that much attention, like you just keep doing what you're doing, like the next play is the most important, and the next game to a certain level. So, I think if we can keep that mindset, we'll be alright."