HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening Statement: "It's great seeing everybody. I really appreciate everybody being here. We're preparing for our game on Sunday night. We're excited, looking forward to it, and we have a lot of work to do. What questions do you have?"
Obviously, we weren't there yesterday to be with you for the Browns-Steelers game, any way you can reenact your reaction to the fourth-down pass that kind of sealed the Browns' win? (Jamison Hensley) "Thanks for asking. Is there something out there on that?" (Reporter: No.) "Oh, good. There were phones. Well, the coaches came over, and some players came over to the house, and it was probably like a lot of fans. We had to watch it. And there were plenty of times where I wasn't watching it. Someone told me at one point in time, 'Don't move.' [There were] a couple good plays that happened there, and I wasn't allowed to move, but we had fun. But it was also – it was a nailbiter. Great job by the Browns, obviously. [We have] a lot of respect for our division. Our division is a very tough division. [There are always] hard-fought games in our division across the board. All four of these teams know how to play each other. And that was a great example of AFC North football, really. So, we're appreciative of the opportunity that it affords us, and it's our job right now to prepare for it."
How do you kind of look at it when you have – Baltimore and Pittsburgh – you guys have gone at it for years in this division. I'm sure neither of you have had the seasons you thought you would have, but here you are in the last week of the season playing for the division. Is that kind of – you always say that it's a week-to-week league, and the NFL season is unpredictable. Does that kind of fall into that? (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, it's a great opportunity. We'll be playing a division championship game on Sunday; that's what we're doing in last week of the season. We're excited about that, and it's a meaningful thing. We've worked hard to get to this position. There are a lot of different paths in football, and there are a lot of different paths in life. This is the path of the 2025 season. So, here we are, and our goal is to make the most of it."
Do you expect QB Lamar Jackson to be able to play this week, or is that still to be determined? (Brian Wacker) "Well, it's to be determined. He is [still] coming off of a very serious injury, and he's working at it. I saw him in here today working at it. I think we'll know a lot more on Wednesday."
Have you had a chance to speak with the team? Did you speak to the team about this opportunity that was presented to them? (Jerry Coleman) "No, we haven't met yet. Today is an official off day today. Tomorrow, we'll be on our normal schedule since we play on Sunday. We're on our normal week schedule. So, we'll talk to them about it tomorrow."
Might you go lighter with the hitting this week, knowing the physicality of the Steelers-Ravens history brings? (Jerry Coleman) "Well, you must have been watching the [post-game] shows. Coach [Bill] Cowher talked about that. I happened to see that because I was watching TV this weekend, unlike other weekends. At this point in time of the season, we haven't been in pads for about three weeks now. The rules don't really allow you to be in pads too much, but also, we haven't wanted to be; we haven't needed to be. We will focus on technique for sure, blocking technique and all the different things that we do, but it's not – at this point in time in the season, there's not a lot of hitting that you do in practice anyway. So, it's kind of where we're at."
Could RB Justice Hill return for practice this week? (Jeff Zrebiec) "[There is a] possibility. I'll probably know more about that closer to Wednesday, but we haven't discussed that yet today."
With QB Tyler Huntley, you talked about him when you guys brough him back here. Obviously, he'd been here a number of years and then went away, and then he comes back; what gave you guys the belief and trust in him? We've seen how he's played in these sort of must-win games this year. How have you sort of seen him grow to this point in his career? (Brian Wacker) "Well, it's just a ... really a credit to [Tyler Huntley] and what he's been doing all really since he got into the NFL. He was a hard worker when he came here and had a couple of opportunities, as you remember, and did pretty darn well for the most part. And he's kind of shown he had a chance and then went into other places and continued to grow and improve. I feel like there was noticeable improvement in different aspects of his game; he'd be the first to tell you that, I know. And then, when he came back in – and we'd watch him on tape – we'd seen him in games from last year and then preseason tape this year. But when he came back in, just because the opportunity presented itself, he was available. It was just really an opportune type of a thing for us. And he looked good in practice. He looked like, 'Wow, I'll tell you, 'Snoop' [Tyler Huntley] has come a ways; he's improved – and he was good before. So, to see it come to fruition in these games and to win these big games is really awesome. It's just incredible, nice, wonderful, and he deserves it. And we're definitely appreciative of it. The guys rallied, played great football around him, and he played a heck of a game."
Can you name maybe one of those noticeable improvements? (Brian Wacker) "Well, I just think it's just operating the offense, for sure. Decision making at the line was really good. You're in Lambeau Field, [and] it's loud. It wasn't perfect. We had a couple pre-snap things, but nothing too damaging. The ball handling – I thought – was good. [Tyler Huntley had] ball security and protected the football. He made good decisions [about] where he put the ball throwing it and got the ball out really in good rhythm, because they were mostly all rhythm passes, got the ball out on rhythm. All those things were ... It's definitely a step up, probably, in his career, I'd say he continued to climb with."
I know QB Lamar Jackson didn't practice all last week, but throughout the week, with the back contusion, were there improvements? Were you told there were improvements with him throughout that week though? (Jamison Hensley) "Yes. Yes, absolutely. There was improvement throughout the week. It was not good at all early in the week, and it improved as the week went on, and that was cause for optimism."
Did the final decision of QB Lamar Jackson's game status come down to the training staff and consulting with them? (Jerry Coleman) "It is what it always is, the doctors and training staff [make those decisions]. The coaches aren't deciding who plays from a medical standpoint."
The effectiveness that you have seen from QB Tyler Huntley and his two starts, does that change the calculus at all with ... I mean, if QB Lamar Jackson is kind of close to ready, but you're not sure, do you push it or not push it? The fact that you have a lot of confidence in Tyler, does that play into that? (Childs Walker) "No, I think the fact that we have a lot of confidence in Tyler [Huntley] is a real big positive and a real plus, but it doesn't factor into whether Lamar [Jackson] plays. If Lamar's ready to go, he's playing. That's it for sure."
Through all the excitement post-game, you did acknowledge the shock of how the defense played. Now, having reviewed the tape, what did you make of that? You talked about big plays; was there a theme? Was there something that really jumped out as far as why that was happening? (Luke Jones) "Yes, there was. It was just technique. It was technique in the back end, really at the corner position. And it wasn't anything – it wasn't really across the board. It wasn't any kind of miscommunication or anything like that. We played things right; we just didn't play the pass game well from a coverage standpoint in the back end. It was really the outside-lane throws that you saw made. They were just too easy. We didn't cover them well. And then the quarterback getting out of the pocket. We got [Malik Willis] a few times, but he got out a few times. He's elusive, but a couple of those were more our fault. Our rush lanes weren't as good as they needed to be, and sometimes it was getting him down, too. He got out of our grasp once or twice. So, those are the two things that were very much 'pinpointed' to the problem in terms of the yards that were given up. We had one – I'll say this – we had one seam route; the first touchdown was a seam route against our Cover-2 that we didn't play that right or well. Honestly, too, it wasn't a great call against that route. So, I'd say those were the three things."
I know you guys always have a pretty diverse run menu, but just the effectiveness of the zone running game over these past couple of weeks where RB Derrick Henry has just been ripping off chunk gains. I guess what kind of growth have you seen from that particular aspect of your run game? (Jonas Shaffer) "It's probably up average-wise, just because we hit some big runs. It hasn't all been – you say zone – there's a lot of versions of zone runs. Like the last one was a toss-zone play that we run with a crack block on the edge. You saw [Devontez Walker] have a heck of a block on the defensive end there. So, I think a lot of it's just, it's really execution, it really is what it is. And I think our coaches do a really good job of scheming up the run game and presenting all the different types of schemes, but even just the zone versions. [With] presenting it different ways, there's different ways to tag it in terms of how you're blocking the edges, how you're blocking the linebackers, who you're working towards and that sort of thing, whether it's an inside zone, an outside zone, a cutback play [or] a bounce play. These are all things that are part of it that I think have been put together really well, but really the main thing is the execution – the blocking and the running have made them work."
Can you talk about that? I'm curious what you see from the tight ends. It looked like the tight ends were really blocking very well in Green Bay. TE Isaiah Likely had a really good blocking day. What'd you see from them in that regard? (Ryan Mink) "Yes, [they were] really good, really good. Isaiah [Likely] was really good on the edge; he did a great job on numerous different opportunities and gave them a lot of trouble out there on the edge. But really, it's a new challenge this week, because these guys on the edge are really good. These outside backers that we're about to go against in Pittsburgh, we know them well. We play them a lot. They know how to get off blocks. They do a great job of setting the edge and tearing off blocks, probably as good or better than anybody in the league in terms of that and in terms of their run defense. The other thing they do a great job of is they present off the backside edge really aggressively on your zone run game. So, you have to deal with those guys. That's kind of where it starts. If you want to run the outside-zone play, man, you better have a plan for those guys."
Was the plan to kind of lean on RB Derrick Henry as much as you guys did? Or was it, as you saw that the kind of night he was having, did you kind of just pivot that way? (Cordell Woodland) "It was to lean on [Derrick Henry] like we did. And I know there's a lot of talk about that, but it's pretty much always the plan that way to a degree. But I would say we definitely ramped it up for sure, [with the] conditions and where we were at as a team, where our offense is at and what we thought was the best way to win the game – it was definitely Derrick Henry. And then the opportunity was really presenting itself, because we were having success, and we got plays. So, the more plays you have, the more times you can run it, and the more times you can give it to Derrick. And really, the only times he really came off the field were obvious third downs and when he needed a break. So, that's kind of how it went."
You guys have obviously played each other a million times. It's a rivalry game. It is what it is. This is the first time this will be a win-or-go-home game for these two teams in Week 18. I'm just curious, I know you're focused on the game, but what do you think of that? Do you find that interesting or compelling in any way? (Brian Wacker) "I really didn't realize it until [senior vice president of communications] Chad [Steele] mentioned it when we were walking in the room here. I guess he anticipated your question, and I was like, 'Wow, is that right? I didn't realize that. That's something.' And I probably would've thought it might've been another time it would've come up. But that's about as much head space as I can give it. So, other than that, it's a division championship game for sure, but it's a game; it's a game. It's in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. We kind of understand that part of it, too. So, we have to get ready for all that."
With Steelers WR DK Metcalf not being available to them, how does that change your preparation for that offense? (Cordell Woodland) "You look at who's in, and who's out, for sure. Obviously, DK Metcalf, look at the trouble he gave us in the first game, so you factor it. You factor [Darnell] Washington, whether he can play or not, for sure, [and Calvin] Austin [III], whether he can play or not, for sure. Those are big playmakers for those guys, but then you look at the other guys they have; [Kenneth] Gainwell is incredible. Their running backs are just, I think, top of the line running backs. Both those two guys are [great]. Jaylen [Warren] is amazing, downhill, and they get him the ball in so many different ways. They do a great job of getting him the ball. They'll run a progression-pass concept over here. Then, they'll have like a – we call it an escort-type of a flare pass – and really, it's a run play if they dump it out there, and Aaron [Rodgers] does an incredible job of sorting all that stuff out [and] screens; they do a great job, and then you have the tight ends. They have two tight ends that are legitimate big-time pass-catching threats, so we have to deal with both those two guys. And then Jonnu [Smith], he'll take it, sweeps, he'll get in the backfield and run it; he'll take a pitch. He'll do all that kind of stuff. He'll be up on the edge blocking, and [Pat] Freiermuth [can be] really anywhere. [He runs] seam routes, middle-of-the-field [routes], quick-end breakers, stick routes, option routes, seven routes to the corner. You have to be all over those routes with him. Then, [Marquez] Valdes-Scantling, he's a big target in fade [routes] and box fade. [He's] a crossing-route guy, a big-body guy, so he kind of fills that role for Metcalf to a degree. They have guys, so you game-plan for the guys that they have."
In some manner, is this the way it should be? The NFL decided to make this game primetime, game 252 of the regular season, knowing the history between these two teams, and it all comes down to just the regular season. Going into this year, a lot of people thought it was going to come down to the Ravens and the Steelers. I don't know if you looked at it the same way or look at the way the NFL has placed this game on Sunday night in the same fashion with the respect they're showing the franchises. (Jerry Coleman) "What's the question? What's my thoughts on it being the last game?"
That and the longstanding history and the fact that the NFL showed you guys so much respect placing you in primetime. They had a choice. (Jerry Coleman) "Yes, it's really awesome. I agree with you. I think it's really cool. It's what you want. Nobody was disappointed that we're playing Sunday night. It's not forefront of your mind, because we have to go play the game. The game could have been at 4 o'clock. It could have been 1 o'clock. It could have been Saturday [or] Saturday night. That would have been fine. I wouldn't have really cared, so the fact that it's Sunday night just means we have to wait longer. That's kind of my mindset. We have to wait that much longer to go play, so we have to set our clock accordingly and be ready at 8:20 on Sunday night. But all those things that you're talking about, I think when you take a step back, especially as a Ravens fan or in the organization, you have to take a step back, and you have to nod your head a little bit and go, 'Yes, that's probably the way it should be.' We respect the Steelers, their organization, and we respect the AFC North, so all those things you're saying, sure, I acknowledge that and feel good about."
Along those lines, as someone who's as versed in football history as you are, was it surprising to you to learn that there's never been an AFC North three peat, and now that you guys are a win away from that, just how does it feel? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, I've known that for a while. It was a surprise, but then not a surprise when I thought about it for about five seconds, because it's so darn competitive. It kind of goes back to what you're talking about. I'm assuming it's the only division [where] that's the case. I'll bet it is, if we were allowed to bet." (laughter) "It's something to think about. It's a big deal, but it's a game. It's like any big game; there's a lot riding on it, and there's a lot to earn, but you have to go play a winning football game. You have to go play the type of game that can beat a really good football team in their stadium when the stakes are really high, and I know they feel the same way, but it's our responsibility to take care of us, take care of our business, play our game the way we play it and to execute it the way we need to execute to get the job done. Keep it simple. Go play hard. Go play well. Go play good football. Our goal will be to play our best game of the season, and that's what we'll be really focused on. That's what we have to get ready for."
I know it was an anxiety-ridden watch party, but I guess it was also a little bit of film for you guys. Was there anything that stuck out about the Cleveland Browns' gameplan against the Pittsburgh Steelers that you guys are drawing from? (Giana Han) "[The Browns'] gameplan was probably play to their defense, and that's smart. They did a great job with that. Their defense was up to it [and] played a great game. Offensively, they didn't have too many mistakes. They had one close call that didn't hurt them. They had another pick down there on their end [of the field], but I'm sure they tried to minimize the turnovers. That was probably a big part of their plan; they did that for the most part. They ran the ball pretty well, at times, effectively, but they played a field-position game, and special teams was solid for them, so that was probably the basis of their plan, I would think."
Is there anything you could take away from the Browns performance against the Steelers on Sunday that you could apply to your team? (Giana Han) "Yes, absolutely. All those things are going to be really, really important. We're not the same team as [the Browns], so we'll lean on different things schematically. We'll lean on different things probably strategically, but generally a winning football game, I think that was kind of the basis. I think [the Browns] tried to shorten the game. That's always part of it, but you also have to play to your strengths, and we have certain strengths that other teams don't have. So, we want to play to those strengths, too."
When you're watching the really tense moments of a game like that, are you still a coach – are you still in "coach brain" – or are you a fan at those moments? (Childs Walker) "I'm in fan mode, to be honest with you. I'm complaining about the play calls." (laughter) "I'm wondering why they didn't do this or that. 'What are they thinking?' The clock management. 'What are we doing?' I'm just being honest."
John, was the celebration muted because you know the challenge that's ahead? What was the atmosphere like when the Browns won? (Jeff Zrebiec) "... It was uncorked, man. It was raucous. Yes, it was great. Everybody was jumping around and fired up and happy. There was a lot of hugging, a lot of hugging.
What did you like about the emotions that went into that game and really the accountability that the players had for each other? Whether it was getting plays done to ensuring there were minimal mistakes throughout and taking that into another must-win game. (Valerie Preactor) "Yes, that's exactly right. We've been playing with a lot of energy, a lot of emotion and a lot of physicality for a lot of weeks. And I feel like our team has carried that all season. Like most teams, we've had ups and downs with our execution, and our execution probably was at – for the most part – a really high level throughout the game in all three phases, but not [fully] where we want it to be either. So, we have to keep chasing the execution. But as far as the other part you're talking about, the intangible part, I thought that was at a really high level, and it has been at a high level, but [it was] probably at its highest level [in Green Bay]. So, we need to even take that to the next level, too, because it has to go there. This is a playoff game. Then after that, it's going to just keep ramping up. I don't know if it can get much more intense than it's going to get on Sunday night, but it's in that realm. It's going to be in that realm. So, we have to be ready for it."
You were asked about job security last week and if you expect to be back next year. A lot of people are going to maybe look at this game, probably unfairly so, as a kind of referendum between yourself and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin as the two longest-tenured coaches in the league. And I'm just curious if you feel that at all and kind of just how you view that generally? (Brian Wacker) "Yes. I really just don't have the space for that. It's just not something that you have the ability to think about. It's not important. If it was important, and it had an impact and a bearing, then I think you'd think about it, because it's always that way. All that stuff makes it all kind of interesting and kind of fun and real. It's sports, and that's how sports are. And I think that's part of the intrigue of it all, so I feel really honored to be a part of that. And if I am just being honest with you, I feel really honored to be a part of it. And I know there's always pressure. There's always pressure, but I think it was Billie Jean King who said that pressure is a privilege, right? Was it Billie Jean King who said that? And that's something that is earned. So, we feel like it's something very worthwhile to be in games like this. And if those are the things that are being talked about along with that, that's OK. That's a privilege, too. So, let's get to work, and let's go try to play our best game and try to coach our best game."
It feels like the turnovers have been kind of the key thing in some of these big games, especially in some of the big moments. Is that something that you feel like you need to overemphasize going into this game, or do you not want to spend too much time talking about something you don't want to be an issue? (Cordell Woodland) "Yes, [that's a] good psychology question, probably. What would be the best way to make it clear and make the point? But it's critically important. We probably couldn't overemphasize it enough, and it's just going to be so important. The team that wins the turnover battle is going to have a real edge in winning the game. So, we know that. That needs to be us. We need to make that happen. You know they're having the exact same conversation over there, just like every team that's playing this week is talking about that. But in a game like this, that's it. It's going to start with that. So, we have to make that priority [No.] 1."
How did you get out of that game from a health perspective? (Jeff Zrebiec) "We got out of it well. We're in good shape, health-wise. [There is] nothing else that's a major thing or looks like it's going to be an issue at this point in time. Hopefully nothing will pop up as the week goes on."
Is CB Marlon Humphrey going to have to play with the cast on his hand? (Jonas Shaffer) "That's a good question. There's a timeframe on that. I'm not sure this week if it's coming off or not. We'll know more about that. I just don't know. It's going to be kind of in this range. We'll check on that for you."
