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What the Chargers Said After Their Playoff Win in Baltimore

010719_WhatTheChargersSaid-NEW

Head Coach Anthony Lynn

(opening statement) "We came here to play a four-quarter football game, and we did. At times, it looked like we had gotten a nice little lead, but that team [Ravens] fought back. That team played hard, and this is a tough place to play. I feel like the first time we played them, we played their game. Today, I think we played our game. Our defense was outstanding. We held that team down to 100 yards rushing. No one has played that team the way our defense played today. I was really impressed with the way our defense stepped up. Especially with playing the little guys inside and not playing with our linebackers. So, my hat goes off to Gus Bradley and his staff. They did an outstanding job all week of getting that defense ready for this unconventional style of offense. Offensively, at times, we struggled to execute two plays in a row, but we did move the ball when we needed to move the ball. And Michael Badgley did a heck of a job of making his field goals. They made a big difference in this game. Overall, I was pleased with our efforts. It was definitely a complementary win."

(on why they decided to go with seven defensive backs) "Well, QB Lamar [Jackson] is fast. He's real fast. We thought putting the speed guys in there—we didn't know if that was going to work, but we wanted to take a look at it. We feel like, today, it worked fine. They could run it down or at least catch him. With the linebackers in there, the physical guys, the bigger guys, that didn't work out so well the first time."

(on whether it looked like Lamar Jackson got frustrated) "Well, you know, if you're used to rushing the ball for 300 yards a game, and we hold you to under 90, yeah, I would get flustered."

(on what recently playing the Ravens did for their game plan) "The more times you see that offense, the better you're going to be against it. I used to run that offense, and I remember we started off really fast, but, once people got enough tape on us, they could catch up. And I think that's what happened today, we saw it enough."

(on whether he had to be convinced that was the way to go on defense) "We've gone small before. This wasn't the first time we've done that. And we've gone small and had success. I wanted to see it, but we were definitely ready to move on to the next personnel group if that didn't work. But it worked."

QB Philip Rivers

(on how he feels about getting a road win in the playoffs) "This is a playoff win. This is how it is in the playoffs. All year long, we have won so many different ways. We've won ugly and we've won pretty. We've come from behind and we've won on last second field goals. It's just important to get a win."

(on all the field goals) "That is a great defense over there. There were several times that we had a short field and their defense was so tough, we had to get field goals. They are just so good on defense."

(on the Chargers' defense) "Our defense played great, especially in the first half. Coming into this game, we knew that the Ravens had been ahead 75 percent of the time since they changed their offense. We wanted to take a lead and see how they responded. Even when it was nine-to-nothing and 12-to-nothing, we were in good shape because we kept getting points."

(on the Chargers' offensive struggles) "I'll tell you what; there are a lot of bad offensive games by teams facing that defense. We were pleased with the way our offensive line played, protecting the quarterback."

(on his conversation with OLB Matt Judon) "There's nothing malicious out there. I just thought he had two borderline late hits. That's just part of the game. I don't like to see anyone hurt."

DE Melvin Ingram III

(on the difference between today and the Ravens' win 15 days ago) "We played assignment football. We were told to see what we're supposed to see. They do a lot to confuse us, but we stayed with it and it was a much better result for us."

(on the Ravens' fourth quarter rally) "They made some plays, but we were able to hang on."

RB Melvin Gordon III

(on his game) "It was alright. I missed a little bit of time because I had to go into the locker room. I got back out there, [but] we just couldn't convert in the red zone. It's unfortunate, but that's where we have to kick it in."

(on if the Ravens made any changes from the last game) "I'm not sure. I think our defense just came out to play, and they gave us a short field, and we were able to get points from it."

DE Joey Bosa

(on the game) "I'm just exhausted after that one. I'm not extremely happy about the way I finished the game. I kind of got a little complacent with the score. I need to rush a lot better. I need to put that on me. But I think as a defense, we did a pretty good job throughout the game."

(on facing Jackson) "Facing him a few weeks ago, we already had an idea of what he can do. After watching a couple more weeks of film and watching our game against them, we had a better idea of what they were going to do, and you kind of saw that in the first half. They weren't able to do much, and it will be a different challenge next week with a true drop-back quarterback. He's ridiculously fast, so you feel like you've got him, and then he'll separate real quick. We did what we were supposed to do most of the game, and then he kind of got after us in the fourth quarter, but we were able to shut it down."

S Derwin James

(on what he felt during the Ravens' last drive) "I'm thinking, 'I've got to make a play to end this game.' We let up a little bit at the end, but I felt like we came to play ball today."

(on whether they ever felt they had taken the Ravens' will during the game) "We felt like, coming into the first half, we played dominant football up until the fourth quarter. I feel like we didn't finish the way we wanted to. Hats off to Baltimore, they didn't lay down. They fought to the end."

(on making any changes playing the Ravens a second time) "We didn't make many changes. We may have put a few more DBs on the field for them. They've got a lot of speed over there. Lamar [Jackson] is so elusive with the ball. Sideline to sideline, we wanted him to be able to run, and I felt like we did a great job today."

(on limiting Jackson) "He's still a great player. He fought to the end. We got to him a little early. We wanted some of that sweet potato pie he was talking about."

WR Keenan Allen

(on if this was the craziest game he had ever played in) "No question. It was a playoff game where you've got to play all four quarters. That's what they did, and we did, but we came out with the win."

(on knowing how to win on the road) "I don't think we stressed out at all today. I don't think we had our backs against the wall. We felt very comfortable for the majority of the game. I think we played very well."

WR Mike Williams

(on facing the Ravens' defense) "We know they're a good defense. They were going to throw a lot of different things at us. We just had to move the ball. I feel like we moved the ball pretty well, we just didn't get any touchdowns. That's the main thing. We ended up with field goals, so we've got to watch film and figure out ways to get the ball in the end zone more."

LB Uchenna Nwosu

(on his sack and forced fumble on the last play) "I just saw Lamar [Jackson] holding the ball out. My eyes got big, like looking at candy when you're first born, and I just swiped for it."

CB Desmond King II

(on winning a playoff game) "It's the best feeling in the world. We're going to enjoy it for the next two days, then turn the page and move onto New England. We're not done here."

(on the defense giving up points late after controlling the game early) "That is some adversity. You're going to go through that in games, and this was a playoff game, a big game. You've got to expect the best from your opponent, so you've just got to be focused and play to the very end."

(on his 72-yard kickoff return) "That was another draw play. We've been working on that all week. We knew what kind of coverage they were going to have because of playing them in the last game. They were over-pursuing it a lot, so we changed it up a little bit. It was there. Our play call was perfect."

(on facing Jackson a second time) "It was great. We played a great defense [and] put some pressure on him, so we had him in positions where he wasn't comfortable. He still made plays. He's a great quarterback. He was making plays for his team. We did what we had to do out there today."

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