On his mentality starting the final drive deep in Cleveland's territory:
"Field position is a huge part of that decision right there. We were talking about what plays we liked, protections that we trusted. We were able to push the ball down field a little bit. Once you get stuck down in there, the mentality is to get the ball out but do so with the first down in mind. Scramble drill happened. (WR Derrick) Willies got open and made a big play. Just goes up. I harped on it in camp – it is the next man up mentality. On guy goes down, and you see a guy who really had not gotten a lot of reps make big plays for us and contributed to our win."
On if he felt pressure from Ravens LB Terrell Suggs on the pass to Willies in OT:
"I do not know who it was, but yeah, there were guys all around. We have guys that continued to block. As I continue to get reps with them, they will realize that I am going to try to extend plays. We will just keep moving forward. It was a great defense that we just played today. Obviously, we have a lot of room for improvement, but there were some good things today."
On difficulty play-calling against a tough Baltimore defense:
"It is always tough when you are playing veterans like that that play the game so well. What it comes down to is us doing our job and doing it at a very, very high level. Not trying to do too much. Making sure that you are trying to run the right routes. Not trying to get open for yourself but you run a route trying to get somebody else open. There are just different things that we can continue to work on. That is the great thing about playing a good defense like that. You get to see and test yourself with where you are at."
On if all of his starts will go into OT:
"I hope not (laughter)."
On the team finishing the game after being close last week:
"It is huge for confidence. I think that we have been in this situation a lot. No, it has not gone our way. We had one tie and a loss – two losses. It is good to see the other side of it. Once we get into the situation, we have been there before but able to come out with it. Just keep pushing. We were frustrated that we did not score as many times as we wanted, but we never gave up. Our guys believed in it."
On his 2-0 record at FirstEnergy Stadium and the environment playing at home:
"Unbelievable environment. Our fans are some of the best in the country. I believe that. They have been hungry for a while. They deserve to see wins. Also, there is something about getting momentum. The biggest part about it is the way our defense is playing. There is zero question that we have a top-five defense in the league. They are holding people to very few points. You take out the exception of last week, and they are playing great ball. We have to score more points for them. We have momentum. We just have to capitalize on opportunities. We are giving up the ball and putting them into bad field position at times, but crowd gets into it, defense plays well and we are able to seize the moment."
On Willies' catches and stepping up:
"Great mentality. That is the type of thing that you want to see. Guys that do not get the reps, guys that do not necessarily have to be locked in during the week, but he is. He knows his stuff. He is able to go in there and execute. He is a guy that I have seen play for a while. I have been able to trust him because of that. He is locked in. He is in there every morning getting the gameplan and just making sure that he is taking advantage of his opportunity. He did that today."
On his prior knowledge of the Ravens defense and their strong record against rookie QBs:
"No. That is the first I have heard of that."
On if he pays attention to league rankings when preparing for a defense like the Ravens:
"No, we have a top rushing offense in the league and we want to be up there with a top passing offense in the league. What it comes down to is we know that they have a great defense – we knew that coming into it – but we wanted to play our best again their best. You do not pay attention to stuff on the outside. You have to show up on Sunday and do your job."
On going for it on fourth down in OT:
"You talk about the range of the kicker. That is nothing against (K) Greg (Joseph), but you have a yard mark where you want to get to and we were not there yet. His mentality was go for it and give us a chance. Obviously, very frustrated that we did not get a pass interference call when the guy pushed (WR) Jarvis (Landry) out and they knocked him over. They said that the ball was uncatchable, but that was because he was on the ground. The people in the stirpes can make a better call, I think. I will see it and be able to look at it. Regardless, the best part about all of that was that the defense went out there, got another stop and our offense did not flinch when we went back out there. We went out there and did our job. No matter what it is – good plays, bad plays, not getting calls or getting calls – we have to do our job every play. You forget what happened in the past and keep moving forward."
On the Browns taking pride in their resilience:
"Take a lot of pride in that. That shows that we are starting to change the culture around here. That guys early on thinking in the past that when something bad happens, then you kind of get in the tank a little bit, put their head down, but we have a team right now that is starting to believe in themselves and rightfully so. I take a lot of pride in the culture change and being positive, always moving forward and doing your job no matter what the situation is. That was big for us."
On when the reverse was called:
"First, I am thinking, 'Alright, who am I going to block? (Ravens OLB) Terrell Suggs or somebody else (laughter)? Then I look out there. The guy made a different play on it. He rushed up field and kind of pushed up more than we had practiced. I have to do my job and get outside to get leverage on him. We are trusting (WR Rod) Streater's speed and to make the play on it. It is what it is, moving forward and we were able to convert on third down."
On mindset after losing yards on first down on that drive deep in Cleveland territory:
"Second down, chip away. Get some of it back. See if you can get into a third and manageable. It is not about getting it all back at that point. It is taking care of the ball and chipping away."
On if this game serves notice to the AFC North that the Browns 'are back':
"I do not necessarily if I would say the Cleveland Browns are back. We have a lot of stuff to work on. The AFC North is a great division. We are bringing the competition back within the division, and that is great to see. That is great to see for the AFC North. Hopefully, everybody gets the recognition they deserve. We are taking it one week at a time so moving forward, that was a big win for us."
On if he spoke with K Greg Joseph after the missed field goal at the end of regulation:
"Didn't get a chance to talk with him. I could not decide whether I wanted to look at the kick [in overtime] or not. I turned around last second and saw it pretty low. It wasn't a pretty kick, but it went in. This also wasn't a pretty win, but it counts."
On the Browns developing toughness:
"This division is a tough division to play. You have to be able to run the ball when people know you are running the ball. It is a physical mentality up here, especially when the weather is starting to set in here pretty soon. We have what it takes. We just have to get better. We have to keep improving each week and learning from our mistakes."
On RB Duke Johnson Jr.'s performance in OT:
"Huge. That is the type of stuff that we want to see when they are focusing on different guys. We have to play matchup games. We have enough weapons where if they want to leave our guys one on one, we have to take advantage of it. The line did a great job of giving him some room to run, and we just made it work. We have plays called. That is why I say that we have to do our job, no matter what look it is. Whoever is getting the ball, wherever it is going, you have to do your job."
On DB Denzel Ward's performance:
"I will tell you what, it is a lot better when he is on my team than when I played against him. He is a guy who continues to get better and make plays for us, huge plays. A turnover down in the red zone is big and then a blocked kick. When it comes down to it, we would not have gone into overtime if he did not block that kick. So happy for him and just happy I am on his side."
On if it is tough going from multiple blow out wins in college to close games in the NFL:
"A little bit. It is definitely new to me, but I was in enough close games to know that you need to keep moving forward. The mentality is the most important thing when it comes down to this game – mentality and details. I got to this league and they stressed that everything is going to be a little tighter, a little closer. That is the mentality I need to keep having."
