HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS
(on the game as a whole) "Well I think the disappointment is just not finishing the football game out. We have an opportunity, we go up by seven, the chance to stop the drive a couple of times and we don't get it done. We give up the touchdown there before right in the third quarter. We've got to keep playing. We've got to put points on the board and we just have to keep playing and remain disciplined through our jobs and stay after it. We have to rush the quarterback, keep him pinned in and we did a lot, but when we broke down, he made plays. We've got to stay in coverage and not allow the ball to go down the field. Far too many chunk plays against a good quarterback like that. That ended up being the difference in the football game. We've got to regroup and get started and we have a division game on the road."
(on the successes during the first half of play) "We did a good job of making first downs and continuing the ball down the field. I don't really remember the first half much now. We got off to a good start, but we've got to capitalize on it and keep on plugging."
(on play in the second half) "No, we just didn't get the ball back as much for our offense, I don't think, in the second half. It looked like the one drive, they drove the ball for quite a bit there, I don't know if it was the third quarter or the fourth quarter and our offense was over sitting on the bench for quite a bit."
(on offsides penalties) "We can't be offsides. We can't be offsides. We were disciplined with it all day and then we got an offsides in the fourth quarter and then in overtime."
(on rotation of players) "We went into the game just knowing it was going to be a warm day today. And we played everybody just about and did that on both offense and defense and special teams and receivers and everybody. So, we knew it was going to be a warm day."
(on locking arms during the National Anthem) "This thing has put the players into an awkward position and our guys remain very committed to winning football games and continuing the great things they do in our community in Cincinnati in their outreach in everything they do. And they chose to show their support for our veterans, for our military, for the Cincinnati community by simply standing and staying unified together. They weren't going to let the device of words divide them. That's the conclusion they came to, to be very respectful of the Anthem and to stand together and focus on what we want to do and that's win football games. We've been consistent with that all of the way through. It stops and starts there. Or starts and stops there I should say. Enough to be said about it. It's over. You don't want to have that be a focus of football. Unfortunately, it was. When something has gone away and all of a sudden it got brought back to the forefront."
QUARTERBACK ANDY DALTON
(on the offense today versus the first two games of the season) "We obviously played better. We scored a touchdown. But, at the end of the game, we've got to find a way to put that away. We know what kind of offense they [Green Bay] have. We know what Aaron [Rodgers] can do. Unfortunately we had to slip on third down. Obviously it was good we got the field goal made, but we left too much time for them."
(on the Packers' changes on defense between the first and second half) "I think a little bit of execution. I feel like we had gotten a lot of second-and-long situations and a lot of third-and-long situations which are tough to convert. But, for us, we've got to find a way in the second half to keep driving the ball and keep getting points. So, it obviously hurt us today."
(on the tempo on offense) "I thought we did some good things. Going down on that first drive and scoring was big. We needed that. I thought the tempo was good. I thought the way things were getting called and getting personnel groups in, I thought it was good."
(on if today's game was a step in the right direction) "I mean, you obviously want to win and that's the ultimate goal. Did we play better on offense than we did in the first two weeks? Absolutely. It's something we can build off of."
(on the changes on offense in today's game compared to the first two) "I thought the way we were moving - I thought the tempo was good. I thought we got the ball to our guys, got it to them in space and let them make plays. I thought it was a good start for us. But, we've got to find a way to win."
(on going two-for-two in the red zone) "I thought it was good. Anytime you're down there you want to score a touchdown. I wish on the one where, the field goal we didn't make, I wish we would've been down there a little closer to make it a little bit easier for him [Randy Bullock]. We'll go and look at the tape and see what we need to get better at."
LINEBACKER CARL LAWSON:
(on the loss) "It is very frustrating, but my mind is on Cleveland right now. You just have to keep moving forward. We have 13 more games. It hurts, but you have to find something to build on. You can't be down in the dumps because you won't get any better. It was a hard fought game."
(on how the Bengals were able to pressure Rodgers so much) "It was just constant work. That was pretty much the goal: constant work, just keep going, keep going."
RUNNING BACK JEREMY HILL:
(on losing back-to-back close games) "It was just a few plays here and there. I feel like we started out the way we wanted to, but in the second half we didn't sustain the drives we needed to. We didn't score enough points to win the game. We just have to keep pushing. We can't give up and we need to keep our morale high. The leaders of this team have to make sure we are practicing every day at a high level and then again on Sundays."
(on the being 0-3) "We just have to keep pushing. We have a lot of savvy veteran guys in this locker room. Obviously not a lot of us have been here before, but that won't stop us from practicing hard and trying to execute at a high level because it is still a long season. We are just going to take it one game at a time."
WIDE RECEIVER A.J. GREEN:
(on the offense) "We did some good things today, but everything is a process. I feel like we took a step forward. We didn't come out with the win, but that is the way it is."
(on the offense not playing well in the second half) "They switched up some things and made adjustments. We couldn't capitalize. On that third-and-one, Joe (Mixon) just slipped. It is just little things like that that you can't control. They played a lot of two-man and a lot of zone."
CORNERBACK DRE KIRKPATRICK:
(on the William Jackson's interception return for touchdown) "That was a great play. I asked him what they ran on the play and he said they ran a straight out and he just jumped it. For a young player that was a big play, especially on a guy like that. He (Rodgers) doesn't give up those kind of plays."
(on the defensive line) "They did a great job. We lost them a couple of times and that is when they make their big plays."
(on the game) "It was definitely a step forward. Our offense did what we had to do; we put points on the board. We had a great opportunity to stop them and close this game out and as a defense I feel like we kind of let them down. I am going to take full advantage of it. I need to be better and play better, especially down the stretch."
(on Green Bay's offense) "They did their normal thing. They made some adjustments and started to figure out what we were doing. They are a great team. We should have stopped them. This one is going to hurt."
(on what adjustments Aaron Rodgers made in the second half) "He went to the ground. He started to move around with his feet. I felt like earlier in the game he really wasn't showcasing that. When he is moving around like that it kind of breaks down the defense. At the end of the day we let them off the hook."
Green Bay Packers
HEAD COACH MIKE McCARTHY:
(opening statement) "First, I would just like to say what an excellent win for our football team. This game had everything in it. Special teams, with the ball placement and obviously the big field goals. Defense, I thought did a really good job. We had that first series there and they really kept giving us opportunities on offense. Offensively, we battled through. We had a number of injuries. We had more injuries again today and guys just stepped in and kept playing. Our fans were tremendous throughout the day and I thought they were off the charts in overtime. Excellent win; we knew this was going to be a tough one. Just going back to the offseason study of the Bengals, we knew this was going to be a difficult game and it held true. That's a tough, well-coached football team. That's a very good win for us today."
(on his team's mental toughness) "Good point. I think that's early season football. You have to have those wins, too. You have to have those moments of adversity. We talked about advancing through the adverse moments, particularly the energy, the focus and the discipline. I thought our guys did a very good job of that today."
(on the mood of the team after the pick six and then after they chipped away at the lead) "It's football. It was a big play for them. You're in your home stadium. Obviously, we just kept playing. We were a little more focused on what we needed to do. A lot of adjustments went on throughout that game. I know more so on the offensive side, I thought our coaches and the communication with Aaron and the things that we changed throughout the game, I thought those guys did a tremendous job."
(on if he thought about going for two after the touchdown near the end of regulation) "No. No. We're at home. Clearly had the momentum. We felt good, even after not winning the coin toss."
(on the performance of the defense after giving up the opening touchdown) "That's the NFL. I thought they did a good job with their first 15 plays the way they moved on their first drive there. They did a good job running the football. It was a chess match, but I thought our guys were consistent throughout the day and just kept battling."
(on what specific adjustments the offense made after giving up five sacks in the first half) "Well, we weren't as clean there through that stretch as far as where the help was coming from, and the fits, and so forth. We obviously talked that through. (Justin) McCray goes in there and plays when Bryan (Bulaga) goes down. I wasn't protecting either one of them at that point. Those guys just played big. They had tough matchups today."
(on QB Aaron Rodgers) "I thought Aaron played one of his best games. I thought he was tremendous today. He had a lot to deal with. There were a lot of adjustments going on. Obviously, with the production, they had the ball for, oh gosh, whatever the time of possession was. Obviously, I know it was over 11 minutes in the first quarter. It took us awhile to get going and I thought he handled adjustments very well. He had good changes, adjustments on the field. I thought Aaron had a heck of a game."
(on WR Geronimo Allison) "No surprise on Geronimo. You could see it coming in preseason. He's taken that leap from year one to two. He plays with a lot of confidence. He's just a damn good football player. It's no surprise that he made that play. I wish we would have scored. I'm just kidding. It was a big play and obviously an opportune play. He definitely has the trust of not only Aaron, but the whole coaching staff and his teammates. When you practice with guys everyday and you work with these guys every day, this is really no surprise."
(On the four-safety look his defense employed for much of the game) "We talked about this in training camp and things like that. Morgan Burnett is more than a safety. He's a multi-position player. We're just utilizing our players the best we can. Getting Josh Jones on the field, I know he had a very productive day. You can't say enough, you've got to play your young players early in the season. And especially playing in the heat today. Going into the game, rotating, I was a little concerned about our defense there at halftime with the time of possession. This is always part of the plan for us. We've always played young players early and often. Today was the benefit of it. Everybody got to play. We were in a tough game against a tough opponent, and that's the benefits. But we all know that we've got to get ready here for Chicago. We have to sleep fast and get back at it tomorrow."
(on S Josh Jones) "Josh is a gifted young man. He definitely gives us more speed in there. I'm excited to watch the tape. I thought he definitely took full advantage of his opportunity."
(on if he had a discussion with his team regarding the national anthem) "Definitely. Yeah, we talked about it in the team meeting last night. I actually read Mark Murphy's statement to the team. I thought our players stood behind that."
(on his reaction to a couple players sitting and others linking arms) "Once again, I think Mark Murphy said it best: we support our players and we all understand what is going on. We respect the flag and all of the above. We want to be part of the positive influence of what needs to be done."
(on taking advantage of the free play when Rodgers gets the defense to commit a penalty) "You really got to give tremendous credit to Aaron and really the veteran guys because they just keep carrying it over and over and the young guys have to learn quick about the mechanics about how we do it. We practice it. It's part of our practice structure. It's good for our defense to learn not only if it does happen to them, but how to adjust to it and play during that transition period of the extended play. But yes, Aaron, and the communication and the discipline of our guys to get the ball snapped and so forth, we definitely benefit from it."
(on if his defense seemed to play with more energy as the game wore on, even with the heat) "Yeah, the vibe was great on the sideline. There was never any blink. It was definitely hot early until the sun got behind the stadium. I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I thought both teams competed like hell today. Once again, that's a very good football team. I know personally, they were very well-coached. We knew it was going to be a tough battle and that's exactly what it was."
(on the challenge of playing this upcoming Thursday after playing in this heat today) "It's a factor. It will be a factor how we move forward. It's something that we've been talking about since probably Monday, Tuesday last week because we practiced in the 80 degree-plus weather all week. It will be part of how we train leading into the game."
(on what this game today meant) "It means we need to heal up. Drink a lot of water. Get a lot of sleep. It's football. It's the NFL, guys deal with it. We have a couple more than others, but this is the path that has been put in front of us."
(on if this game can mean even more in the big picture) "We took a step as a football team. We won a game. We beat a very good opponent. Very talented opponent. All of our guys got to play. A lot of young guys played in the game for the first time. Absolutely, this always pays forward when you go through adversity and you have success."
QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS:
(on the comeback win and overcoming adversity) "It's a big win for us especially on a short week. That was a desperate opponent, 0-2 not wanting to go to 0-3. We spot them a lead and start picking it up in the second half and making some more plays, and then obviously when he had to have it there in the fourth quarter and overtime we made the plays."
(on the big play to Allison in OT) "I was first looking to make sure we got them offsides. I saw the flag thrown so I was looking down the seams first. We had 12 on the field in the third quarter and felt like we had maybe the same opportunity, so with them offsides I looked inside and that actually helped us hit it down the sideline. You play this game long enough some weird stuff happens sometimes on the field. About a split second before I threw that ball I had an image of a pass I threw to James Jones against Detroit – it was actually a 80-yard touchdown at that point – so that kind of flashed right away. That helped with how hard to throw that one and luckily I put it in a good spot and 'G-Mo' (Geronimo Allison) did the rest."
(on what he learned about Allison coming back to him after a drop) "No disrespect but nothing. I've known Geronimo's been a player for a long time. He's a fantastic part of our offense, does a lot of things really, really well. He's a tough kid, really tough competitor. I remember the first day I watched him at training camp. I said, 'How did he not get drafted? This kid's fantastic.' (He's) got a great attitude. I was ribbing him a little bit in week one about him being suspended and missing him out there, but it's good having him back. He's a guy that can really help us out, especially with 'Cobby' (Randall Cobb) being banged up. I'm really proud of him. I'm really proud of Trevor Davis too. Trevor had some really big contributions for us. It's tough sometimes in this offense being that fifth receiver because those top four are pretty damn good, but he was fantastic on special teams. Special teams was big for us. I thought (Justin) Vogel punted the ball well, obviously Brett (Goode) snapped it well and 'Mase' (Mason Crosby) with a couple important kicks for us, the extra point at the end of the game and then obviously the field goal."
(on coming back from the pick-six) "I'll stop throwing to Jacksons. Everybody else is fine, it's just two pick-sixes to Jacksons."
(on the mood of the team being down 21-7) "We've been down before. Obviously the fans weren't too happy about it. It's not great getting booed, but we understand it. The fans have every right to do that and I would have booed too probably watching that first-half performance, but we came back in the second half, had a good drive to start. But they were eating up some clock and we had some big stops from our defense at really important times. Obviously, in overtime, over the years (I) haven't had a lot of opportunities to throw the ball. I've heard I had like six pass attempts coming into this game in overtime, so I was glad after we lost the toss, one that Corey (Linsley) picked the correct way to kickoff – that was important, good job Corey – and two, that we had a nice three and out there to get us the ball back right away and we hit a big third-down play."
(on the adjustments they made with the offensive line) "They didn't bring a lot of pressure. They brought a couple spot pressures, maybe three or four total for the game. They were just relying on their front four, which is a very good front four, and they had some good contributions. (Carl) Lawson was really rushing well and obviously the two giants (Carlos) Dunlap and (Michael) Johnson and Geno (Atkins) in the middle. We were kind of keeping some guys in. What that did was (it) didn't open up a lot of guys down the field. They were dropping seven in the three-receiver route concepts, so we started getting some more guys out in the pattern, got back to some quick-game stuff. Mike (McCarthy) did a good job getting us back in a nice rhythm and then (we) started moving the ball a little more effectively. The last drive of regulation we had some extended plays there. We were kind of drawing (plays) on the dirt a little bit at times, but made enough plays."
(on if he missed Randall Cobb early in the game) "One hundred percent. Every time Randall's not out there we miss him. He's a fantastic player for us. What he does is he can beat man (coverage) so well. He's just so quick and decisive and agile. He's a tough matchup when you're playing man. They played some two-shell today, but the underneath is a match concept, a man concept, so it was tough not having him out there, but a couple guys stepped up. Jordy (Nelson) made some plays obviously, like he always does, and G-Mo (Allison) and Tae (Davante Adams), Ty (Montgomery) with eight catches for 15 yards was important for us. We made enough plays."
(on Trump's comments about the anthem protests and linking arms during today's anthem) "I used social media this morning to address some of that. On this team we're going to keep choosing love over hate, unity over division, and that's what it was to us. In talking last night and this morning, the few of us who linked arms just wanted to show a united front. I know personally on my Twitter and social media (I) was receiving a lot of positivity, but a lot of hatred as well, which is interesting. I know that it's probably one-tenth or one-one hundredth maybe of some of my black teammates who've been using their platform to try and make a difference. But again this was about unity and we respect our men and women in uniform. We respect our troops, we love them. We appreciate what they do for us. Today was about using our platform to promote love and unity and acceptance and togetherness, and I hope we did that."
(on the play of Josh Jones) "He was fantastic, he really was. It's fun to watch him play and get confident. For young players like that, and for Josh especially not having a ton of reps with (Kentrell) Brice obviously in the role he plays for us being out there a bunch, with Jake Ryan down today we had to play a bunch of safeties, and he a got a lot of action and he made the most of it. He was huge for us with the sacks, with the stops, with the coverage. I'm really happy for him. It was the stuff that we saw in training camp. We've seen this from him. Josh is a tough competitor and his contribution today was vital for our success."
(on what he takes from a game like this with all the adversity) "That's a character win, 100 percent. I looked around the locker room before the game and you see Mike Daniels, Nick Perry, David Bakhtiari, Davon House, (I was) just kind of going around going, 'Man, there's some studs not playing,' – Randall Cobb – but we've had kind of a rallying cry at the beginning of the season. It's just no excuses. The guys that are out there are expected to play and play well, and I'm expected to play and play well, so we've got to dig deep sometimes and push through some adversity. It didn't always look like a win today, especially in the second quarter, but I think this team took a big step forward in confidence and believing in themselves. We got some new guys to the mix that haven't been around. This is good for them to see it's never over until it's over and we had a nice comeback tonight."
(on what he saw in the halftime locker room) "I saw no panic. I think the defense felt pretty good about how they were playing. They had given up 14 (points) and I had given them seven. Offensively we hadn't found a rhythm yet so we were kind of talking about protection stuff and how we wanted to move forward attacking them. Mike (McCarthy) did a good job of changing some things up and we hit a couple, we hit a flea flicker that was nice, a couple chunk yardage gains and then I just kind of wanted to move around a little bit more, you know extend some things in the right way, up and out, and then guys made some plays."
(on if he said anything in the huddle on the final drive of regulation) "I think that moment, people know how important it is and what's necessary to keep this thing rolling. We had to go a number of yards and score. The key for any situation like that is really getting a first down right away and we hit a couple plays on the sidelines – G-Mo (Allison) and Jordy (Nelson) had some nice toe-tap catches – and then we just kind of dinked and dunked down the field. I thought we used the clock really well, didn't give them any time there at the end, had a first down inside the 10 and then kind of ran some clock down, had an offsides. We were sitting there with 17 seconds left and Mike (McCarthy) dialed up a great play. It's a wrinkle that we had worked on that kind of looks like something else we'd been doing, and luckily I was kind of able to fit it in there and just in front of (Dre) Kirkpatrick there."
SAFETY JOSH JONES:
(on the second sack and not letting go of the quarterback) "Yeah, hang on. Hang on for dear life, you know what I mean. Just hang on, just hang on. I thought he was going to slip out but I was like, 'there is no way I'm letting this go.' Vice grip."
(on how the safeties feel as a group) "You know our room is a strong room. All those guys can play. We all can play. No matter where our coach tells us to go and play, line up, man, we're all going to ball out. Everybody's dogs in the room."
KICKER MASON CROSBY:
(on what this win means) "That's a sign here of something building because you just find a way to win. It doesn't always look pretty but that was a gutsy second-half performance. And we come out and get the win in overtime."
(on what he feels after making the game-winning field goal, relief or excitement) "A little bit of both. Game's over so take a breath and then just excitement with the teammates. Just the fight that we had to get to that position. And considering or not considering the Lambeau Leap, decided against it this week. It was special, my son was here so I ran over and gave him and my wife and my mom a hug and just said hi to them, so that was fun. Just thankful for this team and for that opportunity to go out there and finish it off."
WIDE RECEIVER GERONIMO ALLISON:
(on what he's thinking on his reception in overtime) "Make a play. You see it. I'm locked in on it. Just trust my hands and make a play on it."
(on what it takes to make a play like that, his zig-zag moves) "Yeah, whatever it took to get in the end zone. I was trying to get there. He (defender) just happened to look up and get a piece of my leg."
(on what it takes making a play at Lambeau on the hottest game in history) "Yeah, I'm from Florida. I love the heat. I take the heat as much as I can get it, especially right now. Being in that atmosphere, overtime, it's crunch time. It's who is going to make a play. Anyone can make a play. Not one person can do it and it takes 11 guys, and that's how we finished it off."
(on how he got separation on the overtime reception, if it was a double move) "No, it wasn't a double move. It was just an outside release. The corner stayed up underneath me and I was just stretching it vertical down the field."
(on if he knew the overtime reception was a free play from the snap) "I had my eyes on the ball, my eyes on Aaron, going back and forth. I heard Aaron going through his cadence and then I saw when the dude jumped and Corey snapped it and took off full speed."
(on missing the first game of the year and what this means to start his season) "Yeah, it's a blessing. I take it as humble as I can, and it's a blessing. We're going to watch the film, learn from it and move on to this week coming Thursday."
LINEBACKER BLAKE MARTINEZ:
(on his tackle for a loss at the beginning of overtime) "I think, at that moment, you have the opportunity to make a play and when you get that chance you've got to do it. I think it, yeah, it just helped with momentum."
(on the defense playing well in the second half of all three games this season) "I think that goes to us as a whole. The whole defense, from Dom making the adjustments and us listening and improving, and we see things in the first half and we make those adjustments. And we know they're going to come back with it (positive plays) if they got it in the first half. So at that point, our play recognition and all that just helped us that much more moving forward."
(on him having an active game and how he felt on the field) "No, I felt good. I mean, you kind of step out there and you know your team needs you in every situation to make the plays that you need to make. I think throughout the game I felt really good and was there for my team."
(on what the defense did to hold the Bengals to a field goal in the second half) "Just playing together, and we saw all the stuff they threw at us and I think at that point you just have to have play recognition. And I give it up to our coaches making the adjustment at halftime to, kind of, not allow that to happen. We played what they called and we made the plays that we made and it got us the win."
