ZAC TAYLOR
Head Coach
On the final minutes of the game:
"It's a disappointing loss because I don't know if many teams are going to hang in at 24-6 at halftime and dig their way back, fight the way our guys did. We were going to fight back and there was going to be some opportunities we had to finish it off and it didn't go our way. Proud of our guys, sick for our guys. I mean those guys left it all on the field and gave us everything they had. Stuck together, made play after play to get us back in that thing and they just made one more on the play than we did. That's kind of been the story of our season so far. By no stretch is our season over with. We have a chance to use a bye to kind of get back and get into a groove here in the last part of the season. We're going to have to win a lot of these, obviously, we put ourselves in a tough spot. But I believe what I just saw from our guys, I've seen it every single week. We're going to be right there in the end and just got to finish these games off."
On what changed in the second half:
"Our guys were just confident. I mean, over the years we've been in these situations before and you've just got to take it one possession at a time. That's all we preached at halftime. That's what we preached after every possession to start the third quarter. The defense just kept making stops, the offense just kept scoring points and guys kept stepping up and making plays and you thought, with no doubt, 'we're going to finish this thing off.' We had our opportunities, we crossed the 50 a couple of times and just couldn't get seven or three on the board. They got one more possession and then they knocked it in and that's just the story of the game."
On the missed kicks:
"We expect to make them, certainly. We've got a lot of confidence in [K] Evan [McPherson] and it just wasn't his day today."
On defensive performance in the first half:
"They got all the momentum. We started getting some three and outs on offense and we gave up touchdowns on several back-to-back drives there. Just needed a break, needed halftime, needed to readjust and just get our feet underneath us and get guys confidence in each other. They stepped up and guys were flying around making plays. That's the defense we expect to see. Momentum turned our way and guys were just stepping up. I mean I saw so many guys make big plays there in the second half and that's what we're counting on. Just couldn't get it done."
On coaching during the first half:
"It's emotional. When you're down like we were down and we weren't generating a lot of momentum our way, guys are frustrated. We get into halftime and settle down. It's okay for guys to show emotion. It's okay for guys to be frustrated. That doesn't bother me. We just got to take a deep breath, and we did, and there was still confidence in the locker room. You had to see it because you saw in the second half the way that those guys came out and played."
On the upcoming bye week:
"Just gives us a chance to be healthy. There's not a lot of wholesale changes we need to make. Every game we lose comes down to the last play of the game. We've just got to find a way to win these and generate some momentum for ourselves. So, bye week get healthy, and then come back and we've got a huge divisional game at home and we've got to find a way to create some momentum for ourselves."
On putting in CB Josh Newton for CB Cam Taylor-Britt:
"Consistency."
On CB Cam Taylor-Britt's consistency:
"He's working on it, we talk about it a lot. We still have high expectations for him."
On K Evan McPherson:
"We've still got confidence in him."
On the offensive performance:
"Just the three and outs. We just were putting ourselves against the sticks. We had some 2nd-and-10's, some get back on tracks. They were playing with a lot of confidence because we weren't doing a lot to take that confidence from them. After those first two or three drives when we got points on the board, again, they just got us in some three-and-outs and our defense was stuck on the field. We just needed to readjust at half time and our guys did a good job at that."
On the third quarter:
"That first first down is usually key for us to get a chance to get some momentum, get some flow. Got a better feel for what they were trying to do to us. I thought the coaches did a great job. Great job adjusting as the game went to what we were expecting to see coverage-wise. Linemen did a great job holding up for [QB] Joe [Burrow], who threw the ball 50 times again. Got us enough in the run game, we were keeping ourselves on track. I thought the linemen and [RB] Chase [Brown] did a great job there and the protection was good and we were able to score some points."
On CB DJ Turner II's injury:
"Clavicle. I don't know how long that will be."
On explaining close losses:
"I can't. I can't. I wish I could. It's a team we believe in, a team that believes in each other. It's sick. the way that these games are ending and the way that we come off the field every week. The feeling I got when I have talk to the team in the locker room after all these endings this year. You know, what I just keep telling the team is, 'at some point, this has got to help us. At some point we got to find some momentum and we got to get on a run. We've got to find ourselves in a good position where we reflect back.' We don't ever want to use a loss for good, but it's got to help us in some way. We've played some really good football teams and we just got to find a way to finish it. I keep saying that and obviously, we're a play away every time I say it, but I still got the confidence that we can get this thing done."
On making changes:
"I think we all watch the game. We can see it's just coming down to one play in every single game. So why would you make a big wholesale change when it's just coming down one play? To me, that's just panic. That's not what we're about. We believe in what we're doing. We're not going to be those people that just panic because the record is four and seven and we start making all these significant changes. That's not what the answer is. We play good football, we're a good football team, we believe in our guys. We've got good systems in place and again, we're going to hang in there and support each other and try to find a way to get this thing done. And if we can get it done, it's going to be a dang good season. Again, it's not so far what we would've written for ourselves, but I'm telling you I stand here today with the utmost belief that we can still get this done on the back half of our schedule."
On chances of making the playoffs:
"Yeah. I'm not just saying it to convince others. I say what I believe right now. When you watch this team compete, the guys we got and the coaches we got, I love going to work every single day. It's not something you dread. You're four and seven and you don't want to be around these people, it's the opposite of that because I can see that something special can still be there. People may not believe it. That's okay, I get that. But I've seen this group do some really good things before and I still believe that we can get this thing turned around and do that."
On the team's mentality:
"We still have the same mentality, that we're just taking it one game at a time. That's the way this league works. We've got a lot of experience doing it this way, where you're just focused on one game at a time, you find that win and next thing you know you catch some momentum, the team's got confidence and people rally behind you. You can still have a pretty special season."
JOE BURROW
Quarterback
On one-score games:
"I missed some throws down the stretch that I usually make, so that was disappointing. Gotta make winning plays at the end."
On the offense in the first half:
"It's tough to say. We moved the ball, we settled for two field goals and then their front was disruptive today."
On his words to teammates:
"Nothing."
On the season:
"Just got to make the plays. Just got to make the plays. We have it down stretch and we're not a good enough team to – our margin of error is slim, so we got to make those plays. I got to make those plays. We all got to make those plays."
On a singular play:
"I missed [WR] Ja'Marr [Chase] on the go, I missed Ja'Marr on the slant."
On second half adjustments:
"We got a turnover. We hit some shots down the field. Started to run the ball. We didn't really make any adjustments, we just started executing better."
On making the playoffs:
"Hope so."
On making the playoffs at 4-7:
"I guess we'll find out. We know where we're at. I'm not happy with where we're at. I don't think anybody is, but all you can do is come back tomorrow and try to get better."
On if this is the most frustrating season he has had:
"Yeah."
Why:
"Pretty self-explanatory."
On his confidence in Evan McPhearson on the second kick:
"I was."
On the second touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase:
"They doubled him. Any time I was able to sit back there and kind of direct to where I wanted to go and he made a great play. I didn't see what happened, I was on the ground – but it sounds like a good play."
On the bye-week:
"It's a tough one to end on. Going into the bye week, I'd prefer to go and play but it will be nice to get a little break."
On the season:
"It's not making plays to end the game with a win."
On the weight of the loss:
"I wouldn't say that. I just think it was a tough loss. First half didn't go our way, we fought back, had our opportunities to seal the deal and we didn't."
On his message to the fans who traveled:
"We always appreciate the fans. They're a big part of what we do and we always appreciate the support. Hopefully we can come back from the bye and get a win at home."
