Quotes from:
ZAC TAYLOR
Head coach
On if he had an immediate fear of dread on the blocked punt or if he let the play play itself out.
Uh, no, it's not a great feeling. First of all, you know, this is something we can't let happen. But fortunately, I guess I could say luck went our way on this one. So good job by Maema there, collecting the ball, and giving us another chance at it and taking advantage of it. It was a tough sequence of events leading up to that. But again, fortunate that our guys were able to step up and make some plays.
On whether they're happy with the win coming off the losing streak and if they're going to enjoy this.
No, no, no. We're gonna enjoy this, you know, and it's a short week. But I'm just so proud of our guys for sticking together, you know, through a lot of adversity over the last month. We hadn't had this feeling in a while, so we're gonna enjoy it for the four hours we get to enjoy it before we get back to work tomorrow to get ready for Tennessee. But again, proud of the guys, the way they've responded with every practice, every rep, every meeting. It's been like a team that's in the mix, in the hunt. All the things we expected to do. So, glad that that they were rewarded with this one tonight.
You've maintained the stance that nothing with Ja'Marr surprises you. On another dominant performance from him.
You just can't get him the ball enough. We got it to him 14 times, and it feels like we can still try to get it to him more. And we do, trust me. But, you know, just in those moments, sometimes you just try to keep it simple.
On the toughness of Joe Burrow in the pocket. Talk about the hits he took.
Yeah, and trust me, it's not even just the physical toughness; it's the mental toughness in this game. Because what Zimmer does to you is as hard as it gets, you know, especially with a guy like Michael Parsons and a chess piece like that, it's exhausting. And so you're exhausted as a coach dealing with it, trying to solve those problems. I can't imagine what it's like to play quarterback and have to deal with that. And again, he just keeps his composure, keeps it moving along, keeps the sticks moving, and finds a way to help swing a game.
Was the intention for him to have as many pass attempts as he had?
No, we had the two-minute before the half, and we've got those situations at the end of the game where you want the ball in his hands and it's just kind of the way the game played out. But we did mix it up protection-wise more, and we tried to mix in some runs as best we could.
On the importance of winning a game like this in a season like this.
We needed this feeling because those last three locker rooms haven't been like this. So just to feel that joy and the week's worth of work has paid off for you, and then you turn the page and move on to the next one. But it helps you during the week just to have this confidence. We got one, and now we've got to go do it again.
On if he felt a snowball effect in the positive direction with the defense playing the way it was.
I mean, guys were playing with confidence, you know. And what did they hold them to? I guess it was ten points in the second half? They made some big plays for us to step up, you know. I think Ossai, with the sack at the end of the half, gave us three points, got us the ball back. Trey closed out the game at the end with the big sack that put them in a tough spot. Even when we gave up completions on that last drive, guys were right there, making the tackle, and then everything was contested. So, just really happy for the defense and the way they finished that game off.
On how much Chase Brown has grown this year.
You've just got to get the ball in his hands. You look at rush attempts, and so much of it is just trying to get the ball out quickly on the perimeter sometimes, and that can replace some tosses. And so, you know, people look at those as pass attempts —44, whatever, but those are just quick completions for us to get the ball out there on the perimeter. And we do that to Ja'Marr. We do that to Chase. Because you saw so many times they just got the ball quickly in their hands and exploded for big gains. That's just another way to get these guys their touches.
On the conversation with Doug Rosefeid regarding the challenge on Chase's eventual touchdown.
Yeah, I can't see, Doug and I are the only guys who can't see anything, so we just rely on the guys upstairs. And they did a good job with the feedback, and it appeared that it was a touchdown, so that's why we challenged it.
On being really explosive and running really aggressively this season. How big has it been?
Yeah, you just break through that second level, and he's got a chance to take it to the house. Again, he's just doing a good job as the game goes on, feeling those holes and hitting them fast.
On if he may have been looking to Chase a little too much tonight. With the interception, is it something to evaluate?
I don't know if it warranted an interference, necessarily, but I think as we watched it, he got bumped a little bit. I don't think there's anything that should've been called, necessarily. We'll have to watch that to see what it looked like. But no, I mean, we're gonna try to keep it in his hands, and I'm never gonna feel like it's too much.
On if Dallas did something specific that made you keep going to Chase.
I mean, we just try to make him the primary as much as possible. You know, when we get him touches on jet sweeps and quick perimeter throws—and, you know, Joe checked a couple of his quick throws to Gesicki, and Ja'Marr as well. You've got to give them credit. It's a good team. They fight the right way, they've got a really good coaching staff, and they make it hard on you. You've got so much respect for Mike Zimmer. I'm just exhausted. It's exhausting during the week, getting ready for them. It's exhausting during the game, playing against them. I'm happy we ended up on top.
On finding anything meaningful from what this year's team is about.
It's an opportunity for the world to see and we're going to keep fighting. So when the Bengals walk on the field, you're going to get our best shot. Happy that we got a win, but it's a short week. But, yeah, now it's a short week. We're certainly not going to overlook the team we're about to play. I have a lot of respect for Tennessee, so we have to turn the page very quickly and get ready for these guys.
On Maema Njongmeta's action during the blocked punt.
He didn't quit on the play, so that's something to be said for that. We have to make the correction on that, it can't happen on the first part of the play. He fought there, got us the ball back, and made something happen.
JOE BURROW
Quarterback
On his knee...
It's nothing crazy. I just landed on it a couple of times. We'll see. It'll be sore for a while but I'll be alright.
On the importance of fighting through the injury to get the win...
It's like playing football, I was never not able to go out. I was able to do everything that I needed to do to go out and perform well. This isn't something that would keep anybody out of the game.
On if he's worried about it being a long-term injury...
No.
On the game-winning touchdown pass...
Yeah, it was just a quick-in and quick outs on the outside. The guy was playing off to the field. Ja'Marr, that's a throw that we have all the time. We talk about throwing it inside shoulder so he can turn and make a play and if the corner is off, he's able to do what he does.
On what he thought when he saw him covered...
The completion? I didn't see what happened once I completed it. I had someone in my face, but I saw him screaming down the sideline after so that was crazy.
On if throwing the ball so much is sustainable with the hits he takes...
I think so. That's how we play right now. That's how I like to play. When we play with the ball in my hands, I'll be able to make the play. I thought we ran the ball well tonight. I think Chase (Brown) is really running as a top back. He's doing unbelievable stuff in both the run game and the pass game. His role is going to continue to evolve. We're going to continue to keep getting him the ball more in a lot of different ways. I'm happy with how our offense is playing.
On if there's relief tonight after finally getting to celebrate a game...
Yeah. It's nice to win. Obviously, we're still not where we want to be. It's a nice win but potentially meaningless.
On what the win tonight shows...
We're going to be explosive on offense. They as a defense, have been banged up all year and they got all of their guys back now. They got Micah. They got Diggs. They got Bland. They got all of their guys, and you can feel it. It's a good, explosive front, it makes it tough. I like how we played. We've got to finish a couple of those drives in the end zone where we kicked a couple of field goals. That was disappointing. So, we left some out there but it's nice to get back.
On how it felt to catch a break and go out and win the game...
I couldn't believe we caught a break. That was crazy the way that happened. It was nice to get one. We haven't got many over the last couple of years so it's nice to get one.
On how he stayed away from Micah Parsons...
(Amarius) Mims was doing a good job on him. Keeping that pocket wide so I could step up wide when I needed to. They eventually moved him over to the left side and then I thought Cody (Ford) did a good job. But it all starts with being firm inside and just getting hands on him and keeping that pocket wide so I can get up and out of that B-gap and I thought they did a good job of that tonight.
On his interception and then the missed pass to Higgins...
Yeah the interception was just stupid. I tried to wait for Ja'Marr to get into the second window and Kendricks turned and ran. I just needed to progress to Tee from Chase so that one was incredibly disappointing. I was disappointed we didn't come away with seven on the redzone drive and still disappointed with myself on the interception. I hold myself to a higher standard than that, so that was just a dumb play by me.
On his interception, and whether the pressure of the moment played into it…
"Maybe, maybe. It's tough to say. I know I have to make plays for us to win. But that was just a dumb one. You know, if I just move on to Tee [Higgins] on the other side of the field, he won on his route and we'd probably get a completion.
That's just my fault."
On whether he thinks the team is playing at the highest level it possibly can…
"I think we can continue to improve. I think we are better than we even were tonight. I threw an interception and we missed on a go ball down the left sideline in the two minute drill. So there is always work we could be doing."
On whether it feels like a silver lining, that even as well as they played there is still another level…
"I think as we continue to grow and play together, we are going to keep continuing to find new levels to our game. We are going to talk through all these reps that we are getting. We are going to learn from those and grow from those and get better. That's playing football."
On how Ja'Marr Chase was able to have so many touches…
"You know, Tee [Higgins] out there makes teams play a little honest. Teams are going to mix up the coverages against us, they always do. I think our coaches are some of the best in the league at identifying what teams are trying to do to us and adjusting on the fly. I'm always really confident in my ability to read and react to what I'm seeing. The way teams play us, is they are going to mix up a lot of different defenses. They are going to blitz, they are going to drop, they are going to play double, they are going to do a lot of different things. Coming into this game, I was going to feed Ja'Marr. I felt in last week he had some opportunities last week that we didn't quite take advantage of. So I was just going to make sure if I got an opportunity with him, I was going to give it to him."
On whether there is any extra meaning in walking out as captains with Tee and Ja'Marr tonight…
"I don't know. It was fun. It was the first time we had done that. I liked that trio right there. We've played a lot of football together, made a lot of plays, scored a lot of touchdowns, won a lot of games. Us three are some of the best at what we do. And we're great friends and continue to love playing with each other. I realized that in the moment, and that was kind of a moment."
On whether he comes out of a game like this and says, give Ja'Marr Chase however much money he wants… "He's a special player. He continues to make plays after the catch, before the catch. Any way you get him the ball, he makes plays. He deserves all he's going to get and more."
On if he can imagine not playing with Chase...
"Not that. I don't want to have that. We feed off each other. We make each other better. We are both really smart players. It is tough to take that away when you have a really smart receiver that you can move around and do a lot of things with. Hopefully we can play together as long as we are in this league together."
On playing with Tee Higgins and not knowing what the future holds, given the contract situation with Tee…
"We don't know. Those discussion are ongoing. I'm confident we are going to be able to do what it takes to bring Tee [Higgins] back. I know that I am going to do what it takes to get him back. So he can have those talks; those are going to be offseason discussions. I think we are excited about that opportunity."
On what gives him confidence that they will get Tee Higgins back…
"We'll see."
On how pivotal it is to keep him in the building as long as possible…
"You feel his presence when he is out there. You feel his presence; you feel how it affects the defense. You feel how it affects the defensive coordinator's calls. Even if he's not super productive on the night, teams have to worry about him and feel his presence. The defense is worried about him and you feel that.
On his first touchdown to Ja'Marr…
"It looks simple. It's tough to execute. That's just a timing route we worked on a lot that is not easy. He made a great catch, physical off the top of his route. That's one you have to throw on time and to the right spot. That's something we worked a lot of times to see that executed."
JA'MARR CHASE
Wide receiver
On why he was successful…
"I was getting good matchups and leverages all night. There weren't too many double teams."
On getting a break on the blocked punt and being able to score…
"If we want to finish, that's exactly how we need to finish. That's a perfect example of finishing. Even though the kicked got blocked…we were able to get another opportunity on offense. We've got to take advantage and finish it. We did."
On his pregame clothing selection…
"Well, 7-11 is out here. Their base location is here (in Dallas). I just showed them a little support. They've been looking out for me."
On the last touchdown…
"So, what I seen was just like eight, nine yards off leverage…It's a play we always run. At the end of that, it was like me and Joe were on the same page. That goes back to the New Orleans game, same play. We were both on the same page. He threw on my inside shoulder so I could turn up field and run after catch. It was a good job of him giving me an opportunity to make a play."
On if he knew that he went over 5,000 yards for his career…
"Yes…It's amazing to be in the same category as Randy Moss this early. So blessing to him."
On being one of the elite receivers in the league…
"It would have been better if we had an opportunity to make the playoffs and really show what I can do. That still could happen."
On finishing tonight after talking about finishing all week…
"I just want to find a way to get the ball in my hands and try to make a play for the team, try to get us some momentum. That's all I want to do."
On what he does when the defense is on the field at the end…
"I'm cheering them on. I'm cheering them on and hopefully they get a stop. They cheered me on the last drive so I cheer them on their last drive."
On if he thinks if they can run it back with Burrow and Higgins for another season…
"I do think about it sometimes…When I was sitting down, that actually ran across my brain. But I try to think too much about it. That's really ot ouf my control. I wish I could sign Tee myself and have him here with me for eternity."
On being a captain today…
"I've always been a captain. I just don't have a C on my jersey…I'm more of a guy leads by example."
On if there's a world he and Tee can be signed long term…
"It's possible. It's 100% possible. You've got to play chess in that situation, but it's possible."
On if he wants a C on his jersey…
"I don't mind it. I'm not going to say no. But my play does the talking."
On being able to get 14 receptions…
"Zac did a good job just moving me around and getting me good matchups all day. The DBs were playing off a lot. I really didn't see a lot of press today…I just had good matchups all day."
On smashing a donut on Joe Burrow…
"I was told to do that. I didn't want to do that. And then he got me back. I honestly don't know (who told him). One of The Simpsons. Yeah, I don't know man. It was a yellow donut…I think he got the best of me. He like smeared it a little too far."
On that last TD being the same play as New Orleans…
"Same play. Same route. Same exact distance. Same part of the field. Same exact route. It was the exact same play."
On if he should have slid at the end of the game…
"I was thinking about sliding, but I wanted to score. (The team record of receiving TDs) wasn't in my mind when I scored, I just wanted to score. I don't even know what the record is (17)…what am I 15, right?"
On his relationship with Brixton Wood…
"Honestly, in that situation all I can do is just – I think about my grandmother in that situation because she had cancer. I saw literally her last second. Just having the opportunity to be around somebody who had cancer and is going through something like that, that touched my heart for me to get in touch with him and be around him, put a smile on his face and just make him laugh and be a kid."
