POSTGAME QUOTES | WEEK 3 AT PHILADELPHIA
Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor
On the missed opportunities from both teams:
"I've never tied in my life. It feels strange, for sure. I know it sure as hell doesn't feel like we won. That's what I can tell you. There were so many opportunities we had out there. We just missed that one game-breaking play there at the end. There were some things from all three phases that were positive, but there was just no game-changing moment that took the game over for us."
On the struggles at right guard:
"We're trying to figure that out. That's something we'll keep evaluating."
On whether he's worried about QB Joe Burrow being sacked eight times:
"We're just trying to win the football game. That's the bottom line. We can't just have a free runner, a three-technique come clean every single time. That's something we got to fix right away. I don't care what play you call; you're going to have problems when you can't block a guy for a second. That part is frustrating, so we just have to continue to prove it and give ourselves a better chance to win."
On the defense at the end of both halves:
"I would say at the end of the first half, we kicked the ball out of bounds and gave them the ball at the 40 right away. Then the first run got them down to [our] 40, if I'm not mistaken. So right away, you put yourself in a tough spot, then they took a shot in the disguised coverage we had there. I certainly wouldn't say those first two plays were what we wanted. At the end of the game, it feels like I have to go back and watch the tape, because it feels like the end of the game was that overtime there. We had so many drives. Again, we didn't quite make that play when we needed it to win the game for us."
On calling a timeout right before the Eagles' touchdown pass at the end of the first half:
"We just wanted to see what they were in, and called timeout."
On how much of winning is simply believing that you can:
"I don't think that we lack that. We just need to see it done and create that momentum for ourselves. We got guys in here that have won a ton over the course of their life. We just haven't done it with this group together. As you see, we've had plenty of close calls, but none of them feel better than the other one, I can promise you that. We just have to get it done and create that momentum for ourselves, and let it steamroll from there."
On the offense stalling after four straight scoring drives:
"That's probably where we got a lot of the protection issues. There were also a ton of close calls in the pass game. I can think of probably four of them off the top of my head where we just have to make a play. We're right there. Someone just has to step up and make that play. It puts us in a scoring position and helps us win the game."
On the defense's pass interference penalties:
"I can't speak to what the [defensive backs] were thinking on those. I know one of them came on a double move and wheel route on their sideline. Sometimes when you put your eyes back on the quarterback and feel that, you give a little tug. We'll have to go back and see them."
On QB Joe Burrow's performance compared to the previous two weeks:
"I don't think it's important to compare previous weeks. I think he gives us a chance to win and is hanging in there. He was trying to hold the ball until the last second to let those guys create some separation and get the ball downfield."
On going +2 in turnover differential and still tying:
"Yeah, that is disappointing. We finally stepped up and got some turnovers. The defense had some really good moments. Obviously, there were some times at the end of the half, but they put us in positions where we could finish those drives on offense and we'd be in much better shape."
On WR Tee Higgins:
"Tee has been playing football now for about six weeks. He's just getting better and better every single day. He missed the first part of training camp, and now he's starting to get his legs back under him. He's got the confidence of our whole group, and he went out and made some big plays for us."
On making WR John Ross inactive:
"We've got a lot of receivers. It's not going to be an easy decision every week."
On not being able to get RB Joe Mixon going:
"We knew we were going to have to get the ball on the perimeter against these guys. They have a really stout front, as good as we're going to face all year. They don't make it easy for you to run the ball. That's not what we want from our run game, there is no question about that. We have to do a better job there."
On throwing the ball short of the sticks on third down:
"We just have to be detailed. We have to be really detailed."
On being aggressive during the two-minute drill at the end of the first half:
"That's usually our two-minute mindset in general. We always feel like we can come away with points right before the end of the half. Even the last play of the half when we took a sack on the minus-40, we feel good about the guys we have at receiver and we're in a max protection. Just wanted to get a chance to put a ball up. Maybe we make a great play, or maybe they get a [defensive pass interference] and we can go kick a field goal. So, if we feel like there is any opportunity on the field for us to go score points, then we're going to go do it."
Bengals QB Joe Burrow
On the hit that forced him to leave the game for one play:
"I got the wind knocked out of me for about 10 seconds. They told me I had to go out for a play. I was good after that."
On whether the two drives they settled for a field goal was frustrating for him:
"Yeah. You know we have to convert in those situations."
On what he needs to do as a quarterback to avoid getting hit and sacked:
"Just get the ball out of my hands. Make plays with my feet."
On his connection with Bengals WR Tyler Boyd:
"[Bengals WR] Tyler [Boyd] is a great player. We have a really good connection right now. I'm really happy with where I'm at with him."
On whether he has ever tied a game before:
"No. I don't know. This is a loss to me. I don't really know. We didn't win."
On whether he would have preferred for the Eagles to attempt the game-winning field goal at the end of overtime:
"I mean I didn't really know how to feel about that one. If they miss it, we're in a good position to get some yards and kick our field goal. I'm not going to speak on another coach's decision."
On what was clicking for the Bengals after halftime:
"We got into a pretty good rhythm there in the third quarter. If we punch that one red zone drive in where we ended up settling for the field goal, then we win this game. We had a good rhythm going there for part of that game."
On whether he feels the pressure on his shoulders to get the Bengals going in the right direction:
"I don't know about that. I'm going to do everything in my power to win football games and try and make plays and do all those things that win football games for us."
On what he took away from this game to build on for the future:
"I have to go watch the film. It's tough to reflect on that right now. Ask me that one again on Wednesday and I'll have a better answer for you."
On the lack of a running game and having a one-dimensional offense:
"I'm going to do anything I can to win games. I said I'll throw it zero times or 100 times. It doesn't matter. We just have to execute the way we are expected to execute. We didn't really do that today."
On whether he thought he had the deep pass completed to WR Tee Higgins on 2nd-and 16 in overtime:
"I know [Bengals WR] Tee [Higgins] was frustrated with that one. He had a great game. He ran some great routes. Tee's a competitor. He was frustrated with that one. If that one didn't happen, it would have been an awesome game for his first start. I know he was frustrated with that one."
On the Eagles defensive line posing a challenge to them today:
"They have some guys up there. [Eagles DE] Brandon [Graham]. [Eagles DT] Fletcher [Cox]. Those guys are real dudes on the front line. They give a lot of people a lot of problems. They did their job today."
On adjusting the gameplan with the pressure from the Eagles defensive line:
"I'm going to get the ball out of my hands quickly if I'm feeling pressure. At times when you'd like to throw the ball down the field, those opportunities didn't present themselves. Then I think I can do a better job of making one or two guys miss in the pocket and doing better in the scramble drill."
On whether the Eagles defense was taking away Bengals WR A.J. Green:
"There were a couple of times today that they were playing 1-hole. Which means everyone is man-to-man and they have a free guy in the middle. He was working to A.J.'s side. They did that a few times today."
On his pirouette moves today:
"I mean I'm just going to try and make as many plays as I can. [Bengals Head Coach] Zac [Taylor] was yelling at me to throw the ball out of bounds on the one. I looked at him and gave him a little wink after that play. So that was a bright spot of the day."
On whether this year is more about gaining momentum and experience as opposed to winning games:
"It'll never be about momentum or positive experiences to me. I'm about winning. I expect to win. I know we expect to win. No moral victories around here."
On the mentality of a tied game instead of a loss:
"We didn't win. That's all it is to me. You don't win, you lose. That's my mindset right now."
