Joe Flacco on Bengals' Loss to Packers

Cincinnati Bengals On SI

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00:00First game one year?

00:01Well, I thought as an offense we settled in, you know,

00:04probably sometime in the second quarter.

00:06Not that we were able to get over the hump in that quarter,

00:08but we came out and played a good second half.

00:13You know, but usually against a good football team,

00:16playing one good half isn't going to be good enough.

00:18But we gave ourselves a chance down the end,

00:19and I think we did some good things, but just not enough early on.

00:23How good did you all in the second half?

00:25Well, listen, I think we settled down a little bit,

00:27started to get in a little rhythm.

00:28I think that first drive really helped.

00:29I mean, any time you can keep a defense,

00:31it's not easy when you have to go 20 plays to score a touchdown,

00:34but any time you can keep a defense on the field that long,

00:37it is to your advantage.

00:38I think you can wear them out a little bit.

00:40You know, it's not like we ran the ball for a ton of yards,

00:44but we did have some pretty good runs in terms of first down conversions,

00:47and, you know, you can start to feel the physicality of us

00:51kind of pick up as the game went on.

00:53On those early drives, did you feel like was you still getting used to being on a new team?

00:59I probably settled down a little bit for sure.

01:02There was at least one or two where I could have taken just quicker than the short one.

01:09But also, listen, they're a good defense, you know,

01:11so you've got to give them a little bit of credit,

01:12and it's just kind of how it was.

01:17That sequence there when you make that catch that you're in with that,

01:22your mind makes that catch for you, then you make the two-point conversion.

01:24Yeah.

01:25What's going to be in line with that?

01:26Listen, you're still – I mean, after the two-point conversion, I was pretty pumped up.

01:30But in the moment, you're just trying to keep it simple, take it for one play at a time.

01:39You know, I kind of kept telling myself that on the sideline today.

01:41You know, don't get too high in this environment.

01:44Just kind of no matter what the scoreboard says and what's going on,

01:49just remember to continue to play each play.

01:52And, look, I mean, this league, if you're able to do that consistently,

01:56then you're going to put yourself in it down the stretch.

01:57What kind of difference do you see now that Jamar and T are your teammates

02:01have catched like Jamar makes?

02:03Yeah, yeah.

02:04I mean, I came over to the sideline a couple times and was telling Jake, like,

02:08just the way they plucked the ball out of the air.

02:10Like, I threw, like, a quick out route to Jamar, and I didn't get the ball great,

02:17and it was, like, an awful spiral.

02:20And he still just caught it, like, with both hands.

02:22And then the one that I can think about to T,

02:25we hit him on a, like, little, like, inside slant route for a third down,

02:30I think on that first drive of the second half.

02:33And a lot of guys would go down and kind of catch it with their body and slide it,

02:36and he just plucked it right out of the air with both hands.

02:39It's pretty impressive to see those guys go.

02:41The fourth down, though, was that an ad lift for the touchdown?

02:44Was that a touchdown for the touchdown?

02:46The fourth down for the touchdown.

02:47Which one was that, the one in the back of the end zone?

02:49Oh, the one that you had.

02:51Were they both fourth down?

02:52Yeah.

02:52They came up and pressed him.

02:56We had, you know, so we had, we were able to take a shot.

03:00And, I mean, listen, obviously, when he gets one-on-one, you'd be, you know,

03:07I think you'd be wrong a lot to not go his way.

03:09Obviously, you're jumping into a team in a unique situation.

03:14It's the fourth-series loss.

03:15I know you haven't been here for those losses,

03:17but do you see out there today, open, reasonably, that you guys can?

03:21For sure.

03:22For sure.

03:23I mean, listen, this is a long season.

03:25And I know it's easy to be down on yourself in hard times.

03:29But, you know, playing with confidence shows.

03:32So we've got to find a way to kind of get some of that back.

03:35But I think we do have the ability to do that.

03:39Listen, we've got a big week coming up.

03:40And, you know, these division games are always good match-ups.

03:46And going in and playing a good game this upcoming week could help a lot with that.

03:52I think today probably helped a little bit.

03:54But, you know, you still want to win the game.

03:55Can the second half of the rhythm that you guys have confidence

03:58give you extra confidence going into Thursday?

04:01You hope so.

04:02I mean, you're always looking for ways to play with confidence.

04:04I think, you know, they talk about learning how to win.

04:08And good football teams know how to do that.

04:10That's because they always believe they can win.

04:12And, listen, I've only been here for a week.

04:14But I think these guys in the locker room have got a good head on their shoulders.

04:17And I'm excited to get to work with them.

04:18I've shown two questions.

04:20What were the impressions of Zach's head on the roof?

04:21You've done a lot of the coaching company.

04:25What's your impression of Zach?

04:26Yeah, Zach's been great, man.

04:30Level-headed.

04:31And, I mean, obviously he's been a lot of help for me this week.

04:35Just putting the game plan together.

04:38Not trying to get too complicated with things.

04:41You know, using the common sense of it.

04:43So, so far, you know, he's been great.

04:45And then today on the side, you never know.

04:46Like, when you get onto the field and you don't, you know,

04:49you haven't been with a coach before and what's his demeanor like on game day.

04:52And I thought he was great.

04:53I thought he did a great job of leading us and giving us the confidence

04:56and the stuff that we needed to go out there and win the game.

04:59How many guys get a second chance to start a floor?

05:02You know, I think it's the same season.

05:04What was your process like?

05:05What was your mind like as you got ready for this game?

05:07I think sometimes, like, listen, starting in this league is a big deal.

05:14I think sometimes you can make it too big of a deal in your head.

05:17So, I think for me this time around it was just, hey, man, you're playing a game.

05:21And it just goes in line with that.

05:24Let the game come to you a little bit.

05:25Just play each play.

05:26Do what you're supposed to on that play.

05:29Even though it is a big deal, try to downplay it a little bit

05:33so you can go out there and have fun and play your best.

05:36How was the communication?

05:37I think it was pretty good.

05:38I mean, there was a couple plays where I remember one play.

05:41I think we actually ended up kind of getting what we wanted.

05:43But I think they got pass interference on Jamar down the right sideline

05:47or holding or whatever they ended up calling.

05:49But I definitely didn't call the right play.

05:51And I said, so that's why I kind of signaled out to Jamar,

05:54just, hey, you run this route.

05:55I know we can get that done.

05:57But overall, I think it went pretty well.

06:00As a veteran that has gone through a stretch like this team is currently going through,

06:05is there anything that you can say to this group that has helped you in the past

06:08get rid of the skids like this?

06:10It's tough to, like, generally say something to, like, the team.

06:14But I think as, like, you can see individuals throughout the course of a game

06:18or in the locker room right now, I think it can be very helpful to go up to individuals

06:21that maybe feel like they're having a hard time or whatever it may be

06:24and give them, you know, give them that vote of confidence.

06:28Listen, sometimes you get so focused on what you didn't do well

06:33and you think everybody's looking at you.

06:35Oh, my gosh, everybody's looking at me and I didn't do this well.

06:38Nobody's looking at you, man.

06:39Everybody's worried about what they're doing.

06:40And I think good football teams are made up of guys that can do,

06:44that are so focused on what they're doing that everything else comes together.

06:48So it's just a reminder to some of those guys that may be feeling that way,

06:51like, hey, man, like, nobody's paying that much attention.

06:55Like, you just keep doing what you're doing.

06:56Like, the next play is the most important.

06:59So in the next game to a certain level.

07:02So I think if we can keep that mindset, we'll be all right.

Joe Flacco on Bengals' Loss to Packers

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