Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor on Thanksgiving Win Over Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals On SI

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00:00Really happy. You know, that was kind of the first all-around game we've played all season, it felt like.

00:06Wasn't perfect by any means, but rode divisional wins on Thursday nights, nonetheless.

00:11Never come easy, and started with our defense.

00:15You know, the five turnovers, just getting them off the field, giving our offense a great field position,

00:20getting stops in huge moments when they had a chance to gain some momentum, getting some big stops.

00:24Couldn't be proud of those guys, and then offense picked it up in the second half with some of the touchdowns.

00:29And Evan McPherson coming up big, six field goals, you know, on a day that's not a perfect day.

00:33You know, it's a cold day, it's a little windy.

00:35I thought he hung in there and did a great job for us, so really proud of our team.

00:38How did it feel to watch Joe Burrow play football?

00:40It's a lot of fun to watch Joe Burrow play football, you know, and you just, you could feel him get into a rhythm.

00:46And, you know, statistically it's not the best game that we've ever had as an offense,

00:50but just you could feel the rhythm he was in, the confidence he was in.

00:54You could see him move around, you know, the scramble, even though it was four or five yards,

00:58I think it was good for everybody to see.

01:01And so this is a team that's just, it's been believing all along, and it's never too late to get going.

01:07And so for us to find a win, we've got to continue to piggyback on this.

01:09But the team's got a lot of confidence, we're going to continue to work, continue to fight.

01:13It certainly looked like you had the same foot, it looked good at it, but you've been playing all along.

01:18Sure, yeah.

01:21Yeah, and again, a lot of it has to do with the defense you're playing.

01:24You know, we're always game-playing it to attack the defense.

01:26So as we prepared all week, as we called the game all week, it's the same as it's always been.

01:32You know, whether he had been playing last year, it was the same, no different.

01:36I know people are going to read into it a million different ways on how it gets called.

01:38This is how we called the game when we played this team and felt like we were successful doing it.

01:43I thought he moved around, probably, I mean, maybe better than my expectations.

01:49I haven't seen him really hobbled by it.

01:51I'm sure he feels maybe differently.

01:53But, and again, we haven't really asked him to do that in practice,

01:56but I've seen him run straight away with the trainers, and I thought he physically looked really good.

02:01You forced five turnovers, you harped about it all season long.

02:05How much was the defense putting pressure on Lamar consistently throughout the game?

02:09It's huge.

02:10I think the coaches did a great job with the plan.

02:13I thought I would call it a great game.

02:14Players bought into it.

02:16And now you start to see when you get confidence getting those turnovers,

02:18they start to come in bunches.

02:20And so we've got to continue to build off of that.

02:21And so now there's real evidence of it paying off for us

02:24and just continue to ride that momentum and keep finding ways to get the ball off people.

02:28Back to offense.

02:28So first half, you have four corner plays, but all ends in three.

02:31First two out of the second half, your puncher's in for six.

02:33Yeah.

02:34Did Joe specifically mention that you had a half time?

02:36What were the adjustments that led to the difference?

02:38No, I thought, you know, we got him in some good looks,

02:41and Dre had, you know, two third downs, really is what it was.

02:44Two third downs.

02:46One play in particular, we've really been working all season.

02:49Tanner made an outstanding catch on the move there.

02:51The next one, Dre had a big catch.

02:53Those are two plays we've been working for a while now,

02:56waiting for the right time to get them.

02:57And again, guys had confidence because they've repped them.

03:00They were able to adjust to them.

03:01And Lyon did a great job.

03:03Really, Lyon did a great job.

03:04I think Samadji Andres had a huge block where he came across

03:07and blocked it as a defender.

03:09And so guys just stepped up and made plays.

03:11And that was really the first half.

03:13We just, it wasn't anybody didn't make a play,

03:15but there was some 50-50 plays we just didn't come down with.

03:18And so that was the, that led to some field goals.

03:20And second half, all of a sudden, you started to see that flip.

03:22And I thought the guys did a great job there.

03:25How big was that 10?

03:26It's big.

03:27It's big because it gave you some breathing room

03:29for us to score the touchdown and not have to settle for three.

03:33And so I think just, just, you felt the confidence of the entire team

03:36when we had a chance to create some separation for ourself there.

03:39So it was a big play.

03:40It's a credit to Tanner.

03:42You know, it's, it's, Tanner's a guy that we always believe in

03:44and steps up and makes a huge play for us that way.

03:47And that was big time.

03:47It feels like every year we ask you something about Joe

03:51and, you know, what can you say about him?

03:53Because every year you say the same thing about

03:55how do you think he's the best player in that spot?

03:57He wouldn't want any other quarterback.

03:59But putting into perspective the fact that he just had three,

04:01I guess, two full practices last week.

04:05He's coming in on Friday and then no practices this week.

04:08I mean, I know you guys have walked through this.

04:09But can you put into perspective just how well he played?

04:13I know in the first half there were some throws.

04:15You probably went back to the second half.

04:17Yeah.

04:17Like the burrow.

04:18I agree.

04:19Yeah, I agree.

04:19I think the first half, I mean, he hasn't played real football in three months.

04:23And so for the expectation to be that it's going to be perfect,

04:26that's just not the reality.

04:28And so he just hung in there and found a rhythm.

04:30And I think the second half really made some plays and had a ton of confidence.

04:34And it was just, you know, just being around him.

04:36He hasn't fully practiced.

04:37So there's some unknowns for me on what to call and how to call it

04:40and the confidence he gave me just in his responses over the course of the week

04:43leading up to the game, during the game.

04:45You feel that old Joe in there like he's been playing all season.

04:49And so that gave me confidence to call things the way that we needed to call it.

04:53I thought our offense coaches did a great job problem-solving.

04:56Like some of those big plays were third downs.

04:57That was huge.

04:58And Brad pitched an awesome job.

05:01I can name all those guys.

05:02All those guys stepped up big time today, really in all three phases, the coaching staff.

05:07I thought I had a great plan, did a great job problem-solving over the course of the game

05:10and got the players to believe in it.

05:12And we did a great job executing.

05:14Are there specific ways that you feel like Joe just being out there,

05:18you could see it having an impact on everybody else?

05:21Or is that just more of a feeling that you have or a sense?

05:24Yeah, that's hard to say.

05:25It's just – I just keep saying he's – you wouldn't trade him for anybody.

05:31And so when you got the guy out there that you wouldn't trade for anybody,

05:33there's just this different confidence.

05:35And I don't say that in any way to slight any other –

05:40because we've had a ton of confidence with the quarterbacks that have been playing for us.

05:43But Joe Burrow is just – he's a spectacular player.

05:45And, you know, the team responds the right way to it.

05:49Was there a play where you said he's been here all year?

05:53Was there any play in the air?

05:55I just think some of the – where he broke contain and found Jamar,

05:59that's always fun to watch for me.

06:02So I think there was a couple plays, you would know,

06:04where I try to peek at the coverage and I try to watch the protection.

06:08And you can feel him.

06:09And he's just navigating, finding some space, getting on the edge,

06:12and then finding a big play for first down.

06:15What were the conversations after the first and goal of the two, Joe,

06:19and you couldn't punch it in there?

06:21Yeah, it's always been tricky here with these guys.

06:24It's – they're playing zero, basically on four straight snaps.

06:28And so we've been in that situation before.

06:31It's always hard.

06:32The tape's difficult to find the answers.

06:34And so, again, it was – we came up short there.

06:38We'd obviously like to be able to get in from the three on four plays,

06:41but we weren't able to do it.

06:42And, again, just keep the faith.

06:44And defense has got to get a stop, which they did.

06:45Get the field.

06:46I know it only led to a field goal from there,

06:48but that's the way it goes sometimes when you're going to be aggressive on that.

06:51What do you have the success you're looking for?

06:53Just build momentum.

06:54Okay, so you've got to win.

06:56These guys keep working and they're believing.

06:59And then when you win, the real confidence shows up.

07:02Okay, we just did it.

07:02We did it on a national stage.

07:04We did it on a short week.

07:05We did an individual game.

07:07They know that that's been in us.

07:08We just had not played that complete game as a team yet.

07:11And so now we put that on tape, put that on paper.

07:14Guys have a lot of confidence.

07:15And now we've just got to go on the road and do it again.

07:17Take a confidence question.

07:19How did last year inform what you do going forward?

07:21What was it last year, good or bad?

07:23Well, unfortunately, we've been here before.

07:25Same record, I think, right?

07:27Same time of year.

07:28So we know what it looks like.

07:30We know what it feels like.

07:30We know what the urgency level is.

07:32It doesn't really change how we operate in any way, shape, or form

07:34because we just keep going on a week-to-week basis

07:36and doing our best to find a win.

07:39Certainly, we know what this looks like,

07:41and I expect our guys to handle it the right way.

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