Bengals Week 8 Postgame Quotes

How are you compartmentalizing being 0-4 at home?

“I’m not entirely sure how to answer it. Obviously, it’s not good enough.”

What changed after the first drive?

“First half, we moved the ball well. We stalled out on the other two drives, made one field goal, missed the other one. First drive of the second half, went down and scored a touchdown. Then after that, didn’t get it on fourth down, threw a pick and then we fumbled. It was those three drives really that put us behind.”

What happened on fourth down?

“I threw it to Ja’Marr (Chase) and he got tackled.”

Was that the initial play call? What did you see from their defense?

“They were playing man. Their guy made a good play. We weren’t able to convert there”

How did the struggles in the run game affect the offense?

“They have a good front, so when you’re struggling running like that, then their pass rushers start to tee off a little bit. We knew that going in. We knew their front was good, they were going to be disruptive. We knew we were going to have to score points and we didn’t score enough points today.”

You go seven-for-seven on your first seven third downs and you end up at 10-13. You had a conversion on third-and-22. With those numbers, it’s surprising to see the final score of the game. Was it just the turnovers and the fourth-down stop?

“We were tied, then we didn’t get the fourth down. And then they kick a field goal and we’re down 10 at that point, then I throw a pick. At that point, it was an uphill battle.”

What do you think today’s result and the way it went down says about your team and where you guys are at in terms of an ability to dig out of this hole right now?

“We’re not good enough. We’re not good enough, so we’ve got to get better.”

Mike Hilton just said something has to change. What do you think has to change in order for you guys to play better than you have, especially against these good opponents?

“We’ve just got to take responsibility for how we’re playing individually. You’ve just got to focus on what you can do better to help your team win. I don’t think anybody was good enough today.”

Is it frustrating that for the last couple of years, you guys have struggled in short-yardage situations? The third-and-one, the fourth down that everyone is talking about. Has it been frustrating for you that that’s been a theme for the last couple of years?

“I would say that, yeah.”

How much has not being able to get the running game going this season impacted your ability to manage the game, control time of possession? How much does that impact you with not being able to consistently have a run game?

“After the first game, we ran it well for a couple weeks in a row there. The last couple of weeks haven’t been good enough. When you play good rushers like we have the last several weeks, you’ve got to keep them off balance and be able to run the ball. If you don’t, then they aren’t going to be quite as worried about it and then their edge guys are going to start getting push and play action isn’t going to be as good. So, you’ve got to drop back and make plays, and that’s what those kind of teams want. So, it’s tough when you can’t.”

How much do things change when you don’t have Tee Higgins and/or Orlando Brown Jr. since he left in the second half?

“Whenever you don’t have some of your best players, that always makes it tough. But that’s no excuse. We’re going out there with the guys that we have. That’s the NFL. You’re expected to go out and play well and play up to our standard. It was nice to see Jermaine (Burton) make a play today. I think Jermaine is going to be a good player. He continues to get open, and we’re going to continue that dialogue that quarterbacks and receivers have to have. I think he played well today and I think the guys that stood in for Tee played pretty well today.”

Did you feel like this was a game you needed to win to show you can be where you want to be at the end of the year?

“Obviously, it would’ve been good to get this one. It’s not how it worked out. We’ll just go back to watch the tape and get better. Obviously, you want to win every game. That’s ideal, but you’ve got to adapt to whatever your record is and adapt to how you’re playing, so we’ll do that.”

How close are you to the hole being too deep to dig out of as a team?

“I think 10 wins usually gets you in, so we’ve got to win seven out of nine. That’s doable, so we’ll go from there.”

Do you feel like after that fourth down stop when they get the field goal and go up 10 points, do you feel like you deviated from the game plan and started chasing, and that’s what dug you into a deeper hole?

“At that point, you have to drop back and throw it. We got a couple of completions there. It just really came down to if we go down and score a touchdown on that drive, then we’re down three — we’re still in it. The interception was tough. The guy made a good play. I left it a little short. I’d like to have that one back, obviously. Then after that, they go down and I believe they scored again, and at that point the game is pretty much over.”

On the interception, did you feel like you just needed a play and that you just needed to find Ja’Marr Chase on a deep shot? What predicated you making that decision?

“That was the call. The safety was cheated over there, so I just tried to give him a chance and just left it a little too short.”

Do you feel like with where you’re at not just in the game, but in the season, you’re at a point where you just needed a play like that, regardless of what the outcome was going to be?

“That’s something I always try to balance is when things aren’t going your way, try not to do too much. I don’t think that was trying to do too much. The guy made a good play.”

You’re 0-4 at home this year. What has it been that you guys haven’t been able to get the job done in Cincinnati?

“Just haven’t made the plays to win the game. I don’t think it has anything to do with being at home or being on the road. It’s just those games, we haven’t made plays.”

With Tee Higgins, how much do you feel for his two setbacks in practice and knowing how hard he works and how tough that is for him?

“That’s tough. I know Tee wants to be out there with us. He works really hard to be out there and he’s a great player, so it’s obviously tough for everybody — Tee in particular — when he’s not out there.”

I know there’s only so much you can control from an individual standpoint, but how much has this season challenged you from a leadership standpoint in finding the balance between staying positive but also the accountability that’s necessary for a team at 3-5?

“It’s challenging. I don’t think anybody has been good enough so far to go and win the games that we needed to.”

Their defensive coordinator has been around a long time with seven different teams. He changes things up, what was the second half like compared to the first?

“He was just rolling through his calls, not giving away any tells. The linebackers were doing a good job moving pre- and post-snap to not give away rotation. They didn’t have any coverage tendencies for any of our formations, they were just kind of calling it. So, that makes it tough on the quarterback, but I felt I saw it all day.”

You almost had that touchdown to Jermaine Burton. He almost came down with it, and it would’ve been a huge play. What was your view of that?

“I think I left that one a little short too. He almost made a great play on the ball. They doubled Ja’Marr (Chase), ran the linebacker out to cover the flat to the right. I just tried to give him a chance.”

You just said that winning seven of your final nine games is doable. What makes you think that?

“We’ve done it before. I know the players we’ve got in there. You’ve just got to treat it week by week. Any game is winnable. You’ve just got to go and do it.”