Zac Taylor on Cincinnati Bengals' loss to Cleveland Browns
Zac Taylor on Cincinnati Bengals' loss to Cleveland Browns
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00:00 We just didn't play well enough.
00:01 You know, didn't handle the field position or the conditions well enough in the first half.
00:06 I thought our defense gave us a winning performance, you know,
00:09 and we just got to play around offense and special teams.
00:12 Conditions was just ball was slick.
00:15 It's tough for both teams, you know, that's not just us, you know,
00:17 and so then it comes into managing those conditions, doing a great job running the ball,
00:22 which I was pleased for the most part with what we did in the run game,
00:26 and then special teams, the field position.
00:27 And so I think that they did a better job handling that than we do, than we did today.
00:32 And so you got to give credit to them there.
00:34 What did you see from Joe?
00:36 I saw some good things from Joe.
00:38 You know, that's a really tough defense.
00:40 And again, it's a real challenge when the passing game is going to be like that,
00:44 you know, with those conditions, especially in the first half.
00:47 I thought we settled down.
00:49 We just weren't good enough overall on third down, you know,
00:51 2 of 15, 3 of 15, whatever it is, that's not a winning.
00:54 You're not able to extend your drives that way and keep your defense off the field.
00:58 And that's really what it boiled down to.
01:00 Zach, how frustrating some of the miscommunication, pre-snap stuff,
01:04 I mean, you harp on that.
01:05 It seemed like there was more of that than I imagined.
01:07 Yeah, you know, there was one time it was late getting the play call in,
01:11 so we had an illegal shift because we had too many guys moving
01:13 because the play clock was down, you know, so that one's on the play caller.
01:16 There was another one we had a legal formation, you know,
01:18 we were just hugged a little bit too tight.
01:20 And that thing sometimes can go both ways, but it is what it is.
01:23 They clearly communicated why that was.
01:26 So those are the two that really come to mind for me there.
01:28 Do you think the time Burrow missed maybe had any impact
01:30 on some of the breakdowns today?
01:32 Say that one more time.
01:33 The time Burrow missed, did it have any impact on not clicking?
01:36 I don't really think so.
01:37 I think early on it was immediately a different game
01:39 than we've had to play in a long, long time, you know, with the rain.
01:42 And so I only say that because of how it affects both quarterbacks in the game.
01:46 How much was his calf maybe an issue going into the break?
01:48 I didn't, you'd have to ask him on that.
01:50 What did you see in the Watson draw run right before half?
01:53 It was a good check, you know, or a good call, however they had it.
01:56 It was a good call against the look we had.
01:58 We were being aggressive, which I like.
02:00 So I like the call we ran.
02:01 And again, their players on scholarship, too,
02:03 they did a nice job executing there.
02:05 With the weather and the way the offense was going,
02:07 did that feel huge, that touchdown right before halftime?
02:09 Or did you just feel like the offense was going to click in in the second half?
02:12 We felt like the offense was going to click.
02:14 You know, obviously you don't want to give up a touchdown there.
02:17 But I felt like we had two good drives to start the second half.
02:20 Went down and kicked the field goal in the first one
02:22 and then got the turnover and went down and missed the field goal,
02:24 I think, on the second one.
02:25 So, felt like we were in a better groove and had some more momentum.
02:29 Again, the third downs is really what bit us overall in the game.
02:32 Was this a letter that kind of limited
02:35 maybe the full scope of the offense from what you guys can call?
02:38 There's no question, but again, that's both teams there.
02:41 And so then it becomes a different game
02:42 where you just got to do a great job managing the field position,
02:46 winning the kicking game, doing a great job managing your run game.
02:49 And we all contributed to that being better.
02:53 Zach, was there some consideration of going for a fourth down
02:56 and one first half at their fourth?
03:01 No, we were hopeful not to get a touchback there,
03:04 obviously, and flip the field position.
03:06 It's a long field goal with those conditions that we were just discussing.
03:09 And so, you know, we just needed the field to flip in our favor
03:13 to try to punch in some of those points
03:15 and unfortunately got a touchback there.
03:17 And so it ended up being a 19-yard punt or whatever.
03:19 In a game like this, you feel field position
03:22 can maybe be one of the biggest factors in determining the outcome.
03:25 I think playing in our division, it certainly is.
03:27 And then playing without weather, it absolutely is.
03:29 And so it's twofold there.
03:31 And again, we just, we didn't, as a team,
03:33 didn't do a good job of Jeff handling all that.
03:35 Zach, I know every year is different,
03:37 but just the last couple of years, the slow starts out of the gate.
03:40 Do you see any overlap in why this team has had an issue?
03:42 I think every year is different.
03:45 Rotating DJ Turner and Chito, a load management kind of thing.
03:48 It is, yeah.
03:49 So that'll, every week we'll have to look at that.
03:51 But for week one, that's what that was.
03:52 What did you tell your guys in the locker room?
03:54 That this certainly isn't the team that we're going to be.
03:58 And we all understand that.
03:59 And so there's going to be some things that we have to learn from from this game.
04:01 We're going to be in another type of game like this,
04:03 whether it's weather, whether it's on the road
04:05 and things not going our way early.
04:07 We just got to stick together.
04:08 But this is a team that knows that.
04:11 And so there's, on our end, we all understand that.
04:14 And we got to quickly put this one behind us
04:15 and go have a great performance at home next week.
04:18 Is that, the Broncos are pretty open about using Jamar's comments
04:21 earlier this week as a playoff?
04:22 I don't really care about any of that.
04:24 I don't really care about any of that.
04:26 Was, were there just not many chances of the middle of the field?
04:30 In the middle of the field? Over the middle.
04:32 Yeah, we tried a little bit of everything.