Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai was chewing on so much of NBC's turkey on the M&T Bank Field celebrating the Thanksgiving win over the Ravens that he could barely get the words out.
A few minutes later in the visitors' locker room, fellow edge Myles Murphy said all that had to be said about the Bengals' best outing of the season.
"As a defense, we didn't flinch. Didn't hesitate," Murphy said. "That was the game plan going in. That was my game plan."
Murphy literally had a hand in the five turnovers, deflecting a Lamar Jackson pass on a huge third-and-9 from the Bengals 15 early in the fourth quarter, and the Bengals leading, 26-14. They did what they did much of the night and haven't done much of the year. Except the last two weeks.
Blitz.
When the Ravens slid their protection to adjust to the Bengals' blitz look, Murphy got the great matchup with a tight end and overpowered Isaiah Likely.
"We gave them a Zero look," said Murphy of the all-out blitz look. "They tried to come back to me with a tight end and a running back, and I had the straight line to the quarterback."
Despite blitzing the Patriots' Drake May 35% of the time last Sunday and Lamar Jackson 29% Thursday, the Bengals head into the weekend still last among NFL defenses in blitz percentage at 15.
But on Friday, head coach Zac Taylor indicated defensive coordinator Al Golden is getting more and more confident in how much his young group can handle, particularly bringing the heat on third down.
"I think that's the best way to put it. I thought Al did a great job mixing it up with bringing it and bluffing it and trying to keep them off guard as best as possible," Taylor said. "This group of guys has now played more and more snaps together, you're able to start to blend some of that stuff in and put more on their plate, and they've handled it really well.
"I thought it was a good plan in place. Our guys believed in it, they executed it. They did it the right way. They weren't hitting the same gap, you know, they were hitting different gaps and making sure we were stressing them and getting free runners, and that was fun to watch."
Joe O
Thursday night was just as big for Joseph Ossai as it was for the other Joe. He had his first multi-sack game in his 59th game and fifth season, and one of them knocked the Ravens out of field-goal range at the end of the half on another of Golden's third-down gadgets.
In an effort to pick up blitzing safety Jordan Battle, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley left Ossai and Ossai never let Jackson think he could scramble away.
"Execution. We always say you never know on those Zero blitzes when you're coming free," Ossai said. "It doesn't work if Battle doesn't do his job and communicating the right way."
Ossai also had a sack-strip of Jackson inside the Ravens 5, and he ended the night with five sacks for the season, tying last year's career high. In the absence of injured NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson, Ossai has become more and more of a leader. After signing a one-year deal in the offseason, it's been a big year for him in his quest to find consistency.
"I thought he finished last year on a really high note, and we wanted him back," Taylor said. "He brings great energy in the building. Loves football, plays with a high motor every single snap, guys really respect him in the locker room. And so I'm happy to see him kind of find a rhythm here and give us what we need."
He now has the team sack lead, one ahead of Hendrickson. Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) hasn't played since Oct. 26, and he'll have ten days to try and go next Sunday in Buffalo. Taylor is keeping him on a we'll-see weekly basis.
Quite A Celebration
Never has there been a Bengals locker room like the one Friday morning in the visitors' locker room at M&T Bank Stadium. Since it was the first Thanksgiving win in team history, there was plenty of turkey around. When Taylor called out his game balls, they had to rip off a piece of turkey. When Burrow got his, he passed on the turkey but seemed to taste a good deal of emotion.
It was the longest game ball list in several years, it seemed. Taylor always gives balls for turnovers, so five gave him a head start. Throw in running back Chase Brown's Bengals-record sixth straight game with 100 yards from scrimmage, Evan McPherson's career-best six field goals, Burrow's return, and Adam Knollman's equipment staff is nervous.
They also had to get one for Jeff Brickner, the Bengals' 24-7 director of operations. A mechanical issue kept the Bengals' charter on the tarmac for five hours, and they got to their hotel in Baltimore after midnight.
Rarely does a Brickner trip stray from the itinerary. Adding to the angst was the sprawling Thanksgiving dinner he had planned for players, coaches, and staff at the hotel Wednesday night. Once the team switched planes (with Taylor grabbing the intercom and going through the boarding procedure like a Cincy to Atlanta flight attendant regular), Brickner's meal came to life.
"They had this unbelievable Thanksgiving dinner that Brick had set up with the hotel people. I thought everybody would just grab their food and go. That ballroom was packed at one in the morning," Taylor said. "Packed. There wasn't an open seat at any table. So guys sat down there and ate their food and we let them sleep in and they responded with a big win."
Since it was a night game, Taylor didn't think the delay had any kind of an impact. He had nothing planned for preparation until Thursday morning.
"I thought what it did add was great team bonding and camaraderie," Taylor said. "You've got issues and you face adversity. It was fun to watch people deal with that adversity. I thought Jeff Brickner did an unbelievable job. I thought the Delta people were phenomenal. Everyone's just trying to problem-solve and keep the peace.
'And our players responded unbelievably. Other than Ted (Karras) … I'd look back and you're stressed for the players because they have to play the next day. But man, they were laughing. They were bonding. It was kind of one of those moments you can't really create on your own."
Slants and Screens
Taylor saved a good one to win his 50th game, joining Marvin Lewis (131), Sam Wyche (61), and Paul Brown (55) on the club's all-time winning list …
It looks to be the Bengals' first division road win on a Thursday night since Jeff Blake uncorked a perfect passer rating with three touchdowns and 275 yards in a 1995 win at Three Rivers Stadium against the Steelers …
The Bengals rushed for 128 yards, their most in a win over the Ravens under Taylor …
