Quotes from:

Zac Taylor

Head coach

On the Bengals offense

"We never created any momentum for ourselves. We had some procedural penalties. I felt like when we did get some momentum, it put us in first-and-15 and against a good defense, you just can't put yourself in a hole like that. Our defense in the second half held them scoreless, really until the last drive of the game. They did what they could and held them to 21 points against a good team on the road. Offensively, we're just not creating enough momentum to put points on the board, put pressure on the other team, to get our defense a rest. There are things I know that will be better. We'll be better as coaches; we'll be better as players. We're four games into the season and we'll create our identity that we can rely on. We can put points on the board, rest defenses, and help our team out."

On facing the Broncos defense

"It's a very difficult defense [to face] on the road. They're teeing on the snap count and we're trying to do our best to limit that. It's a great advantage to have here. Their fans are great, their rush is outstanding. They've been a challenging defense all season long. They were challenging defense last week. We knew that, so you can't give them any opportunity to get some momentum that they didn't earn necessarily. [There was] some pre-snap stuff that we gave them, so a great defense. They played well. You've got to make some big plays, and we didn't do enough of that tonight."

On the penalties

"It is a lack of discipline. As a whole, it's not nearly good enough. We're a team that should not be having that problem. We have to get it corrected. We can't just hand the other team five yards and put us behind the eight ball, especially dealing with some of the stuff we've got to deal with on the road. We've got to get it cleaned up."

On looking forward

"We've faced two of the tougher environments on the road against two really good teams. We didn't hold our own. We didn't do well enough. I think there's been pieces that we can continue to build on. Like I said, I thought our defense came out the second half, they got the ball first, and they gave us an opportunity to get back in the game and offensively, we just didn't give ourselves enough momentum to do that."

On QB Jake Browning

"I think as a whole, we all have got to do a better job. There's not a position I'm going to say that can't step up. Coaching, you've got to do a better job. The quarterback is always going to bear a bunch of responsibilities. It's on all of us to do a better job."

On the decision to kick a field goal on the opening drive

"[It was] to just take the points, make sure we got the points. It's a decision sometimes you get aggressive with and this one on the road, early on, we wanted to make sure we created some momentum for ourselves."

On offensive play calls

"Create a stop [defensively], get into field position. Our defense got them to stop, and we need to capitalize on that."

On the biggest frustration the last two games

"Not scoring. That's the hardest thing. Not scoring enough points and we did a better job actually securing the football today, but just didn't do enough to put the ball in our endzone."

On his interaction with WR Ja'Marr Chase

"Ja'Marr, coming off a game like this, is one of my favorite players to deal with, quite frankly, because he's just competitive. He just wants to win, and he comes across as emotional. That's just a captain that works his tail off. All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game and oftentimes he feels like, 'if I have the ball in my hands, I can do that' and I don't disagree with him. We're always looking for ways to get him the ball. Obviously, sometimes for him, you can't see what's going on the backfield and some of the challenges that you face back there. I love Ja'Marr. When I'm done coaching, he will be one of my all-time favorites for the way that he matured. I wouldn't say matured because he was never immature, but just the way he's become the total pro that you want in your football team, in competing, in practice, and completing the games. I can't say enough about him. I'm sure if those interactions are on-site, it just comes from a place of I want to help the team win, help me help the team win. And that's what I love about him."

On the fair catch interference call

"He (Broncos WR Marvin Mims Jr.) bobbled it. You've got to give into space on the bobble so that it becomes not a penalty at that point. They just get possession of the ball at the spot that it happened. I know it was confusing there for a second, but the right call was made, and the right spot was made."

On the adversity

"I've been here seven years and in the league 13 years; there's never been a season where we didn't face adversity at some point. Usually, it's a lot worse than two-and-two early-season adversity. So, this is nothing. You get a chance to kind of watch more yesterday - games in the league. It feels like every team is going through something with the exception of seven or eight. It's what teams are going to be able to stick together, find a way, find their identity, find a way to keep improving, build off the positive things we do. I've got the utmost confidence in the guys in that locker room as well as the coaching staff. We're two-and-two. We haven't played well the last two games, over the entirety of the game as a team. We've just got to find a way to play better, find a win and create some momentum for ourselves."

On the frustration

"It's just disappointment. It's frustration. It's disappointment. These guys have worked. We have the talent. We have the coaches. Again, it's just about creating some momentum. It really hasn't been there in these two games for very different reasons - an opportunity for us that we created some momentum for ourselves. We just haven't done something like that in the last two weeks. Again, we've got a long season left to go. A lot of opportunities. I'm excited to see how these guys respond."

**JAKE BROWNING**

Quarterback

Opening statement

"Very frustrating loss. We have to get back to work and figure out how we can be more productive on offense and defense."

On why the offense is struggling

"I think anytime you are struggling or not doing well on offense, there's a lot that goes into it. I think for me, my focus is on my role in that which is dropping back, making sure I'm making good decisions and to continue to move the ball forward. There's a lot that goes into it and I'm focused on my role and trying to be the solution. Finding a way to be more explosive, put up more points, sustain more drives, to be better on third down. Just play better offense in general."

On if he felt he wasn't playing as aggressive as he should've been

"I don't think so. Off the top of my head, I think any game you're going to want some throws back, but I didn't walk away from the game thinking I just walked in there and tried to chuck the ball around every play. There's a lot of throws down the field. I thought, as far as from a turnover perspective, we played clean, but we didn't move the ball so who cares? I think for me, when you're struggling on offense and struggling with the ball, it's fighting that urge to have those frustration throws. You're trying to make something happen and the next thing you know, it's an interception. That's kind of the line that you have to tow as far as, I didn't feel like there was anything down the field just off of memory and looking at pictures on the sideline. I didn't feel like there was anything down the field where I was like, 'Oh, I should have thrown that but I was too afraid of making a mistake so I didn't'. I think for the most part, I hesitate to say I put the ball where I was supposed to go on each play because we didn't do anything on the offense. For the most part, that was kind of the case."

On his thoughts on the play calling

"I don't think it's a play calling issue at all. When you have a poor performance on offense, there's so many different things that go into it. For me, things that may even stand out as bad plays but things where you're like, 'God, I need to have my eyes on this side because of this' or whatever. Basically, when you play that poorly on offense for this two-game stretch, everyone's playing a role in it, and everybody's got to play a role in the solution. That's kind of my focus."

On how to stop the bad plays on offense

"Get back to work and have a solution mindset and try and figure out what are our identity on offense like, what are we, what's our go-to stuff that we're going to do and how are we going to. We are good players on perimeter, how do we put them in situations where they can go make plays and do what they're capable of doing. That's kind of my main focus. I really just say the perimeter because that's kind of my area on offense is trying to get those guys the ball."

On plays that made the difference in the game

"I'm not going to sit up here and say one play. There's a lot of different plays throughout the game that momentum swings and all that. Overall, the whole performance on offense is very poor and we left our defense out to dry a lot. Not to sound like a broken record, but my focus for this week is, on offense, we're all part of the problem and we all need to be a part of the solution and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing to be a part of the solution."

On his interactions with WR Ja'Marr Chase

"Good. He's on the same page as me, just trying to figure out what's going to work and what's going to get us to where we need to be on offense. That's kind of where the conversations have been."

On what they can sharpen

"As far as penalties go, I think my role as the quarterback is to make sure we're not taking delay of games, we're not putting people in a situation where they're going to commit penalties. As far as overall on offense I think that that's more of a [Bengals Head Coach] Zac [Taylor] question. For me, I'm just really focused on trying to figure out what I need to do in order to help us move the ball and help us play better on offense."

On the effort

"I didn't think effort was an issue. I think the last two weeks just feels like we never really had momentum. [We] haven't really been explosive. There are one or two good plays and then we'll get into first-and-20 and that's just fighting a hard battle with one arm behind your back when you end up in longer situations, second and long, first and long, leading to third and long. Good offenses don't do that, so we need to clean it up. I don't think effort was an issue. I never question anybody's effort in the locker room. I don't really think that's how everything goes for the Bengals. I do think it's a time when you've had two tough losses where you haven't performed well on offense. You do have to look in the mirror and say, 'okay, what is my role in this' and removing all the emotion, the outside noise and looking at the film and saying, OK, what is my role in this, what do I need to do better?' For me, like I said, because you're tired of hearing me say it, but that's going to be my focus this week."

**JA'MARR CHASE**

Wide Receiver

On his frustration during the game

"I'm always frustrated if I'm losing but it's part of the game, sometimes the emotions take over. Sometimes it looked like what it's not supposed to, but it happens."

On his conversation with Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor after one of the drives

"We just talked about the possessions, talking about what plays we can run. How we can attack certain coverages and get out there."

On having two low-scoring games in a row

"It's hard knowing the type of offense we have, knowing the type of weapons we have in the backfield, outside, and at tight end. So, it's kind of hard. We know we're capable, we know the ins-and-outs of the offense. We know we're a downfield-threat team and everybody else knows it but right now, we're facing a little adversity, and we got to figure it out."

**DAX HILL**

Cornerback

On the team's frustration with the penalties

"This is all about momentum. Whenever the penalties keep stacking up and the chains keep moving, [it's] missed opportunities for us on defense."

On what gives him hope that the team will turn around their performance

"Just take it week by week. Coming out of a loss, the only thing you can do is prepare and try to get a win next week.

On if he was surprised by all the penalties

"That's just the nature of football. Sometimes that's just how it goes and sometimes you just have to bounce back from those things. Hopefully, you turn things around."

**DEMETRIUS KNIGHT JR.**

Linebacker

On his interception tonight

"First and foremost, I wouldn't have been in that position to make that catch and secure the catch without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's ultimately why I'm here, why we're all here. But what a play, what a way to step up and try to get us out of that situation just to create momentum. Football is a game of momentum and when you have it, you have it. When you don't, you don't. It's kind of hard to generate it but we've got to find different ways to generate it. We've got to find ways to generate it on offense, and defensively we have to compliment it. We have to give it right back to them, so we are in the process of ironing out the kinks. It's still early. We're not defeated yet. We're just going back to the drawing board, just as a lot of teams are doing across the league right now. So, everybody is still finding their identity. We're still on the climb, still on that journey to get there, to put down the roots of what we want to be and who we're trying to be so people are itching to get back to where I know I am."

On how challenging the Broncos are to defend

"We step up for every challenge. You've got to step up to every challenge in the NFL. All teams have their favorite plays, and they have their momentum plays and their big momentum shifts, and teams find what their bread and butter is. We always have a plan, we have an answer for everything. You just have to know when to put the right answers in the play, if you will, and not overload our minds and just make it simple so that everybody can play fast."

**Jalen Rivers**

Guard

On how he felt about his first NFL start

"I feel great about the opportunity. You've got to make the most of it and I felt like I did decent for the most part. Of course you look back at the film, and there are some things to work on. We didn't come out with the outcome we wanted, but it felt great to be out there and you can learn from it and grow from it."

On the Bengals first scoring drive and what changed after

"We were executing things really good that drive. We just got to sustain that for the rest of the game. You know, things happen. Just not adjusting after the penalties and things weren't going our way. We lost momentum and things just went left for us."