Quotes from:

Zac Taylor

Head coach

Overall thoughts on that one?

"Glad to get a win. I thought did a great job rising up out there on the last couple possessions of the game. We didn't put them in great spots, and they just rose up. They got two turnovers. So to win the turnover battle the way that we did, that's a key stat in a win in week one. We knew there was going to be adversity. There's always adversity.

There's always adversity in week one. There's always adversity when we play Cleveland. There's always adversity when we're on the road in Cleveland. It's never simple. So for our guys just to find a way to win in the end. I'm proud of them. The best outcome of this game is 1-0. Forget about the stats. Forget about the score. Forget about how it all played out. The best the outcome could have been was 1-0 and we're proud of that. We'll make some corrections and move forward."

The offense looked good in that first drive and then kind of sputtered the rest of the game. Why couldn't they find a rhythm?

"It's hard. A lot of times, it's just one play on a drive. If one play drills you and now you're behind the sticks a little bit, that plays into their hands. We had some great efficiency early on. There was a play here or there and there are things I can do to put us in a better spot. I think we're all going to be accountable with that on offense. We felt like there was an opportunity there that we didn't fully take advantage of. There's opportunities where I could put us in a better position. I look forward to correcting that all that after a win. It's a lot easier."

Can you take us through the three straight sacks?

"Play action on the first one, and I didn't see exactly how (Browns DE Myles Garrett) 95 got in there, but he did. We're trying to account for him on every snap, and he just finds a way to win sometimes. The second play was very similar. I think they played tempo and they got us. The third play, that's a regret that I have is on the nine-yard line and calling a deeper throw like that. Probably something to just get the ball out of our hands quicker so we can save some space for the punt. It was a third and really long situation."

What went into the decision to punt it there in the offense's last series, and then your thoughts on Bengals CB D.J. Turner's big play?

"Our defense is playing really good at that moment and they missed an extra point, so you know a little bit how they feel about the field goal, so you know, that probably weighs into their decision making a little bit. So I just felt really good about kicking it away and letting our defense go get the win for us. And they did. D.J. turned up with a huge pick. You know, those weren't easy turnovers, you know, (Bengals S Jordan Battle) J.B. and D.J., both of those were tough, you know, off tip balls, and they went and got them and we're grateful for that."

How much do you feel like Jordan's (Battle) pick in the third really turned the game around?

"It's week one, the turnover battle is critical, and it comes down to these one-score games and usually you're gonna look at the scoreboard and see who won the turnover battle, and that's usually the team that won the one-score game. So, just proud of the way our guys handled that and found a way to get us a win."

How do you think Dalton played?

"Good. I felt good there. We'll obviously watch the tape and evaluate everybody, but I didn't have any issues."

You had a lot of players step up and the rookies all contributed on defense. Can you talk about their play especially in an environment like this?

"Yeah, very calm, collected. That's what I saw. There was a time we had two young linebackers out there; two rookies out there when (Bengals LB) Logan (Wilson) came out. I'm watching just to see their body language. Didn't miss a beat. I think there's a lot of guys that fit that description. All those guys that got in there and got a chance to play. It was not too big for any of them. That's why they're here, because they're all built like that. And so we're going to have to call on all these guys as the season progresses."

You talked for several months about how hard the coaching staff was going to work to get this team off to a good start. With so many changes, how satisfying is it to get it done?

"Everything didn't go our way on every single play, but I truly believe our guys did nothing to beat ourselves, [or] to allow us to beat ourselves. We just played disciplined. They kept rising up to the occasion on defense. Offense made enough plays there, especially early on, to build us the lead, to where we can play this game. Many times I can think of when we lost here. We were playing from behind and they were able to control the game as the game played out. So I'm proud of the way that the offense started off, and got us a lead there in the first half, that allowed the defense to get their bearings straight and make some key stops for us. And that's a great way to win. You heard me preach it all last year. We got to play with the lead, so we can play the right way in the second half, and this is a great example."

Three time outs to beat the clock. Was there an operation problem there?

"No, all of them were a little different. And so again, there's sometimes we feel like our critical plays in the game, where we want to make sure we get the best play possible. It's not ideal. It's not what we want to do, but all the times, you know, really (Bengals QB) Joe (Burrow) called a couple of them, which were all the correct decision. If he was going to talk to me about it in a meeting - 'what should I have done here?' - I would say let's not waste a play here. One of them, I'm not going to get more into that. That's not what we want to do, but he made the right decisions there."

What makes it so challenging, it seems like every time you play them?

"Without getting too much into it, I have a lot of respect for their defensive coordinator (Jim Schwartz). He makes things hard. He understands us. They have great talent on defense - great talent on defense. The guys play hard. They play with a lot of confidence. All the matchups, you know, they do a really good job. They're all good football players. And it's just always a challenge when we play them. [We are] thankful to have gotten their number the last couple times. Week one is always a challenge. You're always going to get the other team's best. You're always going to get the healthiest version of them. They got the healthiest version of us. And you're going to get their best right out the gate. You just have to find a way to win. That's what our guys did."

What most impressed you about the defense today?

"Their calmness - just their calmness. We got them in a lot of situations we wanted them in to get back on track. They got to some third and shorts out of those long yardage situations. So I think if that's an area we're going to watch, I think we could probably be a little bit better there with some of the tackling where they got some extra yards, but first of all, win the first down to get them in some of those situations; eliminate the run game, you know

2.0 yards to carry - I know that was the same as us, but if we're playing a game where our defense is doing that, I'm going to feel really good about the outcome."

Bengals DT Mike Pennel signs Monday. I think he played around 25 snaps. What does it say about how he was able to jump in like that?

"I think he played about 22 plays per game last year in every single game all through the Super Bowl. [We] watched all of his training camp stuff, all his preseason game stuff, and thought, this is an easy decision to get this guy over here. So it wasn't like we're pulling somebody off, you know, like Dalton, who hasn't been putting pads on and playing a little bit. Mike's been practicing and [he is] such an impressive [player] and right out the gate just a great guy to have in the locker room."

In the last nine minutes, you got unbelievable play from the front.

"Thanks for pointing that out. We had a great training camp. I thought our guys came out of it in shape and healthy, and it allows you to finish games like this on defense, like you said. So again, those guys did a great job. Very relentless, and making the secondary's job a little easier to be able to create some of those turnovers and flush them out of the pocket, and make life hard on them."

What went into the decision to get the ball into Chase Brown's hands as much as you did, especially early on?

"He is a great playmaker for us to be able to get the ball in space. He's usually the one in the pass game who's able to get the most space too, potentially, and so he's hard to bring down. But I just thought our guys did a great job firing off the ball early on in the run game - our tight ends, our linemen, our perimeter receivers. We ask a lot of those guys, and they helped us set the tone and build that lead early on."

How much do you kind of feel Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson's presence on some of those big plays by the defense?

"That's where this game comes down to. When you put them in known passing situations with the game on the line, that's where they have to account for Trey, and it's hard. When the game's on the line to be able to put someone on his side every single time and call your best play, that's a challenge I just went through for it feels like eight and a half hours. So that's a challenge. And so in that outcome, we were able to be the team that was able to make it difficult on them, and that's a great way to win it for our defense."

What did you think of Bengals LB Demetrius Knight, Jr. and Bengals LB Barrett Carter playing their first games? It seemed like Demetrius was all over the place in the first half.

"That's what we've seen all training camp. And again, we'll evaluate it and make sure we see everybody playing and clean everything out, but I loved the energy from our guys. And they were lifting each other up. That's what I asked from them last night. It's not all going to be perfect. I promise that there is going to be adversity. Lift each other up, and I felt that throughout the team. Everyone had confidence that we're going to find a way to win. And that's what we got done."

JOE BURROW

Quarterback

How does it feel to get the win to start the 2025 season?

"We'll take it, we'll take it. Any time you can win like this, you kind of steal one. We stole one today, we're going have to do better."

How would you evaluate your performance today?

"I"ll have to watch the tape. In the first half, I thought I was pretty lights out. I thought I made some good throws in the second half, but I'll watch the tape and see."

Can you walk us through the three sacks the Browns had during your fourth quarter drive with nine minutes left?

"We called play action, and Myles (Garrett) won on the edge. I tried to step up, but he did a good job abandoning and running me down. I'm having a tough time remembering the second play. The third play, on third down, the pocket started to collapse a little bit, I kind of jumped over the line and the guy (DE Isaiah McGuire) grabbed my leg - I tried to dive out of the end zone right there."

What was the game plan to use RB Chase Brown as much as you did?

"These early games are always tough. You have to be able to establish the run and that's where we want to be. On offense, we want to be able to run the ball. In the first half, it was great and the second half, all the facets of the offense weren't good enough. We have to get better."

How frustrating is it to not move the ball you know you are capable of?

"It was obviously frustrating at times. We made enough plays to win, so it was good."

What was it like to have the fast start on offense?

"We scored a touchdown on two of three first possessions. We went right down the field on the first one, scored a touchdown, put us in a good spot. We just have to find a way to make some adjustments to help get some guys open and try to find a way to complete balls, keep running the ball in the second half, like we didn't do today."

What have you seen from the Bengals defense?

"You can see in practice, but practice doesn't matter at the end of the day. You can make as many plays in practice as you want, but you go out there on Sunday and don't make any plays then that's all that really matters. They made big time plays today in big spots. I thought they stopped the run and put some pressure on (QB) Joe (Flacco) in some key spots. The two turnovers were just great plays by our guys."

What's the balance like knowing you won, but not playing to your standard as an offense in total?

"Well, we celebrated in there (the locker room), now it's behind us, we'll watch the tape and get better. Everybody on offense knows that the second half today wasn't good enough and we'll address it."

Did you want to go for it on 4th-and-1at the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter?

"You can't go for it at that spot. If you don't get it, you basically lose the game. Our defense was making plays at the time, so you just have to punt it and try to get them to make another play."

How do you internalize a game like today?

"We found a way to win. Like somebody said earlier in this press conference, we didn't win any of these games last year. Usually when you can win a game like this, that's a recipe for success and that means you are going to be a good team if you can find a lot of different ways to win and we did today."

How did you feel RG Dalton Risner did who came in for the injured Lucas Patrick?

"Dalton did great. He got here in the middle of last week. The operation was clean. We have a lot of different silent cadences, and I thought he handled it well. That right guard spot has to be a smart player, especially on the road to handle all of those cadences and turn his head around and get a quick snapshot of the defense and know what to do quicker than anybody else because he's not looking at the defense so. Credit to him for being ready. He's a veteran player. He knows what it takes, so I'm excited to keep playing with him."

What was so difficult playing against the Browns defense? The front four? The secondary?

"It all works together. It all works together there. The corners are two of the best in the league. I don't think any other team has a better tandem than they do. They do a good job figuring out ways to get their guy 95 (DE Myles Garrett) in one-on-one situations. Playing man coverage and being sticky so you have to hold onto the ball a little longer trying to get guys open, and by the time that happens, usually 95 is there. Their whole scheme works together and I have a lot of respect for them."

Where do you rank DE Myles Garrett?

"It's tough to find anybody better than that guy."

Is there something you can take away from that you did what you had to do to win the game?

"That's how a lot of these games play out. Never clean. Obviously, we would have liked it to be more clean and like to be explosive. The first half was great, we scored touchdowns of two of the first three possessions. If you can do that through the whole game, then you are going to be really happy with your performance. We weren't able to sustain that today."

Jordan Battle

Safety

You gave up sixteen points and got two takeaways on defense, what do you guys think you did best on defense today?

"Stopped the run. They had two [yards per carry]. D-line did a good job stopping the run so Joe [Flacco] could put the ball in the air and give us a chance to make plays on the ball."

Your interception was huge it ultimately led to the field goal to give the Bengals the lead back for good, just describe that play.

"It was a great play. In cover two, just breaking on the ball. He made a bad throw inside the receiver, I think it was 3 [Jerry Jeudy], to tip it. Then just the focus to maintain and catch the ball. It put our offense in striking position."

DJ [Turner] got the interception that more or less sealed the game, the first of his career. That's what Al [Golden] has been preaching.

"Exactly. Plus two in takeaways. Ball disruption. We've been working on it all camp and it showed today."

Describe your emotions on the Browns final field goal attempt.

"I was super excited. Coming off the field after getting a stop, they had good field position. And then you see a kicker go out and miss a kick. It's very relieving and it's very cheerful for us. It's joy. Especially knowing the offense we got."

CHASE BROWN

Running Back

I thought that playing this kind of football game, the training camp you guys had got you ready for this. It was a very physical training camp. Did that get you ready for this kind of encounter?

"I believe that 100%. We started fast every single day, and we started with competition. Starting practice early, getting on the field early. I think that helped us get that fast start today. We went down and scored on our first drive. I think the main thing going forward is being more efficient offensively. Converting those big third downs, and just being better overall. We left a lot of meat on the bone out there."

The interior of the offensive line. You got some young guys, and some old guys who haven't played together. How do you think the offensive line played with that in mind?

"I thought they played really well. They worked so hard during training camp. They started off really well, but overall there's so many things to learn from, so many things to get better at. In our room, we wanna be better there and I wanna be better. Offensively, all around we'll watch the film and come back better."

JA'MARR CHASE

Wide Receiver

For you personally, how would you grade your game today?

"I left two plays out there. I dropped one and I didn't get my feet down on the other. Not bad, but I felt like I left something out there."

Do you think that comes with being a veteran player that you don't get upset about those kind of plays?

"I've been here long enough to know this whole year is a roller coaster. The whole game is a roller coaster. It's sports. At the end of the day I just gotta be me, be myself, and reliable for the team."

This offense got off to a hot start, why do you think it sputtered for the last two and a half quarters?

"I'm not sure. We started off real fast running the ball. I thought that's how we were gonna go all day. We were running the ball all day and made a good capitalization off of that."

What do you think [Jordan] Battle and [DJ] Turner showed today?

"Grit. Showed a lot of grit out there. Making plays on defense and catching the ball. Tipped passes. We need those. They did a hell of a job."

You guys won on defense, after all the stuff last year, does that fire you up?

"Yeah. Good to see that, honestly. Worship my defense right now. I've been congratulating them since a minute and twenty seconds left on the clock. Nothing but praise to those guys. Can't say anything more than just a hell of a job today."

You know how important it is to get off to a fast start. When you do win one, and get to this point, do you feel good, even though you didn't play well or play to the standard you want?

"From being in the NFL for so long now, the games that are ugly and we win we gotta take it. Every game is not gonna be pretty, every game is not gonna be the best. For me, for Tee [Higgins], for Joe [Burrow], it's not gonna be best for us. We gotta take everything we can, and get the W."

DJ TURNER II

Cornerback

There were questions about the defense and what it would be like coming into the season. Defense was the reason you guys won the game today

"It's great but all the outside noise we don't care about. We've known the entire time what the defense can do. And we gotta show it on film, and we gotta do it next week."

Can you take me through your interception?

"It was a deep curl route, a stop route. We got physical at the top of the route. He bobbled the ball, I saw it and made a play."

You mention how you were good on the first drive. Is that because you guys were playing sound, and doing little things? "Yeah. They called a PI (pass interference) on me, they called a PI on Cam [Taylor-Britt]. They called a roughing the passer on Trey [Hendrickson]. An illegal contact. We're good.