Quotes from:

Zac Taylor

Head coach

What went well today?

"Well, the resilient group found a way. It feels like that's what this year is turning into already. Just a group that believes in each other and never flinches even when things are difficult. Early in the season, it's always been about finding your footing and it's never going to be easy. You want to put yourself in a position in games five and 12 and 16 to be in a good spot. It wasn't as clean as we wanted it to be all around. When we watch the tape, there's going to be corrections. But I couldn't be prouder of our group. They just looked each other in the eye in the second half and said, 'We're going to figure out a way to win this game.' And that's exactly what they did, and I'm really proud of them."

What can you tell us about Joe Burrow?

"Nothing right now, to be truthful with you. We had such a tight game. I didn't get all the information yet."

Do you know what happened?

"No."

What did you say to Jake after his third interception to keep him in the game?

"Well, I think the first one is not on him, just to be crystal clear. Despite those two other interceptions, he had a lot of confidence in himself and the players do as well, and they play for him. We have trust that he's going to figure out a way. Those fourth down decisions are tough. He checked the ball down on a fourth down on the last drive to Chase (Brown) to get the first down. He changed a route on fourth down to Dre (Andrei Iosivas) to give him a shot. We had the DPI (defensive pass interference). He just went out there cool, calm and collected and ready to do his job. He was in there at 8:30 this morning. I feel like I saw him in there. I don't know if was in there that early but he was in. He's just ready. So, when you have a guy that's ready, that the team trust because they've seen him do it all, and then he put the ball in his hands at the end the game and he went down there and delivered for us."

How much were you playing for a win?

"Once you get tighter, it's, 'Let's go win this game. Let's not try to kick the field goal and go to overtime.' It's been such a crazy game. Leave nothing to chance. When we were in there it turned into a four-down territory for us to go get the win."

You always harp on turnovers. Jake Browning had three, but you were able to create turnovers. The interception by Dax Hill in the endzone, was that a turning point?

"Our defense has created a feeling that a turnover can come at any moment. That's just what they've established at this point. Dax has taken seven points, four points off the board right there. J.B. (Jordan Battle) just has a knack for finding the ball. Some guys just have that, and it looks like J.B. has that and that's awesome. And then the fourth-down stop at the end of the game when they went for it — that's huge That's a defensive stop. There's a real feeling that these turnovers are going to come in bunches for us because our guys train it. They found a way to find the ball and we just have to keep it up."

The play that seemed to pump air back into the game was Mitchell Tinsley's touchdown. That was his first career catch ...

"I just I just told the team he exemplifies everything that we stand for as a team and as a Bengal. We define it as a physical, hungry, and an accountable teammate who is willing to do their all to get the job done. I told Mitch, and I told the team just now, that he probably had the hardest battle to be in this position because we signed him at a strange time right after the season in January. The scouts liked him. They knew him. I didn't know much about him. So, it's not like we put him in a position in April, May and June to see what this guy is made of. And then he made all the plays he made in the preseason game. And so, we're not afraid to put him out there in any moment. He went out there and made a one-handed catch for his first career reception, first career touchdown. He did it one-handed. It didn't surprise anybody. You saw a lot of excitement from the team just because they're excited. He finally has an opportunity, but there was nobody that was surprised. He went out there and did that. So, just really proud of Mitch. That was a run play. That was a run play that Jake (Browning) just threw the ball to him on a conversion. We don't always do that, but that just shows that Jake looks out there and he sees Mitch and he says, 'I like my matchup and I'm going to go to him.' And that's what happened."

What was your message at halftime?

"That I couldn't be happier that we were in this position in Week 2, so that we can find out what our team is made of so early in the season. We can go ahead and figure out how this team is going to handle some adversity. I saw that space today. There was not a second anybody flinched. I looked up as we had the final turnover, they returned it to the 10 (-yard line). Our crowd was outstanding today. They gave us a huge advantage. I did see people leaving thinking it was over. I don't blame them. We just threw a pick on the 10-yard line. And all our defense did was rise up, get four stops and we go 90-something yards and win the game. And trust me, I don't blame anybody. The overall performance today wasn't what our standard is and what we want. I asked our fans to start off this game hot, and they started off hot. That was the standard you set in a home opener from a fan base in terms of being in their seats when I asked them. I appreciate that. Making life really difficult (for the Jaguars). They had to burn an early timeout just like we had last week, because of the crowd noise. And you could hear them throughout. We just have to do a better job not having to come back in the last two minutes of the game and put ourselves in a better position. But again, I'm proud and, everybody will learn from this and know that the Bengals are never out of it. And we're going to continue to find a way to win."

Jake Browning has been here for a while now. What do you see from him that shows you that he's ready to capitalize on his opportunities?

"It's never been too big for him. He's always known that he's ready. He just wanted an opportunity. That's all he wants. And I think he comes in the building every day knowing something like this can happen today. His career — I don't want to get this extreme — but it could end if he's not prepared. If you walk out there and you have a really bad performance and everybody sees that tape and they say, 'Okay, that's enough of that.' I think as a backup quarterback, he lives that life. He knows he has to be prepared. It could be at any moment. We could be down a touchdown and he has to lead this team back to win. We've had that confidence every step of the way with Jake. He's proven that for us time and time again and again. Just like Minnesota (two years ago) — he threw a pick against Minnesota that he knew was a bad decision. And what do you do? He came back and found a way to win. Today, he threw a pick that he knows he'd like to have back and he comes back and finds a way to lead us to victory. So, I couldn't be prouder of Jake Browning."

With so many returning players on offense having had been with Jake Browning when he played in 2023, did they have confidence in him to win this game?

"Yeah, they see Jake work and so they know. They know he knows the playbook inside and out. He's going to be making protection adjustments. He is going to be able to make the right adjustments like he did to Dre (Andrei Iosivas). He's fully capable to go out there and lead it. We're fortunate we have the best quarterback in the world leading the charge and we're also very happy we have Jake as the backup."

At halftime did you rip the game plan up and say, 'This is what Jake Browning likes to do'?

"No, we didn't rip it up. I'd say overall, we stuck with the very similar plan that we went into the game with. Early in the game, they kept us off balance a little bit with some stuff and I'd say all 12 guys — meaning the play caller and the 11 on the field — we didn't do a great job getting everybody on the same page and finding our rhythm early on. Sometimes that happens in the second half, you figure out your rhythm a little bit better. It starts to calm down and we get everybody on the same page. And it's kind of one of those early-season things that's happened. We kind of fought it for two weeks in a row. Now, we'll find our footing, and right now it's about finding a way to win. And then we'll continue to establish the type of team we're going to be going forward. But I'm just proud of the way that everybody responded today."

How impactful was it to get Ja'Marr Chase involved and was the plan to get him involved?

"There are so many times where it's, 'How do we get Ja'Marr the ball.' And you have to move around to do it because they do a good job focusing their coverage on it. The great thing is if they take them away, then the ball is going to Tee (Higgins), or Mike (Gesicki), or Dre (Andrei Iosivas), or Noah (Fant), or Chase (Brown). We have a lot of great options. There are a lot of times that the words that come out of our mouths are, 'How do we get the ball to Ja'Marr?'"

In a game like today, there is so much chaos going on. How important is it not only for you, but the coaching staff and the players to be as cool as possible?

"We stared adversity right in the eye and didn't flinch. I have a lot of respect for Jacksonville. This is kind of that feeling I had going in this game. This team is really well coached. They have got a good roster. They have a lot of talent, a lot of speed, and they make life really difficult for you. It's a team at the end of the season that's going to be standing there with a shot. I think this is a really good win for us. Happy to be 2-0. We know what we have staring us in the face this week, and Minnesota will be a really tough test for us. We have to get ourselves ready, but again, I'm just proud of the way the guys responded."

Another big play in the game was against the blitz, Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins. What did you like about the decision in that play?

"When was that? There were a lot of blitzes and a lot of plays."

It was Tee Higgins down the sideline. He kind of elbowed the guy after he made the catch down the field ...

"I'll be honest with you, I can't go back that far in my mind right now. I'll give you a great answer tomorrow."

You said you guys didn't flinch when Joe Burrow goes down. Why is that?

"We have a lot of talent. We have coaches that are going to put them in the right position. So, then it's just on other people to step up. Nobody flinched. It's unfortunate when you lose him because he is who he is, but at the end I'm just proud that the team found a way to win. We'll see what his status is and we'll go from there."

How much more time on the clock were you thinking, 'I'm going to kick this away.' Three minutes left? You go for it on your own 15-yard line. Is there a stopwatch up there?

"That's a hard decision. I can tell you that much. I guess you just pray, God forbid, a penalty or something and you don't get the ball back and then it's over. It's not one you get to think about very long, I can promise you that. You're trying to solve a third-down problem for some tough looks, and then you have seven seconds to decide what you're going to do there. Now you're getting information, but I've got to decide if I'm going for this or not. And you're getting great feedback and everybody supported that. Jake (Browning) handled it well. Jake found a way to get the ball to Chase (Brown) and we converted, and we move on from there."

Over the years we ask you a lot about slow starts. You're 2-0 for the first time. How does that feel?

"There are teams that have found ways to do this over the years. They didn't always play exactly how they wanted to play. It's not the same look they're going to have in November and December. You just have to find a way to win and create your own chances. I think this team just creates its own opportunities. Jacksonville didn't gift anything to us. Our guys earned every single thing they have. It's not like last week with some missed kicks. So, you're going to win some games that way. I'll take it. Today was really about the Cincinnati Bengals making the most of these opportunities and finding a way to win. And I'll take both circumstances however you want to give it to us. I'll take the win because you're right, we've sat up here so much early in the season saying, 'What's wrong? What's wrong?' Well, today we just found a way to do it. We are 2-0 and we'll work like heck to be 3-0."

After you got the ball back on the fourth down, even after Jake Browning threw the interception, how much confidence was there on the sideline?

"We still had a lot of confidence. For our defense to get the four stops down there inside the 10 (-yard line) was huge. Again, that let us know we have a chance not only to go tie it but to go win it. So, that to me is the whole mentality. We're down three, but we are going to go win the game. I never even gave Jake a field goal landmark because that really was not our mentality, our mentality was we're going to go score and win the game and not just kick a field goal. Obviously if the circumstances had come to that, I would have done that. But that was not the conversation. The conversation was, let's get down the field and try to go score."

That's the first 2-0 start for you ...

"That's the first one, huh? It took seven years but we did it."

Listening to you right now, this seems like the most fired up I've seen you in a postgame press conference. Winning these two games the way you have, what kind of momentum and message does it send to the team?

"Well, I think great teams have to find a way. Right now, I think about guys that made plays in this game and there's a ton of them. It's not only Ja'Marr (Chase) had 14 catches — whatever he had. There were a lot of guys that stepped up in some critical moments and made plays for us. Mike Gesicki had the big catch on the 10-yard line at the end of the game. A bunch of guys on defense stood up. I saw Dax Hill make a TFL (tackle for loss) at the end of the game when they had the ball. So many thoughts are coming to me right now of guys that I just saw rise up and make the most of the opportunity. That's the sign of a team that can potentially be a great team. We're not there yet. We're just finding ways to win. We're a good team and we're going to build into being a great team and we have a lot of guys that can help us in our journey to do it."

Another guy that went in the locker room was Shemar Stewart. Do you have an update on him?

"I don't."

Was it part of the game plan to attack Jaguars rookie defensive back Travis Hunter?

"We didn't know how much he was going to be out there. 22 (Jarrian Jones) got hurt, so he was out there more, but no — I wouldn't say that was the plan."

**JAKE BROWNING**

Quarterback

What was running through your mind on the fourth-and-goal?

"It didn't work the first time, so as long as they were low I was going to jump and hope for the best."

When's the last time you repped a quarterback sneak live?

"I think I had a pretty bad one in the preseason. On the goal line, maybe Colts 2023."

What goes through your mind when you see Joe Burrow go down?

"You get warm, stay level. You think you're on the sideline then you're thrown in. That creates an emotional jump. You try to ride that wave and operate."

What was your approach on the last drive?

"Be delusional. I had thrown three picks, and somehow we had a chance to win the game. I can't be afraid of the fourth in that situation. The defense did a good job forcing a turnover on downs, so I had to be delusional and aggressive, because the moment called for it."

The pass interference call on Andrei Iosivas, did you see something there?

"I saw press and checked it to him."

The RPO to Mitchell Tinsley, what did you like there?

"It was one-on-one. If you're wearing a Bengals uniform on Sunday, I'm going to give you a chance and go down swinging. I feel like good things happen when I throw it up to Mitch. I haven't seen the replay yet, but I heard it was a one-hander. Happy for him, because I've done the practice squad grind, getting to see someone else go through it. He doesn't talk much. He just works really hard. Good to see that."

What's it like to get another opportunity like this?

"There's not a ton of thoughts. Just go operate. I convince myself every Saturday that this will happen. When it does, it surprises everyone else — not me. That's my job as a backup, to be ready for that."

How do you shut that emotional part of your brain off?

"I don't know. I'm messed up in the head."

How do you find focus and drive every day as a backup, knowing you're probably not going to play?

"The discipline of knowing it's my job, what I'm here to do. My worst nightmare would be getting thrown out there and not being ready. I didn't have my best game, but I was ready enough to win. Throughout the week, no one knows if the backup quarterback is paying attention at all. Then you get thrown in, and it's all important tape suddenly. I try to stay locked in. It's easier to do that than the third-string practice player, because there's actually a chance to play."

Did Joe say anything to you about the performance?

"He said good job. I was dealing with getting close to passing out (laughs) at the end of the game, and he was dealing with his injury, so it was brief."

What were the conversations like with Zac Taylor when you got in the game?

"I came off the field after my third pick, and he was just like. 'All right, here we go.' Beating the Jaguars is hard enough, and dealing with a coach yelling at you after a third pick would make it harder. Credit to him — I don't think I've ever seen him lose his cool. It makes it really easy to get thrown into a hard situation when you know he's got my back and staying steady."

Ja'Marr Chase gave you a boost late ...

"I was not surprised by that. He's the best receiver in the NFL. Give him the ball."

You had a nice moment with Dan Pitcher by your locker. Can you share that?

"He was happy for me and riding the emotional high of a crazy ending to a game where a bunch of bad stuff happened and we still found a way to win. Pitch and I have been through a lot together. He's the same as Zac —he keeps his cool whether I play well or bad. His demeanor allows me to go out and play really well. I'm appreciative of that."

How tired were you on that last drive?

"Everybody was tired. I'm sure the guys that actually run a lot were more tired. It was a gritty, entertaining win, and I'm happy we found a way."

The players seem to have bought into you. How have you won over this locker room?

"When I'm a backup, the way Zac and Pitch work with me, I try to be like that with Joe. Be as helpful as possible. They see I work really hard at this, and am always prepared and ready. Even if I'm not on the field, I want to win and do everything I can to help us win. There's an appreciation for that. I've also been here a while. I'm sure people feel that I would — and this is weird — but that, "Hey, this guy could play at a lot of other places,' but I'm behind Joe. (That's) weird to say after throwing three picks, but I think its some of that. Obviously — no one's happy about what happened to Joe — it gives me a chance."

What does Zac's calm demeanor do?

"It allows me to be delusional and know I need to be aggressive, regardless of what just happened. I think you can see sometimes when the quarterback is in and the head coach is screaming at you about turnovers, it makes it a lot harder. He has a good demeanor — that voice in the helmet is pretty calm at all times. It allows me to go play, without feeling that added pressure."

Did you have any say in the halftime preparations?

"I've played a decent amount here, and I liked the plan. In that situation, we wanted to call what would work."

Did Joe say anything at halftime?

"Just go win the game."

What gives you confidence if you do have to start on Sunday?

"For me, its one day at a time. It wasn't my best game, but we won, so Sundays are happy. But come Monday, we'll come in and get better. It's only Week 2. That's one of the nice things about always being prepared, is that it doesn't change much. If anything, it's easier. I'll get the walkthrough reps and the practice reps. It's significantly harder as a backup to just go through all the reads in your head when you haven't done it."

Do you know what team is waiting for you next Sunday?

"One day at a time."

Are you surprised they didn't kick a field goal at the end?

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking about it too much. I knew whatever they did, we would get the ball back and we needed to make something happen."

Are you beating yourself up after that third pick?

"I've had a lot of tough times in my career where you have to keep a level head and focus at the task at hand. There's nothing I can do about that. You have to move on and wash it (off). On Monday, you peel back the onion and see what I you can improve on. Obviously, it's, 'Don't throw the ball to the other team.' And there are other things that come up that create that end result, and I want to be better on those."

Did you notice fans leaving after your third interception?

"No, I was just mad I threw a third pick. I'm not really looking at the fans during the game."

Is this your most satisfying win of your career?

"I'm not sure."

Where does it rank with the Apple Cup game?

"I don't know, I don't have a ranking. I'm glad we won, and I'm looking forward to watching the film and figuring out how to play better, because it was not up to my standards."

Have you ever had a game-winning quarterback sneak before?

"I don't know. I've been doing this for a while. It's hard to remember."

You went up kind of high ...

"Higher than you can jump, Hobson." (laughs, directed at the reporter who asked the question)

Ja'Marr Chase

Wide receiver

That was a 15-play, 92-yard drive to win the game with your backup quarterback. Describe the emotions in the locker room with how you pulled out that game ...

"Emotions are very, very high right now. I think there was just a lot of poise by the whole offense and the defense, getting the ball back to the offense and giving us an opportunity to make the plays."

Is Jake Browning the best number-two quarterback in the NFL?

"He's showing it. He's showing it."

What did he show you by overcoming three interceptions to lead that winning drive?

"One of those interceptions wasn't his fault — it was my fault. I'm going to already go ahead and say that was my fault. I was a bit tight on the play and I gave up on it. I'm a captain, so stuff like that can't happen — that's on me. But he bounced back, making good plays, making good reads for the receivers, giving them opportunities for the ball. He was just giving us opportunities."

Have you talked to Joe Burrow yet?

"No. Not yet."

Can you describe the team's emotions on the sideline when Joe Burrow went down?

"Nobody knows. Nobody knows what's going on, so you've just got to play football."

What are your thoughts on potentially moving forward with Jake Browning under center?

"We've been here before with Jake. We've got to let him be himself at the end of the day. We've all got to push him to better, push us to be better and just execute."

On fourth down and five yards to go, Andrei Iosivas gets that pass interference call to keep the drive going. What was your view of that play?

"I just saw the last second, when the ball got right there. It was a hell of play by Dre getting the flag. That's all I can say."

Everyone wanted the team to get off to a fast start and you have as you're 2-0. It has come with some drama. How are you guys feeling about it at this point?

"Yeah, man. It's like what I said at the beginning of the year — it's a rollercoaster. Every game is going to be a rollercoaster. Every week from here on out, we've got to focus and execute. That's the only thing. Our quarterback got (knocked) down, we've got to (say) 'Next man up,' and it's on from there."

**JORDAN BATTLE**

Safety

How do you feel about the defense's effort today?

"We did a great job. Of course, finishing the game — no matter how we start, we've got to finish the game. Obviously, that's something we've been preaching, starting fast. But sometimes things aren't going to go our way and we've got to be able to adjust. I feel like we adjusted well."

Everyone talked about the defense last season and now, two weeks in, you guys are the key factor in getting both these wins, forcing turnovers in each game. What's the emotion in the defensive room right now?

"We just have to keep elevating. Keep stacking every week, keep believing in each other, keep going out there and playing Bengals defense, keep hunting the ball, get takeaways. Obviously, we weren't plus-two (in the turnover battle) today, but we still won the game, so it was a great win for us."

You have two interceptions in two games. What does it mean for you to get off to a strong start this season?

"It means I want more. Never enough, never enough. Just got to keep going out there, keep hunting the ball, keep believing in the defense and going out there and playing fast."

When Jake Browning comes in, do you feel a little bit of extra motivation to do your part to help him out?

"Yeah. We're motivated regardless. When we get a chance to go on the field, we're motivated as a defense and we love the plan we had going into the week and the game. We're just doing a great job believing in and finishing the game.

**CHASE BROWN**

Running Back

Describe what today's comeback victory was like ...

"It felt like we just got in a fist fight, but that's what's so great about this team. We're always going to fight back, scratch, claw, whatever we need to do. We were able to come back and figure out what we needed to do to win this game."

This is the first 2-0 start in Zac Taylor's history as Bengals head coach. What's the key to going 3-0?

"Keep winning games — that's the key. Keep winning games. This shows how everything we do in the offseason (matters). This is a big team win."

You took your first lead with 18 seconds left in the football game ...

"With (that little time left), you have all the control. I wouldn't change a thing about today. Obviously, you want to be better, but I wouldn't change a thing. Taking a lead with 18 seconds left, that's just NFL football right there."

**LOGAN WILSON**

Linebacker

How does it feel to win this one given what you guys had to overcome?

"This is such a resilient team win. This was nothing like last year. To be 2-0 right now is great. So much room for growth though, especially on defense. (Jacksonville) is a really good football team, but I'm just really proud of our guys for just finding a way with all the adversity. Just to find a way to win. That's the most important thing, as wins are so hard to come by in this league."

After Jake Browning's interception, what was said to one another when you got out there?

"You just keep reiterating to find a way. Whatever happened the last few plays, or everything that happened in that game to that point, it doesn't matter anymore. Just keep finding a way. Everyone understands that, and we're going to find a way to execute. Just keep having that mindset every time and things will work out for you."

Injuries happen in this league and it's happened before to Joe Burrow. Is that hard to compartmentalize during the game, or do you just keep playing?

"Yeah, you've just got to play it. He's really good at what he does. We have a lot of confidence in Jake (Browning). He's a really high-tiered QB-two in this league and showed that today. There was no panic and he found a way. He did not bat an eye, he just kept finding a way and eventually won us the game."

It's a 2-0 start for the first time since 2018, what does this mean?

"We have not gone 2-0 since (I've) been here. We're going to learn from this, but at the same time I'm going to enjoy this and it's important to recognize that. It's always better to learn from a win than from a loss."

**TED KARRAS**

Center

Talk about the resilience Jake Browning showed today ...

"Anytime he comes into the game, while it's a situation we don't necessarily want, but when he comes in he wins ball games. No fear, no panic, got it done. That's my guy."

There's not many backup quarterbacks in the league that come into that situation and do what he did. Do you feel like you have the best in the league?

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I think he's obviously a starter in this league. We're blessed to have good depth there. It sucks we have to test it."

You're 2-0. What is the satisfaction there?

"I just want to go 3-0. We have to go up against a really good Minnesota team. We're going to go watch this film. That first half was a nightmare. Luckily, we all responded and no one flinched. We'll get back tomorrow, watch this and then figure out what's next."

**MITCHELL TINSLEY**

Wide receiver

Do you and Jake Browning have some sort of special connection out there?

"I think I have a connection with both him and Joe (Burrow). I feel like they trust me when I go out there. I have to take advantage of opportunities and make the plays."

What did Zac Taylor's words after you scored that touchdown mean to you?

"It means a lot. He believes in me."

What impresses you the most about Jake Browning?

"His resilience. He went in there and made plays, took advantage of his opportunity. No matter what happened out there, he's got a good mindset, stayed poised and he handled it like a professional."

What did you think of the atmosphere in the home opener?

"It was awesome. For it to be my first home game here, it was awesome."