Quotes from:
Head coach
On the return of Bengals QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase:
"It was good to see. I thought that was a strong start from them. First drive, overcame a penalty, put us in a first and goal from the 20-yard line, to overcome it with the touchdown and to come back in the second drive with the touchdown versus zero, I thought was great to see."
On the defense and overall feelings about the game:
Well, obviously defense, we're trying not to show a lot of what's going on, so we're trying to keep it as little as possible and let guys win some one-on-ones. And today there were a lot of 50-50 plays that I thought Philly made, especially early in the game that gave them some extended drives there. But overall, just as a team, this was a team effort in the loss, 34 to 27, whatever it was, a seven-point game. We gave up seven points on field goals. We lined up offside on a field goal, they missed it, they got three points. We hit the center on a field goal, that turned into a touchdown. So that ended up being a four-point drive set, seven points right there, penalty on a long kickoff return that we had, gave up a long-punt return, threw an interception, and gave them the ball in scoring position.
And so those are all things that as a team, we can't tolerate. We've got to play better team football than that. I like the fight. These guys, they came back, and they gave us a chance at the end, that I appreciate. But there's a lot of things that we have to fix and correct as a team. That's not one unit, that's not one person, that's not one position. It is a whole team effort that we got to fix in order to win our next game."
On first impressions of Bengals DE Shemar Stewart tonight:
"It's real tough for me to give an answer on that one. I can't really single anybody out that way."
On the touchdown and how it compared to the one in Dallas:
"Same route, same play, same just other side of the field. That was about the only difference. Maybe even the same yard line. A little bit different coverage, but yeah same situation how that played out, he's great at finishing those plays."
On what makes Bengals TE Tanner Hudson a key contributor:
"I mean he understands the coverages and where to be and the body position. He can catch those back shoulder throws, and not just on verticals down the field but on the horizontal stuff as well. And so he made some nice plays for us there at the end."
On Bengals QB Joe Burrow feeling pressure on Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase's TD:
"Well, I think first just the threat of being hit is a big reason why we want those guys out there, want Joe out there. Because he knows he's not going to get hit in practice. So, I think just for it to feel real in a game, whether he's getting hit or not, I think him having the knowledge that it's possible someone could lose a one-on-one. I get hit on the backside so that a free runner could come in. You can't simulate that rep in practice. So, I think it's good. That's a big part of why we're doing this, and so I think it'll be beneficial for us in the long run."
On what was seen by Bengals QB Jake Browning:
"Yeah. I just thought that in the second group, we got to do a better job getting in a rhythm and that was hard. Never got a good rhythm there to get on track. Felt like we were behind the sticks quite a bit. Just as a whole, the communication, really we just had too many guys free. Whether it be in the run game, whether it be in protection, simple stuff that we shouldn't have."
On the first-team offensive line in the first two series:
"[Joe] looked well protected. Obviously I have to go back and watch this series, but I felt really good about what they did. You can't help who you're playing against. Philly just won the Super Bowl. They've got great depth on their team. Look at the roster. They've got really good players on defense. It's not their starters out there, but I was still happy with how they went out there and did their jobs and were able to get 14 points on the board."
On Bengals RB Tahj Brooks showing tonight:
"There were some good things. I'm sure there were some things that we'll correct as well. That's one you've got to go back to check on the film."
On the running game:
"Yeah. Overall, we got to get more out of our run game over the course of the preseason games. Sometimes how these games go is satisfying. Every run was an efficient run there on those first two drives. We had the third-down run that got it for us. So I was pleased with how that looked."
On Bengals K Evan McPherson:
"It's great. you battle some go for it, fourth down stuff. You want to see Evan get some opportunities. You want to see the snappers get some opportunities. So, I was pleased obviously with how that performance was. I thought his kickoffs were really good. I mean those were right on the inch yard line, forcing a return. I don't know, not a kicking specialist, but it is hard to do much better than that. So I was pleased with that as well."
JOE BURROW
Quarterback
On the Bengals' offensive success on the first two drives:
"Yeah, I missed the first throw, so that was a little disappointing. But after that we locked in and had a couple of good drives."
On his TD throw to Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase:
"Yeah, we've seen that one before. He's going to keep doing that, so let's try to get that guy the ball."
On whether the TD to Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase was similar to one last season against Dallas:
"Yeah, they zeroed us this time, so we were able to get it out quick."
On whether he played enough snaps to have felt comfortable:
"Yeah, we still have a ways to go obviously, but it was a good start."
On the most beneficial thing from playing:
"I don't know, it's hard to say. It's just good to play football again. The more reps you get at it, the better you're going to be at it. So I think we got 15 reps tonight, so we're 15 reps better."
On what he takes from the TD to Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase:
"Yeah, it was a good rep. Unbelievable play by him. Obviously he makes that play consistently, so just try to get that guy the ball."
On how plays like the TD to Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase can be made to look so simple:
"You got two really good players and sometimes the simple plays are the ones that are the best because you rep them so many times, you know all the nuances to them."
On what he thought of the Bengals' offensive line:
"Yeah, I felt really comfortable back there. I thought the pockets were great. Guys just have to keep getting better."
On how important it was to complete the TD play to Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase:
"I'm not sure how important it is. It's good to feel – like I said, the more reps that we get playing this game, the better you're going to be at it. So that's a good rep."
On how he feels he's spinning the ball right now:
"Today was average. Today was average. But overall I'm happy with where I'm at. Next week I'd like to be a little better."
On the fact that he doesn't seem overly impressed with how he played or the whole situation tonight and what he did not like:
"I wouldn't say I didn't like anything. I think for myself I could have been better. I missed the first throw. I put all the other ones where I wanted to put them. I would've liked to have spun it a little better consistently today. But we had scored two touchdowns, so go learn from a couple reps and get better."
On Bengals RB Chase Brown and the role he will play this year:
"Yeah, he's going to play a huge role for us this year. He caught one out of the backfield today. If we get four, five, six yards every carry, every time we hand it to him, that's going to pay dividends."
On how he said today was average and had one incompletion:
"It was a bad throw. It's a bad throw."
On after he left the game and whether anything stood out about the rest of the team:
"We got to be better. Too many procedural penalties, too many errors. Things like that are going to happen, but I think it just wasn't clean enough across the board."
On what makes Bengals TE Tanner Hudson so productive:
"He's a big, long target. He's a really smart player, knows the coverages that he's facing, can feel the zones when he wants to sit down and give you his hands. He's a guy that since he got here I've had a lot of faith in. He just makes plays over and over again and eventually when you make plays like that consistently, you're going to find yourself having more opportunities."
