Zac Taylor on Bengals' Win Over Browns

Cincinnati Bengals On SI

12/26/2024

Transcript

00:00We got to win divisional games to be able to do things you want to do in this league and

00:06didn't really look at it like that. Just looked at this was an important win, divisional win,

00:09and it's a tough team. You know, I don't care what the record says. They're well coached,

00:13they got great players, they don't give you anything easy, and so our guys earned that

00:17victory today. What was the significance of him making that commitment? Enormous. I mean,

00:23you just look at it, he's a pro and I've said that up here every year he's been here. And so

00:29just does his job, continues to bring energy, continues to lift up the team, continues to wait

00:34for the moment that he's going to be in the game and can affect it. He's got tremendous energy on

00:38the sidelines helping guys with his prep and his study. So very appropriate that in a moment,

00:45really, that could have turned the game in a tough way for us early on and given them some life and

00:50some momentum. Got the ball out, recovered it, very appropriate that that was Juan Bell.

00:55The significance of that, given what you said about the Browns, knowing how they play,

00:58and how it's going to be tough, to flip the momentum? Yeah, it's the game right there. I

01:03mean, not necessarily, but there's a good chance that you're fighting uphill the rest of the way,

01:07and it's a 14-point swing. You know, not only did it take the life out of them a little bit,

01:13getting that stop on the one-yard line, getting the ball, but then going 99

01:16on a great defense, you know, gave us a lot of confidence and set the tone for the game.

01:22Is Amari Smith's ankle injury something you think will be a long-term injury? I mean, he's,

01:27I don't know that. I think it was kind of hit or miss whether he could go back in there, and

01:32so we'll see where he's at tomorrow. When he did go down, how did that change

01:36what you guys could do or what you wanted to call? Yeah, I mean, it's a great front. It's

01:43a great defense. So yeah, when you lose a starting lineman, that affects you.

01:48Nine takeaways the last two weeks by the defense. Does it feel like they're starting to turn?

01:53Yeah, they come in bunches, you know, and you get that confidence, and you know, we're always

01:58tips and overthrows. We got to get those. You know, that's the saying that comes up all the

02:02time for us, and how many times do you see the ball get tipped, and we got them. We got close

02:06to getting them the last two weeks, and we got to keep playing that way, really three weeks,

02:11as I think back to Dallas. So the guys have done a great job having confidence on that side of the

02:15ball, and getting us extra possessions on offense. What do you doubt about the secondary,

02:19especially? They're playing sticky and covered. There's nothing easy that's coming their way.

02:24There were some contested throws that they made and caught. Credit to them. You know, it's a good

02:30team out there doing that stuff, and there's a lot of guys that were in great spots competing,

02:35and knocking balls down, and making it difficult for them. So I loved the pressure we were getting

02:39up front and affecting them that way, and loved the coverage we were getting on the back end.

02:42Three straight wins, first time this year. What's the significance of that to you?

02:47This is what it's supposed to feel like for us. You know, this is our expectation,

02:51and we just put ourselves in a position to now play some really meaningful games,

02:54and we didn't want to talk about what was coming up. We wanted to get through. I know how much I

03:00respect that team we played today, and what they can do to you, and you got to play the right way,

03:05and I thought our guys did. I thought they felt great about the prep all week, felt great about

03:09guys being locked in and focused during the game, found a way to get the win,

03:12and now we can turn our focus to a short week in the Denver Broncos.

03:16What were the discussions like right before halftime with a franchise record length field

03:21goal with three barely-nobles in the Hail Mary? Yeah, I don't love the Hail Mary in that situation,

03:28to be honest with you, and what's going through my mind is Miles Garrett blocking a kick at halftime

03:33of the Eagles game, you know, and kind of turning the tide there, and so that's what happens to some

03:37of those longer field goals, so you're a little bit torn. It wasn't anything to do with Cade or

03:43any of that. That was the direction we felt better kicking a longer distance, take a shot at the end

03:48of the half. It's more just the effect that Miles has on some of these blocked kicks in those longer

03:53situations and can turn a game, and so, you know, I was fortunate our guys did a good job holding up

03:57up front, and Cade knocked it through. How important were Chase's 91 yards rushing on

04:03whatever it was, 18 carries? How important were those? Yeah, he gave us, especially early in the game,

04:08put us in some really manageable situations. You know, I felt like I was calling a lot of second

04:12twos and ones and getting a fresh set of downs, which against them, you know, you saw the second

04:18half. We were in way too much to get back on track, third and long. That's where they can pin their

04:21ears back and make it really difficult for you, so I thought the first half, because of the

04:26run game and because of some of the things he was able to do, we were able to stay on schedule

04:30and get those 17 points up on the board. Why do you think Alde was able to respond the way

04:34y'all have in the last few weeks? Why is it meaningful football? Well, I mean, the guys have responded this way

04:38all season, really. We've lost some heartbreakers, to be quite frank, and games have just come out of

04:44the end, but it doesn't mean that we had a bad football team and we weren't in it. We've been

04:47in this, and so now we're just, I don't want to say getting our confidence back, because we've had

04:52confidence, but we're just making the plays necessary at the critical points in the game to

04:56take control of these games, and so that's really what's happened the last three weeks,

05:01and we've got to continue that. TV replays appear to show Amarius and Frank in a heated discussion.

05:08Anything you're aware of? That's football, man. It's like, it's not all easy. It's not all.

05:13Sometimes you just got to work through that stuff. We're good. Zach, since 2021, you know, December

05:18and January, we talked about this, who this team is. Late this season, they've got to have games.

05:22As rough as this season has been at times, does it feel like this has always been the

05:26identity of this team to win these kind of games? Yeah, I mean, I've had belief every,

05:31you've heard me every week sit up here and talk about the belief I have in this team and what

05:34we're capable of, and, you know, it's good. You get a better feeling in your system when you win

05:40these last couple games, but we've just got ourselves to a point where now these games

05:44really matter. You know, you get a chance to focus on this game and not worry about anything else

05:49going on around us and just focus on Denver. And we've got to put our best foot forward. We're

05:53counting on our crowd. Like I'm just in disbelief that they just show up every game. I know what

05:58our home record is this year, but they show up, they support, they're loud, they give us that

06:03extra boost. And now more than ever, we know this is our last regular season game. This is it. And

06:08so we're counting on that crowd to show up next Saturday, be as loud as ever and make this a tough

06:13environment for a rookie quarterback and a team coming in here and give our guys the confidence,

06:18the energy we need to find this win. How encouraging is it to see the young defensive

06:22linemen all kind of get your name tag? You know, we'll take the help from everywhere and we're

06:28getting it from everywhere. And it's great to see, you know, I saw Trey and Osai in the backfield

06:33all game, you know, and whether they were getting the sacks or not, they were certainly disruptive

06:37and forcing some tough plays. And then you see Chris and McKinley, McKinley get his first career

06:42sack, which is awesome to see Chris have the two he's got. So it's just, we're counting on everybody

06:46right now. And we're getting that from people. You know, it's just, again, those guys have

06:55confidence and they're playing together. The communication has been really good and not giving

07:00up a lot of air in there for easy completions and having to make those space plays. And so just

07:04been really proud of how they've locked down and, and focused on all the little details and played

07:08together. And it's been good to see. Joe goes over 4,000 yards on the season today and Jamar

07:13breaks his own receiving yards record for a season. I mean, you've talked about him all year

07:17long, but just, I mean, how incredible is it to watch those two guys? Yeah, they are incredible.

07:22And again, I say this repeatedly, you're just trying to find ways to get the ball in Jamar's

07:26hands. You know, you just throw him a little bubble and he makes a guy miss and gets a face

07:30mask and next thing you know, the ball's inside the five yard line. And really the touchdown at

07:36the end is just a free play. We're just working the cadence and got a free play. And so you take

07:39the shot there. And so just, just those two have great chemistry and they keep this thing going and

07:45put us in really good positions and make it easy for me. How big of a weapon has Bruce Keaton's

07:49been? I mean, it's the ultimate, it's the ultimate weapon. I mean, he, he really is the best in the

07:54business for, for years. I watched Aaron Rodgers do this to people over and over on third down,

07:59get free plays. And you know, we had three or four of them last week and, and, and two, two

08:06today, you know, the backed up on the minus one was huge. And then the one that resulted in

08:11touchdown. And so again, those are, it is a weapon. It's part of the reason why our guys struggled

08:16last week, sometimes some young players getting used to that weapon. And that's just part of the

08:20process you go through, but everybody's done a great job of understanding how critical it is.

08:26It makes everyone's job easier when we can use that. And, and he did a great job today.

Zac Taylor on Bengals' Win Over Browns

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