HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. Have you ever seen a game in which you lose a nickel, corner, receiver, quarterback, interior defensive
linemen? Seemed like a very odd game. Any news on Trevor?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I don’t have any information yet on Trevor. We’re still evaluating him. He’ll have
more tests and things done here tonight and tomorrow. I’ll probably have a better update for you
tomorrow on that. Yeah, we had position players go down. But, look, that’s part of the game. It happens.
It’s unfortunate. Next guy up has to be ready to go and play. I thought the guys that filled in were just that.
They were ready to go.
Q. Defensively, what stood out in terms of why they were able to have the 491 yards?
DOUG PEDERSON: We didn’t stop the run. That’s the strength of our defense, is stopping the run. We just
didn’t do that. We failed there. We got too many explosive plays we gave up. Obviously offensively when
you can’t run the ball, then when the running game for them is going, you see what happens, right? That’s
where the explosiveness comes from. We had moments on offense where we got some explosives. Theirs
all stem from being able to run the ball successfully.
Q. What is your initial level of concern with Trevor’s injury?
DOUG PEDERSON: I don’t know until I talk to the doctors, honestly.
Q. Confidence level in C.J. Beathard going forward? Will you make him the starter? Look at other
options?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, we’ll see where Trevor’s at first. Listen, we got 100% confidence in C.J. He did a
nice job getting us down the field there, tying the football game. Should have been the game-winning field
goal, but it wasn’t. Got a lot of confidence in C.J. He’s a veteran player. He’s played a lot of football. If he
happens to be the guy, then we get behind him and support him.
Q. It seemed like defensively there were a lot of communications issues. Is that what you saw out there?
If so, what was going on with that?
DOUG PEDERSON: If you’re on the field and the crowd, as loud as they are, when we’re on defense, we
have to reiterate communication. That’s all it is. It’s just double-checking with everybody. It’s not
communication issues, it’s just being able to communicate the calls effectively. There’s a lot of talk that
has to go back and forth because of the way the crowd was. The crowd was great today. That’s what you
want. It does kind of put your defense in a litle bit of a bind because of that, right? No different than the
offense going into an environment that’s very loud. I wouldn’t say they’re issues. You’ve just got to over-
communicate.
Q. I guess the question is, why couldn’t you guys overcome that (communication and loud crowd noise)?
DOUG PEDERSON: You just got to talk. They got to make verbal communication, eye contact. You got to
get closer. It’s just part of a loud environment. It’s repeating yourself as much as you can out on the field.
It’s (talking) to the front, to the secondary, secondary out to the corners and all that. Everybody has to be
on the same page.
Q. You had to burn a timeout, I think your second one of the second half because someone ran on the
field. Did you get an explanation?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, it was unfortunate. Yeah, one of our guys… Evan was asking for some water after
a play he had made. Just ran out on the field. It’s unfortunate. Obviously, that’s my responsibility to make
sure that doesn’t happen. It’s just an unsportsmanlike and they take a timeout away.
Q. You mentioned about your confidence, having C.J. going in right now at quarterback. How much do
you have to overcompensate or change up going into the next week or so if Trevor is not available?
DOUG PEDERSON: Well, that’s something we’ll look at. I don’t think we have to change up a whole lot. C.J.,
you just got to utilize C.J.’s strengths. I don’t want C.J. to be Trevor either. C.J. has got to be C.J. That’s
something moving forward, if C.J. plays next week, that’s the game plan, right? You utilize his strength,
tailor the offense around that.
Q. This is a Monday night game. You’re turning around and taking a road trip on Sunday. With so many
people that had to leave the game injured, talk about the challenge of getting this team physically
prepared for a shorter week.
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, it’s a challenge. But listen, again, it’s part of the game. It’s why you have 53 and
you have your practice squad. You got to get the next guy ready to go. It’s going to take everybody this
week. We don’t have much time. We’re back on the field in less than two days. We just got to get the next
guy coached up.
Q. Parker Washington, his overall performance and what he did making his first grabs tonight?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I mean, he did a nice job. When Christian goes down on the first play of the game,
it’s not what you expect. But I thought Parker filled in nicely. Chad had him ready to go in that spot. He
made some really nice plays for us. Obviously, the touchdown catch and a couple others. Something he
can build on and continue to gain confidence as he plays.
Q. The way Christian got hurt, was that something unusual, especially hurting a groin?
DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s unfortunate. It was a great play obviously. I don’t know if it was when
he got kind of twisted around there, maybe torqued or whatever. Yeah, it’s just unfortunate. Such a great
play to start the game, then that happened. Not good.
Q. When you have a bunch of guys that get hurt like this, do you worry about guys being shellshocked?
DOUG PEDERSON: No, no, I don’t. We’re too far down the road. Got about a month, little over a month,
of football left. It’s full steam ahead. We’ve got to get the guys that are hurt treated. We got to get the
next guy ready to go.
LINEBACKER JOSH ALLEN
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. Inaudible
JOSH ALLEN: Missed tackles. People just not being where they are supposed to be. Just the little things
we harp on daily, so we are all going to take ownership to this one and really dial in. We got a short
stretch, five games left, we got to handle business. I’m not going to say we have to scratch this one
because this one hurt. You know Monday Night. But we got a quick turnaround and got to get ready for
Cleveland.
Q. CB Tre Herndon goes out early and you lose S Andre Cisco for a couple plays, did that factor in at
all, in terms of communication?
JOSH ALLEN: I’m not really sure. I got to go rush the passer, help them out, we all do. That’s how we
[inaudible]. They had a lot of quick pass, RPO game, so us as a group we got to put our hands up and
push the pocket, don’t give them any throwing lanes and that is an area we need to improve on.
Q. Did you expect them to come out with that quick passing game?
JOSH ALLEN: I mean I wasn’t expecting them to drop-back pass, we were definitely expecting the screen
game, but they were on one. They were hot and continued to be hot all throughout the game and you
know it is what it is.
Q. If QB Trevor Lawrence misses time, how does this team rally together to keep pushing forward?
JOSH ALLEN: It’s the next man up. Obviously we would love to have 16 out there. He’s the headman. But
if he is not out there, we all got his back. Like I said, it’s the next man approach mentality and we can
approach it like that. On defense we hone in, no more missed tackles. We get better as a defense and
help the offense out. I think [QB] C.J. [Beathard] is going to hold his own and I know C.J. can lead this
offense. We do our part and play a little bit better, we’ll be alright.
Q. You mentioned not being able to scratch this one right away because it hurts. The frustration is
there. How do you use that as fuel to the fire knowing you are approaching the end of the season?
JOSH ALLEN: It’s a quick turnaround. Tomorrow off. Comeback Wednesday to get ready for Sunday. So,
when you look back at our seasons, I am not going to get blown out. We got to comeback and respond.
It’s all about how we respond to this. Obviously, we just lost this game so it definitely hurts. We hate
losing at home. First and foremost, we have to get better. We have to figure that out. With that said, it’s
a quick turnaround and we [have to] all get better on our areas of improvement. We’ll be good.
Q. Did you feel like a backup quarterback like Cincinnati QB Jake Browning could do that kind of
damage? Or did you just feel like he has enough playmakers out there to get the ball too, that he
could do some damage?
JOSH ALLEN: I mean, he did what he was supposed to do. He delivered to the receivers that he was
supposed to deliver too. Did a lot of screens, had RPO’s. That one deep pass down the sideline to
Ja’Marr Chase. That was probably his best throw but he did what he was supposed to do. He managed
the game. He controlled that. For us, we have to figure out [inaudible]. We have to get better from that.
Q. How much of a gut punch is this for the team knowing you had a chance to seize the No. 1 seed if
you had won tonight?
JOSH ALLEN: I mean, we definitely want to continue to win. That was our motto. One seed, two seed,
three seed, it doesn’t really matter. But we wanted to keep on winning so to have a loss in the column
doesn’t sit right. But we still have a chance to obviously make the playoffs and that is the goal. It was
first seed and now its playoffs. We got to continue to win. The AFC is really tight so we have to keep on
going and pick it up.
QUARTERBACK C.J. BEATHARD
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. Coming off the bench in that moment, can you walk us through what you were feeling,
experiencing?
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, your first instinct is it just sucks for Trevor. You see him on the ground hurting, that
kind of sucks. Takes your breath away on the sidelines of all the guys when you see your starting
quarterback hurting like that. Quickly flips into going into two-minute drive to try to tie the game or win
the game. You don’t have much time for the nerves to kick in. Just kind of got to go.
Q. Did you have the chance to speak to Trevor?
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, I saw him.
Q. Could you tell us what you were talking about.
C.J. BEATHARD: He just said good job coming in there, moving the ball and stuff like that. He’s doing all
right. We’ll see. Only him and the doctors know I guess what’s going on there.
Q. After the first few plays, did you hurt your wrist at all?
C.J. BEATHARD: No. I just landed on my shoulder weird. It’s nothing I’m worried about.
Q. When you hit the field there to start to lead the team, what did they do to lift you up and get you
involved?
C.J. BEATHARD: Just put a lot of confidence in me. A lot of guys came up to me and said, We believe in
you, we know you got this. At the end of the day, this is my seventh year in the NFL. It’s not like I’m a
young guy going in there. I’ve been in the situation before, started some games here and there. Yeah, I
was ready to go.
Q. You got them down the field, the field goal, first time you touched the ball. What did they do
differently in the overtime that changed things?
C.J. BEATHARD: I mean, nothing different. I mean, they were playing the same coverages that they’ve
been playing. I guess they played a little bit less man. I don’t think they brought any pressures in that
drive. Sometimes pressure is a good thing, sometimes it’s not. Just depends on what play you have
called. I was just trying to get us in at least range to kick a field goal to tie it and possibly win it, too.
Q. The holding…
C.J. BEATHARD: It sucks. You make the play, Calvin makes a great play down there. You’re excited,
celebrating inside the five. You turn around, see a flag. It is what it is.
Q. Did you get shaken up a litle bit on a play?
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, I landed on my shoulder a litle weird. Nothing I’m too worried about.
Q. Nothing that affected you later in the game?
C.J. BEATHARD: No.
Q. Could you go through the emotions of you and Trevor so close, but then you have to focus on the
job, how tough it is to go through those emotions so quickly.
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, it’s tough. Trevor is my best friend on the team. When you see him go down like
that, I’ve been here three years, he’s batled through all types of injuries, litle dings here and there. To
see him have to get carried off the field, it’s tough. It hurts. At the same time it was a moment where you
don’t really have time. You still feel bad, but you kind of quickly turn around, I’ve got to go, we have a
two-minute drive coming up.
Q. Kirk goes down, Walker Litle goes down, Bunch of guys go down. It seemed like a MAS*H unit
out there tonight. An element of disbelief or shock?
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, it was tough. It was one of those games that felt like every other play guys were
getting hurt and not just little nicks and bruises here and there, but guys having to come out of the
game. It’s tough. I don’t know the extent of a lot of guys’ injuries. I’m just hoping and praying they get
beter quickly and help us make this playoff push at the end of the year.
Q. Did you get a chance to speak with Trevor?
C.J. BEATHARD: Yeah, he’s doing good. Obviously, he’s sore right now. I talked with him in the locker
room. He was in good spirits. He complimented me. Just proud of me and stuff. Yeah, just feel bad for
him. Any time when your friends are hurt, all the guys, Christian, Cisco, all these guys that are dinged up,
because they put so much work and effort and practice, lifting and everything. Everything goes into it.
Anytime guys get hurt, whether it’s for a play, for a long period of time, you just feel bad for them.
TIGHT END EVAN ENGRAM
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. How tough is it to flush this one?
EVAN ENGRAM: It’s hard, hard-fought battle. It’s kind of the [type of] games you experience in
this league—back and forth. They came and showed up, man. Credit to them. They came in
here and played a great game. We shot ourselves in the foot with a couple things. We battled
as well, though. But it wasn’t enough.
Q. If QB Trevor Lawrence misses time, how does this team rally together to keep it going?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, it hurts. Next man up, though. C.J. [Beathard] came in and fought his ass
off and put us in position to win. [He] made a great throw at the end—unfortunate call. Yeah
but, obviously 16 [QB Trevor Lawrence] is our leader, but next man up mentality is the nature
of the beast.
Q. Can you talk about just how much confidence y’all have in QB C.J Beathard?
EVAN ENGRAM: Every ounce of confidence in the world. The way he stepped up and didn’t
blink. He was himself, calm in the huddle, got us in the right spots, throws down the field. Now,
we’ll have a week of preparation. Whatever they have to say about Trevor [Lawrence], but all
the confidence in the world with C.J.
Q. Has WR Parker Washington shown you that you have another weapon on offense?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, but we’ve been on that. He’s dealt with some injuries this year and now
he’s getting back healthy. He showed up big tonight, made some big plays and you’ve got to
keep building and be consistent with him for sure.
Q. How much of a gut punch is it that you guys had the chance to take the No. 1 AFC playoff
seed tonight? And on top of losing, you don’t know what the situation is with QB Trevor
Lawrence?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, it sucks, unfortunately.
Q. What are the emotions of this night? Monday Night Football in Jacksonville, you get in the
endzone—How do you process all this?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, I mean, it just wasn’t enough to win. We’re in this to win and we didn’t
get the W tonight. So, we’ve got to go clean it up and get things fixed and move on. We’ve got
another big opponent in Cleveland, on the road. We’ve got to figure it out and go win.
Q. There’s a lot of football left to [play], are you confident you can still find good football?
EVAN ENGRAM: Hell yeah, we have a great team, great depth. Some injuries, some guys to get
healthy, we’ve got guys that continue to battle and a lot of confidence in them moving forward.
The world’s not over after this loss. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ve got to go to work.
Q. How do you deal with the emotions of seeing QB Trevor Lawrence, your leader, go down
and you’ve still got to play a game? How did that affect you?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah man, it’s tough—anybody going down. Those are my brothers and you
don’t want to see that. We want everybody to be healthy, we want everybody to stay healthy—
on both sides, honestly. So, it’s tough. It’s hard to have to stay in the moment and put it aside
and keep playing. We have a lot of leaders out there, a lot of guys we love in this locker room.
When guys go down, it’s unfortunate in general. But, [it’s the] nature of the beast and you’ve
got to keep playing. We kept playing, we just didn’t finish it, didn’t come out on top.
Q. Can you take us through the touchdown. Were you going to dive in from the 8-yard line if
it took that?
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, I mean, credit to the guys blocking. Trevor [Lawrence] decided to throw
it, the guys out in front of me blocking. I think it was Zay [Jones] and Travis [Etienne Jr.] out
there. So, credit to them, I just caught in and turned on the jets. I saw the black end zones and I
had to get in there. It was a great play, credit to the guys blocking for me though.
Q. You’ve all said this team is at its best it’s back against the wall. It kind of feels like your
backs are against the wall.
EVAN ENGRAM: Yeah, back against the wall. [There’s] a lot of football ahead of us and we’ve
got to go to work.
Q. Would you have stayed in the stands as long as you did after that touchdown if it had been
your second or third touchdown?
EVAN ENGRAM: No yeah, that was—I wanted to celebrate with the fans. Everybody was hitting
me up, tweeting me about my touchdown, wanting me to get in the end zone. So, that was
cool, but I wish it was with a win for sure.
LINEBACKER FOYESADE OLUOKUN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023
What were the issues with the defense today?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: We didn’t execute a lot of our calls. Energy was, we took a litle dip and we didn’t
get our momentum back by making plays we were supposed to make. They hit us a litle bit in the RPO
game, started scrambling. We’ve just got to execute our calls when they’re called.
Did they do anything you weren’t expecting?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: I think they executed beter than we executed, obviously. They were able to march
up and down the field, do what they want. They obviously brought it today and we did not.
Did some of the injuries, I know Tre (Herndon) goes out early, then you lose (Andre) Cisco for a couple
plays… Foley (Fatukasi) hurt, did that factor in at all?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Next man up mentality. We’re all talented on the defense. It’s all about executing
our calls, making sure the communication is good across the board, being able to get off on third down,
getting to second-and-long, third-and-long. We’ve got to be cleaner earlier in the drives, earlier in the
down-and-distances so we can get to third-and-long, and then really tackle beter. We didn’t tackle well
at all today. A litle step behind, so we’ve got to find a way to get back our energy right.
How do you move on from this one?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: Beautiful thing, there’s always next week. It’s really must-win mentality all the
time. Good Cleveland team we’re about to go face, right our wrongs, get back in the win column.
It seemed like there were a lot of plays where maybe the defense was having trouble lining up,
discombobulated… is that accurate, what you saw out there?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: I really have to go back and watch the film. Communication is a big part. Winning
first and second down, getting to third down. When we’re all clean and doing what we’re supposed to
do, I know we can play way beter than that. So we’ve got to get back to the drawing board, maybe own
our calls and play beter.
Was everybody shell-shocked when Trevor (Lawrence) went down?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: I don’t think we were shell-shocked. They did get three that drive, but we were
still in a position to win. We play C.J. (Beathard) all the time in practice, so we know he’s a very capable
quarterback. We’re just trying to find a way to win. Obviously, our prayers went out for Trevor, but we
were trying to find a way to win that game.
If you’re able to share, postgame message from the guys in the locker room, from Doug (Pederson)?
FOYESADE OLUOKUN: We’ve got to find a way to get back in the win column, that’s all. Get back to work,
really, five more games, it’s a must-win mentality. Race to the finish to the end of the season, got to
finish the right way.
WIDE RECEIVER PARKER WASHINGTON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023
Parker, heck of a game, I guess it’d be beter if the team had won.
PARKER WASHINGTON: No doubt, no doubt. I mean, it was a tough loss today. We definitely wanted to
get that one. But we’ve got to come out tomorrow, start this week strong and just get ready for next
week.
On the touchdown, did instincts just kind of take over when you saw the ball?
PARKER WASHINGTON: I was like, I can’t let this one go, it’s an opportunity, and those don’t come
around a lot. I just wanted to make a play. I just thank God that I was able to see the opportunity. It was
a big play, but I still wanted that win at the end of the day.
Were you concerned at all that you were in- or out-of-bounds when you landed?
PARKER WASHINGTON: A litle bit, (but) as soon as I got the signal, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’ So it was exciting,
a big play, but like I said, you want to get that win at the end of the day.
What does it mean for you to get extended action on Monday Night Football?
PARKER WASHINGTON: You know, I just had to step up tonight when I saw (Christian) Kirk got hurt. So I
just wanted to be able to help the team the best I could with my opportunity. I made a couple mistakes
out there tonight but I’m just ready to work and get beter and continue to grow.
Emotionally for this offense, when Trevor (Lawrence) goes down, what was the reaction on the
sideline and on the field too?
PARKER WASHINGTON: That’s tough. He’s the leader of our team. He does a great job each week doing
his thing. I feel like that play is on me too, so that definitely hurts, but you’ve got to come out, grow, get
ready and let’s get ready to work next week.
In what regards – was it a block – that it was on you?
PARKER WASHINGTON: I just needed to be more decisive in my route, be quicker. Third down, I didn’t
know if there was pressure or not. I’ve just got to be able to make a play and be decisive for the
quarterback.
And Brandon (McManus) doesn’t get a chance to go to overtime without you recovering that fumble.
Was that another thing where instinct took over and you saw the ball?
PARKER WASHINGTON: Just coach saying be around the football. That was a big-time play. I don’t know if
it was a true fumble or not, but just being around the football, that saves the game.
What’s the confidence in C.J. (Beathard) if you’ve got to go with him for however long right now and
what he did tonight?
PARKER WASHINGTON: He goes in the building and he works hard each and every week. I feel like all the
guys believed in him, and it was exciting to have a clutch two-minute drive and be able to go down and
let us get a field goal. I feel like that was a cool opportunity, and guys were just stepping up left-and-right
tonight. It was a cool experience, but like I said, you still want to get that win at the end of the day. So
we’ve got to come back ready to work next week.
HEAD COACH ZAC TAYLOR
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. Start by giving us your thoughts on Jake Browning’s performance.
ZAC TAYLOR: Awesome. Outstanding. He had a great week of practice. I thought Thursday was
outstanding and that’s really our big day, third down day. I felt really good coming out this week, getting
ready for this game. He just lit the world on fire. Halftime, I wasn’t sure if we had an incompletion, if the
ball hit the ground yet. Thought he managed the game well. He was aggressive with some of his throws.
Did a great job making plays with his feet. One of the naked throws he made must have been to Mitch I
would imagine, it was an outstanding throw with 41 right in his face. So just really proud of Jake and the
job he did, and the guys rallying around him making plays for him, protecting him, run game getting
going. It all helped Jake. Really proud of the team win, but really proud of Jake. In his second career start
to come out here on Monday Night Football to do what he did is prety cool.
Q. How did your game plan grow as you realized he was having a night like that? Early was short stuff
and then you were able to throw it down the field.
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, part of it is getting a feel for what they’re going to do. You got to feel them out a little
bit. They’ve shown different games to play different styles, so you had to sort through that early in the
game. I mean, yeah, there is no lie. Once the game gets going and he’s completing balls like he is, it gives
you the confidence, let’s just keep dialing this thing up. He probably found a lot of completions in the run
game, too. I bet he had six or seven completions on runs where he just took the RPOs off that thing. So it
was a good day for everybody on offense.
Q. Is that knowledge of the offense?
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, I mean, there were some tough throws in there. Third down throw to Ja’Marr (Chase)
on a bench route. We had (Joe) Mixon coming out of the back and we were backed up. It was a key third
down. I don’t remember what point in the game it was. It was right in front of me. That’s a big-time
throw. He probably could have taken Mixon underneath for the first down but got a little more
aggressive and took Ja’Marr over the top. The awareness to see Ja’Marr one on one on that third down
for the touchdown was good stuff too. Great throw over the top. Ja’Marr, never breaks stride and keep
going. Did a great job hitting Tee (Higgins) on some of the RPOs. Yeah, in a really good rhythm.
Q. The check on the Ja’Marr touchdown, is that like…
ZAC TAYLOR: No, no. It was a three by one and he took the alert there.
Q. You guys are up 21-14 and in the blink of an eye you’re down 28-21.
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, it’s an explosive team we’re playing against. I thought our guys did a great job
overcoming the sudden change. We had the turnover. That could have broken our back there and our
guys rallied around it and kept going and our offense had confidence, defense had confidence they could
get them off the field. We just stuck with it and kept playing ball. There was a lot of game left to be
played there, and our guys just stuck together like they have all year and made a game of it and found a
way to win.
Q. What happened on that play?
ZAC TAYLOR: It’s play — we’ve had explosive plays on several times over the years. We had one at the Jets
a couple years ago. One against the Browns at home couple years ago. We executed it well and practice
it all season. Josh Allen, I have to see the clip. It’s tough when a receiver is not used to throwing the ball.
Took a little longer than we normally anticipate. That’s part of making a call like that. You got to live with
that. He doesn’t practice quarterback. He doesn’t go through every situation. Usually when we call that
play in practice we give a vanilla look, an easy look to get the rep. It was a little tougher than anticipated
and Josh made a good play.
Q. Two-part question on the run game. Heading into this game, Jacksonville had one the best run
defenses coming into the game. Was it planned to have 31 rushing atempts? And if not, what do you
think led to you being able to be so productive on the ground this week?
ZAC TAYLOR: I thought our linemen did a great job. I thought the backs were really explosive when they
hit the hole. They did a great fighting for yardage. Hitting it when they were supposed to. Jake
(Browning) did a really good job managing it. There was a lot of check plays that he had to manage there
and distribute the ball in the perimeter. So I just thought it was a really good plan. Really well executed
by the guys on offense, starting with the linemen, running backs, and then Jake did a nice job, too. It
helped us get a really good rhythm on offense and I think keep them off balance. We had several nakeds
and screens and I think just helped everybody.
Q. You talked about rallying behind Jake Browning. How important is it for the team in the locker room
to see his performance.
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, you know, with however many games we have left, I think when you see that from a
guy that’s never had the opportunity to show it before outside of Pitsburgh game, it gives a boost of
confidence. There is no question about it. We’ve seen it every day and coached quarterbacks our whole
life. We can see the intangible stuff and the preparation he puts in. But when he goes out there and he
leads the team like he did, I certainly think it raises the entire confidence level of the team.
Q. Obviously this has been a tough month. How good does this feel?
ZAC TAYLOR: You know, yeah, you don’t want to lose games like that, but sometimes — and I think I’ve
mentioned this before, there is a silver lining there. It puts a real spotlight on the character in the locker
room. No one pointed fingers, and there is plenty of opportunity to. Offense to defense, defense to
offense, whatever you wanted to do, it could’ve been done. Players coaches, those guys stuck together
and kept believing. Just put in their best week of work. As a head coach that gets a chance to watch that
firsthand it really made me proud, made me confident. The team did not have false confidence coming
into this game. We have real players in this locker room. Even though we lost one of our best players,
there is confidence other guys are going to step up and help us win a lot of games down the stretch. So,
yeah three games stinks to lose. We told our team we had a chance to flip that narrative and we got to
be in the process of that. One game doesn’t do that. But I’m excited to go back to work with the short
week this week and get these guys ready for Indy.
Q. Jake Browning’s performance probably overshadows Ja’Marr Chase’s game today, but 149 yards.
How do you think Ja’Marr was?
ZAC TAYLOR: Awesome. Awesome. And he had some key third and fourth down catches there. He is so
hard to bring down, so any time you get the ball in this hands it’s a challenge. Stressful for the defense. I
know that. So I thought he played really well for us.
Q. How much did the success of the run game help the quarterback?
ZAC TAYLOR: It certainly helps him when you get into a rhythm like that, and we converted some third
downs that kept us in a roll there. I thought Jake was outstanding on third down. Last week third down
was really what got us. This week I thought he knocked it out of the park and got some really good
checks. One of them hit big on a screen he got to; the other one didn’t. That’s life. I just thought that he
managed that really well. The communication with him and Ted (Karras) and the linemen up front was
really good. He did a great job on the road. It was loud. It was maybe louder than I anticipated, but he
did a good job managing that noise and getting our the huddle quickly and being able to communicate
the checks, and I thought it was really well done.
Q. On fourth and three, Ja’Marr Chase had just dropped it and it was third and three. Did you think
about going for the field goal and what was going through your mind?
ZAC TAYLOR: No, really didn’t think about that for one second. You know, we were down seven, correct?
Yeah, down seven at that point. So, no it was time to go score a touchdown there and be aggressive and
go get it, and our guys did a good job executing that fourth down call.
Q. Went right back to Ja’Marr Chase.
ZAC TAYLOR: It was a progression. It wasn’t called for one person. That play actually took a while to
develop and he found Ja’Marr with the ball, but there were multiple people involved.
Q. Is anything in particular about this performance? What aspect that bolsters your confidence to
make a playoff push?
ZAC TAYLOR: You got to be able to win. The Texans’ game was similar to this, right, where it came down
to the end, two minute, getting stops. I don’t really think we been in games like this that came down to
the last minute, other than that Houston game. Maybe I’m wrong. You guys can correct me. You need
this in December to see that we’ll win this way because you’re going to be in other game like this as the
stretch comes. So you got to learn from things that we can improve on, things we did really well,
managing the situations. I think that’s good for our team to have endured that on the road.
Q. You bring up the Houston game. You guys learn anything from that that helped with tonight?
ZAC TAYLOR: No, I don’t think necessarily that came to mind. Just good to be in those moments and
reflect back on plays that ended up taking the game one direction or another. Man, I thought our guys
made those plays tonight.
Q. Can we get your thoughts on Evan McPherson’s kick there at the end? Been a while since you guys
have needed to rely on him.
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, came through for us big time. He had the 55 yarder he drilled — I think it was 55. He
had the 48 at the end. That’s a lot of pressure right there. They’re going to get field position if you miss it
and they just need a field goal to win it, so that’s a high-pressure kick. And then the one earlier that
came up short we were in a tough spot. We were right on the take-a-shot fringe field goal, but it was
fourth and ten. You don’t really want to go for the fourth and ten on the 39, don’t want to punt on the
39, so we went for it. Came up, what, three inches short probably. I thought he kicked the ball really
well. That one came up just a tick short. Those other two, man, he hit them when he need them.
Q. Great team walking off the field. Was that the best 20, 30 yards you had this season postgame?
ZAC TAYLOR: Yeah, I mean, just happy to get a win right now. I think that’s good for this team, to get to 6-
6 and keep ourselves right in the thick of it, because that’s what you got to do right now. To be able to
get this one on the road versus a really good — I mean, I watch all their games. This is really good win for
this team. We just got to continue to build on it.
QUARTERBACK JAKE BROWNING
POSTGAME MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2023
Q. Are you feeling any better now that [you’ve had] your best performance of your professional career
on prime time—getting your team right back in the playoff mix?
QB JAKE BROWNING: No. (Laughter) Yeah, big win, really needed that one. Fun to do it on Monday night
against a really good Jacksonville team who will be in the playoff hunt going forward. Yeah, [it] felt good.
Q. Did you have a favorite moment in this game? I mean, you had a million great throws and so many
big moments. Is there one that stands out to you among the rest?
JAKE BROWNING: Hmm, I think just the last drive, knowing that once they won the [coin] toss and got
the ball, it was basically, ‘All right, we need a field goal.’ So, there were a couple third down throws I
think were big there, but I don’t know, you’re just in the moment when it’s all going on and I’m still in
that mode. I don’t totally even remember all the throws.
Q. There was a scene during the review, towards the end, that caught you kind of laughing a little bit in
the huddle as you were pretty close into field goal range. Did it feel like that kind of relief or where
you felt like you were enjoying yourself out there, finally letting yourself enjoy it?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I was joking with [WR] Ja’Marr [Chase], can you get the first down there? I don’t
know, just a little sarcasm back and forth. Yeah, it just felt like we were in rhythm. I think the stats kind of
show that, and just overall top-to-bottom good offensive performance. So, a lot goes into that, establish
the run, get aligned. The tight ends did a great job, [RB] Joe Mixon went really hard, [RB] Chase Brown
came in and provided some spark, some explosive runs. And so, I just feel like I’m still kind of in that
mode where I’m in the moment and not very reflective. But I definitely think it was a big difference.
Q. How big was it when the ball left your and and the touchdown to WR Ja’Marr Chase? Did you know
as soon as the ball leaves your hand, Ja’Marr, one-on-one coverage, is this going to be good?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I think part of the reason we had that one-on-one coverage is because we ran
the ball so well. I think if you don’t establish the run early like that, we’re not going to have one-on-ones
with guys like Ja’Marr [Chase] and Tee [Higgins] on the outside. So, I did not see any of the throw. I threw
it, got hit, and kind of just watched him run, and then I saw him turn around near the goal line and I was
thinking, ‘Why is he turning around?’ He said it was because he was getting disrespectful. (Laughter)
Q. Two things: Head Coach Zac Taylor said you were much better on third down this week than last
week. That last one to Tee Higgins, it looked like they blitzed you, could you walk us through that and
maybe talk about how you handled the blitz differently?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, against the Steelers, we were in a lot of the five-minute protection, trying to
help on the edges. Which makes a lot of sense with the two guys that Pittsburgh has. This week, a little
bit more six- and seven-man protection and mixed it up a little bit. So, the difference between five- and
six-man protection for a quarterback is huge, because you just send it one way. I know where my issues
are. I feel like I played with better eyes because of that. I think that was my main take away from the
Pittsburgh game, is I’m peeking over here to make sure I’m not hot and then I am trying to go through a
read and deliver it on time, and my eyes were all over the place. So, that was kind of a big thing coming
into this week it was just eye discipline.
Q. Jake, was today emotional for you?
JAKE BROWNING: Surprisingly, no. (Laughter) I don’t know why, but not really.
Q. Is that a result of the confidence you’ve been talking about all year?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I mean, I don’t really know why. I think partially because it came down to the
wire and I feel like I play my best football when I’m just calm and not really thinking about anything
outside of what is in my control—which is just operating on offense and staying calm and delivering the
ball to our playmakers.
Q. The 8-yard completion to TB [Tyler Boyd] at the end of regulation that led to the field goal to put
you guys up how important was to get something positive yards-wise and how much was that the
thought process?
JAKE BROWNING: When are you referring to?
Q. TB [Tyler Boyd] on an 8-yard out route, got it down to about the 36 that allowed…
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I think it was like third and really long? So, any time you’re in that situation
you’re kind of starting to think about the field goal and just trying to get it in range. Evan [McPherson]
made some huge kicks, which was awesome. Yeah, that is kind of just – the coaches handle that a little
bit more with the play call. Once they call a play that maybe we wouldn’t normally run on third and 15,
whatever it was, for me it’s just the same read.
Q. How much did you want to show that this offense was still good enough to be able to put up points,
put up yards even without QB Joe [Burrow] on the field?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I think after you put up ten points in your first start, you’re kind of excited to get
another crack at it. Feel like I had a better week. I kind of knew. I was able to reflect on going through a
week of it. I can watch Joe [Burrow] or whoever I’ve been behind do it a million times, but it’s different
once it’s you. I was able to reflect on what was my week like and what do I need to improve. It was the
first time in a live pocket for a little while and first time in a regular season game for my whole career, so
I learned a lot from the Pittsburgh game and was able to focus on some of those things throughout the
week of practice. Yeah, I think the main thing is just having those reps and having another week of it. We
were able to put up points.
Q. When do you think what you did tonight will hit you, or will it?
JAKE BROWNING: I don’t know if it will. Maybe that’s a post-season thing. But I mean, we’ve got I think
two games in 12 days, so we’ve got to get moving quickly. You know, I haven’t played a lot of football but
it’s not like I’m not used to winning. I’ve won a lot of games in my career. None of them have been in the
NFL until today, which is obviously noteworthy, but I’m used to winning. I’ve won a lot of football games
in my life.
Q. How important was it to get the ground game going and how valuable was that for you?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, it’s huge. I think any time, you know, like the long one to Ja’Marr [Chase]. I think
part of reason they’re playing single high – I think this busted the coverage, but part of the reason
they’re playing single high is we’re running the ball so well. So much opens up off that and makes my life
so much easier when we’re able to run the ball like that.
Q. On top of the run game, WR Tee Higgins’ presences out there, although he on had three catches, did
you notice a difference on how you were seeing the defense because Tee was out there?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, Tee [Higgins] is one of the best receivers in the NFL. When you’re game planning
for us you definitely have to figure out your plan on how you’re going to handle him, as well as Ja’Marr
[Chase], and then you have the run game and Tanner [Hudson] and there is so many different pieces that
when you have someone like Tee, it does create more headaches. Great player.
Q. The fourth and three to Ja’Marr, third and 3, he drops it, which is pretty rare.
JAKE BROWNING: Yes.
Q. Can you walk us through that progression, what you saw?
JAKE BROWNING: Ja’Marr [Chase] could drop like five straight passes and I would keep throwing him the
ball. I’m going to have bad throws; he’s going to have drops. I’m not going to speak for him, but I would
bet the reason he dropped it is he’s probably thinking, ‘I’m going to catch this and break both these
tackles into a score.’ I think the next play was the fourth down. We went right back to him and again, I
thought he was going to score again. We’ve got a pretty resilient locker room, but you know who our
guys are, and I’m going to continue to throw him the ball regardless of what happens.
Q. What did QB Joe Burrow say to you after the game?
JAKE BROWNING: Congrats. Joe [Burrow] has been great. Nice to have him on the sideline. It’s nice to
have him travel down to Jacksonville. He’s probably got some other things he could do and are maybe
more enjoyable for him, but he’s coming here and being supportive, it’s awesome.
Q. Who behind the scenes deserves some credit that helped you get on this road, Jake?
JAKE BROWNING: As far as?
Q. All the time, four plus years wondering if you would get a crack at this thing? When you look back
at that, is there anyone who stands out?
JAKE BROWNING: Probably my girlfriend. It’s been a long road, a lot of the moving, a lot of, ]Am I going
to make a team? Am I going to make any money? Am I going to make – you know, just some of that real-
life chaos and kind of what happens behind the scenes. She’s been very supportive, and that’s an
awesome to have, somebody very calm. That’s why I always date somebody smarter than me.
Q. Was there something going on in the last drive in regulation? Couple of false starts.
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I think we just had some issues on the snap, you know, procedure and all that.
But, I don’t know. Glad he made the kick though.
Q. Earlier this week, you spoke about how quarterbacks, beginning of the season takes them a few
weeks and start to hit a plateau I think is the word you used. You said you are not there yet, this was
going to be your second start. Do you think there is more before you plateau?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, I think it definitely feels good to have solid performance under your belt, but I’m
not planning on plateauing any time soon. I think I can continue to get better. I think there will be a lot of
different looks thrown at me over next couple weeks. There is always a new challenge. Even the best of
best quarterbacks that have been doing it forever, and there is always something new and some new
game plan, new adversity or whatever it is. So, I’ll be focused on continuing to improve, continuing to
grow as a quarterback, and keep playing every week.
Q. Do you think this sets the standard for you and the team and the offense specifically going forward
for what your potential is?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, yeah, I mean, on Wednesday or whatever day I do my press conference now, I
said that it’s never as good as you thought and never as bad as you thought. So, I’m sure there’s going to
be something where I’m watching it—and usually it has to do with how the game went. When you win,
you think you’re the greatest player, but then you watch the tape and you’re like, ‘Ahh.’ There will be
something, nobody plays a perfect game. So, you know, something on a short week to get ready for
Indianapolis, and but it does feel good to have a solid performance under the belt.
Q. What are you going to do with the game ball?
JAKE BROWNING: With the game ball? I don’t know. Hopefully not lose it. I struggle with memorabilia
because I always lose it. So, I’ve got to figure out something. Probably where my girlfriend comes in
again.
