HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023
(On injury update of CB Tyson Campbell and RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “Both of those guys will be out there
today, both are doing well. Just day-to-day with each one, but both are doing good.”
(On if OL Cam Robinson can be active before the playoffs start) “I believe so. We’ll see how he does
these next couple of weeks but optimistic that we could, yes.”
(On if he feels high energy from the team ahead of a Monday Night Football game) “I think maybe the
closer we get to the game possibly, one of the things that I’m going to keep talking to these guys about is
just controlling emotion. Staying in the moment, just focusing on your job this week. You don’t have to
go out of your way or do anything extra special, just do your process.”
(On difficulty of playing on Monday with extra time to think and prepare) “Well, I look at it differently. I
look at it as a Monday game gives you extra rest days in there. Try to get a few guys healthy for the
game. It’s the backend, it’s the next week that poses the problem. I don’t think it affects the guys either
way, I don’t think they think about it any differently than they would a Sunday game or a Saturday game,
really.”
(On playing on Saturday evenings last season being good preparation for MNF) “Yeah, it was good to
have the Tennessee game on a Saturday night here. The playoff game Saturday night here, Kansas City,
big moments, we haven’t had many. This team we’re playing has been in a lot recently. It’s just how we
handle that and how we approach it. Just keep things the same.”
(On difference in OLB Josh Allen’s performance this year from last year) “Well, he’s affecting the
quarterback. He’s playing physical, he’s using a lot of his pass rush game to affect the quarterback. By
scheme too, we’ve seen a lot of different moves and games and stunts which are effective. A lot of teams
do that and we’ve been able to do it. His desire to get to the quarterback, especially in passing
situations. It’s a combination of everything.”
(On if he remembers his first Monday Night Football game) “No.”
(On excitement of going into a Monday Night Football game as a player) “Yeah, it’s very exciting. It’s
Monday Night Football, the history of Monday Night Football in the National Football League. You’re the
only game on that day and you’re playing in front of your peers, other teams, they’re watching you. It’s
exciting. We’re just hopeful that maybe we have a few more down the road.”
(On the team not playing on a Monday night since 2011) “It really is. Again, you have to earn that right to
play on a Monday night or a Sunday night game. I feel like the guys have earned that for this game and
hopefully we have more to come.”
(On how to prepare against Bengals QB Jake Browning) “You just got to watch all the clips. You’ve got to
go back and look at all of his body work and see how they’re using him within this system. There’s
obviously not a lot of reps in the offense. You just got to approach it and continue to do your job and
focus on your role of what you’re assigned to do. You don’t go chasing plays. At the same time, I’m sure
they’re going to try to get the ball out of his hands quickly and he does a pretty good job of that in the
short, intermediate stuff. The screen game has been real effective for them, empty formations, things of
that nature that, for a quarterback, sort of simplify the defense a little bit. There are ways of looking at
all of that. It just comes down to doing your responsibility.”
(On if Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor is nervous to face his brother) “No.”
(On if having confidence the team can finish strong throughout the rest of the season) “Yes, obviously it’s
different set of circumstances this year than last year. I think last year we were fighting for our lives at
the end of the season. We were fighting just to compete in the AFC South. This year is different, it goes
back to playing with a lead in games and sustaining that lead. Now, you’re in that lead in the AFC South,
but at the same time, you look up at the AFC and there’s bigger things for this team. Our focus has to be
just that. Leaning on our experiences a year ago can definitely help us in these moments.”
(On if this team is as connected as any team he had in Philadelphia) “Yes. I just listen to their
conversations in and around the building, I listen to them. When I say I’m listening, I listen from afar. Just
hearing what they’re saying, what they’re doing, what I’m seeing them do when there’s days off, the
amount of guys that are in the building. They really do like this place. It’s a good place to come to and
get a workout in or watch some film, treatment, whatever it might be. That’s what cultivates culture and
the bond that this group has. They genuinely like each other and they get along. That goes a long way.”
(On if moving OL Walker Little to left tackle is an easier move based on his comfortability) “Yeah, it’s a
credit to Walker. He’s bounced around the offensive line this year. It’s not easy to play offensive line
obviously in this league. I think for him, his natural position is the tackle spot. There will be a lot of
familiarity out there. Again, it’s just a matter of different stance. You’re a little bit more on an island,
there’s space that’s greater than playing at the guard spot. Just getting used to that in practice will help.”
(On why he chose National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation for My Cause My Cleats) “Yeah, with
pancreatic cancer and what we went through with my brother a couple of years ago, it’s just near and
dear to us and to my family. It’s a great way to honor him and his legacy and memory. At the same time,
support a really good cause.”
(On if he looks forward to My Cause My Cleats every year) “I do. In years past, you just sort of figure out
what you want to do or support and everybody has a little bit of this and that. But for me, it’s now
personal having gone through it and it makes it more special.”
(On what’s changed for the Bengals defense since their 2021 season) “This is a really good defense.
When you look at them and you look at them on paper, they’re creating some takeaways. I think they
had a couple of guys with four interceptions, three interceptions, creating those opportunistic moments
for their offense. Obviously, they definitely miss Joe [Bengals QB Joe Burrow], the biggest issue there for
them is probably dealing with that. They were able to score points off those turnovers. When you look at
some of their games during their Super Bowl run and those postseason games, some of the takeaways
they were creating, their offense was scoring and rightfully so. Even now, as the defense creates
takeaways, they’re still producing some scores. It’s a really good, solid sound; another one of those
defenses that have been around their coordinator for a few years now. So, they’ve got really smart,
talented, physical guys. They play sound football. There’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s not moving parts
that are chaos. It’s moving parts that are in sync with one another, very detailed and they play really,
really well.”
(On what he sees from Bengals LB Logan Wilson’s physicality) “Listen, people are going to say what they
want to say, but this is a good football player. He’s smart, he’s instinctive, he gets the defense lined up,
he doesn’t come off the field, this guy is all over the place. He’s tough, he’s downhill. I think anybody
trying to tackle [Ravens TE] Mark Andrews would have a tough time, and they have. I don’t put this one
on him.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023
(On excitement towards his first Monday Night Football game) “I am, yeah. It’s going to be exciting. First
one here in since 2011 which is crazy. We’re excited, it’s another game at the end of the day, just a
different day, different time of day. It’s going to be exciting, I’m sure the city is pumped and hopefully we
get a nice, big crowd to get rowdy over here so It’ll be fun.”
(On what it means to earn tough games) “Yeah, I don’t know exactly what the process is on deciding who
plays those games before the season starts. I think it shows that we’re a team that’s playing well that had
a little bit of success last year and has earned an opportunity to play on one of the bigger stages, which is
cool to be recognized in that light. At the end of the day, you’re still got a job to do and take care of
business on Monday is the only thing we’re thinking about, just finding a way to win the game. We got to
maximize the opportunity and take advantage of it, but it doesn’t change anything. It might just have
some more people watching the game, it’s a night game and it’s on Monday. That’s the only difference.
Same job, same task for us.”
(On confidence in the team on the closing stretch of this season based on last season) “It gives you some
confidence because this team is made up of a lot of the same guys. Of course, we have some new pieces
and rookies, guys like Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley] and new additions in the offseason, stuff like that who
weren’t here but still have that confidence and that feel in the locker room. We also know you can’t
carry that over, that’s not going to win games for you this year. I think there is some confidence that you
carry with knowing what these games mean and we were in a different position, but a position last year
where from the halfway point of the season on, every game was a must-win for us. That was the sense of
urgency and the feel that we had. I think there’s something to be said, that’s something we’ve talked
about, is keeping that every week, regardless of maybe this year we’re in a little better position because
we started off the first half of the season better. Still keeping that sense of urgency, they’re all must-win
games. Every game is huge. It’s about setting yourself up for the postseason and so on. We understand
that every game does matter, it really does, especially at the end of the season when everyone is
fighting, scratching and clawing for these wins. We know the sense of urgency.”
(On if the team talks about the top four teams leading the AFC) “We don’t really talk about it a ton, we
talk more so about the position we’ve put ourselves in. If you want to talk about the number one seed or
whatever that is, we’ve put ourselves in a situation where that’s obtainable. We’re right there in the mix.
I think that’s something that we’re definitely not oblivious to that fact. Obviously, we’re taking it one
game at a time and you’ve got to win one game at a time in order to get there. We understand that’s real
and that’s something that’s reachable for us and that we can do. We know it takes and you have to get
one game at a time and you’ve got to take care of business each week. The AFC is a tight race. You look
at other teams that maybe have five, six wins or seven wins. They’re right in the race too, they are still
six, I think that’s the most games anyone has left, six games. You can make up a lot of ground like what
you said, last year what we were able to do. You know teams are thinking that as well. The biggest thing
is never, I don’t think anyone is technically eliminated from the playoffs, no team in the whole league
yet. It’s still early in the year, we’re getting towards the back half, but you can’t look ahead. You can’t get
too far ahead of yourself. We’re taking it one week at a time, we understand what we can accomplish
and what we can do. But you’ve got to just take it one week at a time. You can’t get too far ahead, you
can’t look in the rearview mirror either. Being in the moment is really big.”
(On why he chose Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida for My Cause My Cleats) “That’s an
organization me and Marissa [wife] have been working closely with this whole season. We’ve been
sponsoring, we call it, ‘The Sunshine Supper Club’ every week. We basically sponsor and pay for a big
and a little to go to dinner. It’s over there at Morton’s so we just pay for them to go eat downtown, have
a nice steakhouse dinner, get whatever they want, just to get that time to fellowship and bond. We’ve
both had mentors in our life that have meant a lot to us. A lot of these kids that are now, some of them
are kids and some of them are older and they’re still close with their big brother or big sister. Just that
relationship and the impact it can have on kids that just need a friend, need a mentor, need someone to
lean on. That’s our initiative that we’ve been trying to help with and bring some recognition to.”
(On if the loss to the 49ers fueled the team in any way) “Yeah, I think in this league, you’ve got to use
games like that to make you better. It can go one of two ways, it can make you better or you can kind of
crumble from it. I think this team has been really good at responding to adversity. We definitely use that
as some fuel and we realized, I think we were in a good spot and we were taking it one game at a time,
but still, we realized, ‘Alright. We’re not all this and all that. We still have work to do. This is a long season
if you come out here and don’t play well, you can beat and beat pretty bad.’ I think it was just a wakeup
call every time you have a game like that, it’s just to refocus, attack each week, it’s its’ own week and
you’ve got to prepare and do everything you can to play your best that week, win the game, and move
onto the next one. You can’t look at the big picture yet, you’ve got to take it one week at a time. I think
that helped us refocus a little bit and I know offensively, that was probably our worst performance of the
year. We’ve used that and I think we’ve gotten a lot better the last couple of weeks. Still got a lot of work
to do, but been a lot more consistent, much more explosive, making a lot of plays. I think it definitely
made us better and it’s going to help us down the stretch.”
(On what the ‘DUUVAL’ chant means to him) “Yeah, when I first got here, I had no idea. Then, obviously,
it’s the county that we live in. It’s something that players and fans, not the only thing we have in
common, but it’s something that brings everyone together that everyone does. It’s part of the city, part
of the culture, just part of our fan base, this city, and who we are. I think that’s something that no matter
who you are, if you see someone in the street and someone yells it, you yell it back and all those things.
People do it in the stadium and postgame. I think it just connects the players, the coaches, everyone, the
fans, everyone in the city together. It’s something we can all rally around, obviously our team is that as
well, but just having something like that everyone knows, everyone is a part of, everyone that’s not in
this community doesn’t really understand it. I think makes it kind of cool too, people are like, ‘Why are
they doing that?’ People that are here know and understand that it means a lot and it means a lot to this
city.”
(On why the passing game has been clicking so well recently) “Yeah, I think as the season goes on, we’ve
just built more and more chemistry. I think we’ve been more consistent all around. I think every position,
myself included, has just been playing better the last few weeks. We’ve been able to capitalize on some
shots down the field, take advantage of some of those looks that maybe earlier in the season we weren’t
able to for whatever reason. Maybe it was a missed throw, maybe it was a drop, maybe it was
protection, any of those things can happen that prevent plays from being successful. I think we’ve just
been able to capitalize on more of those the last two weeks. We’ve got to continue to find ways to do
that, I think our run game has been really good. That helps too, we’ve been committed to that. The guys
up front last week and against Tennessee as well, the guys have been protecting really, really great. The
more we can do that, the better we’re going to be. I think we talked about it after the game, just giving
those guys their flowers because they’re doing a heck of a job up front. That makes it go, the o-line and
d-line of any team kind of makes the game go. You’re going to be successful based on how those guys
play and those guys are doing a great job.”
(On what is missed from OL Cam Robinson’s injury) “Yeah, aside from his play on the field, he’s obviously
a great player. He can do a lot, really athletic, good in protections. All those things. A lot of energy, he
brings a lot of juice, he’s definitely one of the leaders up front. We’re going to have to fill that void and
Walker’s [OL Walker Little] going to do a great job. He’s a heck of a player, he can do so many things.
Obviously, he’s played guard, left tackle, right tackle. He’s played almost every spot on the line. Very
experienced, he knows what it’s like to be a starter, but also to have to fill in and come in and be the
tackle if Cam goes down. There’s been some things in the past that he’s had to do this. It makes you feel
confident having a guy in there that’s played a lot of football and that knows what he’s doing, can move
around, communicate. We’re all going to have to bring some juice and fill that because Cam does that.
He brings a lot of energy, he plays with a certain swag about him that’s just a little bit different. He
carries himself that way and I think it’s great for our team. We’ve got to continue to bring that and play
with that edge, even if he’s not out there. He’ll hopefully be back sooner rather than later, but yeah,
we’ve got to find a way to do that. I don’t have any concerns about how the guys are going to play up
front. I think they’re going to do a heck of a job. Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland] and Walker did a great job last
week when they stepped in.”
(On uniqueness of TE Evan Engram’s receptions with no touchdowns) “Yeah, I mean we really haven’t
thrown a ton of touchdowns anyways. There hasn’t been a ton to go around. We’ve had some
unfortunate things happen on some plays, whatever that is. I missed him on one in the game too, that I
threw high in the endzone. I don’t know if that was first or second half, I can’t remember now. He
should’ve had one in the game for sure. I’ll take one, I told him that. I was like, ‘Sorry man, I wanted to
keep you out one more week.’ He should’ve had one last week and that was on me. It’s going to happen,
you always have a plan for everyone in the redzone. It’s never like, okay, ‘this guy is the one that’s getting
the touches this week’. There’s plays for everyone and sometimes coverage takes that away and dictates
other things to happen. Sometimes you get pressure, sometimes you have to move and sometimes you
miss a throw or whatever it is. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what it is, but it would be nice to get
him in the endzone soon. I know Evan is not a guy who really cares about that, he just wants to win. Of
course, I know he wants to get in there too.”
(On the receivers drawing so many pass interference calls) “Yeah, those are things that obviously don’t
show up in the stats, are the DPI’s we’ve been able to get. Those been huge plays, a lot of them have
been on third down. A lot of them have been on Calvin [WR Calvin Ridley]. Usually Calvin and Zay [WR
Zay Jones], those guys got a knack for it and have done a good job of just being physical, running their
routes in certain ways where it puts the DB’s in a bind and they have to grab, hold or do whatever.
They’ve done a good job and that’s stuff that doesn’t show up. We understand how important that is
and that a lot of times keeps drives alive. That’s big and the guys are really playing with a lot of
confidence and flying around right now. You see what Calvin has been able to do the last few weeks and
we’re in a great spot, we like what we’re doing right now.”
