How good did this one feel today, not just to get back home, but being able to take down the Bengals?
It felt good. I thought we were hitting on all cylinders, playing football complementary football in all three phases. Glad we were able to put drives together. Defense did a great job against their offense, special teams… it was a good overall team win. We finally got one on them. They are up on us a little bit but we finally got one on them.
How did you like the way your guys up front took care of you to make sure you had the rushing lanes?
I don't even want to any of the credit, credit goes to those guys. The resiliency they showed coming off of last week and how we performed as a team. Those guys really took it to heart and went out there and played a hell of a game. Made my job easier, give those guys all the credit. They deserve it.
Can you talk about Earl (Campbell) coming by and the legacy he left. How cool was it to pass him, and being recognized in game?
I'm just thankful, I'm blessed. I am grateful for everything, grateful for this opportunity. I was a kid that loved football playing in my grandmother's yard in Yulee, Florida. Waiting on an opportunity to get a chance to play Pop Warner and keep moving up and up, the older I got. To be mentioned with a name that I've heard so long as a kid, it's a surreal moment for me. I'm thankful, God is good and I'm thankful the people who helped me get there.
*Mike (Vrabel) kidded and said that he told Eddie (George) that you were coming for him. Did he say that to you? *
He said that when we were in the locker room to us when he was talking to the team. Still got a long way to go. Eddie (George) was a great pinnacle for this organization, a standard for the organization and somebody that I admire very well. Not thinking about it, just enjoying each and every day I get to do this. It's been a dream of mine. Just thankful/
*What was your reaction when they dialed up play for a touchdown pass? *
Peyton Manning had to show up again. I was just thankful that it worked. Kind of cool to be able to throw Josh's (Whlye) first NFL touchdown.
How about (Jeffery) Simmons on that play. He did some decent blocking there?
He did alright. Jeffery (Simmons) is the kind of guy, anything that we need him to do to help us win. If he needs to come on offense and help block, that's the type of guy he is. We love him and he's the heart and soul of this team.
Is that play supposed to go strictly where you threw it or run it?
It's called 'Go Be Peyton Manning And Get A Touchdown' and that's what I tried to do.
How many times have y'all ran that in practice?
I don't want to give y'all too much insight. Just know that I put it where it is supposed to be, and we got six out of it.
Are you surprised that you're are still getting away with that play at this point?
I don't know why they don't respect me at this point man, but hopefully I earn that at some point. I got to find out my QBR rating, it might be pretty good.
When they called that timeout, did you think "Oh no, they might not call it again"?
I did. I was like "Oh man, they done seen something, they done sniffed something out, they gone change that play," but we stuck with it and it ended up working.
On your touchdown play, you had to break two or three tackle to get in the end zone. Did you think that was a confidence-building play for the whole team and maybe bring some energy to the offense?
Yeah, I definitely want to go out there and take advantage of the opportunities and set the tone on each and every carry I got. Hopefully I did that today. The other guys make my job a lot easier. They embraced it and did a great job. So a lot of good things to build off of.
Do you think you should have looked more like this up to this point team wise and should look like this going forward?
Of course, you want to look like this on each and every week, but it doesn't go that way all the time. It is going to be moments where you're going through a little bit of adversity, it's going to be moments of growth for each and every one of us and us and as a team That's that thing about this season. It's hard to win in this game. We got to be locked in each and every day, and some days are going to be better than others, but as long as you stay with it and stay focused, everything will work out the way it's supposed to.
A lot of times you talk about how your rushing fuels the defense, but today, when they have an output like that, how much does that fuel you guys on offense?
They were balling. They came with it today. You could see that energy when they're out there, they were all locked in. Hungry, hungry defense and when they do stuff like that, we definitely feed of it. I know I do. I love to see those guys over there doing the best that they can and playing to their abilities.
With some much of an emphasis on this team on staying ahead of the sticks, those good first down plays, when it's working out like that, like it did today, what's going right for you guys to be able to keep doing it?
We always say just get the first first-down and if we do that, we'll be able to get into drives. We were able to show that today. As long as we are able to move the ball, get a first down, get into drives, guys getting opportunities to get the ball and make plays. I feel like we did a good job at that today with a lot more room to grow off of.
Y'all came up with so many big plays whether it be running or through the air. Why were there so many big plays?
The details, knowing the concepts, knowing what you are supposed to do, and when the play is there, make it. I think guys embraced it and tried to lock in and go out and do that today.
With you moving up in the rushing record today, what do you think you'll remember most when you look back on this game?
I'm glad we won, really. I don't want to be too caught up on me moving up on the rushing list and all those type of things, to take away from a great team win. I'm just thankful that we won and hopefully we'll keep stacking them. This was a great one today. Just thankful for the whole journey.
This season has been a little bit of a roller coaster through four weeks. How much can you point to this game and say 'Hey if we play like this across the board, this is how good can we be?'
This is a great one to build off of. Keep looking at the things we did well this game, build off of those. Knowing the things that we need to get better at. Keep doing those. This is a good one to build off of. Very proud of everyone. The resiliency they showed in all three phases to come out here and put a performance out like we did. The coaches and everybody stayed locked in this week and we just got to keep it going.
What is it about this team when the chips are down, you guys always seem to be at your very best?
Y'all talked junk about us all week. No, I think it was time to put one together and play the style of play we need to. I think guys really honed in on that and locked in on that. Last week, nobody was happy. It really woke us up and we knew we needed to come out and put up a performance. It was time for it.
On Tyjae (Spears), most of the time when the ball is on the ground someone falls on it. He fumbled it, followed it around, picked it up then ran with it. Is that the type of stuff he can do? What was going on in your head watching that?
Tyjae's (Spears) the type of player, you have to hold your breath. It can go the distance at any point. I told him 'I don't know how you did that. I was ready for you to just jump on the ball, and you turned it into a 30-40 yard gain.' That's the type of player he is. He is a weapon for us and I'm excited to have him. I'm going to try to help him any way I can. Try to help him be the best player he can be.
