Zac Taylor on Bengals' Win Over Bills
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00:00 I thought the way that our defense is playing overall,
00:02 the entire game, you felt like they
00:04 were in pretty good control.
00:05 And so we needed to keep that two-score lead.
00:08 So that was kicking that field goal to go up two scores,
00:12 you felt that was going to put us in a big position.
00:15 Obviously, they're an explosive offense.
00:16 They went down and scored.
00:17 And then I was happy that our offense
00:18 was able to finish it out.
00:19 That was a big run by mixing there
00:21 on the last play of the game.
00:22 That put us in that position.
00:23 That's something we've got to pride ourselves on,
00:25 is finishing with the ball to close out the game.
00:28 And so I thought that they did that.
00:30 What was the decision, I guess, for the tight end
00:32 to be involved as much as they were?
00:34 Or is that just where the ball went?
00:35 That's where the ball went.
00:36 I thought Buffalo did a great job, man.
00:38 They don't make it easy on you.
00:40 I thought they got a great team.
00:43 Their defense, I thought, played really well
00:45 and made things difficult. We had to earn everything we got.
00:48 I thought our guys responded the right way.
00:49 I thought the tight ends responded the right way.
00:51 And that's why we gave game ball to James Casey.
00:54 He gets those guys ready.
00:56 He plays a lot of them.
00:57 They know every single detail of this offense.
00:59 They're always prepared.
01:00 We make a lot of adjustments in-game with the tight ends
01:03 that they got to be able to handle.
01:05 And so there's a lot of things that they did,
01:07 not even when the ball came their way today,
01:09 that they just did from a game plan standpoint that really
01:11 helped us be successful.
01:12 You guys signed Tanner, obviously, to the active roster.
01:14 Yeah.
01:15 But for Irv to respond the way he did as well,
01:18 how important was that?
01:19 Not surprising at all.
01:20 The way that Irv prepares, he puts himself
01:23 in a position to be successful.
01:24 So days like today aren't surprising for that.
01:27 Drew Sample, he does all the nasty things for us.
01:30 And for him to make that play for that touchdown was special.
01:33 And then Tanner came in and made the plays that came his way,
01:37 like we expected him to.
01:38 And Mitch always has a role as well.
01:40 So those guys, they just--
01:42 I can't say enough about that room.
01:44 I really can't say enough about James Casey.
01:46 He just sets the right attitude for that room.
01:48 And they respond the right way.
01:50 And they make the plays when their number's called.
01:52 The touchdown by Sample, is that the design of the premise?
01:55 Or is that just kind of a little bit almost an improv?
01:58 Yeah, that's great awareness.
02:00 And that's just Joe trusting him and having
02:03 an understanding of-- it's a very loose check down there
02:06 that they got on the same page on.
02:08 And so Drew can kind of just feel it as Joe feels it.
02:10 And there's something to be said for that type of connection.
02:13 And then for him to finish it off the way he did
02:15 was awesome to see.
02:16 Zach, you guys have been creating turnovers quite a bit
02:19 in the last-- in this four game.
02:20 Winning streak tonight, another interception, forced fumble.
02:23 Can you talk a little bit, especially
02:24 about the forced fumble?
02:26 Yeah, I mean, we preach it nonstop.
02:27 Our defensive staff does a great job with the turnover circuit,
02:30 the ball security, preaching it.
02:32 Our guys know.
02:33 Our guys, they've all been here so long.
02:35 They know that's how you win these games,
02:37 these close games particularly.
02:40 They all do a great job.
02:41 But Jermaine Pratt's a big driving force of that.
02:44 And I believe he's the one that forced the fumble that Nick
02:46 got, no surprise there.
02:47 That's just one of the many things that he
02:49 does well for this team.
02:50 How pleased were you to see T against with the performance
02:53 he had tonight?
02:54 He catches for--
02:55 Again, another guy I'm not surprised about.
02:57 It was just-- I have to tell you,
03:00 he's kind of a victim of circumstance the way
03:01 the season's gone so far with his injuries and things
03:04 like that.
03:04 And he stepped up big time.
03:07 He won a lot of one-on-ones.
03:09 He made a lot of big plays and moments we needed to have them,
03:12 some for first downs, some for close to first downs.
03:15 But I thought T did a great job.
03:17 The slant route he went on that got us into the low red zone
03:20 before we kicked that last field goal.
03:21 It was a huge win on third downs.
03:23 That was big by T.
03:25 Big Sunday night game, good team.
03:27 What makes you guys so good at rising up to these types
03:29 of moments over the last few years?
03:31 They're just the character of the team.
03:32 These are the stages they want to be on.
03:34 They don't shy away from them.
03:36 That confidence, this earned confidence,
03:38 it's not anything phony to try to present themselves
03:42 as if they're ready for these games.
03:44 They've worked for it.
03:45 And they trust not only themselves,
03:46 but they trust their teammates to be next to them,
03:49 making those plays that can win.
03:51 And so the team was ready for the environment.
03:55 Our fans were ready for this environment.
03:57 The second biggest crowd in Bengals history.
04:00 We could feel them.
04:02 I really felt when Buffalo had the ball that they were loud.
04:04 And they created some issues there for them.
04:07 And that energy certainly fueled us today.
04:10 So that was awesome to see.
04:12 I like the striped sections, too.
04:14 I thought that was pretty cool.
04:15 It seemed like every drive after this first couple
04:18 was ending up with you in the decision and plus territory.
04:21 How were you thinking through what
04:23 you gave aggressive or conservative philosophy?
04:25 Yeah.
04:26 Yeah.
04:27 As the game goes, you've got to evolve as well.
04:30 And you're right there on field goal fringe a couple of times.
04:34 And ultimately, we went for it on the fourth and five.
04:37 That's one we'll talk through to make sure I
04:39 made the right decision there.
04:40 We didn't get it.
04:41 Our defense is playing really well.
04:43 So if you punt, you pin them deep.
04:44 I think it was a 55-yard field goal at the time, which--
04:49 there's a lot of decisions to be made there.
04:50 And you got to do them pretty quick.
04:51 And that's one we'll talk through and see how we land on
04:55 it if we do something different.
04:56 Because you originally were more conservative.
04:59 And you were thinking it might play that way.
05:01 But then your evolution in this game
05:02 was maybe let's push a little bit more on--
05:05 There were some times early where we would have been
05:07 aggressive, and the next play didn't happen that way.
05:10 And so we didn't have to make that decision.
05:12 So there were some that we either converted
05:15 or didn't gain a little bit of yardage to go for it.
05:17 So we were ready to be conservative--
05:19 I mean, ready to be attacking in a game like that.
05:21 Were you going to go for it if you didn't get it
05:23 on the third and four there at the very end?
05:24 Or did you already have the net and the fourth down
05:26 in your head what you were going to do?
05:28 Well, we were in field goal range at that point.
05:30 So that would have been a field goal right there
05:32 and let Evan Heitz it for us.
05:34 [INAUDIBLE]
05:35 The four straight wins really feels like some joke
05:38 or OK to start moving again.
05:41 Does it feel like this team is a championship contender again?
05:43 It's kind of reminded everyone that's Houston.
05:46 We don't need to worry about that right now.
05:48 We know that we have a team that we trust and believe in.
05:51 And we have a huge game next week against Houston Texans.
05:54 And that's all we need to worry about right now.
05:56 We're not even at the midway point of the season yet.
05:58 So the only thing that we can focus on
06:01 is getting ready for Houston.
06:02 And I know that our guys are going to do that.
06:04 How big is it to get a game like this on prime time
06:06 against another team that's made a contention for the AFC
06:09 title [INAUDIBLE]
06:10 Well, I mean, we have to prove it every single week.
06:12 It doesn't matter if you're playing the Buffalo
06:14 Bills or whoever else.
06:16 I think we've got a lot of great teams on our schedule
06:19 that are going to be coming at us with the Houston
06:21 Texans being one of them.
06:22 So again, we just focus on whoever's in front of us.
06:24 We've got to be ready.
06:25 We've got to put in six great days of work,
06:26 go put our best effort out on the field,
06:28 find a way to get the win, and then move on in the next week.
06:30 Third straight game with opening a game
06:33 with two offensive touchdowns.
06:35 You say you want to always play with the league.
06:37 You've been able to do that over this streak.
06:40 Yeah, I mean, I think it's proven.
06:42 If we can start fast and get a lead,
06:45 our defense pins their eager back
06:47 and gets after the quarterback and creates turnovers.
06:49 And obviously, it's an easier call game
06:52 when you've got the lead on offense as well.
06:54 So I think our guys really responded the right way
06:56 to that.
06:57 Is that even more important tonight?
06:58 Is that why you won the toss and took the ball?
07:00 Did you feel like you had to get a lead early?
07:02 Yeah, I think it's a great way to start, put pressure
07:04 on the other team in a road environment for them,
07:08 and trust that our offense to go down there and be able to score.
07:12 Before the game, I know you're getting ready and focused
07:14 on that.
07:15 And you just see it since what De'Var
07:16 had on the other sideline.
07:17 If you were again, what would that experience look like?
07:20 Yeah, I mean, it's just, again, like I've said,
07:22 it's great the way it's all played out.
07:25 And a lot of good has come from it.
07:27 It's brought two communities close together
07:29 that maybe otherwise wouldn't have any reason for that.
07:32 And so it's great to see that he's doing well.
07:35 Your thoughts on Cam Taylor, Fred,
07:37 and how he was tonight and how he performed in case of that?
07:41 Yeah, I mean, just creating turnovers is what it's about.
07:44 And so Cam's got great ball skills.
07:46 So again, he continues, every time the ball's in his hands,
07:49 he's going to find a way to make that pick.
07:50 And so that's a great job by Cam.