Jake Browning Reacts to Bengals Win Over Jaguars
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00:00 right back in the playoff mix?
00:02 No. Yeah, it was a big win. Really needed that one.
00:07 It was fun to do it on Monday night.
00:08 I think it's a really good Jacksonville team
00:11 who will be in the playoff hunt going forward.
00:14 And, yeah, felt good.
00:18 Jake, do you have a favorite moment from this game?
00:21 I mean, you have a million great throws, so many big moments.
00:26 Was there one that stands out to you above the rest?
00:29 I think just the last drive, knowing that, you know,
00:32 once they won the toss and got the ball,
00:35 basically, we need to feel cold.
00:37 And so there's a couple third-down throws
00:40 that I think were big there.
00:41 But, I don't know, you're kind of just in the moment
00:44 when it's all going on, and I'm still kind of in that mode.
00:47 I don't totally even remember all the throws.
00:49 There was a scene during the review,
00:53 right towards the end,
00:54 you kind of just laughing a little bit in the huddle
00:56 as you guys were pretty close in the field goal range.
00:58 Did you feel -- Did it feel like that kind of a relief
01:01 or you felt like you were enjoying yourself out there,
01:03 finally letting yourself enjoy it?
01:05 Yeah. Yeah, I was joking with Jamar.
01:07 Can't get the first down there.
01:09 And, I don't know, just a little sarcasm back and forth.
01:13 But, yeah, I mean, it just felt like we were in rhythm.
01:17 I think the stats kind of showed that.
01:20 And just overall, top to bottom, good offensive performance.
01:25 And so, while it goes into that,
01:27 I think being able to establish the run,
01:29 I feel like tight ends did a great job.
01:31 Joe makes it really, really hard.
01:33 Chase Brown came in and provided some spark
01:35 on some explosive runs.
01:37 And so, you know, I just feel like, like I said,
01:41 I'm still kind of in that mode where I'm in the moment,
01:43 not very reflective, but definitely,
01:45 I think, was the big difference.
01:47 How good shape was it when the ball left your hand
01:50 and the TD to Jamar?
01:51 Did you know as soon as the ball leaves your hand,
01:54 Jamar, one-on-one coverage, is this going to be good?
01:57 Yeah, I think part of the reason we had that one-on-one coverage
02:00 is because we ran the ball so well.
02:02 I think if you don't establish the run early like that,
02:06 you know, we're not going to have one-on-ones
02:08 with guys like Jamar and T on the outside.
02:10 And so, I did not see any of the throw.
02:14 I threw it, got hit, and then kind of just watched him run.
02:17 And I saw him turn around near the goal line.
02:20 And I was just thinking, why is he turning around?
02:23 And he said it's because he's getting disrespectful.
02:27 I have to say, fans said, Zach said --
02:29 I have two things.
02:31 Two things, Zach said you were much better on third down
02:34 this week than last week.
02:36 And it looked like that last two down to T
02:40 looked like the blitz trick you did to walk a ski back
02:42 and maybe talk about how you handled the blitz differently.
02:45 Yeah, I mean, just against Steelers,
02:47 we're doing a lot of five-man protection,
02:49 trying to help on the edges,
02:51 which makes a lot of sense with the two guys
02:53 that Pittsburgh has this year -- or this week.
02:56 A little bit more six- and seven-man protection
03:00 and mix it up a little bit.
03:02 And so, the difference between five-
03:05 and six-man protection for a quarterback is huge
03:07 because you just send it one way.
03:08 I know where my issues are.
03:10 And I felt like I played with better eyes because of that.
03:13 And so, I think that was kind of my main takeaway
03:15 from the Pittsburgh game is, you know,
03:17 I'm peeking over here to make sure I'm not hot,
03:18 and then I'm trying to go through a read
03:19 and deliver it on time.
03:21 My eyes were just kind of all over the place.
03:23 And so, that was kind of a big thing.
03:25 Coming into this week is just eye discipline.
03:28 Tate, was today emotional for you?
03:30 Surprisingly not.
03:33 I don't know why, but not really.
03:35 Maybe it's not a result of, you know,
03:36 the confidence you've been talking about all year.
03:39 Yeah. I mean, I don't really know why.
03:41 I think it was partially because it came down on the wire,
03:44 and I feel like I played my best football,
03:47 and I'm just calm and, you know,
03:49 not really thinking about anything outside of,
03:52 you know, what is in my control,
03:54 which is just operating on offense,
03:55 and staying calm and delivering the ball to our playmakers.
03:58 Hey, that eight-yard completion at TB
04:00 towards the end of regulation that led to the 30
04:02 and to put you guys up, how important was it
04:03 to get something positive yard-wise,
04:05 and how much was that the thought process
04:07 of not trying to force a first down
04:08 but get something to get back towards durable range?
04:11 What are you referring to?
04:12 The one TB on an eight-yard out route
04:14 got down about the 36th.
04:16 It allowed Evan to come on and keep the field.
04:18 Yeah. Yeah.
04:19 I think it was, like, third and really long.
04:22 So, anytime you're in that situation,
04:24 you kind of start to think about the field goal
04:26 and just trying to get it in range,
04:28 and, you know, Evan made some huge kicks,
04:30 which was awesome, and, yeah, I think that's kind of just --
04:34 The coaches kind of handled that a little bit more
04:36 with the play call, and so, you know,
04:37 once they call a play that maybe we wouldn't normally run
04:40 on third and 15 or whatever it was,
04:43 for me, it's just kind of the same read.
04:45 It's a good-wise show that this offense
04:46 was still good enough to be able to put up points,
04:49 put up yards even without Joe on the field.
04:52 How much job is still being capable on this offense?
04:55 Yeah, I mean, I think after you put up ten points
04:57 in your first start, you're kind of excited
04:59 to get another crack at it
05:00 where you feel like I had a better week.
05:03 I kind of knew, you know, I had some --
05:06 was able to reflect on going through a week of it,
05:08 which I can watch Joe or whoever I've been behind
05:11 do it a million times different once it's you,
05:14 and so I was able to kind of reflect on
05:15 what was my week like
05:18 and what I need to improve,
05:19 and it was the first time in the live pocket
05:21 for a little while
05:22 and first time in a regular-season game
05:24 for my whole career, so I learned a lot
05:26 from the Pittsburgh game and was really able to focus
05:30 on some of those things throughout the week of practice,
05:32 but I think the main thing is just having those reps
05:37 and having another week of it, and we were able to put up points.
05:41 How long do you think it will hit you?
05:43 What do you think what you did tonight will hit you,
05:45 or will it?
05:46 I don't know if it will.
05:47 Maybe that's like a post-season thing,
05:49 but, I mean, we got, I think, two games in 12 days,
05:53 so kind of got to get moving quickly,
05:55 but, you know, I haven't played a lot of football,
05:57 but it's not like I'm not used to winning.
05:59 Like, I've won a lot of games in my career.
06:02 None of them have been in the NFL until today,
06:04 which is obviously noteworthy, but, you know, I'm used to winning.
06:08 I've won a lot of football games in my life.
06:10 How important was it to get the ground game going?
06:13 How important was it to get the ground game going,
06:14 and how valuable was that for you?
06:16 Yeah, it's huge. I mean, anytime, you know,
06:18 like the long-winded tomorrow,
06:20 I think part of the reason they're playing single high,
06:22 I think they bust the coverage, but part of the reason
06:24 they're playing single high is because they're running the ball
06:26 so well, and so, you know,
06:28 so much opens up off of that.
06:30 It makes my life so much easier
06:32 when we're able to run the ball like that.
06:34 On top of the run game, T against Presence out there,
06:37 although we only had three catches,
06:39 did you notice a difference on how you were seeing the defense
06:42 because T was out there?
06:44 Yeah, I mean, T's one of the best receivers in the NFL,
06:46 and when you're game planning for us,
06:49 you know, you definitely have to figure out your plan
06:52 on how you're going to handle him as well as Jamar,
06:54 and then, you know, then you have the run game,
06:57 and then you have Tanner,
06:58 and there's so many different pieces
07:00 that when you have somebody back like T,
07:03 you know, it does create more headaches.
07:05 He's a great player.
07:06 The fourth is Creed and Jamar.
07:09 Jamar. Yeah.
07:12 Third is three, he drops it, which is very rare.
07:14 Yes.
07:16 And then can you kind of walk us through that progression,
07:18 what you saw?
07:20 I mean, Jamar could drop, like, five straight passes.
07:22 I would keep throwing the ball, so I think, you know,
07:25 I'm going to have bad throws. He's going to have drops.
07:28 I don't know. I'm not going to speak for him,
07:30 but I would bet that the reason he dropped
07:31 is because he's probably thinking,
07:33 "I'm going to catch this and break both these tackles
07:35 and get a score," and so I think the next play
07:38 was the fourth down. We went right back to him,
07:39 and, again, I thought he was going to score again,
07:41 so, you know, I think we got a pretty resilient locker room,
07:45 but, you know, you know who our guys are,
07:48 and I'm going to continue to throw the ball
07:50 regardless of what happens.
07:51 What does Joe say to you after the game?
07:53 Congrats.
07:55 No, Joe's been great. It's nice to have him on the sidelines.
07:58 It's nice to have him travel down to Jacksonville.
08:00 You know, I think he's probably got some other things
08:04 he could do and maybe are more enjoyable for him,
08:06 but he's come here and been supportive,
08:08 and it's been awesome.
08:10 Behind the scenes, who deserves credit
08:12 that helped you get on this road?
08:14 Jake? As far as?
08:16 She's all the time, four-plus years,
08:19 wondering if you'd get a crack at this thing.
08:21 When you look back at that, is there anyone that stands out?
08:24 Probably my girlfriend.
08:26 It's been a long road, a lot of moving, a lot of,
08:30 you know, am I going to make a team?
08:33 Am I going to make any money, or am I going to make,
08:35 you know, just, like, some of those real-life chaos
08:38 and kind of what happens behind the scenes.
08:40 You know, she's been very supportive,
08:42 and that's been awesome to have, and somebody very calm,
08:45 and that's why you always date someone smarter than you.
08:48 Was there some going on in that last try at regulation?
08:51 Teddy said he was really a wanted man with that billboard.
08:55 Were there, like, a couple false stats with her?
08:57 Yeah, I think we just had some issues on the, you know,
09:02 procedure and all that, but, you know, I don't know.
09:05 Glad he made the kick, though.
09:07 Earlier this week, you spoke about how the quarterbacks
09:09 are making the seed, and it takes them a few weeks,
09:11 then they start to hit a plateau.
09:12 I think that's the word you used.
09:14 Hey, you said you're not there yet.
09:15 This is going to be your second start.
09:17 Wayne, do you think that there's more before you plateau?
09:22 Yeah, I mean, I think it definitely feels good
09:24 to have a solid performance under your belt,
09:27 but, you know, I'm not planning on plateauing any time soon.
09:30 I think I can continue to get better.
09:33 I think there's going to be a lot of different looks
09:34 thrown at me over the next couple weeks
09:37 that, you know, there's always a new challenge.
09:39 You know, even the best of the best quarterbacks
09:40 have been doing it forever.
09:42 You know, there's always something new,
09:44 and there's always some new game plan.
09:45 There's always some new adversity or whatever it is,
09:48 and so, you know, I'll be focused on continuing to improve,
09:53 continuing to grow as a quarterback,
09:55 and, you know, just keep playing every week.
09:58 Do you think this sets the standard for you and the team
10:00 and the offense specifically going forward
10:03 for what your potential is?
10:05 Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think on Wednesday
10:09 or whatever day I do my press conference now,
10:13 I said that it's never as good as you thought
10:15 and never as bad as you thought,
10:16 and so I'm sure there's going to be something
10:17 where, you know, I'm watching it,
10:20 and it usually has to do with how the game went.
10:21 When you win, you're like, "Man, I'm the greatest player,"
10:23 but then you watch the tape, you're like,
10:25 "Ah, maybe a couple things I got away with or something,"
10:27 and so there will be something.
10:30 Nobody plays a perfect game,
10:33 so, you know, I'll have something on in a short week
10:34 to get ready for Indy,
10:38 but it does feel good to have a solid performance.
10:39 What are you doing with the game ball?
10:41 With the game ball? I don't know.
10:44 Hopefully not lose it.
10:47 I struggle with memorabilia because I always lose it,
10:50 so you got to figure out something.