Zac Taylor on Bengals' Loss to Ravens
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00:00What was the thought process on the two-point conversion?
00:04Came here to win.
00:05Came here to win.
00:06Why do you think that one fell so quickly?
00:11You know, we lost tournament battle 1-0.
00:13I think it was 1-7 at that point when we gave them seven points there right there on the
00:18fumble.
00:19Had the big play, and then it kind of went back and forth from there.
00:22It was a good football team, but we expected to come in here and win, and we did everything
00:27we could to do that.
00:28It doesn't change the fact that I'm proud.
00:29I think everybody on that field fought, gave us a chance.
00:32Lost the game on the road to a good team, and it's sickening that this has happened
00:35twice to us.
00:37That's what it is.
00:39The Chase-Brown fumble, Zach.
00:41How did that change things?
00:43Well, every time you play them, man, it's a one-score game, and whoever wins the tournament
00:46battle wins the game, and that's what it came down to.
00:49You put so much emphasis on bringing in guys who win big moments.
00:53Why hasn't this team seemed to have that quality?
00:56Yeah, we got to figure that out.
00:57We got to find a way to close out these games.
00:59We had our opportunity.
01:00We got down there, went for two, and it just didn't work out for us.
01:04But this team is going to continue to put us in good positions, and there's going to
01:07be a point in the season where that turns, and we'll respond the right way from this
01:11game.
01:12We've got a one-game season next week against the Chargers before the bye, and so we'll
01:15get our bodies right and get ready to go fight them.
01:17When a team doesn't finish, is that X's and O's?
01:20I mean, finishing, there's a lot of great plays by both teams there at the end of the
01:24game.
01:25I know that's the easy answer, but we've just got to figure out a way to make that
01:30last play to win the game.
01:31Yeah, the third and two, fourth and two, they were both deep balls down there in the second
01:36half.
01:37Was that…
01:38It's just part of the play.
01:39Was that expecting aggressiveness?
01:40Those are progressions, and if you get a one-on-one shot, we're taking that all the time.
01:43Otherwise, there's a progression that comes across, but we've made a lot of plays in
01:48those situations where we take those shots.
01:50Just because it's third and two or fourth and two, they're dropping everybody underneath
01:53trying to take away the underneath stuff, so you either take your shot or you wait for
01:56other stuff to clear out over the top.
01:58How hard was it to watch the touch-up?
02:02The Ravens' three missed tackles came.
02:04Yeah, it's tough.
02:06That one, I can't see very well.
02:08That's on the farthest point of the field that I can see, so we'll watch the tape and
02:11evaluate how that play went.
02:13You did a good job defensively against them in the first half, though.
02:15They had the four-streak touchdown.
02:17What do you think changed for you?
02:18Well, the turnover gave them a great field position because we got a three and out there
02:21to start the half, so I was really pleased with how the defense started the half.
02:24Then, obviously, that big play on third and two for however many yards that was put them
02:29right back in.
02:30That gave them some hope, and they responded the right way.
02:33Then it just became a back-and-forth game from there.
02:35How would you describe the game that Chase had?
02:37Incredible.
02:39That's a good defense.
02:41They've got a ton of talent over there.
02:43I thought Jamar stepped up in a major way.
02:46Any time we could just find ways to get him the ball, I thought Joe did a great job.
02:50I thought Joe did a great job of that, and Jamar finished a lot of those plays for us.
02:53I thought they played excellent.
02:55How frustrating is it that, despite their performances, it just wasn't enough tonight?
02:58It's frustrating because of the work we put in.
03:00We sit up here every week and pour our heart and souls into this thing.
03:04We've got a good football team, and our record doesn't yet show that.
03:08There's still time.
03:09This team's going to hang in there.
03:10We're going to be there at the end.
03:13Again, this is a tough one because you're right there, and you felt like you let one
03:16slip away.
03:17At the same time, still believe in these guys.
03:18They believe in each other.
03:20There's a lot of football left to play.
03:21Zach, the two-pointers, how did they play it, and how did you expect that?
03:26I think you called timeout, right?
03:30We were just trying to get a free yard there.
03:32It was a no-snap, no-play situation, trying to get a really free play.
03:36If they jump, snap it, and just get a free shot on the two-pointer version.
03:39That was the situation to do that.
03:41Called timeout, and then got the play we liked, and it just didn't work out for us.
03:44Was it there?
03:45I've got to watch it.
03:46I've got to watch it.
03:47It's hard for me to tell right now.
03:48Because of the game, he had probably a lot of questions about why the ball, and maybe
03:52it was supposed to go to Chase.
03:54You guys were trying to go for the win.
03:56Did it take him away, or what happened?
03:58No, there's always a progression to it.
04:02Most of our stuff is geared to go to Jamar Chase.
04:07But again, progression starts, and he was in that progression.
04:11I'd say Joe makes pretty good decisions.
04:14I trust we weren't there.
04:15We just got to watch the tape and see what happened.
04:17You had a couple different chances to go to Evan with long field goals.
04:20What was his number that you were looking at, and why would you-
04:23That direction was less.
04:25I think we passed up a 58-yarder when our defense had given up seven points at that
04:29point in the game.
04:31We pinned him down there on the 10.
04:32Obviously, it didn't work out.
04:34They scored three plays later.
04:35But that was that decision.
04:36That was an aggressive game for us.
04:39Going for it.
04:41That was right there.
04:43Given how the game unfolded with how our defense was playing at that moment,
04:46the 58-yarder, just pin him down in there and try to get that ball back,
04:49same field position, and punch it in on offense.
04:5156 pass attempts for Joe tonight.
04:54Did you come into this game kind of figuring it might be that kind of game?
04:58Yeah, it's hard to know how many snaps you're going to get.
05:00But, yeah, I knew it was going to be that type of game.
05:02Hit the pit 13 times, just how he stood in there tonight,
05:05428 through the air.
05:07It's a really talented defense.
05:09Again, when you throw the ball that many times, it's going to happen.
05:12He does a great job buying time until the end to give his guys a chance.
05:17So often, probably some of those hits came on huge completions
05:20because he waited that last second and was willing to take the hit.
05:23So it's going to, unfortunately, reflect negatively on the offensive line
05:27when in reality it's just Joe hanging in there
05:29and making a play of his tight coverage
05:30and giving Jamar and those guys a chance for that extra second to win.
05:33Did you know throughout that final draft that you would go for two?
05:35Yeah.
05:36I mean, there is a time situation where there's probably a little too many.
05:41I can't get into specifics, but there's a chance maybe you get a three
05:45and I get the ball back if you just tied it
05:47and you go kick a game winning field goal.
05:48But didn't feel like we were going to get the ball again.
05:51You said you guys need to figure out why you haven't been able to close out games.
05:55But what more can you do 10 games into the season to try and figure that out?
05:58Just got to find a way to win.