### [Joe Burrow](https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/joe-burrow/)
#### Quarterback
**What do you think told the story of that game?**
"Yeah, we know we had some chances. We had some chances. We played well for the most part. We've got to find a way to not turn the ball over there, specifically the one in the red zone. That's the one I'm the most upset about — the one where I got hit as I was throwing. That's going to happen sometimes."
**How much did things change when Ja'Marr Chase went out, in terms of what you saw from Jacksonville defensively?**
"I think it changed how they were playing, obviously, when a guy like Ja'Marr goes out. But guys came in and really stepped up. Dohnte (Myers), Mitch (Tinsley), Tanner (Hudson) and Mike (Gesicki) and, really, Tee (Higgins), for a good part of the game too 'balled' as well. And then Tee went out, and then Tanner and Mike, Mitch and Dohnte ... I mean, I can't say enough about those guys."
**What was your mentality going into the final drive of the game with no timeouts left?**
"I felt good about it. (We) hit two big ones off the jump and was feeling really good about it. It was pretty chaotic, so I have to go back and watch the tape and figure out what happened on those first three downs before that fourth down. But we moved into a good spot and gave ourselves a chance."
**It sounded like Head Coach Zac Taylor delivered an emotional message to the team after the game. What is the feeling among the team right now?**
"We're very confident. You know, we're 2-2 but nobody wins a championship after week four."
**Do you feel it's important for yourself to drive the mood of the team after a game like this, and last week against Pittsburgh?**
"Yeah, that's part of what leaders do. But at the same time, we're still very confident, and we have guys in that locker room that feel real good about who we are, where we are and what we're going to do. You know, obviously the last two weeks haven't gone the way that we want(ed). I was proud of us fighting back in that fourth quarter. Obviously, I'd like to get it done. We're not here for moral victories — this is the NFL. No excuses, but we've got a lot ahead of us."
**Can you talk about the grit you saw today from your guys?**
"We made plays when we had to. You know, it's a good offense (over there). We've got to find ways to score more points."
**What did you see on the late incompletion to Mike Gesicki?**
"Yeah, we just had a little miscommunication there. A little miscommunication."
**On the last play of the game, were you looking to go ahead of the first down marker and saw something in the short passing game with Chase Brown that made you throw to him instead? Was he your primary read?**
"Yeah, we had one-on-one and we had a play call, but I saw the one-on-one and got to it Chase in space, and the guy made a great tackle. We were just short and that's how it goes."
**Why do you think it was difficult to execute to produce points in the first half?**
"We'll have to go back and watch the tape and come back with our takeaways and talk about it as an offense."
**Can you take us through the red-zone interception?**
"Yeah, that's just a bad play by me. I got pressured and was trying to get rid of it and didn't see him (the defender)."
**Knowing who you have at receiver and with you at quarterback, everyone knows you will be a pass-first offense. But with Jacksonville having 111 rushing yards to your 23, do you feel there needs to be more balance with play calling?**
"My response to that would be, 'Let's throw it more.'"
**Why is that your response?**
"Because I know we're great at it. Because I know that's what I do best, and we're really pass-protecting really well right now. Obviously, we'd like to get more out of the run game, but you know I know we'll make it work."
**Is it the idea of you don't want to bang your head against the wall, so to speak, if you know you're not going to run the ball well today?**
"Obviously, it depends on how the game is going, right? I'm always going to want the ball in my hands in those spots, and there will be games where we run the heck out of the ball and we're going to get under center and run it. And there will be games where we need to drop back 60 times, and we'll go and make it happen. We'll find that balance as the season goes. But yeah, we can be better in both areas."
**What is the most frustrating thing about being back at .500 after the way the season started?**
"Obviously, we had our opportunities in the last two weeks, but this isn't Armageddon or anything. We're still in a great spot, feel really good about our team and (we'll) come back to practice next week and keep getting better. That's what the NFL is all about. You can't ride the roller coaster week-to-week. You're going to win some; you're going to lose some. Obviously, you want to win every single one (and) you're going to fight like hell to make it happen, but we're not going to ride that roller coaster."
**The last drive, you had Mitchell, Mike and Dohnte, who are probably three guys you've never worked with in that kind of situation. How did that evolve?**
"We called it just like we would have if anybody else was in there. Those guys make plays. I said that this is the deepest (receiving) room that we've had (in my time here). Thank God we got Mitch back this week. He really came in and played great and made some big time plays for us. Obviously, Dohnte did too. Mike, he's going to be Mike — he's going to find the spots and be creative in his routes. And Tanner did it — he went in there and did a good job as well. We've got so many pass catchers we feel really good about, and I think they really did step up today. I don't know how many yards we had, but it felt like we were completing the ball and moving the chains."
**The touchdown to Mike was one where you were trying to see if you could pass the linebacker?**
"Their linebackers were doing a great job all day of being physical underneath and disrupting routes. When you play those kind of defenders, there's a space back there to make plays — you just have to figure out a way to get past those guys and not get disrupted, and Mike did a great job right there (of doing that)."
**You said this is not Armageddon. There was championship talk before the season. Where do you feel that is at right now with a 2-2 record?**
"I feel great about it. I feel great about it. We played a good team this week and we came up short. The game didn't play out the way we wanted it to. But that's life in the NFL, so we'll come back and get better on Monday, rest on Tuesday and just keep getting better throughout practice."
**The NFL is typically a next-man-up game, but is there any frustration on your part of having a receiver go down each of these last three weeks, or is it a thing where you compartmentalize it and just say you'll figure out the rest later?**
"No. Certainly no frustration. Like I said, those guys really step up. I had a lot of confidence in those guys going into the year, and they just keep proving me right.
"When guys like Ja'Marr and Tee go down, then you're going to start getting a little more man(-to-man coverage), and that's basically what we got after that. They did a good job beating man coverage. Those are good corners over there (on Jacksonville's defense) that play physical. No. 4 (CB Jarrian Jones) and No. 12 (CB Travis Hunter) — they're good players. Specifically, No. 4 being physical in the early parts of the routes can really disrupt timing and ball placement if your receivers aren't physical right back. I think they did a really good job today. He's going to win some reps, but our guys did a good job."
**You mentioned Dohnte showing in the second half they have what it takes to fill in and step into bigger roles depending on what happens with Ja'Marr and Tee ...**
**The last couple of weeks, you've had the offense on the field with a chance to win and it hasn't worked out. What's it going to take for the offense to get over that hump and win a game late?**
"You've just got to execute in those moments. Each play is its own story. You've got to try your best to execute as well as you can in the context of that story. Sometimes we did today, sometimes we didn't, and that's the NFL."