Quarterback
Was there any key to bouncing back from last week or just another week, another big game?
JOE BURROW: We just executed better at the end of the day. Tee (Higgins) set it off, set the tone for the day. Those two big plays early kind of set the tone for, number one, how the day was going and, number two, how they were going to play us. I think they had a plan, and then those two plays happened and they had to change their plan. That’s why Tee is who he is and why we value him so much, he just makes plays like that.
What makes him so special in those contested-catch situations and how has it evolved for him because seems like he’s making all of them now. They’re 90-10 balls almost.
JOE BURROW: He’s big, long, strong, physical. He’s grown up over the last — first year he wasn’t making a ton of those plays, and then we come back in 2021 and he’s made most of them since. That’s a credit to how serious he takes it and how much he works and likes to improve.
The first one was a go, what was the second one?
JOE BURROW: Second one basically turned into that too. Basically turned into that.
HB Chase Brown has talked a lot about his development, trying to be like a receiver back. What have you seen especially obviously today of him developing in that area?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, really provides us a lot of versatility. We’ve been able to put two backs on the field, because we feel good about Samaje (Perine) and obviously feel good about Chase (Brown). It provides challenges for the defense, how they’re going to take that, how they’re going to play that with their personnel, what coverages they’re going to play with that, because if I was a defense, I wouldn’t feel great about a linebacker covering Chase in space. He proved that on his receiving touchdown today. Another guy who just loves to improve, Chase’s first year, I’m not sure he caught a ball in practice. He came out the next year, and he’s catching everything. Really took that to heart and has improved, turning into the player he is now.
The play to Sample on the third down, when you’re throwing across your body, are you thinking maybe I shouldn’t do this or are you thinking he was open?
JOE BURROW: I was really just trying to throw it away, and I knew Drew (Sample) was over there somewhere. I was going to throw it to the ground, then I see Drew wide open there. I just popped it over to him and then he did the rest, it was crazy.
What was the feeling like on the sideline in the third quarter, defense getting stops and you guys felt like constantly running back out to go down and score? That was like the epitome of complementary football.
JOE BURROW: That’s how it’s supposed to look like. That’s what it’s supposed to feel like, so we’ve got to keep that feeling going the next couple of weeks and build some momentum.
When Head Coach Zac Taylor looked at you for QB Joe Flacco, you had obviously done enough to win the game at that point, but did you want to stay in?
JOE BURROW: No, I was good. I was good.
How fun is it to be out there with all the weapons? They were all out there today.
JOE BURROW: Yeah, you just see how it changes how defenses play and all the different things that they’re worried about and all the different looks that we showed. It provides us more versatility, more things we can do, personnel packages, it just really opens it up for us.
Does it even feel like some of the highs today and then against Buffalo, were even better than some of the things you were doing last season?
JOE BURROW: I feel like today and against Buffalo, we were really consistent. How they chose to play us today felt a lot like 2021. We hit our plays down the field when they came, but for the most part, we were getting out quick, getting it underneath and our guys were making plays after catch. That really was critical. When we get the opportunities, we have to hit the to scare defenses that are playing those kind of coverages, and then we can start to get our pass game going with all the zones that we like to attack, and thought our coaches do such a good job providing those concepts for us and teaching them, showing us what to look at and how we have to play each play.
It looked like they were flinching there a lot early, did you get them out? How did you target their defense?
JOE BURROW: I just think that Tee’s two plays early on really just set the tone. Like you said, they were pressuring a little bit early, and Tee makes those two plays and then they can’t pressure as much. When they do, they have to play different coverages behind it so that lets us get the ball out quickly in space. So it just started with those two for Tee.
Like you did today with Drew Sample, we’ve seen you evade pressure like that dozens of times, more than that, throughout your career. In that moment, what are you thinking? What are you feeling? What’s going on in your head?
JOE BURROW: I just started to move a little bit, and then I was like, we’re in field goal range, I’ve kind of got to throw it away at this point. I was trying to find a place that I could dump it and live to see another down, and Drew (Sample) pops right there. Great job by him finding the space and realizing what’s happening. Drew’s improved so much at that over the course of his career. He had another good one on the – I scrambled left and ended up hitting Ja’Marr (Chase), but Drew had a great reaction on that one too. I could have thrown it to him as well for a touchdown, it would have been a little more difficult throw, so I chose the other one. But Drew’s just really embraced his role in the last couple of years and continued to improve and carve out a bigger role based on how he’s performed.
Head Coach Zac Taylor talked about killer instinct and kind of complimented you guys on that today. I’m curious how important that is for you specifically to kind of keep that rolling even when your team is eliminated from the playoffs?
JOE BURROW: When you have a chance to put it away or go up two scores or three scores, you have to take those opportunities because teams in the NFL are too good to let them hang around. Guys on the other side of the field are going to make plays, that’s how this league goes. When you have a chance to do it, you’ve got to take advantage.
How much fun was today for you?
JOE BURROW: It was fun. I’m having fun playing football. Not playing football is not fun. Sitting in the locker room rehabbing all day, that’s not why you do it. This is why you do it right here.
Coming back, I think this is your second-best passer rating, a week after you stepped up and said, hey, put this on me. How personally satisfying is this to bounce back the way that you did?
JOE BURROW: I thought I played a clean game. I thought I protected the ball for the most part. I got greedy with one over the middle, but that’s how I have to play – play within the scheme and then take my opportunities to try to make a play when I can. But going to limit that for the most part at this point, I was just happy with how we all executed today.
You’re the fifth fastest quarterback to throw for 20,000 passing yards in your career, and you’re the third player in your first 75 games to throw for 150 or more passing touchdowns. Does that mean anything to you at all? I’m not sure if you knew that.
JOE BURROW: I missed a full season of games too, so it should have been more.
