Buccaneers 20, Texans 19
Q. On that fourth down play, you're rolling left. Do you prefer to roll out left versus right? Does that matter to you at all?
CJ STROUD: No, it does not.
Q. DeMeco talked about some communication challenges. Were those some of the issues when you guys got down in the red zone late in the game?
CJ STROUD: Communication in what way?
Q. He just said there was some communication challenges?
CJ STROUD: I didn't have any communication issues. I thought we split the play pretty clean and we were just lining up. Some get weren't set, so I had to get set on fourth down. Other than that, that's kind of normal.
But I didn't really -- not anything down there that I can remember.
Q. When you had the ball at the one yard line, what went wrong in your opinion there?
CJ STROUD: Just didn't get the ball in the end zone. That's kind of plain, kind of simple. Just I don't know, yeah, we just didn't get the ball in the end zone. That's all I can really think of.
Q. Is it disappointing that ya'll had so many opportunities to win this game and put it away and you weren't able to capitalize on the opportunities tonight?
CJ STROUD: Yeah, it is.
Q. The two games you think it's just kind of been more or less the inability to consistently get into the end zone with the talent you guys do have?
CJ STROUD: It's a young offense. We can make a bunch of excuses but we're just not getting it done. At the end of the day that's all that matters. We are moving the ball pretty well. Just got to put 7 on the board. That's the big difference right now.
So, yeah. Yeah.
Q. CJ, what did you notice on the touchdown pass to Nico?
CJ STROUD: Heck of a catch. Yeah, I thought, you know, did a good job in that first drive just staying down and just staying committed to our plan, not wavering. I thought Nico did a good job just keep running. Corner played it good. I think it was a heck of a catch.
Q. Do you feel like this offense missed Tank's presence and your chemistry right now?
CJ STROUD: We can say a bunch of different things about who is out and who is not. Hig and Jay Noel and J Wat, Hutch, Nic, they done a good job in there. We just got to find ways to get them the ball in space more. Thought Cale did a good job of that today.
You know, it's the bad things that everybody points out but that's the NFL. You can't let guys hang around and get the shot to come back. That's what they'll do. I thought our young guys handled it as best they can. Of course there is always things to clean up. There is no excuse. We just got to make plays.
Q. CJ, what, if anything, that you felt like the Bucs did a lot better after the first two drives after ya'll had that success?
CJ STROUD: Just started pressuring a little more, especially on third down. Just big stunts and slant our D-line in ways. Other than that, like their back end, they just doubled Nico a lot which we kind of presumed they were going to do.
But, yeah, you got to just -- those plays we're going three and out or we're just not sustaining drives, those are the ones that lose us the game. Of course, not -- coming up short on the goal line. That's tough as well and that's evident as well. There is a bunch of different things we can clean up.
Q. Coach said that ya'll need to improve in the running game. Tonight you had some good really plays in the passing game. How do you all get those to take advantage of?
CJ STROUD: Just continue to do it. Continue to play. It's a long season. It's week two. Hopefully we learned our lessons and learn to put teams away and put points on the board.
We can say a bunch of different things, what could have went right. At the end of the day it's about winning games, and those last -- those plays that are in between, those are the plays that you end up winning or losing on in my opinion. That's what we got to get better on: Making more plays and sustaining drives.
Q. As the leader on this team, you've been here before in your rookie season; got off to a slow start. What do you say to your teammates as you guys get ready for next week and try to keep your head up?
CJ STROUD: Yeah, just stay together. Stay committed to one another. Trust in one another. The sun will rise in the morning. It's not the end of the world. At the same time we all get paid to do a job and we got to get those jobs done at a faster rate.
Yeah, I think as a team we got to stay together. Everybody will talk crazy, we suck, we this, we that. At the end of the day we got to stay together and mesh well. We'll have hard conversations, but right now we need more confidence as an offense at least. Just confidently playing better today I think that's a big thing.
We haven't played together, a lot of us, so the more confidence we build I think the better we will be.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports