Pittsburgh - 30, Cincinnati - 37
Q. How did that one feel for you?
JOE BURROW: That was awesome, that was awesome. One of my favorite wins since I've been here.
Q. How come?
JOE BURROW: A lot of adversity. AFC North game. Bad weather, cold, windy. We fought through. We found a way to win.
Q. What was the difference on that 93-yard drive? What was going through your mind on that drive?
JOE BURROW: Man, guys stepped up and made plays. TB, two big plays. Protection was great. Samaje, you know, fighting through tackles to get another touchdown. A lot of guys stepped up today.
Q. How would you describe the connection you have with Samaje? It just seems that you guys have a good chemistry.
JOE BURROW: Samaje's just -- one, obviously, he's a great player. He steps up whenever his opportunity presents itself. And two, he's -- you know, one of those locker room guys that everybody talks about. Great in the locker room. Great guy to talk to. Culture builder. He's fun to play with.
Q. What do you like about Trent Irwin?
JOE BURROW: Man, that guy, ever since I've been here, he's in there foam rolling, catching tennis balls. You know, he hasn't had a ton of opportunities, but every single time that his opportunity comes, he makes a play.
I couldn't be happier for that guy. He just continues to show up when his opportunity presents itself. And, you know, those are the kind of guys that Bengals football and the Bengals organization is all about.
Q. Can you talk about Tee Higgins performance today? And Zac told us that he was very communicative with him on the sideline where he was telling him what routes he wanted because of what he was seeing on the field? Do you think that emergence of Tee kind of becoming a more mature into his own receiver?
JOE BURROW: Tee's -- you know what you're going to get out of Tee every single week. He's a big time player, No. 1 in this league that works hard, understands his craft and understands what he needs to do every week to get himself ready to play.
You know, I wish I could say that I was surprised about his performance, but this is what is expected of Tee at this point. He just continues to get better and better.
Q. Joe, you said this is one of your favorite wins since you've been here. 92 and 93-yard drives to touchdowns to do that. What was it about those two drives that stuck out to you?
JOE BURROW: Man, just all day, just overcoming adversity, fighting through, finding ways to get yards, get first downs, put points on the board. Two interceptions that, you know, obviously, not much I can do about those.
TJ Watt's an unbelievable player. He just continues to make plays like that. And then another tipped ball. They do a good job getting theirs hands up, understanding drops and reads. Just a lot of adversity today, a lot of great things from a lot of people.
Q. How did you counter their pressure? You know, you didn't -- it looked like you were -- you know, compared to the opener, it was a lot of time --
JOE BURROW: Yeah, our guys did a great job upfront. You know, we -- we're a drop-back team. And when you drop back as many times as we do, you're going to have a lot of one-on-one's upfront and those guys won consistently all day.
Q. Joe, I know you're not much of a stats guy. But you matched Kurt Warner for third quickest to 10,000 career passing yards. What's it mean to be in the record books with a guy that I know you know well and someone that I know you have a relationship with and a guy that's in the Hall of Fame?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, something that I'm proud of. You know, I think that shows the kind of player I've been since I've been here. I've got a lot of great people around me, obviously. Great coaches, great players. So it was a team effort, but that's one I'm proud of.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOE BURROW: (Laughing). I'll keep that one on the field. Maybe I'll keep that one to myself.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOE BURROW: Yeah, you weren't in here yet, but I said, you know, this is one of my favorite wins since I've been here. Just a lot of adversity that we fought through. Cold weather, windy, that, you know, we were able to really throw the ball around in. And so, I was proud of that.
Q. How much more momentum do you feel like you guys have right now?
JOE BURROW: You know, I think we're playing as good as anybody. We're hitting our stride offensively. Still left some points out there. There's always room to improve, obviously. But the last couple weeks, you know, apart from that Monday night game, we've been pretty lights out.
Q. No Ja'Marr for the game and then Joe out for the second half. How much did that change the playbook? And what does it say about you guys that you're still able to be as effective as you were?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, it really doesn't change the playbook much. Obviously, you know, Ja'Marr not being out there is a big loss just because of how good he is.
But, you know, Trenton Irwin stepped up. Trent Taylor comes in and does a great job. Mike Thomas comes in and does a great job. And then TB and Tee continue to do what they do. It doesn't change much, but it's always nice when you have that guy out there.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOE BURROW: Yeah, we -- I mean, we have great scheme. And we have guys that really understand the scheme. And so, we can -- we have so many reps invested in all these plays that we can make adjustments quickly on a sideline. And that's a testament to the guys and their hard work.
Q. It was a win that kind of showed your whole roster. When you woke up this morning and somebody said you were going to have four touchdown passes, three to Samaje and one to Trenton, I mean, what does this mean? What does it show about the back of your roster?
JOE BURROW: Just guys that work really, really hard and step up when their opportunity comes. You know, you never -- never know when it's going to come.
And Trenton Irwin and Samaje are two guys that work hard day in and day out. Special teams, you know, invested in their craft and can get better every single day no matter whether they're getting the reps or whether they're not. Staying after it, getting their opportunities. So I'm so happy for those guys.
Q. What is your favorite pass you made today?
JOE BURROW: The out route to Trenton Irwin over there. I think that shows the kind of confidence that he's playing with. A lot of guys would take that ball and go out of bounds and be happy with that. But he cut it back and got, you know, 25/30 extra. I think that shows his confidence that he's playing with.
Q. On that 93-yard drive, when that drive starts you're back on your own seven, are you a message guy? Is there a message to deliver in the huddle before that drive starts?
JOE BURROW: No, we knew what we had to do. We were up by, I think, four at that point, and we had to go down and score. It's always tough when you're backed up like that, especially with that defensive line and this crowd that we were playing in front of. But that's a bigtime drive.
Q. 93-yard drive and 92-yard drive, I think you guys faced one third down on those drives, period. Does that just illustrate how in rhythm you guys looked tonight?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, we've been really good on third down all year. And, obviously, prefer not to have that many. That means that you're being efficient on first and second down and moving the chains.
Q. I think the one you converted was to Tee, it was a third and four. That seemed to be the play of the game going one-on-one with a safety, I think. Can you --
JOE BURROW: Can't picture that one. But Tee stepped up all day.
Q. How much did your defense help you in the second half, getting three outs and getting you guys right back out on the field?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, they got us the ball when they needed to. Our pass rushers continue to give pressure and make it tough on quarterbacks. But I will say that I think Kenny did a really good job today. I was very impressed with the way that he played.
Q. Joe, Trenton said he wanted to do a dance after his first NFL touchdown but he wasn't able to. What is it about him and you were one of the guys that rushed to celebrate with him. What is it about Trenton that makes him so popular with his teammates?
JOE BURROW: Just because everyone sees the work that he puts in. He's in there long after everybody's gone, you know, working on his body, working on his craft, catching tennis balls, he's on the foam roller, he's always in the weight room.
So when you have a guy like that that finds success, you know, everyone's super happy for him.
Q. What was going on with the swing passes? Why were the swing passes -- I think two of them that went for touchdowns?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, we had a great scheme. Samaje, you know, the first one is not the -- didn't plan out the way we expected it. But, you know, that's sometimes how it works.
And checkdowns end up being touchdowns sometimes just because, you know, you see a defense that maybe you didn't expect on a play that you schemed up. And Samaje went and made plays.
Q. (Question concerning Evan McPherson.)
JOE BURROW: No, he's -- I think everybody expects him to make every kick.
Q. You had 11 straight completions in the second half on those touchdown drives. Are you cognizant of that in the moment or is that a reflection of the synch that you, the offensive linemen, and receivers' work that they put in?
JOE BURROW: No, you're not really thinking about that at the time. But, you know, it's great when it shakes out that way. But sometimes it doesn't and you got to -- sometimes you've got to throw the ball away and, you know, get out of harm's way. But when you have a stretch like that, it's -- you know, you're in rhythm.
Q. Kenny Pickett is kind of struggling to get wins in his rookie season. What advice would you have for him or any first-year quarterback that's starting that's kind of struggling to find his way as a first-year starter?
JOE BURROW: I thought he did great today. You know, build off that momentum that he showed today. He's got some young guys around him that he can build some chemistry with. And I think, you know, he did a great job today. I told him that after the game, continue to build off of this one.
Q. How good was Jonah today?
JOE BURROW: Man, good. Jonah was locked in all day. And, you know, when you're going up against TJ Watt like LC was all day and we drop back the way that we are, and we didn't really help him that much.
There weren't a lot of ribs and chips. So those guys were unbelievable. TJ's going to get one every now and then, but LC was lights out all day.
Q. You mentioned the Watt pick. I mean, was that a play that you thought was humanly possible when you threw it?
JOE BURROW: Man, that guy -- I mean, I've never seen plays like that made before from a defensive linemen. And he's made two against me this year. I would love to say that there's something I can do about that, but there's just nothing I can do about that.
Q. You can't work on that in the offseason, huh?
JOE BURROW: No. (Laughing.)
Q. That first touchdown you threw to Samaje on the screen, I mean, what do you think of the blocking? How much did that set the tone for the offensive line just moving forward from that point on?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, our guys are great at those screens. We've got big, athletic guys upfront that can get out and move get out in space and get a body on a body. And then Samaje is also great at those screens. He showed it in the AFC championship last year and he's shown it all year we love those plays.
Q. Same play?
JOE BURROW: Different play, different play.
Q. (Question concerning Joe Burrow's sweatshirt.)
JOE BURROW: Oh, yeah, you like this one? Pretty comfy too.
Q. Favorite show? One of them?
JOE BURROW: Definitely one of them.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports