Bengals 34, Panthers 24
Q. Can you just talk about your relationship with Diontae and the trust level you have with him?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, it's something that Diontae has been really good at. He's been able to win quick at the line of scrimmage, and just trusting him to be in the right spot. He's been able to find different ways to get open. It's a guy I've got a ton of trust in.
Q. Your coaching staff wants to go for it on 4th downs, fake punt, opening drive 4th and goal wants to go for it. What does that say to you guys, whether you execute it or not?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, we're trying to do everything we can to win the game. I mean, I love the mindset, the mentality. We're attacking. We're doing what we think we need to do to give us the best chance to have success.
I mean, I love the mindset that they went in with today.
Q. Obviously this game is a lot about momentum. How much did you lose today and how can you carry it into next week?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, we didn't lose anything today. This was an NFL football game. It came down to a couple plays that made the difference, and so for us, we're going to go back, look at this tape, and there's going to be things that we said, man, if we could have just done that, the outcome could have been different. But yeah, there's no momentum. I felt like we fought and we just came up short today.
Q. How do you balance that kind of gulf between feeling like you found some things you can hang your hat on versus those couple plays you referenced that you've got to clean up?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I mean, I think for us, we're going to go back and look at a couple opportunities that we would have had that would have kept drives alive or just gained some yardage on early downs, at least offensively.
For us, at least we're putting something out that we know that we can build on. If we just do a couple little things better, then it changes the whole outcome of the game.
Q. Diontae referenced it feeling like a different team. How much of that energy do you feel?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I definitely feel it. I think just what this team has been through the last several years, I mean, we were in this game until the very end. I think for us, it's like, all right, how can we change that. When we get to be in these moments where we have a chance to win, go drive down and win the game.
I think that's what we're trying to find. We know we're close, so it's something that we've just got to find a way to get it done.
Q. Dave just came in here and said he was pleased with how Xavier played. What do you take from Xavier's game today and how can a game like this help his confidence going forward?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I thought X did some good things. He's really good when the ball is in his hand. We've got to find different ways that we can put him in position to make some of these plays because I think everybody knows the talent that he has.
Q. There were a couple drops today from various receivers, younger receivers. As a veteran quarterback who has been in the league for a long time, how do you instill confidence in those receivers even though they did make a drop, next play they make a big --
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I think it's just the communication. As we get going, it's like, the ball is going to come right back to you, so you're going to get another opportunity. I mean, keep trusting that they're going to make the next one. You can't shy away from it.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports