Bengals 34, Panthers 24
Q. Congratulations!
JOE BURROW: Looks like you get the first question.
Q. I guess so. The swing pass at the end of the half, probably not ideal, but you made a play.
JOE BURROW: Yeah. I trusted Zach to go make that play. I thought he had enough space, maybe not my best decision but it worked out for us.
Q. That's kind of the way your offense is. You have so many different options, all these guys making explosive plays. It's about as diverse as you've been, isn't it?
JOE BURROW: I would have liked to have been able to finish it off, on that fourth quarter on our own, but we made enough plays to win today.
Q. How big was the 130 yards rushing >how big of a deal is that?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, if we can do that all year, we're going to be one of the best offenses in the league, consistently. So credit to offensive line and those running backs. Hopefully we can keep that going.
Q. Do you feel like because of that running game you had control at the end, when you were trying to bleed the clock? Did you feel pretty confident you could?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, I felt confident. Yeah, I wish we would have been able to finish it off on our own, in that fourth, but we got it done.
Q. (Away from mic.)
JOE BURROW: That was an unbelievable play. He continues to make incredible plays like that. That's just a reminder for me, you've just gotta find ways to get him the ball.
Q. You had a lot of time in that throw. It looked like the backside opened up a little bit. You had time all day.
JOE BURROW: They gave us a pressure look and dropped out of it, brought one of those guys, and the offensive line did a great job on that play. I could have sat back there for another five seconds if I wanted to.
Q. For so many years we asked you about your offensive line, and it wasn't good enough for you. Do you feel like this is the best offensive line since you've got to Cincinnati?
JOE BURROW: I'm not going to go comparing people but excited with where they are at. Really happy with how Mims played today. That was really encouraging. I knew he was going to play well today, but to have that performance against a rusher like that was impressive, so he's going to continue to get better and better.
Q. In this league, it's a next-man-up league. You have a lot of guys that have stepped up for you. Four games in, both these football teams had a lot of injuries out there, and a lot of guys were stepping up, weren't they?
JOE BURROW: That's life in the NFL. It's going to happen, so if you're on the roster you've got to be ready to go because you never know when your number is going to get called, and it usually will get called.
Q. What lead you to talking before the game?
JOE BURROW: Just felt like I had something to say. I'm be the going to go out of my way and be somebody that I'm not, but when I have something to say I will definitely step up and say it.
Q. What was your message?
JOE BURROW: I'll keep it in there.
Q. When did you decide to do that?
JOE BURROW: I don't know. When we got here today.
Q. Have you thought about in the hotel or bus ride over and thought, oh --
JOE BURROW: Just felt right.
Q. It's not the first time you've done it, is it?
JOE BURROW: I'm not a big pregame speech guy. I get my mind right and try to stay as calm as possible, because emotions are high, pregame. It's an intense league, so I always try to keep myself as low and as even keeled as possible.
Q. How important was this game for you? Did you feel like you guys really needed that?
JOE BURROW: I would say that.
Q. How big was the stop at the one-foot line, defense in that game?
JOE BURROW: Set the tone for the rest of the game. They were driving but they stepped up big on that, those four straight plays, and then we got a couple first downs, able to give them a break on the sideline. Weren't able to go 99, but we were able to get it out of our own end and flip the field, so that was a big part of the game.
Q. How much do you feel like Erik All has been able to do, passing and running --
JOE BURROW: He's going to continue to play a big part. He's a really big blocker, an athletic guy, catches it really well. Just kind of a jack of all trades for us, so he's going to continue to carve out his role, and it will be a bigger role going forward.
Q. Did they adjust? Looked like you went to T a lot, Jamar you hit a few times, did they adjust and give you the run a little bit, take the pass away?
JOE BURROW: You know, they mixed it up all day. It was about where are the safeties, what coverages am I going to get, and where was I going to go with the ball, because they were mixing it up pretty good.
Q. What did you see on the interpretation and the shot of you afterward watching it, you looked really angry. What did you see there?
JOE BURROW: That was a miscommunication between me and Ja'Marr on a scramble drill. I'm throwing it to him and as I'm throwing it, he starts rubbing to open field so I don't blame him for that. That was an unfortunate miscommunication. I wouldn't have done anything different. Sometimes stuff like that happens.
Q. Where did you go from here?
JOE BURROW: Gotta go win. Enjoy this one for five hours, go to sleep, come back tomorrow and get better and move on to Baltimore.
Q. The way you avoided pressure on that throw to Ja'Marr, was that one of your better --
JOE BURROW: Yeah, that one -- I was excited about that one. That was why I was so frustrated, because I felt good about that.
Q. (Away from mic.)
JOE BURROW: Yeah, you might call me sneaky athletic, Hobbs.
Q. You got stepped on early, didn't you?
JOE BURROW: Yeah, didn't feel great but nothing crazy.
Q. You were still able to do the work?
JOE BURROW: We'll see what it looks like tomorrow, might be a little bruised but nothing crazy.
Q. Coming in 0-3, and you probably knew there was only team since the merger that started 0-4 and went to the playoffs. The pressure coming in, how big of a relief is it to get a win?
JOE BURROW: It was a big game. We knew we had to come and get one, especially with Baltimore coming to town.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOE BURROW: That's exciting. By no means has it been perfect, still got a lot of room to improve, I've still got a lot of room to improve. Come back tomorrow, watch the tape, get better, and come back Wednesday, have a great practice and continue to improve our skills. Thanks, guys.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports