Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater (10.21.21)
Opening statement:
“Tough loss today. It sucks. Just want to get this thing turned around. We get a couple days off and get some guys healthy and try to do it again in 10 days. Obviously, we have to start better, we have to stay on the field, and do a better job staying on the field. We just cannot wait until the second half. We have to come out playing fast and make our opponents play less. If you watched us today, it was the same story that it has been the last couple of weeks. We just have to get a lot of things fixed. Like I said, we have 10 days to look in the mirror and just reflect on what has been going wrong, reflect on what has been going well and just try to put this thing together. I think we have a nice stretch before our bye and then just lock in.”
On if he was playing compromised due to quad and foot injuries:
“Honestly, I felt like I could go. We will attack the rehab this week. We were aggressive with everything we did and that gave me the chance to go out and play today. We just came up short. We have guys who just fight, fight for different things to try to make this team win. We just came up short.”
On how helpless it was to watch the last 5 minutes of the game and not get the ball back:
“Honestly, we’ve got so much faith in our defense. Those guys work extremely hard stopping the run and playing the pass and different things. Today was just one of those games where things rolled for Cleveland. Our defense, our offense, our special teams all just reflect on this game. Offensively, we will see what we could have done better to stay on the field more in the first half. I’m sure Coach Fangio will talk to the defense about different things, special teams will talk about different things. But overall, as a team we just have to find a way to get this thing going.”
On the interception:
“I was just mad after the throw that I couldn’t get it to him the way I wanted to. The guy just made a play. We had a good concept called. The guy bit down and basically was able to back pedal down, turn, run and make a play on the post. It was just one of those throws when you watch it, it is like, ‘man, like that is a throw I know I can make’ but just did not get it to where I wanted it to.”
On what was said at halftime that resulted in a better rhythm in the second half:
“Honestly, we just discussed a plan to get in rhythm because that is what these games come down to is getting in rhythm. As a passer, a runner, an offense, and a defensive player. We just did a good job of helping me get a rhythm, helping the offensive line and the receivers, everyone, just get in a rhythm.”
On the scoring drives taking up a lot plays and the urgency to score quicker:
“We had timeouts still. Right there you have a sense of urgency but at the same time the important thing to do is just score right there. That’s what we did. We still had timeouts to try to stop them. Each game it comes up different. I think if we were down by more points, we probably would have been in more tempo to try to get down there faster. Like I said, we felt like we had the timeouts to score and get a stop.”
On WR Jerry Jeudy coming back and how that will help the offense:
“Jerry, he will bring a different type of energy to this offense with his big play ability and his ability to separate from defenders. He is decisive with his routes. All of those things, and now you add him in the mix with (WR) Courtland (Sutton), (WR) Tim (Patrick), (TE) Noah (Fant), (WR) Kendall (Hinton) and those guys, it is a great feeling. We can’t wait to get him back. We can’t wait to get some other guys who were banged up healthy and move forward.”
On what the morale is like after losing four games in a row:
“Guys are just staying together and that’s been our message. We got to stay together. It is so easy in this league and in life, when things do not go well, you try to latch on to a group of people who are doing well, having success. Or you try to huddle up into little cliques and point the finger. You do not see that in that locker room. That’s why I respect the men in that locker room. I respect them as men and as players in this game because it is so easy to be negative. It is so easy to blame this person, that person. We all just circle up and say it is on us. The coaches have done the same thing. Coach talked to us after the game and said, ‘hey, it is going to take the players to fix this, it is going to take the coaches to fix this. It is going to take us.’ I’m just proud that as a locker room we are staying together.”
On if there is a sense of urgency to save the season:
“Yeah, there is definitely a sense of urgency not only to save the season but to win. Honestly, we look at it as a marathon and each week is its own race. Or it is a 17-round fight and each week is its own round. The sense of urgency is really just to win. We can’t look 10 weeks down from now, six weeks down from now. We’ve got 10 days to get this thing right. I think we got Washington next so we get another opportunity to go out there and compete, stay together and try to turn this thing around.”
# # #