QB Baker Mayfield (11.3.19)
On why he thinks they struggled in the end zone
“We just didn’t make the plays that were there. I feel like we had a good plan, so did they, but it comes down to just executing.”
On the fourth-and-four on their final offensive drive
“Just trying to get an underneath route coming through. I was expecting some sort of pressure. They like to blitz when it’s a critical down. I think the details of—we have to have the rub route and partially that’s on me. We just have to do our job each play.”
On if he thought WR Odell Beckham Jr. was open on the fourth-and-four
“No, it’s one thing to be able to take a shot like that on a fourth-and-four, but we felt like we had something good drawn up and we should have executed it.”
On the failed quarterback sneak on fourth down
“When I looked over, the ball was crossed. I’m sure the TV copy showed that I turned my body a little bit. The ball was a little bit closer to the measurement than I think what it was portrayed. It’s a tough one. I told [Head Coach] Freddie [Kitchens] to challenge it because I was pretty sure that I had it. He has full trust in me and I said that I got it, but they didn’t have enough evidence to overturn it.”
On if defenses are doing something that’s leading to their red zone struggles
“I’d say teams are playing us a little bit different, we just have to take what’s there. Execution and taking what’s there. They’re not going to give us the one-on-one shots that we had last year, it’s a different team. Teams are playing us differently, so we just have to be able to execute.”
On not coming out with a win after having addressed self-inflicting wounds during the week
“I think that we addressed our problems of the self-inflicted wounds and the stuff that hurt us. I think we were a lot better on penalties, obviously. The pre-snap stuff, guys got lined up and did their job for the most part. Obviously, we’ll look at the tape. That’s the frustrating part, we cleaned up what we said that we were going to address and still didn’t come out with a win. That goes to show we have to be able to do our job and then make the plays when they’re there. It’s the little things that have been getting us beat, and we have to be able to put those behind us. It should be a no-brainer that we have no pre-snap penalties and things like that so we can go out and play and execute.”
On moving forward after falling to 2-6
“Singular focus on the next week ahead. We’ll look at the film and see exactly what happened. Obviously, we know that not getting touchdowns is the biggest problem, but we’ll see exactly why. We’ll address that, and singular focus moving forward. Another AFC opponent next week and a good one at that.”
On needing to get WR Odell Beckham Jr. the ball more
“Yeah, I think we made a step in the right direction even though teams are going to bring coverage over the top. Still find ways to get him the ball. I think, obviously, we see what type of game-changing plays that he can make. We have to continue to try and get him the ball. At the same time when teams do want to take numbers, we have to play the numbers game a little bit. He understands that and he’s frustrated because we’re losing, we all are, so we understand that. To take his quote that he said, he always wants to be the answer and the solution to the problem, so I understand that. I wish that I could be able to help it out more and we’ll continue to find ways to get him the ball.”
On Head Coach Freddie Kitchens’ job security
“It’s a topic for you guys. Within our building we know exactly what’s wrong. We haven’t executed. I think, like I said earlier, we had a good plan we just haven’t executed it. We’ll see how the guys handle it this week, but it’s got to be a singular focus. The preparation the last few games has been unbelievable, so we need to continue that. The type of men that we have, I said it weeks ago, whenever it was, months ago, that we’re going to stick together. We’re going to keep pushing forward, so this is obviously very frustrating but we got to move forward.”
On if he feels they can still turn this season around
“Stats like that are meant to be broken. Guys in our building are going to be highly focused and highly detailed on doing their job, so going forward it’s got to be a singular focus, like I keep saying. You don’t need to look up to work hard and have no regrets about how we attacked and finished the season.”
On what the Broncos defense did to limit RB Nick Chubb
“Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I looked up and saw the amount of rushing yards we had because I felt like we had more. Nick ran very well and ran very hard. The Nick Chubb way that we always see. They did a good job of rolling guys down or keeping safeties low. They did a good job of playing physical up front on critical downs. Other than that, I think we ran the ball well.”
On if he felt like his throws at the beginning of the game we hard and high
“Our receivers came back and said they were coming out a little hot, so I toned it down a little bit. That’s just something that when they’re there, the plays need to be made, but I understand that from them.”
On Broncos QB Brandon Allen’s performance
“He played well and he managed the game very well. Made the throws, the touchdowns, some of his passes—it was great. I think he saw the field well. At times, he delivered the critical passes that they needed and they ran the ball well with [RB] Phillip Lindsay. Obviously, [WR] Courtland Sutton played well on the outside. He did a great job, so I commend him for that.”
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