Bengals

Cincinnati has officially been eliminated from postseason contention following its Week 15 loss to the Ravens, leading to questions about job security for the coaching staff and front office. Bengals QB Joe Burrow offered his support and backed up those running the organization despite another disappointing year.

“A lot of confidence,” Burrow said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I know how hard people work at it, and we have the right people. It starts with players playing better, and today it was me.”

Although the Bengals’ defense started horribly, HC Zac Taylor believes they have shown tangible improvements on that side of the ball since the bye week.

“Nobody wants to hear it, but I do think there are things on defense that have really improved, particularly since the bye,” Taylor said. “And there are some things that they’re improving on that we’re going to continue to build off of. So I think that’s tangible, that’s showing up. Anybody who’s watching the game can see that that’s improvement being made and there’s a lot of young players that are participating in that, second-, third-year players that are showing growth through the season.”

Browns

Browns DE Myles Garrett said sitting out after tweaking his hip was never in question. He was determined to return and play.

“I’m going to play through pretty much anything,” Garrett said, via PFT. “Tweaked my hip or something in that area, so I was feeling that for the rest of the game. But as I said, we’re just going to keep continuing to push through because we’ve still got something to play for. As long as there’s games on the schedule, I’m going to go out there and try to win.”

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, Garrett is still playing as if the team’s season is on the line.

“You’re taking one game at a time,” Garrett said. “You don’t look at the record, look at the man beside you. It could be his last game. It could be his last game in the NFL, last game here. It could be your last game. Don’t go out with a whimper. Don’t go gently into the night. You keep on fighting, and you want to be remembered for your very last play, your very last game, and you want to go out on the best note possible because that’s your legacy with your team, with your family, and for you personally. When you lay your head down at night, you want to be proud of something. So go make yourself proud, go make your family proud, go make your team proud.”

Steelers

The Steelers took down the Dolphins in Week 15 behind a season-high passer rating from QB Aaron Rodgers with two touchdowns. Rodgers talked about his comfort level playing in the cold after a game with kickoff temperatures close to 16 degrees. 

“Probably the cold weather,” Rodgers said, via NFL.com’s Grant Gordon. “I’m a California kid, but I’ve always enjoyed playing in the cold weather. I feel like there can be some advantages to the offense, especially when you’re playing on a field that’s a little beat up or super slick like Green Bay became over the years. So, I’ve always enjoyed that. I’m gifted with hands that can handle a cold ball and a ball that’s a little slick when the weather gets cold like this. So, I’ve always been able to throw pretty good, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. There was some nice catches. There was some good adjustments. There were some dink and dunks. But I knew I needed to be efficient today.”

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