Speaker 1: I get everybody on Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast. The I Can't stop the Feelance.
Speaker 1: We're just dance dance, Dan Can't stop the fee Lance
Speaker 1: or just dance Dance Dance addition, as the Bengals clinched
Speaker 1: the AFC Norths with a heart stopping, come from behind
Speaker 1: win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Coming up, you'll hear
Speaker 1: radio replays from the win, postgame comments from players and coaches,
Speaker 1: and analysis from my broadcast partner Dave Lapham. Then, in
Speaker 1: this week's fun Facts segment, it's an entertaining addition with
Speaker 1: the Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement Elizabeth Blackburn, the
Speaker 1: first person to ever bring up the astronomer Galileo in
Speaker 1: one of my fun Facts interviews. The Bengals Booth Podcast
Speaker 1: is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play Next
Speaker 1: Level Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the App Store
Speaker 1: and Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that you
Speaker 1: can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right
Speaker 1: to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you
Speaker 1: get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Marlena van
Speaker 1: Huss Marlena sang the national anthem on Sunday, and for
Speaker 1: my money, nobody does it better. The twenty six year old,
Speaker 1: who was born blind, began singing and playing the piano
Speaker 1: at age two and has the voice of an angel.
Speaker 1: So Marlena, if you ever want to sing the first
Speaker 1: line of a popular song to begin this podcast, it
Speaker 1: would be an honor to have you. Now, let's get
Speaker 1: to Sunday's game. It didn't start well for the Bengals
Speaker 1: after the two teams traded punts on their opening drives.
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes through a pair of touchdown passes to give
Speaker 1: Kansas City a fourteen nothing lead. Tyreek Hill motions and
Speaker 1: lines up in the slot to the right. Mahomes with
Speaker 1: a play action fake. He's going to air it out.
Speaker 1: Teep down Field, caught in the end zone for the touchdown,
Speaker 1: reeled in by DeMarcus Robinson. Mahomes fakes a handoff. He's
Speaker 1: back to throw short pass, has caught at the goal
Speaker 1: line Travis Kelsey with a touchdown catch. The Bengals were
Speaker 1: down by two touchdowns in the first quarter and needed
Speaker 1: a spark. Jamar Chase provided it on second down in
Speaker 1: seven from their own twenty eight, trailing fourteen nothing. First quarter,
Speaker 1: Burrow catches a shotgun snap, drops back three steps, throws,
Speaker 1: got a man wide open at the forty. It is caught.
Speaker 1: Chase the barfield come right away to the forty. The
Speaker 1: chegs thirty two, chege twenty the ten, the five touchdown,
Speaker 1: Bengals seventy two yards Burrow to Chase. The throw from
Speaker 1: Burrow covered twelve yards. Jamar ran for the final sixty
Speaker 1: after the catch, and it couldn't have come in a
Speaker 1: better time. According to Zach Taylor, I would agree with
Speaker 1: you there just because it was it was just pretty
Speaker 1: a stand or third down play. He ran what we
Speaker 1: call pressure route ten to twelve yards speedout, caught it
Speaker 1: as more of a cover two inside hole shot, and
Speaker 1: then put his foot in the ground and outran the
Speaker 1: whole defense for touchdown. Are you know? And you can't
Speaker 1: coach that, that's just that's just Jamar Chase being Jamar Chase.
Speaker 1: But a few minutes later the Chiefs answered with Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes being Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs at their own thirty five
Speaker 1: crowd getting into it. Mahomes back to throw, has time,
Speaker 1: He's gonna fire deep down field and it is caught
Speaker 1: at the Bengals thirty and running out of bounds with
Speaker 1: a huge gain as McCole Hardman at the Cincinnati eleven
Speaker 1: yard line, he's chased out by Hilton. That fifty three
Speaker 1: yard pass led to a one yard touchdown run by
Speaker 1: Darryl Williams to put the Chiefs back on top by fourteen,
Speaker 1: but not for long. First and ten from the eighteen
Speaker 1: Burrow throwing it toward the end zone, Chase feats his
Speaker 1: man shoulder throw, touchdown Bengals as Jamar Chase goes into
Speaker 1: the Gritty Dance for the second time in the first half,
Speaker 1: and the Bengals answer again. The inventor of the dance,
Speaker 1: Alan Gritty Davis, was in attendance as Jamar's guest. That
Speaker 1: touchdown made it twenty one fourteen, but in the first half,
Speaker 1: the Bengals couldn't stop Mahomes. He led the Chiefs on
Speaker 1: their fourth straight touchdown drive, ending with another one yard
Speaker 1: run by Williams that made it twenty eight fourteen. With
Speaker 1: two eighteen left and a half before the game, the
Speaker 1: Bengals won the toss and elected to defer, giving them
Speaker 1: the chance to end the first half with points before
Speaker 1: opening the second half by scoring again. They got three
Speaker 1: in the final minute of the half. McPherson is set
Speaker 1: the snap to put down the swing of the right
Speaker 1: leg and it is beautiful. A forty six yard field
Speaker 1: goal by Evan McPherson made it an eleven point deficit
Speaker 1: at halftime. Not ideal, but it could have been worse.
Speaker 1: Here's Zach Taylor. We weathered the storm. We didn't think
Speaker 1: this was going to be easy. You probably don't think
Speaker 1: that you're gonna shut the Chiefs out. They're gonna make plays,
Speaker 1: and they've got some of the premier guys at those positions.
Speaker 1: And in a lot of the plays they made the
Speaker 1: first half, you know, he created some We were good
Speaker 1: initially in coverage and he created some time and they
Speaker 1: made some plays down the field, and that was kind
Speaker 1: of a message a halftime is they've made some great plays.
Speaker 1: We've been in pretty good position, they've made some outstanding plays.
Speaker 1: So our time's gonna come. We just gonna calm down,
Speaker 1: keep putting the pressure on on offensive scorn points and
Speaker 1: let our defense kind of get settled down a little bit.
Speaker 1: And that's what they did, and ultimately that's how we
Speaker 1: won the game. On their third play of the second half,
Speaker 1: the Burrow to Chase combination proved deadly again. Burrow back
Speaker 1: to throw, good protection, fires deep down the stee Chase
Speaker 1: one open sprinting down feet of the twenty the ten
Speaker 1: touchdown BEng on real sixty nine yards Burrow with his
Speaker 1: second long touchdown of the day to Jamar Chase had
Speaker 1: his third overall the Nubau Uno, a seventy two yarder
Speaker 1: in the first quarter and that sixty nine yarder in
Speaker 1: the third. The Chiefs tried to frequently blitz Burrow and
Speaker 1: play man coverage against Chase, a strategy that failed miserably.
Speaker 1: Here's Burrow. You know, if you're gonna flame one on one,
Speaker 1: you know a lot of time, it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: long day for you. And now he's a great player.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be a great player for for a long time.
Speaker 1: Great person too. He doesn't care if he gets two
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty yards and three touchdowns or if he
Speaker 1: gets zero yards, and everyone else, you know, makes all
Speaker 1: the all the yards. So great guy, having your team.
Speaker 1: The Bengals trailed twenty twenty four going to the fourth
Speaker 1: quarter and put together their longest drive of the day,
Speaker 1: an eighty six yard march that ended with burrows fourth
Speaker 1: touchdown pass shotgun snap, Burrow retreats looking, throws into the
Speaker 1: back of the end zone. Yea, Tyler Boyds got it.
Speaker 1: Ye touchdown Bengals. Hey steer the back pylon. Tyler Boyd
Speaker 1: with great footwork. And now he sits up in the
Speaker 1: stands and flocks his boat biceps. Has the Bengals take
Speaker 1: the lead for the first time today. That's just field awareness,
Speaker 1: that's body control, and on top of everything else, that
Speaker 1: is just a perfect throw by number nine. After throwing
Speaker 1: for five hundred twenty five yards and four touchdowns last week,
Speaker 1: Burrow followed it up with four forty six and four
Speaker 1: more tds. In the process, he broke Andy Dalton's team
Speaker 1: records for passing yards and touchdowns in a season. After
Speaker 1: the game, Zach Taylor was asked if he could put
Speaker 1: into words what Burrow means to the franchise. No, I can't.
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody can. You know, he's we had
Speaker 1: great expectations for him, and so far as say, he's
Speaker 1: exceeded the expectations. And of course he's got championships on
Speaker 1: his brain. He's not about winning big regular season games.
Speaker 1: You know, I know that that's that's why he's here.
Speaker 1: He's a he was always playing for championships in high school,
Speaker 1: winning championships in college, and his expectation has always been
Speaker 1: to elevate this franchise to be able to compete for
Speaker 1: championships here. And it's not going to be easy. M
Speaker 1: We've got a lot of work to do. We're not
Speaker 1: even close yet to doing all those great things, but
Speaker 1: certainly a big step in the right direction today. And
Speaker 1: then there's no question that Joe is at the forefront
Speaker 1: of leadership on this team, and this team jumps on
Speaker 1: his back and he'll carry us as far as at him.
Speaker 1: The Bengals had a thirty one twenty eight lead, but
Speaker 1: there were nearly twelve minutes remaining, and after punting on
Speaker 1: both of their possessions in the third quarter, the Chiefs
Speaker 1: drove to the Bengal sixteen before getting stopped on third
Speaker 1: and five. They settled for a field goal to tied
Speaker 1: the game at thirty one. The Bengals got the ball
Speaker 1: back with six minutes to go and Burrow took charge.
Speaker 1: Burrow extends the hands, Here comes a blitz. He's back
Speaker 1: to throw, He's gonna fire down the sideline. He chase
Speaker 1: those up and over his defender makes the catch for
Speaker 1: another huge game. He had two oh one before that
Speaker 1: catch and reels in another big play before going out
Speaker 1: abounds at the twenty four of Kansas City Ward in
Speaker 1: coverage and Jamar Chase is a man among boys. That
Speaker 1: thirty five yard pass put the Bengals well within field
Speaker 1: goal range, but a holding penalty and a sack cost
Speaker 1: them seventeen yards and made it third and forever, third
Speaker 1: down in twenty seven at the forty one of KSEC
Speaker 1: thirty one, all is the score. Here comes a blitz.
Speaker 1: Burrow is going to throw it four Chase. Chase has
Speaker 1: got it. He's got it and goes out the boat
Speaker 1: for the first down. Real unreal. At the twelve yard
Speaker 1: time he beat char various forward and now Jamar Chase
Speaker 1: is getting close to Chad Johnson's all time record for
Speaker 1: receiving yards in a game. Chad's record was two sixty
Speaker 1: and Jamar broke it with eleven catches for two sixty six,
Speaker 1: including one hundred and five yards after the catch. He
Speaker 1: also set a new record for receiving yards in a
Speaker 1: season by a rookie in the Super Bowl Era with
Speaker 1: one thousand, four hundred twenty nine. That's twenty nine yards
Speaker 1: more than the fourteen hundred posted by his former LSU
Speaker 1: teammate Justin Jefferson last year. On Draft night, Jamar said
Speaker 1: he was going to break every receiving record the Bengals have,
Speaker 1: and it looks like he wasn't kidding around. I mean,
Speaker 1: I know I could do it. I mean something, you know,
Speaker 1: if you put him onto it, then you can do it,
Speaker 1: you know, And that's what I wanted to do. I
Speaker 1: came in here with that plan. My rouda donna came
Speaker 1: in with that plan, and I'm gonna stick with it.
Speaker 1: I'm just I just gotta keep working. Still a long
Speaker 1: way to go. After the game, Chase was shot to
Speaker 1: learn that he had seven more receiving yards than Mahomes
Speaker 1: had passing yards. I don't think I did that in
Speaker 1: a way I did. Oh sorry, sorry, excuse him up.
Speaker 1: Apology accepted. After Chase's final catch of the day, three
Speaker 1: straight Joe Mixon runs gave the Bengals a first and
Speaker 1: goal at the one with two minutes to go. Burrow
Speaker 1: tried a quarterback sneak and got stopped. He tried another
Speaker 1: and got stoned again. The Bengals handed it to Mixon
Speaker 1: and he didn't get in. It was fourth and goal
Speaker 1: inside the one, and rather than kick a field goal
Speaker 1: to take the lead, Zach Taylor went for it and
Speaker 1: a pass to Mixon didn't work. He got tackled inside
Speaker 1: the one, but there were offsetting penalties and the Bengals
Speaker 1: got to try again. The Chiefs crowd the middle of
Speaker 1: the defensive line, Burrow back to throw, rolling to the right,
Speaker 1: looking back to the throws into the end zone. Another
Speaker 1: homeplate penalty flag in the end zone. A hand of
Speaker 1: the face penalty gave the Bengals a first down at
Speaker 1: the one with forty six seconds to go. The Chiefs
Speaker 1: were out of timeouts, so the Bengals took the clock
Speaker 1: down to two seconds and called on Evan Money mac
Speaker 1: McPherson to attempt the game winner two seconds left. This
Speaker 1: will be a twenty yard attempt from the middle of
Speaker 1: the field to send the Bengals into the postseason. Kevin
Speaker 1: huber Is ready catches the snap, puts it down. The
Speaker 1: kick is on the day. Yeah, he's good. The Cincinnati
Speaker 1: Bengals clinch the AFC North and prove they can beat
Speaker 1: anybody as they rally from fourteen down on three separate
Speaker 1: occasions and beats the Kansas City Chiefs thirty four, two
Speaker 1: thirty one. They beat the AFC West Champs six times
Speaker 1: in a row. They beat the perennial champs in so doing.
Speaker 1: How about that, sports fans, So a five year playoff
Speaker 1: drought is over. The Bengals will open the playoffs at
Speaker 1: home after capturing the AFC North with one game to go.
Speaker 1: Right now, they're the number three playoff seed in the AFC,
Speaker 1: but the Bengals could climb to number one and get
Speaker 1: a buy if three things happen in the final week.
Speaker 1: The Bengals beat the Browns, the top seeded Titans lose
Speaker 1: at Houston, and the second seeded Chiefs lose at Denver.
Speaker 1: Here's Zach Taylor. You gotta play your best football at
Speaker 1: the end of the season going to the playoffs, and
Speaker 1: right now I think we're playing pretty good football. The
Speaker 1: confidence is really high in the locker room. You don't
Speaker 1: want to take a team into the playoffs. That's just
Speaker 1: feeling like, oh man, we fit a loll and And again,
Speaker 1: I think these guys are really good. Spot mentally right now.
Speaker 1: Taylor was a little choked up at the beginning of
Speaker 1: his postgame news conference, and Joe Burrow is thrilled for
Speaker 1: his head coach. I had my first meeting with Zach
Speaker 1: at the combine. I knew, I knew exactly what kind
Speaker 1: of coach that we had, and I knew exactly where
Speaker 1: I wanted to be. He's a great offensive mind and
Speaker 1: a great leader of men. You know, he's a great job.
Speaker 1: I couldn't have asked for a better situation. And lead
Speaker 1: it to two Ohio kids, Burrow and Sam Hubbard, to
Speaker 1: describe what it all means to Cincinnati, I would say
Speaker 1: it means more because I'm from Ohio. I know the
Speaker 1: history of the Bengals, you know, I know the ownership
Speaker 1: that we have has taken a lot of heat. But they,
Speaker 1: I mean, they do a great job and have done
Speaker 1: a great job building this team. And so you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of credit to the Brown family for doing that.
Speaker 1: And like I said, they did a great job hiring Zach.
Speaker 1: Couldn't have asked for a better situation from ownership all
Speaker 1: the way down. Yeah. I just had one of the
Speaker 1: people involved in the organization tell me how happy Mike
Speaker 1: Brown was, you know is on the verge of tiers,
Speaker 1: and that just is really a special feeling because you know,
Speaker 1: it really is a great family run organization. They take
Speaker 1: care of us, and to get this win for the city,
Speaker 1: this team, it's it means. As he did after winning
Speaker 1: the National Championship a couple of years ago, Burrow lit
Speaker 1: up a victory cigar after the game, one that was
Speaker 1: mysteriously left in front of his locker by Joe. Mixon
Speaker 1: actually answered me a couple of weeks ago and I
Speaker 1: came in and it was sitting on my chessboard and
Speaker 1: I didn't really know who gave it to me until today,
Speaker 1: and he said, I gave it to you a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago. I said, oh, thanks, Joe, appreciate perfect timing.
Speaker 1: The Bengals are ten and six and head to Cleveland
Speaker 1: next week. The Browns have been eliminated from playoff contention
Speaker 1: and faced the Steelers on Monday night in Pittsburgh. The
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free
Speaker 1: to play fantasy football game. Ultimate Bengals will be awarding
Speaker 1: a weekly winner during the course of the season with tickets,
Speaker 1: autograph merchandise and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs.
Speaker 1: Find Ultimate Bengals in the App Store and Google Play.
Speaker 1: Now time for postgame analysis with my broadcast partner Dave
Speaker 1: Lapham So Lap the Bengals not only wrapped up the
Speaker 1: AFC North, but they beat a team that was the
Speaker 1: number one playoffs in the a FC and had an
Speaker 1: eight game winning streak in Kansas City. What does that
Speaker 1: say about the Bengals ability now to possibly have a
Speaker 1: run in the postseason. Yeah, I mean, I think it
Speaker 1: says a lot. I think the Kansas City Chiefs are
Speaker 1: obviously playing for the number one seed, you know. Now
Speaker 1: there's no guarantee of that, you know, depending on how
Speaker 1: how things unfold. So it wasn't like the game didn't
Speaker 1: mean anything to them, and they obviously had to overcome
Speaker 1: some issues up front with their offensive line. The Bengals
Speaker 1: did as well, and this was a classic game of
Speaker 1: even really really good football teams going to lose football
Speaker 1: games if they make critical mistakes a serious, very important
Speaker 1: moments of the football game in Kansas City, honestly, down
Speaker 1: the stretch made more mistakes than the Bengals did, So
Speaker 1: I think it is it does signal that we're here.
Speaker 1: We can beat anybody if we play our type of
Speaker 1: football and play smart, intense football and don't don't make
Speaker 1: mistakes that are going to hurt you. Jamar Chase had
Speaker 1: the best performance by a Bengals wide receiver ever eleven catches,
Speaker 1: two hundred and sixty six yards, three touchdowns. What amazed
Speaker 1: you most how very rarely was he wide open. I
Speaker 1: mean he and Barrow have that innate connection where if
Speaker 1: you're even that guy's lost, I mean Jamar Chase and
Speaker 1: Joe Barrow is going to throw the football if Jamar
Speaker 1: Chase is just anywhere close to being even with a guy,
Speaker 1: never mind beating a guy, and he's going to throw
Speaker 1: it to a spot that Jamar Chase knows he's going
Speaker 1: to throw it too, and Jamar Chase is going to
Speaker 1: make a play in the football. And just his ability
Speaker 1: after the catches I think what jumped out to me today.
Speaker 1: I mean, they played so much just straight man on him,
Speaker 1: and it really wasn't terrible coverage. But he is so physical.
Speaker 1: I mean guys bounce off him when they he just
Speaker 1: he just throws people around. He's a man amongst boys
Speaker 1: in that regard and his yards after catch on the
Speaker 1: seventy yard touchdown. I know, we're sixty yards right there.
Speaker 1: I don't know how many of his two yre and
Speaker 1: sixty plus yards were after the catch, but I'd say
Speaker 1: at least half of them, you know, maybe close to
Speaker 1: two thirds of those bad boys or after catch. And
Speaker 1: it's just it's remarkable the trust that's been built between
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. I mean, Joe Burrow throw
Speaker 1: will throw him the football in the process of him
Speaker 1: running a route where it's like, why did he think
Speaker 1: that Jamar Chase was going to be able to make
Speaker 1: that play? And he basically when he sees man coverage,
Speaker 1: he believes Jamar Chase is inmunicipal. Last week, Burrow through
Speaker 1: for five to twenty five and four touchdowns. His passer
Speaker 1: rating today was even better than it was last week,
Speaker 1: one forty eight today one forty three point two last week.
Speaker 1: Should we be looking at Joe Burrow as an MVP candidate.
Speaker 1: He's making a push, I think, I mean, there's there's
Speaker 1: no question about it. The Bengals, for the first time
Speaker 1: all season, have a three game winning streak of the
Speaker 1: most opportune time to have it, and it clinches them
Speaker 1: the AFC North, I think he should be in the conversation.
Speaker 1: You know, there's like, okay, comeback player of the Year
Speaker 1: Dak Prescott obviously is like the lock, the lock on it.
Speaker 1: Joe Borrow, what about Joe Barrow? Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1: I mean that guy should get a lot of consideration MVP.
Speaker 1: You know, there's maybe a couple of candidates are more
Speaker 1: of a lock. But he's in the conversation for a
Speaker 1: lot of things. I think the way he's playing football
Speaker 1: right now, and honestly, I'm not sure that he shouldn't
Speaker 1: be in the conversation for highest IQ in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. This guy, he is very, very difficult to fluster.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's always calm, never confused. If he is confused,
Speaker 1: he certainly doesn't give any indication with the outward appearance
Speaker 1: that he is and that is that's so calming for teammates.
Speaker 1: I'm sure his demeanor in the huddle must be like
Speaker 1: such a confidence builder, you know, I mean, we weren't
Speaker 1: the types that we're coming to the huddle and be
Speaker 1: a swashblower. All right, We're gonna go kick their butts collectively.
Speaker 1: You know, he'd be that kind of guy. I think
Speaker 1: Kenny and Joe Burrow's demeanor are very similar and that
Speaker 1: you know that their computer like mind is on point,
Speaker 1: and it's like this guy's in total command right now.
Speaker 1: All I have to do is do our job and
Speaker 1: good things are going to happen. And picturing Matt Damon
Speaker 1: and Goodwill hunting with like the mathematical formulas and stuff
Speaker 1: dancing in the air burrowin Chase are the headliners, and
Speaker 1: for good reason. But how about the defense Because Kansas
Speaker 1: City scored on four straight drives in the first half,
Speaker 1: had twenty eight points at halftime, scored three points the
Speaker 1: rest of the way. Yeah, and I think I think
Speaker 1: that part of it is the offense supporting that. But
Speaker 1: the defense did a good job. I mean, defense responded
Speaker 1: in the second half. And in Kansas City gives you
Speaker 1: a lot. I mean, Andy Reid gives you a lot
Speaker 1: of things to think about, and they're difficult. You know,
Speaker 1: he's specific to he does and how how he gained
Speaker 1: plans people open and he changes things on a week
Speaker 1: to week basis, and he just he makes you adjust
Speaker 1: that you know that you go when you go into
Speaker 1: a football game, it's not like, oh, I know exactly
Speaker 1: what Andy Reid is going to do, and here's how
Speaker 1: I'm going to stop it. It's it's that high level
Speaker 1: chess match. You know, he's he's in the category with Belichick.
Speaker 1: I love when when Bill Belichick and Andy Reid go
Speaker 1: head to head, because Belichick will Bill Belichick will say,
Speaker 1: I just like Andy Reid is uh, he's he's a
Speaker 1: he's an unbelievable scheme guy, you know. And and it's
Speaker 1: it's like two master chess players going at it head
Speaker 1: to head and um, adjust adjusted the adjustment and man,
Speaker 1: check not checkmate, no, just check. It's it's really fun
Speaker 1: to watch that. And I think I think he he
Speaker 1: puts a lot on your plate. And I think for
Speaker 1: the defense to make the adjustments they made at halftime
Speaker 1: or big. And I think that's a good indicator too,
Speaker 1: because you're down fourteen points three different times too. You know,
Speaker 1: the Scus the only team that had clinched a playoff
Speaker 1: spot in the AFC, and you beat them. Have to
Speaker 1: being you know, after trailing by fourteen points, not once,
Speaker 1: not twice, but three different times, you know, you think
Speaker 1: you're mounting to come back. Oh the answer, Oh, they're
Speaker 1: not rid of you, yet you're mounted another comeback, they answer,
Speaker 1: and man to do it three times and then ultimately
Speaker 1: take your first lead in the fourth quarter and win
Speaker 1: the thing that's saying a lot. I don't know about you.
Speaker 1: I'm happy the Bengals don't have to go to Cleveland
Speaker 1: desperately needing a win to make it to the postseason.
Speaker 1: It's nice now to go there playing for playoff position.
Speaker 1: Right now, the Bengals are the number three seed. Tennessee
Speaker 1: moved up to number one, Kansas City number two, Cincinnati
Speaker 1: number three. Those three teams have clinched their divisions, and
Speaker 1: who knows, maybe the Bengals can climb up another notch.
Speaker 1: I'm thrilled they don't have to go up there, And
Speaker 1: you know, I mean, I'm not saying that they couldn't
Speaker 1: go up there with all of it on the line
Speaker 1: and get it done. But I've been in both cases.
Speaker 1: I've been in both situations, and I know what that's like.
Speaker 1: And it's not a to take care of business the
Speaker 1: way they took care at against against this good of
Speaker 1: a football team, and to make the statement that they made,
Speaker 1: people were like, this is a statement game. They made
Speaker 1: a huge statement and I think I think all that's positive.
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, the way Joe Burrow's limping around, I
Speaker 1: know it's early, but if he is at the least
Speaker 1: bit limited or hindered, you don't have to play him.
Speaker 1: You don't have to play Joe Borrow in that football game.
Speaker 1: It gives you a lot of and I'm not saying
Speaker 1: that's going to be the case, but it's good to
Speaker 1: have that luxury. What if they hadn't worked out and
Speaker 1: they lose a heartbreaker and Joe Burrow's limping around like that,
Speaker 1: and you're like, oh my gosh, you're gonna go to
Speaker 1: Cleveland and be Cleveland up in the lake and Joe
Speaker 1: Burrows limping and gimping around right now, what are we
Speaker 1: looking at? All of that pressure is off, So it's
Speaker 1: it gives you, gives you a lot of options. And
Speaker 1: I think they're going to go up there and try
Speaker 1: to win the football game, though Be says, yeah, you're
Speaker 1: you're trying to. There's depending on how other things turn out.
Speaker 1: You know, you never know what seed you might be
Speaker 1: able to achieve. If you know, you're still plan for
Speaker 1: as high as seat as you possibly can. What an
Speaker 1: awesome game. I mean to see Mahomes and Burrow trade
Speaker 1: heavyweight uppercuts for four quarters tremendous theater, and they get
Speaker 1: incredible results different ways. I mean, Joe Burrow is like
Speaker 1: like the doctorate in football geometry. He reads angles, he
Speaker 1: reads trajectory, he knows exactly all this stuff, you know,
Speaker 1: computes to I have to put the ball right here,
Speaker 1: and I'm good enough from forty five yards out to
Speaker 1: put the ball right there and nowhere else. And he
Speaker 1: did it over and over and over, or as Mahomes
Speaker 1: just throws I mean rockets. He has no trajectory or
Speaker 1: little trajectory on his football, and man, that guy, I'm sure,
Speaker 1: I'm sure many a receiver have a cross on their
Speaker 1: chest from when that ball has slipped through their hands,
Speaker 1: you know, and in the tip of that football just
Speaker 1: leaves a little tattoo on your chest. He is something
Speaker 1: to watch Strow the football. But I think they're both
Speaker 1: incredibly intelligent. But honestly, from the neck up, I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: And you know, I guess Tom Brady obviously he's done
Speaker 1: it for so long and he is so brilliant, But
Speaker 1: there's not very many guys from the neck up that
Speaker 1: I would take over Joe Burrow. I don't think i'd
Speaker 1: take Brady. I mean, at this point, how much longer
Speaker 1: is he gonna do it? Joe Barrow is on the
Speaker 1: initial stages. I mean, when you think about what he
Speaker 1: and Jamar Chase can do. Twenty five and twenty one
Speaker 1: years old, My goodness, I mean, those numbers could be sick.
Speaker 1: They really could. In our first five years together as
Speaker 1: broadcast partners, the Bengals went to the playoffs. They've missed
Speaker 1: the last five. Now, this would be nice to start
Speaker 1: another year of at least another streak of at least
Speaker 1: five years. That's right, the tiebreaker five good, five not
Speaker 1: so good, and let's let's make this the beginning of
Speaker 1: a run. I just felt so good too, to see
Speaker 1: the just childlike, raw exuberance of Zach Taylor, the coaches,
Speaker 1: the players. I mean, I'm telling you, Dan, I've been
Speaker 1: fortunate enough to experience it. There is no better feeling
Speaker 1: than the unbridled joy that you feel as a grown
Speaker 1: man playing a kid's game and working out the way
Speaker 1: that you want it to work out when there's so
Speaker 1: much on the line. And uh, it's just has been
Speaker 1: said so many times and It's true, there's not another
Speaker 1: business like it. I mean, you can you can close
Speaker 1: deals big you know, big deals and all that, and
Speaker 1: you can, you can feel tremendous accomplishment. But that emotional,
Speaker 1: that raw emotion, that unbridled whatever, that uh, the adrenaline
Speaker 1: rush is just unbelievable. I don't think these guys are
Speaker 1: gonna be able to sleep tonight. I know, when we
Speaker 1: won the m Our first playoff, qualified for the playoffs,
Speaker 1: no sleep, when we beat when we win against Buffalo
Speaker 1: first round, no sleep, Freezer Bowl, no sleep for a
Speaker 1: lot of reasons. And then lose the Super Bowl. No
Speaker 1: sleep because I'm pissed, but you know a different reason.
Speaker 1: But those those even even though the utter depressed feeling
Speaker 1: of losing a Super Bowl, I don't think i'd I
Speaker 1: don't think i'd uh, I'd try to change the outcome, obviously,
Speaker 1: but even knowing that I wasn't maybe gonna feel that joy.
Speaker 1: Just to feel what you feel in those situations is amazing.
Speaker 1: It really is. More On Sunday's when joined Lap and
Speaker 1: Lance McCalister for Bengals Line Monday night from six to
Speaker 1: nine on seven hundred WLW. Now time for this week's
Speaker 1: fun Facts segment, and it's not with a player this week. Instead,
Speaker 1: it's a member of the front office talk for some
Speaker 1: fun facts of the Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Blackburn. You attended your first Bengals game when you
Speaker 1: were seven, not seven years old, seven days old. You
Speaker 1: obviously don't remember that, but what are some of your
Speaker 1: earliest Bengals memories. I remember being in the pool at
Speaker 1: Wilmington College during training camp. That was I think the
Speaker 1: first time I ever swam. I remember dressing up in
Speaker 1: the like little kid cheerleader costumes with my sister. That
Speaker 1: was both on game days and on weekdays. And I
Speaker 1: just remember the yellow seats at Riverfront Stadium. And I think,
Speaker 1: really until we got to Paul Brown Stadium was when
Speaker 1: I was more remembering like the game game day atmosphere. Yeah, Riverfront,
Speaker 1: I just remember the yellow seats. For some reason, those
Speaker 1: really stood out. They made a strong impression. Former Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl quarterback Jeff Blake was your first favorite Bengals player.
Speaker 1: Do you even remember why? I mean probably the touchdown passes,
Speaker 1: but I'm saying that after watching a bunch of footage
Speaker 1: recently with Jeff Blake, and the Moonballs and Jake and Blake, like,
Speaker 1: that's all stuff that I've learned honestly coming back here,
Speaker 1: so I can say maybe subconsciously the touchdowns, but I
Speaker 1: just I loved Jeff Blake and I loved his smile.
Speaker 1: He does have a great smile. I agree with you. There.
Speaker 1: We're chatting with Elizabeth Blackburn. You were born a year
Speaker 1: after your great grandfather Paul Brown passed away. Have you
Speaker 1: spent a lot of time reading about him, asking your
Speaker 1: grandfather about him, and learning about his life and legacy.
Speaker 1: I have, and I know I have so much more
Speaker 1: to learn. I started reading his book by Jack Clary
Speaker 1: before I moved home last year. And you know, I've
Speaker 1: really enjoyed talking to my grandpa about his dad, through
Speaker 1: the Ring of Honor project and just being around more.
Speaker 1: But I feel like I'm just scratching the surface. Your grandfather,
Speaker 1: Mike Brown, gives you credit for helping to convince him
Speaker 1: that it was time to start the Ring of Honor.
Speaker 1: Did you make a formal presentation or was it just
Speaker 1: casual conversation. Yes, I did make a formal presentation. I
Speaker 1: mean several I think my grandpa, my family, and many
Speaker 1: other people that I have the pleasure of working with
Speaker 1: here know that I came from a consulting background and
Speaker 1: love PowerPoint presentations, so it was it was a mix.
Speaker 1: I definitely gave formal presentations to outline how it would work,
Speaker 1: and he was really engaged and wanted to know the
Speaker 1: detail and know how thoughtful we were being about the
Speaker 1: selection process, about the induction process in ensuring that it
Speaker 1: would remain prestigious into the future. So that was a
Speaker 1: mix of formal presentations and I did a ton of
Speaker 1: research on Bengals history and operational stuff as well as
Speaker 1: just some really fun conversations over lunch and before work
Speaker 1: in the morning and having our own internal debates of
Speaker 1: who we would want to see and fun conversations like
Speaker 1: that as well. We have something in common. In the
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen playoff game against the Steelers when Vantes Berfeckt
Speaker 1: intercepted the pass with a minute and a half to
Speaker 1: go and it looked like the Bengals had won, I've
Speaker 1: said many times that was the happiest moment of my life.
Speaker 1: We're talking my wedding day, the birth of my son.
Speaker 1: I am only half joking, that's how happy I was.
Speaker 1: I read an interview where you said, I've never felt
Speaker 1: that high. Did that moment impact what you're trying to
Speaker 1: create at Paul Brown Stadium? It was the best feeling
Speaker 1: of my life, and I want to replicate that, and
Speaker 1: I want that feeling to last way longer for me
Speaker 1: and so so so so many other people. What does
Speaker 1: a packed Paul Brown Stadium and the crowd going nuts
Speaker 1: due for the city of Cincinnati. Honestly, Dan, it's similar
Speaker 1: to that last question, because it creates a feeling and
Speaker 1: an energy and a community you cannot get anywhere else.
Speaker 1: For fans who have been to games, hopefully this red
Speaker 1: and eates, and for fans who haven't, I would really
Speaker 1: encourage you to come check out a game because in person,
Speaker 1: being surrounded by sixty five thousand other people, being a
Speaker 1: part of something way bigger than yourself, it just feels
Speaker 1: different and it's amazing and it literally gives me chills
Speaker 1: and like this incredible mix of emotions you just can't
Speaker 1: get in any other setting. You published a mission statement
Speaker 1: in February and it included the following, we want to
Speaker 1: bring Super Bowl titles to Cincinnati. We need to. It
Speaker 1: is the singular purpose that drives my family and the
Speaker 1: one goal at the top of my mind every day.
Speaker 1: The Bengals haven't historically said things like that, there's been
Speaker 1: kind of a Midwestern modesty that is admirable in a way,
Speaker 1: But did you think it was important to change that?
Speaker 1: I did because I felt like things were getting lost
Speaker 1: in translation. I think that culture and people have shifted
Speaker 1: a bit, and while I absolutely want to continue Midwestern
Speaker 1: modesty and humility, I was sensing that people were not
Speaker 1: appreciating modesty and instead under interpreting things in ways that
Speaker 1: were not correct, and I felt that it was important
Speaker 1: to give our fans clarity and certainty that there is
Speaker 1: no doubt what this franchise is about. Let's talk a
Speaker 1: little bit about your background. You went to Dartmouth. Was
Speaker 1: it nice to have some anonymity and not be known
Speaker 1: for your connection to the Bengals. Yes, it was critical.
Speaker 1: It gave me an opportunity to be myself and ultimately
Speaker 1: proved to myself that the Bengals were core to my identity,
Speaker 1: and I loved them, and I loved Cincinnati, and I
Speaker 1: wanted to come back on my own volition and not
Speaker 1: because it was the only thing I knew. It was
Speaker 1: also really important to go be in a setting and
Speaker 1: make friends and prove that they liked me and trusted
Speaker 1: me as a person without knowing anything about me. And
Speaker 1: that's something, honestly, I kind of hope and try to
Speaker 1: take here, even though I know that's not fully possible,
Speaker 1: but proving myself as an individual is really important to me.
Speaker 1: How did you follow the games? Is there a Bengals
Speaker 1: bar in Hannover, New Hampshire? There are like no bars
Speaker 1: in Hannah. Now I feel like Joe Burrow and I'm
Speaker 1: probably gonna get slighted by anyone who loves Hanover, New Hampshire.
Speaker 1: There are wonderful restaurants and fraternity and sorority houses in Hannoveringhamshire.
Speaker 1: Following the Games at Dartmouth was one of the kind
Speaker 1: of most special and cool connection points to my grandpa
Speaker 1: because my grandpa has a friend from Dartmouth and actually
Speaker 1: from Cleveland. They were a year or two apart and
Speaker 1: played football together and grew up together in Cleveland and
Speaker 1: both went to Dartmouth, and his friend still lived in
Speaker 1: Hanover when I was in school and he had Sunday
Speaker 1: ticket and he and his wife would invite me and
Speaker 1: one of my friends who I went to high school
Speaker 1: with and went to Dartmouth with me as well as
Speaker 1: now my fiance. The three of us kind of became
Speaker 1: this crew that would go over every Sunday and watch
Speaker 1: the Bengals games at my grandpa's friend's house, and it
Speaker 1: was wonderful to get to know him. It was like
Speaker 1: a new connection point to my grandpa and my family
Speaker 1: and his time at Dartmouth, which was really cool. And
Speaker 1: it was also a really nice home experience away from
Speaker 1: home when you're just at college seeing other twenty two
Speaker 1: year olds all day, and instead I would go over
Speaker 1: and they would cook his dinner and it was the sweetest,
Speaker 1: most wonderful way to spend a Sunday. I'm sure it
Speaker 1: was awesome for your grandfather's friend too. You majored in
Speaker 1: engineering and economics. Were those subjects that you were interested
Speaker 1: in or were you specifically thinking of things that would
Speaker 1: be helpful if you chose a career in the NFL? Both?
Speaker 1: And I'm very lucky to say that I love problem
Speaker 1: solving and I love kind of like real world operations,
Speaker 1: and that's where economics came in. I love business, and
Speaker 1: I also love teamwork, and engineering proved to have a
Speaker 1: lot of group projects and teamwork related to that work.
Speaker 1: So those were two things I enjoyed. There were things
Speaker 1: I was naturally good at, and I knew that they
Speaker 1: would set me up, not necessarily for working in sports,
Speaker 1: but I knew that those would give me really good
Speaker 1: tools to apply to just have a successful career after college.
Speaker 1: Your mom, Katie has been called one of the most
Speaker 1: powerful women in the NFL. She cringed when I brought
Speaker 1: that up in one of these conversations, but it's undeniably true.
Speaker 1: What do you admire most about your mom The fact
Speaker 1: that she cringed when you told her that, Because she
Speaker 1: is the most amazing role model I could ever ask for,
Speaker 1: and yet she is so humble about it. It's amazing.
Speaker 1: This is kind of deep. If you could meet anybody
Speaker 1: in history, athlete, actor, statesman, religious figure, living or deceased,
Speaker 1: who would that person be? Just one? Now, if you
Speaker 1: want to go with more than one, that's fine, Okay.
Speaker 1: I've gotten this question as a nice breaker before of
Speaker 1: like what three people would you eat dinner with? And
Speaker 1: that was actually one of the first times I ever
Speaker 1: sort of made the connection of how disconnected I was
Speaker 1: to my great grandfather, and so I pick him. I
Speaker 1: definitely would pick Paul Brown, and then if I get
Speaker 1: a few others, I would love to sit down with
Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth of England. She had such a long reign
Speaker 1: in a time when female leaders were nearly unheard of
Speaker 1: and was so successful. And maybe like Galileo, you know,
Speaker 1: I get the sense that your great grandfather, Paul Brown
Speaker 1: and Galileo would hit it off. Both geniuses, obviously, but
Speaker 1: inventors who envision things that nobody else had thought of exactly.
Speaker 1: And that's why I wanted to give you multiple because
Speaker 1: I think the inter room dynamics would make it way
Speaker 1: more interesting than you just getting to talk to one person.
Speaker 1: See at my dream table, I'm just sitting there and listening,
Speaker 1: yes exactly. I hope to not say anything except for
Speaker 1: can I top off your glass? All right, you are
Speaker 1: off the hot seat. I appreciate your time. Happy holidays,
Speaker 1: and enjoy the rest of what's been a great season.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Dan and Jude. That's going to do it
Speaker 1: for this episode of The Bengals Booth podcast, brought to
Speaker 1: you by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play Next Level
Speaker 1: Fantasy Football game downloaded now from the app Store and
Speaker 1: Google Play. And if you haven't done so already, please
Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to the Begels Booth podcast