On how tough the loss is given the offense's success and what it will take to get a win:"It hurts. Obviously, when you start tasting a little victory throughout the game, you start riding that and you start remembering all of the things that go into winning and how it all is about getting towards that win. When you don't get to that at the end of the game, it hurts. What it takes to get back to it is continuing to work. You have to continue to grind. You have to understand that there is a bigger message. There is light at the end of this tunnel. If we continue to put forth the effort that (Head) Coach (Hue Jackson) continues to ask out of us, we will get over this hill."
On the interception in OT:"I went over to my first read in (WR) Josh (Gordon) on the slant. They bracketed him. They brought a safety over. By the time I wanted to get over to No. 2, it was time to escape the pocket and try to use my feet. Start running right and the guy had good leverage on me. I was able to reverse field there. On my way back to my left, I was able to see (WR) Rashard Higgins spin off of his guy and have an opportunity to go down and make a game-winning touchdown. One of the better players in this league was able to reverse field with me, get his hand on my arm, it left the ball in the air and they were able to make a good play on the ball."
On if he believed Higgins would score a TD if Matthews didn't hit his arm on that play:"Yeah, I think that you strike up the band there and enjoy our first win of this year."
On if WR Josh Gordon was held on the play:"There is a lot of action that happens within 5 yards in this league. That is what the better corners do. That obviously is kind of a subjective call, whether or not you want to figure out that one is a hold and that."
On if this loss hurts even more because the Browns were so close to winning:"Yeah, like I said before, all of the work that we put in each week from April all the way until now is about winning. When you get close to that, it hurts a little bit."
On speaking with General Manager John Dorsey after the game and if it was good to receive words of encouragement:"Yeah, absolutely. To be reassured that the guys in the locker room with you have your back is always a good thing."
On Dorsey's message:"We will keep that between us."
On if this is the first time someone other than Jackson spoke with him following the game in such a manner:"No, those conversations happen with the front office pretty much after every game. It is obviously a unique situation to have a guy who has been in this position to come and have a conversation with you from a general manager position."
On if he believes today was his best game of the season before the final interception:"It is hard to say. We will go back and watch the film to see what opportunities we had there to make some more plays and re-evaluate where I am at and the strides I was able to make in that game."
On if the Packers made any adjustments to try to take away WR Josh Gordon after his fast start:"Yeah, they went to two guys over the top with guys playing man underneath quite a bit. They had that in their back pocket all year. We saw that quite a bit after we came out and got a quick start going. There are obviously some opportunities within that style of defense to go out and make some big plays that we were not able to make."
On if he felt TE David Njoku had the pass that was overturned to an incompletion:"I did. I did. I do not know what they see on an iPad, but from what we were able to see, it looked as if David's hand was under the ball as it was underneath. You see hundreds of those replays throughout the year. Anytime you come back, unless there is something that looks like it is decisive, typically, it goes to the call that was made. To see that that was overturned from the angle that we saw, it looked a little fishy."* *
On if he sensed 'this is how it can be and is supposed to be' when the team was leading late in the game:"Yeah, absolutely. Once again, we put in a lot of work for this. We go out and we grind for hours and hours and hours. We go from OTAs to training camp to obviously preseason and into the season for these moments, for those touchdowns and for those celebrations. The next step is to feel a win. I think those celebrations will go times 10 when we do win. It is about continuing to put in the effort, following the lead of our head coach and on the offensive side, following the lead of our offensive coordinator who happens to be the same guy. Continue to have the energy that we have and try to get over this hump."
On if he threw the INT because he believed Higgins was open:"Yeah. Rashard spins off of his guy. We go into scramble-mode. I could feel Crow (RB Isaiah Crowell) running down the sideline with one option. It was a quicker and easier throw down the middle. You feel that if they make that play, you are going to come off and you are going to be rewarded for all the work that you put in. Even specifically in that play, you reverse the field and are making things happen, but obviously, another unfortunate event happens to us and unfortunately we are sitting here with another L."
On Head Coach Hue Jackson's message to the Browns:"Continue to work. Come back in on Wednesday. We play against another good AFC North opponent. Try to ride this wave. I think this season can go one of two ways now. At 0-13, we are not playing for playoffs. We are playing for momentum. We are playing for an opportunity to set something for this offseason so we can come back next year and get to the goals we want to get to. That is one option. Another option is to come back out here, play out the next three games and try to reset over the season. I think that as a team, we have made a decision that we want to allow these last three games and obviously this game today to create some momentum going into this offseason. Obviously, we have to spoil some dreams for some other teams who are out there trying to make the playoffs."
On if he showed General Manager John Dorsey what he can be as a QB in Dorsey's first game with the team:"Yeah, every time I step out onto the field, whether it be practice or whether it be a game, it is about doing whatever I can to prove to my teammates and to this organization who I am as a quarterback and as a competitor. I look forward to being in Cleveland for a long time and I look forward to winning for a long time. Every time I step out there and every rep that I get, it is about making sure everyone knows exactly who I am."
On if he senses a bit of doubt on the team when in a close game in the fourth quarter:"No, every time I step out on the field, I see smiles. I see guys who are hungry to make a play. That is what keeps us going. That is what keeps us fighting. I do not think there has been a game this year where we did not fight throughout the whole game. Now it is about just making sure that fight leads to point and that fight leads to big plays and opportunities to get down there and score points."
