Head Coach Hue Jackson:
Opening statement:
"Good win for our football team and the organization. Our guys worked hard. What a dominant performance by our defense. I can't say enough about the performance of those guys tonight. There are a lot of guys that I thought played some really, really good football. Even into the second half with our backup guys, they did some really good things. Before I get into the defense, as a football team I thought it was good, we had one penalty tonight. I know there was another penalty that were offsetting so really two, but if you look at it, that is improvement. That is something that I have been harping on with our football team. We have to get better at and they did that. The other thing is the turnovers, making sure that we take the ball away, and I thought our defense was outstanding today. If we can continue to do that, it gives us a chance to win game like tonight. We got four [turnovers] and gave up one, if I am not mistaken. That is good. Those things are good. I thought special teams covered well. From Week 2 to Week 3, I saw improvement in those areas. Obviously, offensively we have some work to do. We can't be in a scoring zone and don't finish drives. Obviously, we have to generate more points it is just that simple. We have to put our heads down and go to work, and I am sure we will. We have to get back to the basics and do those things just a little bit better. Overall, for our football team, it is a team game. One lose and we all lose; and one win, and we all win. There is a victory for the Cleveland Browns tonight and that is good."
On QB Tyrod Taylor's injury and how concerned he was:
"I was very concerned. It is a hand. I was not sure, and anytime your starting quarterback goes into the locker room, you are not sure, but he came back. Obviously, he went back into the game so we will continue to look at it and see where we are as we head into next week."
On if he was aware Taylor was handing the ball off with two hands and if he thought about shutting him down:
"Absolutely, and I was aware of it, but obviously, our medical people said he was fine and he could be out there. We would not have put him back out there if he was not. We will check everything tonight and see where he is, but hopefully, everything will be okay."
On DB Denzel Ward's injury:
"It is a back. We will go through the night, get him checked out and will know more about that tomorrow."
On if the Browns first team offense is finished playing in the preseason or if they will play next week:
"We will see. Obviously, that is not the way we want to end preseason football. We will see where we are. I need to watch the tape and see where the breakdowns are coming from. I will make that decision as we go through the week."
On throwing the ball three consecutive times on the goal line and if he was not trying to show the team's goal line plays in a preseason game:
"We probably thought that was the best way to score at that time so we have to go back and look at all of that, and we will."
On if Ward will get an MRI tomorrow:
"Probably so. I think we will check. We will do everything we can just to make sure, but we will definitely do the imaging and report just to make sure we know everything that is going on with his back."
On if X-Rays were negative on Taylor:
"Yes, X-Rays were negative, but I think it is important that we do everything that we need to do to make sure we know exactly where that hand is."
On if he was surprised that QB Baker Mayfield was taken into the medical tent:
"[The independent medical observers] called down. They called down after the last time he got hit. They have the spotters up top. They took him underneath to determine everything was OK. At that time, I made a decision to keep him out of the game and put (QB) Drew (Stanton) in."
On if it is challenging since the OL is still has moving parts:
"It is a little bit. We have some guys that I think we have a lot of tape to evaluate with the second team, but obviously, those two starting guards they played all night. They need to. You have a young player in (OL) Austin (Corbett) and (OL) Spencer (Drango), who is heading into his third year. Those guys played a lot of football, but at the same time, I thought the first group protected pretty well. We ran the ball decently. We just did not finish drives the way I think we can."
On if this is the version of DL Myles Garrett the Browns have been waiting to see:
"Absolutely, I have seen it last week. I have seen it this week. He has to do it every week for us. We just have to keep him healthy and keep him after it, and I think he will do that."
On how close OL Kevin Zeitler is to returning to play:
"I think he is close. I think he is close. Hopefully, we can get him back out to practice this week."
On if there are concerns Taylor's injury may impact Week 1 of the regular season:
"Anytime your quarterback gets nicked like that, you are always concerned, but I think the fact that he was able to go back into the game was a good sign. I know we will make sure that we take care of it this week, whatever that is, and get him back to where he needs to be. I feel comfortable and confident that he is going to be OK, and that will happen."
On DB Damarious Randall's injury:
"It was a knee that kind of locked up in pregame so we made the decision not to put him out there tonight."
On Mayfield's performance:
"I thought he did some good things. Baker has completed some huge balls and made some plays. Obviously, the interception was unfortunate. I think he was getting hit as he was trying to throw. That is a tough one, do not want to turn the ball over there, but the last two weeks I think he sees in the National Football League it is a grind. It does not always go the way you want it to, and you just have to fight through, keep playing and keep making plays, and I saw that in him. There is no flinch in him at all. He competes, and that is what you look for."
On how Mayfield handled suddenly having to enter the game after Taylor's injury:
"He did not blink. He was ready to go, and that is what you want. We did not change anything in our offense. We went out there and played. We expect him to make plays, and he did."
On how much of the Browns offense's challenges are attributable to the OL:
"I can't wait to see the tape, but I think it is everybody. I think that we all have to do our jobs a little bit better. That is what I am looking to watch this tape for because we have got to get better. We have to play complementary football with our defense and with our special teams to become a really good football team."
On if QB Baker Mayfield will start the final preseason game:
"It is too early. I do not know. Let me see where everything is. That possibly could happen, but we will see where that is as we go through the rest of this week."
On DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun:
"He can go up and intercept the ball. He made some plays that way. I thought that he covered well. Obviously, he played centerfield extremely well going to make that interception. Here is a guy that normally plays closer to the ball and all of a sudden, 'Hey you, go back there and play.' He did not flinch. He went back there and made plays. That is what you look for."
On if LB Genard Avery's hamstring injury is serious:
"We will see. You never know until you get these reports back and know where it is. I hope it is not. The guy is really coming on and doing some really good things. Hopefully, we will get him back soon."
On OL Chris Hubbard leaving the game briefly:
"It was a leg for a second, but he is a tough son of a gun. He went over there, shook it out and said, 'Coach, I am ready to go.' Put him right back in. He will be fine."
On if the lack of offensive production was due to missing key players like WRs Josh Gordon and Antonio Callaway:
"I think that you can say some of that. I do not want to look at it that way. We have to execute better. We played against a good defensive football team. That is OK. We are going to play some good defensive football teams, and we have to play better than that. There is no question about that. To a man, the offense knows that. We will get to work, watch this tape and get these guys better."
On what the Browns first team defense has showed in the first three games:
"That they can be dominant. That they really can be. That they can turn it up and play, and play at a high level as long as we need them to. That is what you have to have. That is what the expectation is of that group.
On RB Carlos Hyde's ability to find running lanes:
"He does. He finds the whole. He is able to break tackles. He is showing the nifty-ness. He is a little bit niftier than people think he is. I have said that before. I think that he is going to be a good player for us."
On if the Browns defense could consistently produce takeaways in key moments as it did tonight:
"Absolutely. We could not get these like this a year ago. The biggest thing is that we are not turning it over neither a lot. That is good football in that way. We are winning the turnover battle, and that is what I have harped on with our football team that you have to do. Our defense is finally getting them. Now, hopefully, we can become ballhawks in that way. We have to go take the ball away. We have to get the other quarterback of that team down as often as we can. That is playing good defensive football."
