AFC Notes: Jerry Jeudy, Myles Garrett, Russell Wilson, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

• Bengals WR Tee Higgins on QB Joe Burrow’s falling touchdown pass to him: “Forget the Batmobile. That motherf***er’s flying now. He’s Superman.” (Jay Morrison)
• Bengals HC Zac Taylor complimented Burrow after the win over the Browns: “He’s the ultimate weapon. He really is the best in the business.” (Paul Dehner Jr.)

Browns

There were rumors that Jets owner Woody Johnson decided not to trade for current Browns WR Jerry Jeudy during his time with the Broncos because Johnson felt Jeudy’s rating on Madden was too low.

Jeudy was traded to Cleveland and later signed an extension with the team. He says he doesn’t believe the reports that someone would care so much about Madden ratings. 

“To be honest, I don’t believe it. I think that’s fake news,” Jeudy said, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “For real, why would somebody look at Madden ratings? Be real. I don’t think that’s real, but it is funny.”

“I’m glad that I’m here,” Jeudy added. “I’m glad my Madden rating was low. Yeah, got me here. I feel like I belong there. I’ve been working my tail off through this whole off-season and now it’s finally showing being put in a position I’m in now. Now it’s time to take advantage of every opportunity coming forward.”

• Browns DE Myles Garrett became the first player in NFL history to reach 100 sacks before turning 29, doing so in 115 games.
• Garrett on if he received any internal feedback from his comments about not wanting to be a part of a rebuilding franchise: “Those are conversations that will be had after the season. There’s nothing I said that anybody was unaware of.” (Zac Jackson)
• Garrett when asked how close the Browns are to being contenders: “I don’t know. That’s what the conversations are for.” (Jackson)
• Stefanski on the team’s loss to the Bengals amidst several turnovers: “Obviously you turn the ball over, especially in the red zone … not gonna put yourself in position to win, especially on the road.” (Jackson)
• Stefanski added that QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson remains the starter “if he’s healthy, and he should be” despite dealing with a calf injury. (Jackson)

Steelers

Steelers QB Russell Wilson remains critical of his second-quarter fumble, as well as his interception in Week 15.

“It’s unacceptable,” Wilson told Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “It can’t happen. It’s just really two negative plays. I felt like I was seeing it well. I thought the guys made some really good plays. … We knew it was going to be a tough fight throughout the end, and they made two plays on us that were significant plays and unfortunately I can’t let that happen. I just thought we had a chance to go to the end zone and tried to cut back and just got hit. I think right before I hit the ground, the ball came out. I was kind of cutting off the block and just, I didn’t want to slide there, didn’t want to slide there. I felt like we could’ve got in the end zone — trying to get a touchdown and go for it. They made a good play.”

The veteran quarterback is hoping to make a quick turnaround and correct some offensive miscues before the team plays on Wednesday in Week 17.

“We play on Wednesday,” Wilson noted. “I don’t think there’s enough time to really sulk or worry or fear. … The one thing I’m not going to do is keep my head down, though. I know for us we got so much great confidence in who we are and what we can do and how we’re going to respond. We can’t let a tough game like this take us into a negative state of mind because there’s a lot more to play for and a lot more we’re searching for, and we can still win the [AFC] North. There’s still a lot of opportunity there, too, as well. And so we just got to buckle down and get back to work.”