AFC Notes: Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

Bengals WR Tyler Boyd dropped what would have been a game-sealing touchdown late in Sunday’s game against the Texans. Houston ultimately came back and won it on a field goal. 

After the game, Bengals QB Joe Burrow offered his support for Boyd, saying they likely don’t even get into the red zone without the veteran receiver. 

“We wouldn’t have even been down there if it wasn’t for him,” Burrow said, via Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, you’d like to come down with it, but we were able to go down there and tie it up. [We would have] liked to punch it in, make them go down and score a touchdown in that situation, but we were able to tie it up.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor added that he didn’t speak to Boyd because nothing needs to be said in a situation like that. 

“No. Everybody knows,” Taylor said. “And again, he’s going to put a lot [of responsibility] on himself because it’s the end of the game, but there were so many opportunities we had over the course of the game. Players and coaches — all of us — there’s a lot of things all of us could have done better so we weren’t in that position.”

• Bengals G Cordell Volson was fined $5,746 for unnecessary roughness stemming from the previous week.

Browns

It’s fair to say Sunday’s comeback win against the Ravens was the biggest win of Browns QB Deshaun Watson‘s tenure in Cleveland. It wasn’t pretty, as Watson started the day 3-12 passing with a pick-six. But he fought through an ankle injury to make enough plays with his legs and his arm and take advantage of a scrappy effort from the defense and special teams. 

“Deshaun has that mentality that he’s just going to do whatever it takes to win,” Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said via NBC Sports’ Peter King. “He was battling through an ankle injury in that second half. He made plays with his feet. He scrambled. He found the open guys. He did what he does. A huge part of what he does is lead this football team. He was selected captain for a reason. I just saw him leading the football team there in the second half.”

• Watson said he’ll be fine for the Steelers game next week despite having his left foot in a walking boot. (Mary Kay Cabot)

Ravens

Ravens players including QB Lamar Jackson, TE Mark Andrews, and DT Justin Madubuike all commented on the team’s shocking loss to the Browns on Sunday, with Jackson noting that they need to do more to close games out when they have their opponents against the ropes.

“We just have to finish the game,” Jackson said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

“I think I can speak for everybody, when [the Ravens jumped out to 14-0 lead] nobody thought that [the Browns] were going to win the game, and that’s what happened,” Madubuike said. “So it was definitely just shocking, frustrating.”

“We talk about putting teams down when they’re down [and] we should have done that,” Andrews added. “But even if it gets close at the end, it’s about doing our job, not making mistakes, and playing the best football that we can, because we’re a hard team to beat.”