On if he felt being told to cut it loose and not fear making a mistake by Head Coach Gregg Williams was necessary:
"I think it went beyond playing on the field type of stuff. I think that him saying to cut it loose to me meant letting my personality go. The reason that I was brought here is because of that stuff – the infectious energy, the passion for the game that I try to bring every day. I think it was more than just the on-field play."
On if there is a fine line between eliminating mistakes and taking chances:
"Absolutely. There are smart decisions and then there are careless [decisions]. Playing aggressive and playing on that line is something that he talks about. You have to be able to do that. You have to be able to find the little balance right in between that."
On if his recent statistical success is due to recent coaching changes, personnel changes, personal growth or what factors:
"I think that it is a mix of all of it. I think it is our guys believing in it, knowing that we do not need anything else besides what we have in this locker room, blocking out the distractions and coming together. Things happen, and you can use it for good. We did. Focusing on doing our job. I have talked about that the whole season and then we finally realized that if we just do our job, our 1/11th when we are out there playing, then we can get things done."
On facing an opposing team that has former Browns head coach and Bengals special assistant to the head coach Hue Jackson on staff:
"I am excited. Anytime that you get to play somebody that you are familiar with, it is always fun, whether it is former teammates, former coaches, people from college recruiting wise that you have met through different camps and stuff like that. I think that is always fun."
On facing Jackson shortly after the coaching changes occurred:
"Yeah, it is a quick turnaround. For him to go down south, it is a little different."
On former Oklahoma teammate and Bengals RB Joe Mixon:
"Joe is going to talk, and he is going to back it up. No matter what he is saying, you have to go up and you have to swarm tackle. He is a special player. He is one of the best teammates that I have ever had. He is a guy that he gets guys around him to rally behind him. He is fun to play against just because of the trash talk."
On what he learned from Jackson:
"He tried to grab a hand towards everybody, affect everybody, just talking to different people throughout the process. He is a guy that wanted to be friends with everybody. A very good guy."
On if a head coach can be friends with everybody:
"I do not know. Everybody does it differently. If you look at some of the coaches that have been through here and that have been in the NFL, you have guys that run off of fear and respect and you have guys that are younger that try to be more relatable. Whatever works, works. Every coach is different."
On if Jackson's familiarity with the Browns' system and personnel gives the Bengals a significant advantage:
"No."
On wearing a Bowling Green State University Football sweatshirt today:
"Some of the coaches I had at Texas Tech are there now, and I know their quarterback. It is a comfy sweatshirt, too (laughter)."
On if high-scoring games like the Chiefs-Rams on Monday Night Football are the future of the NFL:
"It is starting to go that way. You are starting to see how college has transformed, and now everybody says that is the way that college is played. When you get offenses that scheme like that and spread you out, that is the result you see. It is hard to defend. When you have that many weapons that those teams do, it is obviously a little bit different, but at the same time, people are realizing that you do not have to just set up and run the football, but there are times, especially in our division, when you need to do that. You need to be able to run the ball when they know that you are going to. It is different. I think that it depends on the scenario."
On how much of the offense in Week 11's Monday Night Football is comparable to his Oklahoma offense and college offenses:
"A decent amount. I would not say that exact schemes, but they are doing a lot of mismatch. You are trying to create mismatches, create confusion with different motions and alignments. They are trying to throw a defense off guard and throw in little wrinkles that they would not normally do by showing something new."
On how he sees himself fitting in the league with high-powered offenses:
"I have done it before so I would have success – I would hope so at least – but right now, I am doing this and enjoying it as well."
On if today is the coldest weather in which he has played football:
"No, I played in a pretty good blizzard a couple of years ago in West Virginia. That one was pretty miserable."
On individual goals for the rest of the season:
"Lead this team to a bunch of wins. Put us back in the race."
On if there was anything deeper to his 'feeling dangerous' comment postgame:
"No, I have said that always or for the past couple of years. My family texts me on gameday. They ask me how I am feeling. That is the response. That is nothing new for me. That is just the first time I have said it in a press conference."
On if he will trademark the phrase:
"We will see. We are working on it."
On how he is feeling today:
"I am feeling good right now. It is not game day."
On the best reaction from his feeling dangerous:
"There is a couple of people who shortly after asked me how I was feeling and they were expecting me to say feeling dangerous, but it is not gameday so I can't say that."
On if it is exciting to face the Bengals defense, given some of their stats and rankings:
"I feel like we have had a couple of those questions throughout the year, like when we played the Chiefs defense or the Bucs defense. What it comes down to is us doing our job. It does not matter who we are playing we have to execute, and that is the mentality I have always had. I am not going to look at it statistically like that. We are going to scheme against what they are doing, but we have to do our job when it comes down to it."
On playing on the road in the NFL compared to playing on the road in college:
"The tradition is not always there. It is not the same as college rivalries so I think it is very easy in college to kind of come together. You have every reason to do that. Now, it is much more professional so you have to find ways to bring everybody together to have that mentality that your back is against the wall and that it is just you on the road, and you have to find a way to win."
On how college rivalries translate to the NFL, including among teammates:
"It is just different. I think it comes down to the level of respect you have for guys. We are all at the highest level in our profession so it is just not the same, but you have to find ways to treat it competitive, and it is always fun to play against the best competition. That is what we are doing every week."
On if the Browns can emphasize him running the ball this week, given the Ravens success with it last week:
"If you are asking me to run the ball like (Ravens QB) Lamar Jackson, that is not happening (laughter)."
On if emphasizing running the ball in general this week:
"We always try to run the ball, but not with me. I am not the athlete that [Lamar Jackson] is. I would love to do that, but that is God given talent that I do not have."
On if he thinks about potentially winning rookie of the year:
"No, I have always said the individual accolades come if your team is having success. If we take care of business down the road we will see, but right now, we have to take it one week at a time."
On considering one of his biggest competitors for offensive rookie of the year could possibly be RB Nick Chubb:
"It might be revenge for the Rose Bowl, yeah (laughter)."
