“All during the season I was just thinking about what a special team I was just blessed to be a part of,” said Apple, who signed a one-year with the Bengals 51 weeks ago after playing just two games with the Panthers in 2020. “It was really a no brainer for me to come back. I wanted to play with those guys again. I want to run it back with that same group and just do it again. But just finish the way you want to.
“The motivation is always the Super Bowl. Being plays away from winning one, it has everyone extra motivated as a team to do everything the right way. To work smarter and better and improve in every area. That’s my mindset. Improve in every way I can to get this team back into that position.”
Apple isn’t hiding from those plays. Like the last play. He’s not ducking. He’s not alibiing. None of this, “I haven’t looked at the film yet.”
“I couldn’t wait. I was like, ‘I have to see this,'” Apple said. “I thought I knew what I did and I did.”
The Bengals defense that had been so…