HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
(opening statement): "I appreciate everybody being here. Just a congratulations to the Steelers. [It was] a poor performance by us; we didn't get the job done. Very disappointed, we are. We have to play better than that. What questions do you have?"
(on what adjustments the Steelers' defense made to shut down the run game) "They had a bunch of guys up there; they put an extra D-lineman in the game; [they were] crashing off the edges. We should have done a better job of attacking that for sure. We let them do what they want; it wasn't good."
(on the disappointment of not scoring points after Justice Hill's 56-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter) "Yes, [it was] very disappointing. That was a big drive for us right there. We could have put the game away right there."
(on if he talked to QB Tyler Huntley about what he saw on his interception) "No, I haven't had a chance yet. It's too early."
(on the Steelers' run game being very effective tonight) "[It was] very disappointing. Give them credit; they flipped the script, and that's not what we expect. We don't expect that at all. They got the job done [and] ran the ball very well against us."
(on what was the biggest challenge facing the offense today) "That was it. We didn't do a great job of finding a way to make plays. We had a few here and there, but we were behind the [first down] chains too much. They were ahead of the chains pretty much the whole team. We have to do a way better job across the board in terms of attacking what they did. They did a nice job. It wasn't anything we haven't seen; it was exactly what we saw on tape from them the last three weeks. [We are] just very disappointed. [That was] not one of our better performances at all. Coaching staff; start with that, start with me. Start with the coaching staff, game plan, all of it – not good enough. [It was] very disappointing. We have to bounce back."
(on if it is too early to know the severity of T Morgan Moses' injury) "Yes."
QB TYLER HUNTLEY
(on what he was hoping for on his final play interception) "Just somebody. [I was] looking for somebody to try and just make a play. Minkah [Fitzpatrick] made a play."
(on the offense having two quick three-and-outs in the fourth quarter) "We just got stopped on third [down]. [We] didn't convert the third-down. [We] got behind the sticks a little bit, and the Steelers made a good defensive stance two drives in a row. [They] kept us out of field goal range, and we had to punt."
(on how difficult it was to run the ball against the Steelers' defensive looks and how heavy they were loading the box) "I feel like we can run against any defense that's out there, but we just have to keep just taking what they give us. They stopped us, for real, for sure."
(on if he has a stinger from being hit) "No." (Reporter: "We saw the trainers working on you.") No, we're straight; we're good."
(on the offense's frustration level after continuing to struggle to consistently score touchdowns) "We're driving down there, we just have to finish the drive. [We have to] stop getting three [points]; get seven [points]. That's what we just have to keep striving for. That's it."
(on the team's mindset waiting to see the outcome of the Cincinnati Bengals' game tomorrow) "We knew we had the best chance [to win the AFC North] if we won both games. [We] felt short today, so we're in the playoffs and we're just going from there. We have one more game in the regular season, and [we will] get ready for the playoffs."
TE MARK ANDREWS
(on the struggle to score touchdowns lately) "I think today there was a lot of good football that was played, you know, there was a lot of good things that played, situationally. You love to score, obviously, before the first half ended in the second quarter, so that was good, but we did a lot of good things. We're just capitalizing who we need to, and it really came down to the two drives before that last one, just being sharp. We'll get it together."
(on the key to beating Cincinnati and the run defense) "We've got a lot of different things that we can do. I was very proud of the way the guys fought, handled the looks and all the different things. So, it's just about, you know, taking advantage of what we can take advantage of and play football. I think we should have won this game, but that's that."
(on the disappointment not getting yards after having a good field position) "You know, like I said, it really wasn't down to that two-minute drive, it was two drives before that. Obviously, you can field goal here or there, field goal on either one of them. I thought, again, the guys played well. We did a lot of good things, and it didn't turn out for us today."
(on the team's mindset heading into the final week of the regular season) "Just get better, you know, we're a dangerous team, and I know there's a fire in this group, there's fire today, and I don't think the score indicates that, but we'll be alright."
(on what enabled him to make many plays today) "Just playing. Obviously, you know, 'Snoop' [Tyler Huntley] throwing incredible balls and you're just getting open, you know, starting to feel a little bit and, you know, a lot of guys made big plays. Look at 'Zay' [Isaiah Likely] in the end zone. That was a big-time play. A lot of guys stepped up, Snoop stepping up, [offensive] linemen, everybody, running backs doing their things always, so it's a team thing."
S CHUCK CLARK
(on what looks the Steelers were giving them in the run game that gave the defense such a hard time) "I think they were hitting us with the wide-zone, really. They were just getting downhill, and they have a good 'back. Hats off to him [Najee Harris]. We had him; we kept him bottled up a couple games in the past, but he had a good day today, honestly."
(on the frustration of not allowing any touchdowns until Pittsburgh's game-winning touchdown drive) "It's frustrating defensively, just because we preach, 'Finish,' and right there we didn't really finish and do what we had to do to get off the field. Honestly, it's nobody's fault, but it's our fault. We just have to get off the field to help the whole team be in a better position."
(on if it was hard for the defense to do what it wanted to do because of the number of short yardage situations on second- and third-down) "Yes. Of course, we want it to be second and longer, but they had the run game going, so that's kind of what put us in that situation. We can definitely get a little bit more exotic if it's a little bit longer, but that was a little bit tougher for us, honestly."
(on what this loss means for the team moving forward with the Cincinnati Bengals playing tomorrow night) "I don't think it's difficult because we still have everything in front of us. Depending on how tomorrow goes, we still have a chance to play for the AFC North. Then, we're still in the playoffs at the end of the day. So, we still have all our goals in front of us. We're still getting in the playoffs, and we have a chance to go get a [championship]. So, we just have to take it one game at a time."
(on Steelers QB Kenny Pickett extending plays with his legs) "Yes, we always practice that, though – just plastering. When the play extends, on the backend we have to do our part. It doesn't matter what happens up front – backend, we're back there to cover. So, we just have to plaster and stick with it."
RB J.K. DOBBINS
(on the Steelers' defense selling out to stop the run game) "Yes, yes. They were trying to stop the run. They did a good job. They came with some adjustments. They did a good job, but we still did a good job in the run game – don't sit here and act like we got shut down in the run game. I don't know the stats or anything, but we did not get shut down in the run game. So, let's not sit here and act like they shut us down. So, we'll make an adjustment, and we're going to get better from it."
(on how he feels about his personal performance today) "Frustrated. I'm a guy that loves to win, so any time we lose, I'm not a happy camper. We're going to go, we're going to go hit the drawing boards, and we're going to fix everything that we can fix."
(on if he feels like he is getting physically closer to feeling like himself) "Yes, I'm getting closer. I'm getting closer each week. I'll continue to get better, and better and better. Hopefully, it'll be at the right time."
(on the Ravens still having a path to win the AFC North and the team's mindset) "We're rooting for the Bills for sure, but we control our own destiny, though. I'm a guy that likes to control his own destiny by putting in work [and] controlling what we can control. We'll be Bills fans, and hopefully next week we'll be playing for an AFC North title."
S KYLE HAMILTON
(on the disappointing loss) "It's great to know that we're in the playoffs, but that's our rival over there, and in games like these that come down to the end, we have to figure out a way to pull them out. This one is on us; this one is on me. We just have to go back and figure out mentally how to deal with this."
(on if Pittsburgh was doing anything differently running the football) "Honestly, it's not about them, it's about us. We were playing gaps, playing run to the ball, playing physical, but we just have to get better. Top to bottom, we have to figure it out. Not that it's broken, but we can't have lapses like that, have them running all over the field."
(on getting ready for Cincinnati mentally) "Hopefully we'll be going to Cincinnati with the division on the line. We want this one, we need this win and there will be more games after that. Everything is still in our hands. We know what we can do. We just have to go out and execute on our end."
ILB PATRICK QUEEN
(on why the Steelers were able to run the ball so effectively) "We got our [butt] whooped. We didn't play good football. We didn't communicate enough; we didn't play physical enough. We got whooped."
(on the emotions following the game) "Pissed off. We shouldn't have let that happen. That's on us, and that's on the linebackers and the front seven; we can't let them run the ball."
(on what happened on the Steelers' final drive) "We all didn't make a play. We had a chance to get to the quarterback; we didn't get to the quarterback. We had a chance to make a play; we just didn't make the play. It shouldn't have even gotten to that point, honestly. So, we've just got to go back to the drawing board, get better and try to win a game next week."
(on what the team does to try to move past this loss) "We've got another game. Depending on whatever happens, we've still got a chance. But at the end of the day, we've just got to focus on the next game and try to prepare. We don't want to go into the playoffs losing two in a row. We're trying to get our streak going, and we need to start getting our streak right next week."
DT BRENT URBAN
(on what went wrong on Steelers' game-winning touchdown drive) "You have to take it one play at a time. You have to drop your hat to them and say they played really well. They finished the game. It's unacceptable as a defense. We need to finish those games out. I didn't play well enough. The defense didn't play well enough, and that's just what it is."
(on why Pittsburgh was able to run the ball so effectively against them) "They just did a great job of just coming off the ball. [They] had good schemes. It was just unacceptable as far as I'm concerned."
(on the feeling right now when a game goes the way this one did) "It hurts, man. It's tough to lose to your rival like that. [We have to] just go back to the drawing board, fix the mistakes and look forward to Cincinnati next week."
(on if the defense was feeling gassed by the final drive of the game) "As far as I'm concerned, we need to play great fourth-quarter defense and close the game out. It's not on the offense, it's on us [the defense]. There's a standard here, and we need to play to that."
(on the team's collective mindset about the playoffs) "[We have to] just regroup, [and] look to Cincinnati next week and then beat Cincinnati. That's what it is."
DT BRODERICK WASHINGTON
(on his feelings following the loss) "To be honest, I'm really just embarrassed. I just feel like, myself, presently, I didn't play up to our standard. I've just got to go back to the drawing board and get better."
(on the Steelers' offensive success) "We've just got to be better, man. They came out with fire, and they really wanted to win the game. We've just got to be better."
(on how the team will handle this loss) "Shoot, I think it's just everybody getting back to the drawing board, going back and watching the film and seeing what where we could be better at, so we can come out and play a better game next week."
(on if the Steelers did anything to catch them off guard in the running game or if they just executed well) "Yes, they just executed what they did well – really well, actually – and we've just got to be better."
(on why he's taking this loss so hard) "I hate losing. I don't care what it is; I don't want to lose. Shoot, I just expect way more out of myself. But yes, I hate losing."
G KEVIN ZEITLER
(on what Pittsburgh's defensive front did differently this time) "They gave us some motion; they did some other things and they played hard. We knew they were going to come out and play hard. This was like a playoff-like atmosphere and they gave us everything they had. We have to execute better and take care of business so this won't happen again."
(on Pittsburgh's defense showing six-man wall and selling out) "We as a team are capable of running against that, and we have to make sure as players we get the job done. If it takes adjustments or whatever, it doesn't really matter. We just need to find a way to get it done."
(on where he thinks the offense is right now) "Well, obviously, there's a lot of room for improvement. Obviously, it's frustrating knowing that at the end of the game we weren't able to pull it out. Us, the players, we're the ones that are out there. Whatever the call is, whatever happens, we have to get it done. It's up to us. Anyone can say anything, but it really comes down to us getting the job done."
(on where they are mentally right now) "Of course, we're happy we're in the playoffs, but I think everyone knows we need to play better right now. We have another game next week against a very good opponent. It's going to be a good, 'Come to Jesus,' this week. We've got to get this figured out or else nothing good will happen."
