Steelers Players Postgame Transcripts 9/21

Derrick Harmon, DT

(On how he felt about his first career sack)

“I felt good, felt good. Just got to keep stacking these and get better. It felt great, the D-line was rushing together as a unit, that’s what we need every game for the whole D-line to rush as well.”

 

(On what his mindset was in the game)

“Excited, ready to get to it. A little bit anxious, but ready to compete at a high level, like you said.”

 

(On what impresses him about Cameron Heyward)

“He comes in to work every day, really gets to it. He’s on the little details. He’s on my behind about the little details day in and day out. That’s why we love Cam. He stays on other players and he stays on himself.”

 

(On what gives him the confidence about future games)

“Just preparation, that’s my biggest thing. Preparation and consistency.”

 

T.J. Watt, LB

(On the five turnovers and if this was a good day for him)

“Yeah. There is going to be a lot of good film to watch. We have had some tough performances the last few weeks. Today was a much better performance. There is still a lot of room to grow.”

 

(On third-and-longs being an issue for the Steelers)

“I think it is a matter of working together. The rushing coverage needs to work together. We need to get home. I thought the guys in the back end did a good job of covering. We have to do better, of course.”

 

(On if the team needed this success to feel better)

“We definitely needed a splash. That has been lacking in the last couple of weeks. We need to continue to stop the run, as you have seen in the last couple of weeks. When we make teams one dimensional, we’re a pretty dangerous defense.”

 

(On the multiple Patriots fumbles and turnovers all game)

“Yeah. We knew those guys were ball surge victims all week. They have a lot of fumbles on tape. Anytime you emphasize that throughout the week, it needs to show up in the game. It showed today.”

 

DK Metcalf, WR

(On the offense feeding off the defense)

“Without the defense we would not be sitting in this locker room, cheering or happy we got a win. So, big shout out to the defense for creating five turnovers. Two of them were in the red zone where they could have gotten six points easy.”

 

(On Aaron Rodgers’ message to the team when things were slowing down in the second and third quarters)

“Everyone’s message in the locker room was to keep your head up as a team and execute.”

 

Calvin Austin III, WR

(On the feeling of his touchdown after past misconnections with Aaron Rodgers]

“We know in this game there are going to be ups and downs. This week, we continued to be ourselves and communicate. There was no panic at all from the last game. We get in moments like this and go back to our training and fundamentals.”

 

(On Aaron Rodgers running up to him after the touchdown)

“After my first touchdown against the Jets, he was one of the first ones over there. Stuff happens, but we see each other every day. It is onto the next. I was not surprised by that at all.”

 

(On if the offense fed off the defense’s five turnovers)

“Yeah, definitely. The defense came up extremely big. In each of those moments when they were getting those turnovers, obviously, we want to convert on all of them. As Coach T [Mike Tomlin] says, ‘Sometimes you may not win pretty.’ At the end of the day, it is about executing.”

 

(On struggling during stalling drives)

“Most definitely. Our goals and our expectations are to play until February. We know as an offense we have to do better if we want to get there. It’s Week 3. We got a win. We got the right guys and stuff. Everybody is locked in, engaged, and happy for each other. As long as we have that mindset, our talents will be able to show.”

 

Jabrill Peppers, S

(On the five forced turnovers the defense caused)

“I mean it, that’s been the DNA here since the ’70s, and ’60s, and beyond that. They implemented rules because of the “Steel Curtain,” you know what I mean, to help offenses out. So, I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m just going try to be a star in my role, whatever that role is, week in and week out. Lean on the guys, and we got a lot to clean up.”

 

(On his celebration after the fumble recovery and did he practice it)

“I did, yeah. I envisioned it last night. I definitely envisioned it last night. I wanted to let the fans know how I miss them, but I’m down with the Steel Curtain now, and I hope to become a fan favorite here too.”

 

(On playing back in New England for the first time)

“I just had to keep my emotions in check, not let the moment be too big. Let the plays come to you, and I definitely have a lot I got to work on, as far as the minute details of things. But it’s definitely good, correcting things after a win.”

 

(On whether he had a chance to talk to Kyle Dugger)

“That’s my dog. That’s my dog, man. We go way back. It’s a brotherhood and camaraderie from — through hard work, through trials and tribulations. I love all those guys, I wish him the best. Just not if they see us later on down the year, but I wish nothing but success for those guys, I mean, they work hard. They’re well coached, and they deserve it.”

 

Brandin Echols, CB

(On the bounce back win)

“Yeah, of course, we have been having a lot of up and downs these past two games with the run game. So, it feels good for us to go out there and get that done. That’s better to give us some positivity.”

 

(On his interception and not wanting to drop the ball)

“I can’t even really explain it. Like, all of it was low key a blur. I barely remember what happened. I just know I was getting high-low. So therefore, I don’t know, I just went out there and tried to make a play.”

 

(On evaluating the game where you force turnovers, but then give up a fair number of turnovers)

“We just go back, the biggest thing is coming up with the win. We come back tomorrow and see what we did wrong. Because obviously, we can win when we really want to. We just got to step up, look at what we need to fix, and get it fixed.”