Steelers: 1st Round Playoffs Team Quotes and Comments
By Zack Goncz
The Steelers have a few things to say regarding the wild game they won against the Bengals in the first round of the playoffs
The Steelers outplayed and outclassed the Bengals last night and came away with the win. But seriously, what was that? The Cincinnati Bengals and many of their fans really just lost control last night. The Steelers kept their cool though and came out on top.
Ryan Shazier had a great game, dominant even. 16 of those and he’s an all-pro. Turns out the Toussaint-Todman combo is pretty solid. And if you didn’t know Big Ben is a terminator.
But questions remain. Will Ben be there next week? Will Brown? Will Williams? And most of all, what can be done about the Bengals, and Burfict especially, trying to injure Steelers players? If Marvin Lewis can’t control his team does the NFL step in?
Regardless, the Steelers won. And that’s the important thing. It was rainy. It was crazy. It was brutal. It was a win. The Steelers came out on top.
So let’s hear from the team.
Ben Roethlisberger
According to Dale Lolley of Steel City Insider, Ben Roethlisberger described the last drive, “I was at the other end of the field and Coach Tomlin kind of looked down at me, kind of like give me the nod.”
Coach Tomlin remembered it this way, “It was dire. Ben and I have been together for nine years. We kind of looked at each other and said now or never.”
Mike Prisuta of Steelers.com quoted Heath Miller saying of the choice to come back in, “Pretty special. I’m not sure of the extent of his injury but, obviously, it was bad enough that he couldn’t come back in the game initially. But he was willing to sacrifice for the team. It was loud. He just stepped in the huddle, called the play and we got moving.”
Burfict etc.
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Big Ben said of the win, “It feels pretty good to come to Cincinnati and getting this win, this way. I am so proud of so many guys. It was pretty crazy. Those last two minutes were absolutely bizarre. There is no quit in this team.”
Mike Mitchell said of Burfict in particular, “Man, that guy will get his. That guy’s something special. The thing is if you watch him, he’s a talented football player. He’s just, uh, a little extra.”
Vince Williams ominously predicted, “I don’t think it will ever be finished completely. We play each other twice a year forever. I think it’s always going to be tempers flaring and always going to be a great rivalry.”
Toussaint and Todman
Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro said of blocking for the two young new faces, “They did a great job. They really stepped up and performed when we needed it.”
Mike Tomlin said of Toussaint in particular, “We had a great deal of confidence in Fitz. Not based on his resume, but what we see day-to-day. Regardless of his position in the group he brings his hard hat. He comes to work every day, his demeanor has never changed. We find comfort in that. He did what we expected him to do.”
Toussaint said of both he and Todman’s performances according to Jacob Klinger of PennLive.com, “When you go out there and you have both guys making big plays, that’s confidence between both of us.”
The Strip
Ryan Shazier, the man himself, said of the game according to Triblive.com, “Sometimes it is just your will. Guys were holding him up, and I was tugging at it, and once I felt it loose I got it.”
Arthur Moats said regarding the interception just before the strip, “Oh, man, trust me, it killed us. We were like, ‘Man, this could really be it.’ But once we gathered ourselves, we said if they run any plays that we have to strip it.”
Mike Mitchell said, “It’s really just mental toughness. We knew we had given up one. We work the strip drill, usually at the start of practice every day. Shazier made a huge play. That’s why you can never lose hope. Even when it looked bad, you can’t lose hope.”
Next: Steelers out class Bengals in last minute win
Well, on to Denver Steeler Nation.