Q. Last season going into Week 18, you were in the exact situation in which the Bengals currently find themselves – needing a win against a division opponent on the road plus some help to get into the playoffs. Does that experience give you any insight into what to expect tonight in terms of the levels of desperation and what the Bengals might be willing to do or attempt?
A. I know our mind-set and our approach to business. I'm not going to pretend to know theirs. Certainly, I know where our heads were and our agenda and what we were willing to do to pursue it, and so I oftentimes proceed with that assumption. This is a big game. This is do-or-die for them. I don't expect them to preserve any bullets, as an analogy. They're going to fire all their bullets. They're going to utilize their weapons, their core weapons. When you're up against it, you go to core guys, proven guys, hot hands, etc. And so if there's any assumptions from our perspective about their mind-set it is that.
Q. Relating to down-and distances, is fourth-and-short an automatic go for it?
A. I think those things play out much later in the contest, but I don't anticipate them to fire those type of bullets early in the contest. I expect them to play situational decision-making to their regular standard. But certainly those discussions are on the table as time becomes a factor, depending on what the score is.
Q. In assessing your team's recent performances, you mentioned that the turnover culture had been compromised, and that assessment is supported by stats showing that during the three-game losing streak the Steelers had their takeaways per game fall from 2 to 1 to none, and the turnover ratio per game go from plus-1 to minus-1 to minus-2. What specifically has been the cause of that?
A. We've gotta display and live our agenda, and it's as simple as that. There's nothing mystical about it. We've had balls on the ground in the kicking game, on the punt team specifically, in the last several weeks, dislodged the ball. Mark Robinson dislodged one. James Pierre dislodged one. In Baltimore, we didn't get those balls on the ground. You've got to get those. We had a ball tipped up in the air on the 30-yard line last week on the defensive side. Patrick Queen had a chance to catch it, and he didn't. And so, it's not anything mystical. It's not like we need to do anything procedurally different. We've got to make makeable plays. Oftentimes I say, make routine plays routinely. It's the same thing on the other side. When Pat Freiermuth fumbled the ball on the 30-yard line or so last week against Kansas City, he had the ball in his inside arm. Balls are going to get dislodged, get ripped away when you don't protect it. It's a very fundamental thing to put the ball in the outside arm and use the sideline as a form of protection, in terms of warding off defenders and protecting the football. And so we're not going to pretend like it's mystical. We're not going to pretend like we're unlucky. We're not going to change our approach to business in terms of the things that we emphasize day to day to create it. We've just got to continue to work hard, and I expect our fortunes to change.
Q. On the other side, the Bengals have 11 takeaways since your first meeting on Dec. 1 in Cincinnati. Based on your preparation for today's game vs. the Bengals, what specifically has been the cause of that?
A. Probably just deciding who they are. There has been a reduction of schematics on that side and some tailoring of schematics to meet their current circumstance. They've absorbed some attrition with guys like (linebacker) Logan Wilson being unavailable to them, and so they've changed some third-down personnel groupings, for example. A guy like (safety) Geno Stone is doing what they acquired him to do. (Since Dec. 1) I think Geno has had three interceptions. He had 7 interceptions last year as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. He's a member of that Bengals team because of his ability to get the ball, and so oftentimes it's an individual guy gaining traction within a role, and the No. 1 catalyst during that span for me has been Geno Stone and his takeaway ability that was on display, and that's the reason why they acquired him.
Q. Generally speaking, is having team chemistry a result of winning, or is winning the result of having team chemistry?
A. You know, it's the chicken or the egg. It depends on your perspective of what mood you're in. For me, I try to feed both. Obviously, winning is our business, and we better handle business. And you better get a collection of good guys. I think it starts there – assembling good guys who happen to be good players. If you have those ingredients, then you can cook the team chemistry that is somewhat mystical if you really get in a thick discussion about it.
Q. When coming up with a division of labor at running back with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, what are the factors that you consider? Game plan? Hot hand? Opponent specific?
A. It's all of the above. There are some complexities to that, just like there are some complexities in terms of how we divide the labor up with Elandon Roberts and Payton Wilson, or with Cam Sutton and Beanie Bishop, or with the tight ends for that matter. When you have multiple guys and capable guys with varying skill-sets at a position, oftentimes the circumstance, the environment, who's hot, who's not – any and all of those things can play a major component in terms of decision-making.
Q. Do you run different kinds of plays when each of those running backs are on the field?
A. We certainly can, but oftentimes they're very similar plays. And sometimes it's just about a level of fatigue of one particular guy. He may have had four or five carries within a six or seven play sequence, but we like the schematic circumstances that we're in. We'll just swap out the runner and continue to run the same battery of plays. So that's what I mean, and I'm not trying to avoid your question. It's just multi-layered and oftentimes complex when you're dealing with guys with varying skill-sets and how you divide up the labor and how to best make sure the collective continues to roll. From week to week in some instances, on a third-and-2, it might mandate that we use the Elandon Roberts on defense; in another week, it might be a purely passing circumstance that dictates we use Payton Wilson. But if you're just defining it by, "who do you use on third-and-2," the situation gets more complex.
Q. In Cincinnati's game against Denver last week, the Broncos sacked Joe Burrow 7 times and had 15 hits on the QB. Four of the sacks and more than half of the hits came from the defensive linemen instead of their edge rushers. Is pressure up the middle from the interior, the way you have to rush Burrow?
A. You better do a really good job of a collective rush. His ability to extend, his ability to escape is very challenging, and so sometimes production in that area can be reflected by numbers from the interior or numbers from the perimeter. But the bottom line is that if you're lacking in any area, he's generally going to find the escape lane. He can go lateral. He can go vertical. He can go vertical to get lateral and run horizontal to the line of scrimmage while he's surveying downfield. He just has a unique skill-set and a low pulse rate that allows him to extend plays. Although specifically in that instance, the stats can be associated with a particular component of the rush, you better be solid all the way around, down in and down out. If not a guy like him is going to get you.
Q. Before the first meeting with the Bengals this season, you talked about having "enough defense" for Burrow. Now that this is the second meeting, does "enough defense" also mean "different defense?"
A. Absolutely. You've just got to live that life. A guy like him, who's in total command of his schematics has a lot of mental space and time to analyze your schematics. That's the best way to really delve into the discussion. Last time, we were talking about guys like Matt Stafford and Burrow and Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, now that he's really tenured in Buffalo, anybody who has been in the same system of offense and really has an understanding of what's required of them and where their eligibles are, they've got continuity, not only with their eligibles, but with their schematics and coaching staff. It requires defense, because all of that sums up into their ability to really digest what it is that you're doing. To focus their energies, pre-snap, on your movement, on your positioning, on your personnel, because what they're asked to do becomes so second nature to them. That's why I say it so definitively when we're talking about having enough defense when you play these tenured guys who are in total command of their offensive system of football and know where all their eligibles are, you better level the playing field. You better not allow them to get really comfortable with what they're seeing, because when they do, that's when they have those days that potentially become historic. And you know, that's not conducive to us winning.
Q. Does different mean different than anything you've done before?
A. Different can be dramatically different in terms of new defenses, but different can also be subtle, just in terms of different disguises or different positioning or the exchanging of zones. And so different can mean a lot of things, but you better be open to the general discussion as you prepare to play a guy like him.
Q. Wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase have a combined 26 touchdown receptions. How are they used schematically to create opportunities for each other?
A. Whoever has only one guy on him gets the ball. We can make it complex, but at the end of the day they've got really talented receivers, and you only have so many defenders. And oftentimes, when I really watch Joe, I think he drops back in those red zone circumstances and whoever's got one guy on him is getting the ball.
Q. Are there specific areas of the field where one of them is especially effective, or where one is often targeted?
A. Obviously a guy like Tee, because of his stature – 6-foot-4, 225 – is a red zone issue and matchup for the defense. But Chase is a unique guy. He leads the league in all receiving statistical categories – receptions, yards, touchdowns, targets. And so this is a unique group that presents a unique challenge. And so they can strike from just about anywhere.
Q. T.J. Watt was voted Steelers MVP for the fifth time, which is the most since the award was first presented in 1969. What can be deduced from the fact that it was his fifth win and that he has won it in 2019, 2020, 2921, 2023, and 2024?
A. I think it really just speaks to his level of consistency. When available, this guy plays at an extremely high level. You couple that with the fact he sees schematic challenges week in and week out. Very rarely does he get a one-on-one matchup, just like we were talking about with the Cincinnati receivers. There are two on him at all times, and yet he still delivers. And I think it speaks to his greatness. I think his teammates see that, and the consistency in which they vote for him in terms of being MVP reflects not only his production, but the schematic adversity that he sees week in and week out, down in and down out, and yet he still delivers. I imagine the great basketball players, LeBron and others see consistent double-teams and still they're at the top of the food chain in terms of statistics, and that's why they are who they are. It is no different in our in our game.
Q. Earlier this week, you started the 21-day clock on ILB Cole Holcomb (PUP), WR Roman Wilson (IR), and Logan Lee (IR). Would you characterize that as due diligence, or is there a real possibility that any of them might be able to contribute this season?
A. It's both. We're at that time of the year where we get an opportunity to start that clock, because there are a limited number of days left in our football journey, and so it's time to burn the boats. But it also reflects a mentality. We're open to contributions from any and every capable man who is healthy, and attrition becomes a component of the discussion this time of year. And so it's good to have three very capable guys who are healthy and working and positioning themselves to be relevant if called upon.
