Coach Mike Tomlin's postgame assessment following the 34-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons:It was a good performance for us. I guess I will start with the injury report. I think that's pretty significant. Byron Leftwich broke his arm. I don't have any additional information in terms of the time that he's going to be out. I am sure it's going to be an extended period of time. It just goes to show you that it's good to have four NFL-capable quarterbacks in a training camp-like setting. We've gone through this several times over the last few years. It always has its way of working itself out. It's going to be a factor here moving forward. Miguel Chavis looks like he tore his pectoral, the young tight end for us. The rest of the injuries are minimal, in game kind of injuries. Maurkice Pouncey re-aggravated his ankle. It shouldn't be a major deal. I liked the splash plays. We had some big plays offensively and defensively. I thought it was the difference in the game. It was not a consistent, dominant performance that we were looking for or winning by attrition. But we were explosive offensively. We made key plays, game changing-like plays defensively. But we will have to learn from this. I understand though that can't be a continual recipe for us in terms of winning football games. I'd like to see us win the line of scrimmage more definitively on offense. I'd like to see us get off more consistently on third-down defensively, put more consistent pressure on the quarterback and have tighter coverage in the secondary. But we will take the win. We will hopefully continue to grow and move forward toward our opener.
How is Keenan Lewis?I think he's going to be fine. They are running tests. That's one that I forgot, in game injury with his knee. We will have him evaluated and have more information at a later time.
Is that the same for Casey Hampton?Yes.
Did Pouncey hurt the same ankle?Yes. Sometimes you break up scar tissue on an existing injury. It's very painful with a lot of discomfort, but nothing long term.
Re: Antonio Brown's performance:He made some plays. He got behind some people and finished off some plays for us. It was consistent with his play in all of the preseason. He is a highly conditioned guy. Because of that he's able to take a lot of reps. Because of that he's able to improve and reap the rewards of it. He's consistently been a spark plug here for us throughout the preseason and he's put himself in a position for that to continue as we push towards the regular season.
The first team defense got about 50 snaps. Is that what you were looking fo?Again, I was talking about that group when I was talking about not getting off on third downs how we would like. They kicked three field goals or so in the first half. They were able to move the ball in open grass a little bit. We need to be more consistent in terms of the pressure we provide on third down. We have to be closer and challenge more potential catches. But that's just looking at it from a knee-jerk reaction. Obviously, it was enough for us to win.
Will you make some cuts tomorrow?We will make them before the deadline.
Re: No turnovers by the offense in the first three preseason games:I like it, and I'd like to see it continue.
Re: Antonio Brown's penalty:It's just not intelligent. We can't have those types of penalties. They hurt our football team.
Is Bryant McFadden still your starter?Yes.
