- Normal process: Sunday's loss to the Patriots was the first loss the Steelers suffered since Oct. 8 when they lost to Jacksonville at Heinz Field. Coach Mike Tomlin said the key for them going forward, is to just follow the same plan of attack they did when they were rattling off wins for eight consecutive weeks.
"For us it's not about what transpired, it's about how do we move on from it," said Tomlin. "How do we learn from it, how do we better ourselves for the next fight, which will be coming in a number of days.
"We will go through our normal process. We hadn't lost a lot of games, and in particular recently. We haven't had to deal with failure from a week-in and week-out perspective. How we respond to that loss is important, will define us. How quickly we can transition and get our attention turned to the Houston Texans and the opponent that faces us this week and get back into our winning ways. We talk openly about the process in which we play when we are winning. That is prepare, play, analyze and repeat process. I will stick to that script."
- Team job: The Steelers will be without Antonio Brown when they take on the Texans on Christmas Day after he suffered a lower leg contusion against the Patriots. Tomlin said that calling the plays for the offense wasn't difficult after Brown went down in the second quarter of the game, and that he doesn't see it being a problem this week.
"We have 11 guys," said Tomlin. "It's a team job. He does things from time to time that are unique that others can't. That usually has nothing to do with the nature of the play calling. It's a unique skill set that he applies to schematics. It didn't change how we functioned or what we needed to do from a play selection or offensive personality standpoint. We just acknowledge that Antonio is a special guy, but you guys know that."
Shalieve: When Ryan Shazier was shown on the scoreboard during Sunday's game at Heinz Field, the crowd erupted with excitement. His teammates were equally excited to see him in the house. But the most important thing according to Tomlin, is how it made Shazier feel.
"That was for Ryan," said Tomlin. "That wasn't for us. If his presence aided him in his recovery, if it brightened his day, that is what we were interested in. We weren't doing it to uplift us or anything of that nature. Everything that we have done in terms of dealing with his circumstances has been focused on him and his recovery and providing him and his loved ones what they need, not us."
