Steelers - 21, Patriots - 14
Q. Aaron, could you talk about that last drive and in particular the throw to Calvin.
AR: Yeah, we had to have a drive there. Guys made some plays. I thought the important play was the screen there, Kenny cutting it back inside to give us a third and manageable. Then we actually just talked about that in the huddle before the drive, about just a subtle signal on what I might want if I gave that when Cal was on the other side.
That was nice he was on the same page. I didn't throw the best ball, but Cal's so damn fast, he made a great play.
Q. What was the signal he was sending you?
AR: Probably on the TV copy. Everything is these days.
Q. When you're not taking advantage of opportunities, what's keeping you guys confident of getting you through those chances for that last drive to be right?
AR: Just our defense honestly. There was urgency. I think it was one of those weird, disjointed games we had three possessions in the first half, we had a chance on the third possession to keep it going. Just Pat and I weren't on the same page on the scramble drill. Then we sat on the bench for what seemed to be 20 or 30 minutes. So we just couldn't get into a rhythm at all.
Then we came out the second half and I made a terrible throw. Defense just kind of stood on their head all day.
I thought the first two drives were good rhythm-wise, and we couldn't find that rhythm in the second half.
Q. The play at the end, what does it say about the offense resiliency and stick-to-it-tiveness
AR: That's what we're supposed to do. We've got to make those plays so we're not in those positions. 14-0 we're feeling pretty damn good about ourselves. We haven't been ahead by two scores yet, two drives, two touchdowns, started fast for the third straight week.
Then I just didn't play great. We kind of lost our rhythm, too many penalties and negative yardage plays, and didn't make them pay when we had opportunities.
Q. Was there something about the Patriots defense you found especially challenging today?
AR: They throw a lot of different things at you. Felt like they were kind of in a two shell to start the game. Ran it at them pretty good the first couple of drives, and they adjusted. Didn't make enough plays. We had some penalties, some bad throws.
They played how we thought they were going to play. They're a tough group, they're well coached, and they were sticky in coverage.
Q. Passed Philip Rivers for some milestones today. Where does that rank on the list of accomplishments?
AR: I mean, not super duper high. It means I played a long time. I grew up, and Niners quarterbacks were my favorite, and then Bret, and I got to play with Bret.
I was drafted the year after Phil Rivers. Had a friendship through the game with him for years. Loved watching Phil play, just his mannerisms, his lack of swearing, trash talk. Phil was one guy I really enjoyed watching on tape, and the only guy to get out of the pro bowl with an excuse that he had his eighth or ninth kid right before that. Good to be mentioned with those guys.
Q. What's it like to see when a guy like Jabrill Peppers gets to face his old team and makes a big impact play like that?
AR: I think as former players, when you're playing former teams, that's what you want. You want to make a big play and make them think about what they lost. There's always that. Every single week there's a guy that's facing his former team probably, and he'd like to get him the ball or have him make some plays. He was definitely happy in the locker room.
Q. Have you done that?
AR: Yeah, a couple weeks ago.
Q. I know in the game New England led the league in sacks. Your offensive line didn't give up any in that. Talk about maybe the growth that you've seen in this young unit over the first couple weeks to today.
AR: It's a group effort, and I've tried to take accountability the last couple weeks on sacks that were probably my fault. Today I moved around just enough. There's some things to clean up, but I have a lot of confidence in those guys and that Art did a good job keeping them off balance with some different protection schemes and some moving the pocket stuff.
I thought those guys played well. They were a little upset after last week. They played with a better attitude this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports