Q. You guys seemed to have things in hand there in the first half. Of anything you can pinpoint what went wrong early in the third quarter?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: I just didn't play well enough. Thankfully our defense is awesome and fun to watch and they bailed us out.
Q. What do you think was missing there in the third and can you also describe the touchdown that Claypool there made on the sideline?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: You know, I think it was just I just didn't play well enough. I was looking back. I'll have better answers when I can look at the film.
I just got to trust myself and trust my guys. They're in the spots they are supposed to be. Sometimes you have to make an anticipatory throw and I didn't do that well enough today. I didn't connect with guys when they were open. So I just didn't play well enough.
For Chase's touchdown, they had the safety down and I just threw it up and he made a play.
Q. Two for 12 on third down. Was there anything in particular that made that particularly tough sledding or anything that you can point to?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Me just not playing well enough.
Q. The touchdown pass to Diontae, how difficult is that for the anticipation of the throw to lead him across the end zone like that? I would assume it had to be one of the more difficult throws a quarterback has to make.
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Yeah it actually wasn't a very good throw. He made a great play on it. It was a little bit behind him. When it came off my hand, I was afraid the guy was going to knock it down, but Diontae did a great job of slowing down and making a body catch. He made it a lot easier than it -- it wasn't a good throw, so thankful to him.
Q. Talk about the pass to Claypool for the touchdown and also just curious if the lack of a crowd, how different was it this week from last week because you don't have the home crowd with you?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: We miss the crowd. That's one of the most special things about playing at Heinz Field is the best fans in the world. So it's not the same, I'll be honest. Being out there and not having them, not seeing all those towels. So we definitely miss them and know that we still appreciate their support even though we know they're not here.
And for Chase's touchdown, you know, we kind of had the coverage there in the zone but that guy has that deep zone. And they blitzed the guy up the middle, so I didn't have a lot of time. I just kind of threw it far and high and let Chase run under it, and he really did all the work.
Q. How would you characterize what your defense was able to do today?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Well, they were special. You know, they bailed us out numerous times. You know, they were sometimes even our best offense out there today. So I'm really thankful for them and I told them numerous times and I'll reiterate it that, you know, they're one of the big reasons that I decided to come back because they're a special group and they won that game for us no doubt.
Q. Was there a point where you knew the right side of the O-line was going to hold up?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: I had confidence coming in that they would. Those guys put the time, the effort in. Obviously we knew that Choops (phonetic) is a guy that was battling with Banner for the chance to start this year, so we know what he's capable of doing. He's played in the past for us.
And as for Dotson, we were excited for him. I mean, the young man grew up a Steelers fan. He told me his dad watches it in his man cave upstairs. So I was just so happy that he got out there and got the play. I gave the ball to him afterwards and told him to give it to his old man. So I'm just really thankful for him and all those guys and the whole line altogether.
Q. How good of a feeling is it to complete a play like the one that you did with Claypool? I know there are touchdowns and then there are touchdowns. Do you know what I mean?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Yeah, I mean, to be honest with you when I threw it, I kind of got hit right after I threw it. And so I -- without the crowd you really don't know what happens, right? You can't tell if it's caught, incomplete, touchdown. I mean, there's just no reaction. I had no idea what was going on. I kind of had an idea that he caught it and then he kind of kept running and next thing I saw was Pouncey running towards me, and I didn't even have a chance to see it all yet. So I'm excited to check it out, but what a play by him.
Q. Mike Tomlin was saying earlier that this time of year it's not going to be perfect and you guys did some good things and bad things. How do you kind of weigh or counter what you did good against what you did bad today?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Well, I would say at the end of the day we won the game. And that's truly all that matters. And, yeah, early in the season you can -- I don't want to make excuses but I didn't play well today and that's just the way it is. And we turned the ball over offensively and that's on me. And I'm just glad that our defense bailed us out, like I said. But the good news is when you play poorly and you still win the football game. So that's something to be thankful for.
Q. When you mentioned some of the anticipatory throws and missing guys who are open, is that timing that you lose because you don't have the preseason and don't have all of the normal off-season workouts that you would have?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: Maybe. I just need to trust myself making the throws. The guys are in the right spot. The interception never should have happened. Pouncey ran a perfect route. I need to trust it and throw it. He was there and open. So as I stepped up and even tried to throw it to JuJu to let him to make a play, it wasn't even a good throw one-on-one ball. It made JuJu have to adjust too much.
So a lot of the throws that I missed tonight are just me needing to trust myself and trust that the guys are in the right spots because we are in the right places. So hopefully it will come.
Q. One of the things that you said last week is that you wanted to improve on your feel in the pocket. How do you think that went today? Were you happier with that?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: I think so. Like I need to like go back and watch it more. Maybe part of it was I didn't feel like I got my feet set on some of the throws. The one I through behind on Pouncey on third down should have been an easy completion. If you look at the Jumbotron you see that my feet weren't turned and set.
So some of that is just lazy footwork. So I don't know if that has to do with the pocket feel. I know I felt better in the pocket today. I felt the guys did a good job up front against a really good pass rush. We had a few balls batted down today which is surprising. We don't usually have that many batted down. I'll check that out too, but I just have to try to keep getting better.
Q. You mentioned Diontae. Can you describe your trust in him and how that relationship is growing between you two after a couple of weeks?
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: It's growing. I need to get better. He's doing a great job. He's getting to the spots he's supposed to. He's incredibly special when he catches the ball. We saw some catches tonight that were unbelievable. And once the ball is in his hands, what he can do.
So he needs to just keep doing what he's doing because he's doing a great job. I need to get better at trusting him that he will be in the spot that he's supposed to be, because he is. And part of that is just trusting myself too.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports