Pittsburgh - 19, Detroit - 9
Q. Mitch, you talked before about wanting to get a two-minute drive in. What was it like finally to knock the rust off in a preseason game, and how do you think it went?
MITCH TRUBISKY: It was good. We finished in the end zone, so that was ideal. A lot of two-minute situations we've been practicing in practices. It was nice to get a live rep at it today. We went right down the field and scored a touchdown. I thought it was smooth, good communication, getting in and out of the huddle.
It was nice because we had three timeouts, so something Coach T and I talked about. We went down the field and scored in the end zone, so it was nice and good execution all around. It was fun.
Q. You guys blew some good field positions earlier and were struggling, but to get that long touchdown?
MITCH TRUBISKY: It was important. We wanted to finish the first half strong. Obviously when you're playing a full game, you look for those double dip situations when you're getting the ball out at half. Score before half and start the second half with the football as well.
We sputtered out a couple times in the red zone. We've got to finish, especially when we have great field position from our defense.
It's nice to score field goals, but it's even better to score touchdowns. That's what we're looking for. We've just got to make the plays. I liked our calls down there. They made the plays. We didn't. That's why we didn't score more touchdowns in the red zone.
We'll look at it. We'll correct it, and we've just got to make the plays.
Q. We've asked you this a couple different times, but now that preseason has officially wrapped up, do you feel you've done enough to be QB 1 when week 1 starts?
MITCH TRUBISKY: I feel confident with where I'm at in our overall developing with our offense. I feel confident, and I'm excited to see where we go from here.
Q. Mitch, what do you like about what you've done this preseason?
MITCH TRUBISKY: I think I've shown I can run this offense, I can lead this offense, and I have what it takes to help this team win games.
Q. Did you want to go at the half in this game, or was it important to go longer than that?
MITCH TRUBISKY: I think it was important to establish a rhythm and score points. I think we -- the plan was going to the half, and we wanted to come away with more touchdowns early on, but settled for field goals. We'll look back and get better with that.
I think to finish with a touchdown was important and just finish the game clean.
It was fun. It was good to go out there and get a half in, like I felt like we got more of a rhythm. When you come out early, you don't get that two-minute drive, you don't get those important plays in the second quarter where you could really turn the tide as an offense, settle into the game, and feel the rhythm and what we need to do.
So I think it was important that we played all the way up until the first half, finished with that two-minute drive, and I feel like we built a little momentum as an offense as opposed to just settling for field goals in the red zone first quarter.
Q. Backed up inside the 10, a little time left and the lead, were you wondering if you would get the chance to pass and drive the ball down the field?
MITCH TRUBISKY: In that two-minute drive?
Q. Yeah.
MITCH TRUBISKY: Yeah, I felt comfortable with where we were at. Wherever the ball lands, as long as there's time on the clock, and we obviously had some timeouts in the bag that we were ready to burn and use. So it feels like a lot of time. We had all those timeouts, and we're just ready to go down and execute and make the most of our two-minute drive. That's what we were looking for.
Q. On the seam route to Freiermuth, how difficult is it to have that kind of connection with that guy and have that trust so quickly?
MITCH TRUBISKY: Yeah, Pat's just a guy you trust. When he's down there and you feel like it's a 50-50 ball, you know he's going to come down with it more times than not.
That throw, it just felt great coming off my hands. I knew, as soon as I let go of it, that it was going to be in a great spot for Pat to go up and make a play. O-line did a great job giving me time, and it was just good execution across the board. When the ball's in the air, Pat is going to come down with it.
Q. Is it the same kind of philosophy with the single outside, if you see Diontae Johnson or somebody, no matter what's called, you're going to take that shot?
MITCH TRUBISKY: We're going to be aggressive. We like our play makers inside and out. So when we get matched up one-on-ones, we like to take advantage of those. Down the field, I thought we hit one early to Diontae, and I think we could have had a couple more. I threw a back shoulder one in the two-minute drive.
Q. To Pickens?
MITCH TRUBISKY: Yeah, to Pickens. And I thought the one I put over the top, he almost made a great one-handed grab, but I try to tell him to get two on it instead of trying to get on ESPN with the one-handed catches and stuff.
He's doing a great job. We're going to keep looking for those mismatches and attacking downfield and hopefully create lighter run boxes for Najee back there to be balanced offense.
Q. Did you guys need that drive? Before that, it had been a little shaky, the protection wasn't great. Did you kind of need that drive to build some confidence?
MITCH TRUBISKY: We wanted it. We wanted to finish the second half strong. We knew we weren't going back there in the second half. So we wanted to finish with a good two-minute drive. So that was our opportunity. I love two-minute drill. It's something we wanted, and we took advantage of it.
Q. Before that, was that what they were doing or was it what you guys weren't doing in terms of trying to --
MITCH TRUBISKY: I think they made the plays, we didn't. I like the calls that came in. I liked the matchups we had. I think they made the play and we didn't a few times. That's where we can look at it and see where we can get better.
Q. Do you feel like you and particularly the offense in general are now ready to go into the regular season?
MITCH TRUBISKY: We've got another week or two to get ready, but we're headed in the right direction for sure.
Q. You were perceived as a fit when you signed here. Did you learn anything in this process leading up to this point that you didn't know?
MITCH TRUBISKY: I learned a lot. I learned a whole new playbook, learned my new teammates, learning the city of Pittsburgh. This is a great place to be. This is where I wanted to be. I want to be a part of this franchise, be a part of this young, talented roster. We've got a bunch of guys on roster. We're still molding, still coming together. And we're trying to build this thing the right way.
Q. What are your impressions working with Najee in this environment the first time?
MITCH TRUBISKY: He's a beast. It's our job to create running lanes for him and lighter run boxes with our matchups on the outside. I've got to keep carrying out my fakes and not watching him run the football after I hand it off. He's obviously a special talent, and he makes this offense go.
Q. What's the approach between now and week 1 for you?
MITCH TRUBISKY: Just keep getting better every day. See where we can improve from this game. Keep making strides, get back healthy, and get ready for week 1.
Q. Did Mike T. tell you anything, Mitch?
MITCH TRUBISKY: No, he didn't. Not yet.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports