Steelers - 34, Bengals - 11
COACH TAYLOR: ... in all three phases and that was turnovers on offense and missed opportunities there. That was big plays on defense and put ourselves in a hole. Saw us starting to fight back there in the start of the second half and put some separation in the game.
This is a humbling league. This is a humbling day. And we're going to have to quickly be able to make the corrections and put this behind us. And we have plenty to play for next week in Kansas City.
Q. You talked about the road to the playoffs usually goes through the North. You're 0-5 against them. Is there a common denominator?
COACH TAYLOR: We just haven't played well enough. Again, it's a humbling year in that regard and we just gotta find a way to pick up the pieces and find a way to be better next week.
Q. That first interception, was he trying to throw that ball away?
COACH TAYLOR: I think so.
Q. Are there any common denominators in what was going on with you guys on defense and allowing George Pickens to have the --
COACH TAYLOR: Some one-on-ones, simple as that.
Q. Did you feel the energy was (indiscernible)?
COACH TAYLOR: We feel great. Energy has been great, and I thought practice was really good. Again, it was just some little things early in the game that allowed them to have a lot of momentum at home. And that can be difficult to overcome in the division when that happens.
Q. It was probably individual answers to each of these but you had a bunch of trips down inside the 35 and you don't come out with points. Is there something they were doing that was making it particularly tough on you guys?
COACH TAYLOR: We weren't doing a great job running the ball in those short-yardage situations down there. We had a fourth down where we ended up throwing it and came up short there.
The other situations, I think we had a sack on one that put us in a fourth-and-long and we had to kick a field goal in that situation. You would like to go for it but it was just too long to go for it with where you were in the field so we kicked a field goal. I'd have to be reminded of some of those other positions.
Q. Has it been tough to (indiscernible) consistency (indiscernible) secondary?
COACH TAYLOR: I think we've got some guys there battling, and they're going to continue to learn through the experience. And they've got a ton of potential and very high ceiling. And this experience will be invaluable for a lot of those guys. We're counting on them to continue to step up. And so, again, that's part of life playing as a young guy in the NFL.
Q. Do you feel like Jake was pressing a little too much (indiscernible)?
COACH TAYLOR: It's difficult. When you get behind against that defense and they're just teeing off, rushing the passer -- and we're not going to have great success in the run game -- it makes for a tough day. It's tough to play quarterback on the road in that environment. I have to do things to help us more on offense to put us in position.
Q. Was the (indiscernible) on fourth-and-inches, is that the number one option on that?
COACH TAYLOR: Yes.
Q. Is there any (indiscernible) frustration (indiscernible) you guys, the position you put yourselves in --
COACH TAYLOR: We don't overreact. Again, we've done some really good things the past couple of weeks. Today wasn't a great experience for us. And, again, we know what the narrative will be going forward. So we'll just own up to it, be accountable to it, be ready to put our best foot forward next week against Kansas City.
Q. The short yardage situations, second and third and fourth down, do they each tell a story what went wrong, you guys haven't been able to get yards?
COACH TAYLOR: I'll have to watch them.
Q. The fourth and inches, you did the nothing-to-lose challenge and had a timeout, swapped personnel out. Was that the look, or was that you were trying to send a new package in?
COACH TAYLOR: Sometimes it's depending on their personnel. So sometimes they don't match it, it dictates what you want to do.
Q. Playing Andre (inaudible) on the sideline challenge got overturned, was that supposed to be a quick play that Jake audibled off of?
COACH TAYLOR: No, he did an audible. I pulled us out of it. I can own up to that. It felt like -- looked like we had it. So instead of sometimes you feel like you're not wasting a play but you're not putting your best play forward, I felt like we had it. It was right down my line of sight.
I obviously didn't see the hand even on the replay. We still felt like it was 50/50. It's surprising sometimes how those things go, and it just didn't work out in our favor. We ended up getting back down there, we converted it, got back down there but just came away with a field goal on that drive.
Q. How similar was Pittsburgh defensively...
COACH TAYLOR: Yeah, there's things that are similar.
Q. And Brad, more self-inflicted mistakes with the turnovers?
COACH TAYLOR: Was trying to throw the ball away on 1 and leaves it in there, and that's an obvious one for him. He knows that.
I'm trying to think, the second one was -- Highsmith made a great play. Defensive end dropped in the middle of the field made a good play on that third and one. And the second one, we're trying to hit a high cross, and I think a safety in there picked that one off.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports