Steelers - 24, Vikings - 21
Q. (No microphone)?
T.J. WATT: Yeah, it's like we talk about each and every week. It's fun to get teams one dimensional. Obviously that's us doing the job. That's the offense doing their job. Special teams had some great plays too. It's a whole lot of fun, man. Steeler nation came out today and really showed out. Really happy about that and happy about the win.
Q. Any meaning behind the celebration, punting the ball into the stands after the interception?
T.J. WATT: I was just trying to get it to the stands. The stands were so far away. I knew, if I threw it, I would hurt my shoulder. Just trying to get the fans as involved as much as possible, and they were incredible all day.
Q. We heard something happened to your teammate Scott Thompson while he was here. Is he doing okay?
T.J. WATT: I don't have enough to comment on that.
Q. Have you had a chance to drink any Guinness?
T.J. WATT: Yes, and we will probably be drinking many more here shortly.
Q. What was it like to be in Ireland and have Steeler nation turn out like that?
T.J. WATT: It was incredible. Hat's off to the Rooney family for establishing this culture here and having this fan base following us the way that they do. I think you have to acknowledge the Rooney family first and foremost.
The fans were absolutely incredible today, and I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. They're everywhere, and they're incredible, and it was a fun atmosphere today.
Q. (No microphone)?
T.J. WATT: Yes, very much so. That's why it's just trying to find any way to get to the quarterback, trying to impact the game as much as possible. I thought Herbig had a helluva game on the other side. I thought Keeanu had a helluva game inside, obviously Cam pushing the pocket inside.
It really doesn't matter who eats. We're going to see a lot of max protection. The guys in the back end did a helluva job covering. I thought even PQ and Payton and 25 when they blitzing were huge. We were just playing fast football. We knew what we were doing today, and we were flying around.
Q. Do you feel an additional sense of responsibility with the Rooneys' ties to Ireland?
T.J. WATT: Absolutely. Absolutely. We definitely had a chip on our shoulder. Mike T before last night gave a big speech on the importance of the Rooney family here in Ireland, Mr. Rooney and his ambassadorship here and how important this game means to their family. We take a lot of pride in that, and to go out and play Steeler football was huge.
Q. (No microphone)?
T.J. WATT: Maybe, but we also have some attrition, especially in the back end. We need to get some guys back, get them healthy, and the bye week is perfect for that.
Q. (No microphone)?
T.J. WATT: I think we were obviously tired towards the end of the game, just trying to bow up as much as possible. Like I said, some guys were going down in the back, so we had to switch some things up. We weren't able to play as aggressively as we wanted to. We had to switch to some zone coverages and things like that.
Like I said, they were max protecting a lot too, so it was allowing him to have a little bit more time and allowing him to be decisive.
Q. What's the reaction to your teammates on the field to the fans in the stadium? What impact did that have on the defensive performance?
T.J. WATT: It was huge, man. To be able to get a team on a silent count on the road even though technically it was a home game for us. It was massive. I was so impressed with the fans knowing when to cheer, especially when we were on defense. It was huge for us, and that definitely gave us an edge today.
Q. (Question regarding Derrick Harmon)?
T.J. WATT: I think D-Harm is just continuing to get healthy each and every week. The healthier that he gets, the more familiar he gets in the system, the better he's going to play, the quicker he's going to play. He's a big guy, he's aggressive, and he plays hard.
Q. How has it been with the experience of being in Ireland?
T.J. WATT: It was incredible, man. It truly was incredible. I'm going to miss it here. I'm excited to get home to my family, but they treated us so well at the hotel here, the hospitality, the fans, the food, the Guinness, everything was incredible.
Q. T.J., what do you like more, intercepting or sacking?
T.J. WATT: Sacking the quarterback probably. But turning the ball over is huge. Being able to make an impact play like that for the team and put seven points on the board after that was huge.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports