Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.23.25)
Opening Statement:
“All right, first thing, happy for Myles (Garrett) and Denzel (Ward) to be named Pro Bowlers. Obviously well-deserved for both of those guys, they’re playing really good ball for us. Excited for the guys who are alternates, including three rookies, which is great for those young players. But we love all these individual accolades, awards, recognition – we want that for our guys because it comes in the greatest team game there is, and all of them understand that, how important their teammates are for those individual accolades. But proud of those guys. On the roster, we will not activate Deshaun (Watson), so he will go back to reserve/PUP, but really proud of the progress that he’s making, doing a really nice job in the meeting room, on the field these last few weeks. And then we’re turning our sights to Pittsburgh. Obviously, division game, so they know us well, we know them well. There’s a lot of new players on both sides of the field, for them and for us. So, you do have to go to school on this team, realizing that there’s a lot of new players, as there always is, as the season wears on. So, we know what they’re…a lot of the schemes remain the same, there’s wrinkles, and they’re evolving as the season goes on, we’re evolving as the season goes on. But we’re excited about that opportunity, in front of our fans, in a division game down there on Sunday. So, we’re getting to work today, and I’ll take any questions you guys got.”
Kevin (Stefanski), when we talked to Coach (Mike) Bloomgren the other day, he was talking about how he doesn’t know that there would be another guard in the NFL playing as well as Joel Bitonio – he felt that he was a Pro Bowler. So just wondering, what has Joel meant to you guys this season? I know he’s the last OG standing out there on your line, and did you view him as having that high level of a Pro Bowl type season?
“Yeah, I mean, Joel’s a Pro Bowler, Joel’s a Hall of Famer, but he’s playing at an extremely high level this season as well, Mary Kay (Cabot), does not look like he’s fallen off at all, playing at a high level. I know the rules are a little bit different now with the Pro Bowl as it relates to the roster for offensive line and defensive line, which is a little interesting, I guess you would say. But he’s a Pro Bowler, whether it’s in name or otherwise, he’s a Hall of Famer.”
Hey Kevin, what went into the decision not to activate Deshaun, considering he could have kept practicing with you guys if you had activated him, right?
“Yeah, he’s done a great job with everything that’s been asked of him. I’ve gotten to see him just work so hard, whether it’s in the training room, by himself in the indoor with the trainers, on the practice field now for the last bit. But just felt like this was the right decision for him and for us, and his focus will continue to be to help this football team and continue to get healthy and get stronger and all those types of things.”
Denzel said that he had hoped to play last week, but meeting with the medical team, they decided it was best to wait another week. Are you confident this will be the week? He said for sure he’s playing.
“Yeah listen, I want all our guys to feel that way. We’ll get through the week and make a decision, but he’s trending, obviously, in the right direction.”
Wyatt (Teller), I know he was questionable, and he got on the practice field last week. Do you feel confident that he’ll be able to go against Pittsburgh this week?
“Yeah, another guy trending in the right direction, but really needs to get through practice, see how he feels throughout this week before we make a final decision there.”
Yesterday, you mentioned faith in Shedeur (Sanders), and Shedeur talked earlier today about the trust between you and him. What’s the biggest piece as you’re developing that trust? As a coach, what are you looking for out of the quarterback to solidify that?
“Well, I would say with all positions, but certainly the quarterback position, we spend a lot of time together. So, we’re in meetings, we talk about every scenario known to man. So, I get to see the work that our guys put into it, I get to see the work that Shedeur puts into his craft on a daily basis – in meetings, on the field. So that’s where the trust comes from, player-to-player, that’s where trust comes from, player-to-coach, just that we’re working at it together. So, I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Kevin, normally we’d get a scouting report on the Steelers from you, but we won’t see you tomorrow. So how are they playing and how are you playing compared to that first game with them?
“Yeah, I think the big thing, Jeff (Schudel), is how many new faces are on the field for both teams. And for various reasons, there’s just, you know, whether it’s roster reasons or injuries, whatever. There’s a lot of new faces. So, we have to understand who’s in where for them. There’s uncertainty with injuries for us; there’s uncertainty with injuries for them. So, you have to really look at all their options along the roster. But they’re playing at a high level, obviously, going into Detroit to win there. It’s a tough place to win, so they’re playing really good football right now.”
Kevin, how important is it, or is it even important for Shedeur to kind of rev things up a little bit with Ced Tillman and Jerry (Jeudy) and some of the receivers and try to get things going with your guys’ primary receivers?
“I think it’s…a good pass game, Mary Kay (Cabot), is really spreading the ball around to all of our players, whether you’re a receiver, a tight end or a running back. We want to utilize all of our guys that are available to us. Then you also have to understand these defenses can take, can do their part to try to take people away via coverage, whatever, via attention. So, it’s the quarterback’s job to get through his progressions and trust what he’s seeing and go with the football where it should go appropriately and not force the ball to anybody. Now, having said that, trust. Our trust in Jerry Jeudy, our trust in Ced Tillman is extremely high and we want them to affect all of these ball games. But you also have to make sure that you’re going through your progressions.”
What makes the Steelers defense specifically challenging for a rookie quarterback who hasn’t seen it before live?
“Well, I think they’re taking the ball away at a good clip, number one. They’re plus nine in turnover margin. I know they’re doing a nice job of taking it away. They’re forcing a lot of fumbles, so they’re playing a disruptive brand of football. Again, some veterans on that team, guys that have played in that scheme for a while, some veterans in the back end that are smart, you can tell that they’re putting a lot on their plates from a coverage standpoint and disguise standpoint. So just going to school on this defense and getting to know their looks versus certain formations, what they like to do situationally, but it’s a really good mix of scheme and really good players.”
And on the other side of the ball, would you expect things to change a lot for them without DK (Metcalf)?
“Yeah, hard to say. They have a bunch of guys that can affect the game. They do a great job, run after the catch. Obviously, (Aaron) Rogers is playing at an extremely high level, as accurate as anybody in the game. So, they have a bunch of different ways that they can get the ball down the field.”
I was going to also ask about DK Metcalf. I mean, do you guys head into the game a little unsure or do you know for sure he’s not going to play? I know he’s appealing this thing. And then also, just how good is DK Metcalf as a player?
“Yeah, I don’t know, obviously, for sure. I saw the news just like everybody else did. So, we’ll adjust accordingly based on how it all shakes out.”
And if they don’t, I mean, just obviously he had a big game the last time around. How good is he…?
“Obviously, he’s a great player. Gone against him many times. He was great in that first game versus us, so we have a lot of respect for him.”
With (Quinshon) Judkins out, do you imagine going with the (Raheim) Sanders and (Trayveon) Williams as your one-two running backs in this game?
“Yeah, I think obviously, we’ll see on the health of Dylan Sampson as the week goes on. But, yeah, those are two guys, how we ended the game with a good mix and feel comfortable with both those guys.”
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