Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (9.15.25)

Opening Statement:

“Only real update is DeAndre Carter is in concussion protocol. Everybody else will really be day-to-day. Learn more throughout the week. Obviously, frustrating result in that game. Clearly didn’t play well enough on offense, defense, or special teams. Didn’t coach well enough when you get that result. But feel very similar to how I felt walking off the field, you know, frustrated. But understand that we have to find a way to find a way to win and certainly have to find a way to play complementary ball in these ball games. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”

 

Hey, Kevin, you don’t usually see guys miss as much time as Denzel (Ward) did with cramps. Was he sick or anything else going on there?

“No, just cramping.”

 

And do you expect he’ll be okay this week?

“Hope so, yes.”

 

And then Myles (Garrett) mentioned he got rolled up a bit too. You think he’s okay?

“Yeah, I think a lot of guys are dealing with some things, Scott (Petrak), but we’ll just see how they do throughout the week.”

 

Kevin, can you maybe revisit the quarterback situation a little bit and talk about why you feel it’s important to stick with Joe (Flacco), you know, even after a game where he had some things that didn’t go his way. I know you guys have a tough stretch coming up, but what are some of your thoughts on why this is the right way to go?

“Yeah, you know, Mary Kay (Cabot), we didn’t play well enough on offense, and we didn’t coach well enough on offense, and it’s never going to be about one person. Joe (Flacco) knows there’s plays that he can be better, and it obviously starts with protecting the ball in this game, and he understands that, and that’s our focus moving forward.”

 

Kevin, looking at it from the outside, it seems there’s a lot wrong with the offense. So, if that is the case, how do you fix that in such a short time you have here?

“Well, I think we’re two games into this season. We are definitely going to be playing better as a team as this season goes on, and certainly the goal is to always get better as the calendar turns. So that’s what we’ll focus on. Obviously, there’s things that we know we need to do better. Not scoring enough points in the first two games, and that’s a combination of things. It’s run game, it’s pass game, it’s what we’re asking the guys to do. So, we’ll make sure that we put a plan together to let these guys have success versus Green Bay.”

 

I know it takes all 11 guys, but how would you assess the way the offensive line has played these first two games?

“Yeah, hard to evaluate the whole offensive line in the last two games, Jeff (Schudel). I’d just tell you, yesterday there were some good moments, and then there were definitely things that we can clean up.”

 

Defensively, you guys lead the league in yards allowed, and there’s been strong efforts in the first two games. Obviously, as the game went on yesterday, not what they wanted to do. But for your defense, how important is it to clean things up offensively, clean things up on special teams to allow them to continue their success and not maybe pile things on for them?

“Well, I think that goes back to what we’re talking about earlier, Cam (Camryn Justice), in the form of playing complementary ball and if, you know, making an offense drive the football versus our defense as opposed to giving them good field position, whether via a special teams play or a turnover, those type of things. So that’s where we need to, as a team, understand how important it is to complement each other.”

 

When you’re looking for that complementary football, Myles (Garrett) on the side huddled up with some guys, being that leader on that side of the ball. Do you need that? Do you lean on that heavily to ensure that they have that patience as you guys work to get that complementary football going?

“Yeah, listen, it’s a team game. It’s the best team game there is. And we understand that it’s never about one person. It’s never about one side of the ball. We’ll continue to play this that way.”

 

All right, Kevin, a question about two rookies. The first one is (Quinshon) Judkins. Do you feel comfortable now giving him a regular full load as the future back starting with this game?

“Yeah, I thought he did a nice job with what we asked him to do yesterday, Tony (Grossi). Obviously get him in here, get a lift, get treatment, see how his body’s feeling, But I think he certainly is capable of doing more and we’ll treat it just like we did last week, in that, we’ll see how he comes through the week and make those types of decisions as the week goes on.”

 

The other question is about (Dillon) Gabriel. Are you open to using him in a game just to see how it affects the offense with his quick release and quick processing. Not necessarily as a starter immediately. But are you open to getting (Dillon) Gabriel some snaps in a game?

“Yeah, that’s really not our focus. Yesterday, you understand how the game was and where we were in the game, but that’s really not our focus.”

 

Hey, Kevin, just after reviewing the blocked punt, what went wrong on that play and just, I mean, how much of a turning point was that that you guys can’t afford?

“Obviously, we can’t allow that to happen. Not going to get in the specifics of the play, but we just needed to be better in protection. That’s a big part of this game. Going back to playing complementary football, you talk about field position, and we need to do our job really in all areas, but we should never, should never allow that.”

 

And then just in respect to the return game with DeAndre (Carter), in the protocol now, I guess. How did you think Isaiah (Bond) did? I mean, he looked maybe a little uncomfortable back there at times, but how much have you guys worked with him on that? I know he hasn’t been here long, obviously.

“Sure. He’s gotten, you know, as a backup returner, you get a lot of reps in practice to get ready. Obviously, we lost some yardage there on some balls that we’d like to field. There were some balls that would have been very difficult to get to and then had some good bounces for them. So again, those are hidden yardage plays that we need to get the ball back with the maximum amount of yards helped towards our offense.”

 

Kevin, obviously you couldn’t control having Denzel (Ward) in this game, but in terms of Cam (Cameron Mitchell) and Myles (Harden), is there anything that you can do to maybe not always have them in such one-on-one situations if they’re overmatched in those type of things, or is it too late in the middle of a game to try to adjust to something like that?

“Well, I give, Coach (Jim) Schwartz and the defensive staff do a great job of making adjustments throughout the game. And those adjustments come Mary Kay (Cabot), whether it’s via scheme, sometimes via personnel, based on what you’re seeing from the other team. So, we’ll always look to make those types of adjustments as necessary, but we also trust our guys to play our scheme.”

 

Kevin, given Myles Garrett’s frustration last year, which led to him asking for a trade, and given his frustration after yesterday’s game, how concerned are you about keeping Myles (Garrett) and other veterans on board with the program as this losing streak, which is now eight, continues?

“Yeah, I’m not really focused on last season, Tony (Grossi). We obviously have come up short in these first two ball games, and we’ll just keep our head down and get back to work. That’s really what we’ll do.”

 

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