Steelers Players (9.22.22)
Steelers WR Chase Claypool:
On how frustrating it is when the offense cannot sustain drives:
“Yeah, it is frustrating when the defense is on the field for a long time and we go three and out.”
On the tempo in the first half:
“There was success with tempo so I think that just opens doors up in the future to be able to go back to that.”
On what adjustments need to be made going forward:
“I’m not sure. We pushed it downfield a little bit more so that was good. I’m not sure, it is up to the coaches.”
On if there was anything in the second quarter that can be taken away positively from the game:
“For sure. There are pros and cons of every game. We will look at the pros and build on that, and then look at the cons and learn from them.”
On the confidence level in QB Mitch Trubisky going into this mini-bye week:
“My confidence in him has always been at its highest. He threw a ball downfield and he was putting the ball where it needed to be. I do not remember a time when he made an inaccurate pass. So, he did his job.”
Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick:
On how he would assess the Steelers’ performance today:
“They did what they wanted to and we could not do anything to stop them.”
On RB Nick Chubb running over 100 yards:
“They did what they wanted to. What they wanted to do was give (Browns RB Nick) Chubb the ball and he ran over 100 yards. When you let a guy like that do what he wants, they will win the game.”
On if the short week plays into tonight’s outcome:
“No. Both teams had a short week. Both teams had two days to prepare.”
On what were the challenges on getting the Browns off the field:
“They did what they wanted to. Run the ball, do trick plays, and stuff like that. They did what they wanted to do and we could not stop it.”
On why the Steelers were not able to apply as much pressure as they wanted to tonight:
“It starts with just stopping that run. You are not stopping that run, you are not putting them in 3rd-and-longs, putting them in tough situations, allowing our rushers to rush. When it is 3rd-and-three and less, they can do whatever they want. Guys cannot streak up the field because they are worried about the run. Obviously, we are missing one of our best rushers, one of the best rushers in the league. We still have to find a way to stop the run and get pressure on the quarterback.”
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth:
On what growth was seen from the offense today:
“We learned from our mistakes from the last game. Our wide receivers played well and made some nice catches. We need to keep building on each game and look forward as we have great weapons to use in the offense.”
On the difference of the first and second half as the team got things going in the first:
“Our run game helped a lot in the first half keeping drives sustained. They also kept downs to a manageable distance for us to work with.”
Steelers DT Cameron Heyward:
On how hard it is to be on the field for long periods of time:
“That is our own fault. Three-and-outs, if you do that, you are on the sideline. As a defense, we did not get off the field. They had an abnormal drive in the second half that they were able to sustain the clock.”
On if the short week impacted tonight’s game:
“Nobody is worried about that. They were on the same thing and they got the job done. We are not going to make an excuse about that.”
On the loss:
“We lost the damn game. I do not know what else is more demoralizing than that. They ran the ball, we got our ass kicked. Simple as that.”
On if it’s good to have a few extra days until the next game:
“This one is going to be on the pot simmering for a while. We all have to own it. I am going to wear this and I am going to be better because of it.”
On the Steelers’ run defense tonight:
“We have to be better with the run. We cannot blame anyone but ourselves. Where the game was going, it came down to whose runner was going to get stopped first, and as a defense we did not take care of that. He ripped off some big runs in the second quarter and he moved the ball down the field.”
Steelers LB Alex Highsmith:
On the defense in the fourth quarter and if they were doing anything different:
“No (inaudible). We just have to be more physical towards the end of the game. It is a lot of plays, but we just have to be able to do what we have to do in the fourth quarter, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
On tackling Browns RB Nick Chubb:
“(Browns RB) Nick Chubb is one of the best backs in the league, man. You have to bring it when you tackle him, and we did not do that enough tonight. We know we have to do better in that area. We can’t just be talking about it, there has to be action. We have a long week ahead of us. We will review the film and get back to a long week on Monday and get back to it.”
On what he attributes to the struggles late in the game:
“I felt like we had guys that were playing hard. Like, I said, we played hard but we will review it tomorrow and see what happens.”
On not being able to stop the Browns on third down:
“It definitely hurts. Our objective before the game was to come and get through the third and long because we knew that we could force them to be a bit more of an (inaudible) team. We just did not get that done tonight. Like I said, we got to be in a little more action, we need to execute better and be more physical.”
On if the defense needs to ramp up the pressure more during games:
“We just got to ramp it up. We put in some time tonight, but at the end of the day, we know the kind of defense that we are, and we know that we have to communicate more pressure. We have to continue to be better.”
Steelers CB Cameron Sutton:
On the emphasis of stopping the opposing run:
“We didn’t do that. We need to find opportunities to get off the field. Find how we can help each other, help the team finding ways to victory and it’s something we talk about all the time. Especially in the business of winning. Obviously all losses are hard to swallow.”
On how they can find more ways to get pressure on the opposing quarterback:
“Keep being ourselves, keep attacking and we have the guys to do it. We have to keep finding ways and it’s not a one man job, this is a team thing. We have 11 guys down in and down out. We are putting it all on for each other and we have to keep standing on that. Obviously, good things will come and not good things. So, we want to be on the better end of that.”
On does it make a difference having a couple extra days of downtime:
“I wouldn’t say so. It is just how the weeks go sometimes. There are Monday games, Thursday games and that’s the flow of the weeks and the season. It does give us a couple of days to get rested and go into the next week. Guys will be here and in the building tomorrow.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***