Mike Tomlin gave his Post Game Wrap up of the Steelers Monday Night Football Game against the Giants.
Notable Injuries
Zach Banner went down with a knee injury. He is being evaluated.
Wisniewski has a Pec Injury. He is being evaluated.
Conner has a Left Ankle Injury. He is being evaluated.
Tomlin does not know the status of the guys injured, but says they are working on a short week, so "we better be ready to close ranks."
Tomlin said he was thankful for the opportunity just to play and he doesn't take it for granted in this environment.
Tomlin started his Post Game Presser by stating it was an honor to come in and perform for the Fans.
"It was an honor to come in and perform for Steeler Nation on Monday Night Football. We were excited about that regardless of the game atmosphere. I thought our guys brought energy. I thought we could have played better. There was some slopiness that's kind of reflective of where we are. and probably a lot of us at this stage first time in an empty stadium."
Tomlin acknowledges that the Steelers need to clean up a few things. Tomlin says the Steelers need to get better and get better in a hurry.
"We dropped a punt early, We got penalized on a 3rd and long and it ended our drive. The Giants scored on the next play. We kicked off out of bounds. We didn't start with great fluidity on offense. All of those is resonable to expect us to get better and get better in a hurry."
"We better get better because we have a short week and we have the Denver Broncos coming in. It's good to work on things when you get the W. We are appreciative of that. We are appreciative of our effort. It's awesome to have our Quarterback back and see him do the things that he does."
Coach Tomlin says the team was mentally tough and they knew things would not be perfect tonight. He talks about how there is more meat on the bone left in terms of quality play.
"I thought they showed they were mentally tough. We just have to do things better. We knew we weren't going to be perfect tonight. We talked about that openly last night in preparation for this opportunity, but there is more meat on the bone. I appreciate the efforts. We just need to search for a higher ceiling in terms of quality of play."
Tomlin acknowledges their plan was not to be bashful about stopping Saquon Barkley and they embraced the challenge.
"We had a commitment and we weren't going to be bashful about that commitment we thought that guy was a catlyst for whatever they were going to do offensivly. We put our secondary in harms way to do so, but this is a team game. We embrace that challenge. We needed to stack the line of scrimmage. We needed to bring people like Mike Hilton forward and we did."
When asked about nerves in the game with Tomlin said the nerves were not over until the end of the game. He couldn't speak for Ben Roethlisberger.
"When the game was over for me. I can't speak for him (Ben Roethlisberger). That's just the nature of this. You only get 16 regular opportunites in the season. This was our first and we haven't been in a stadium. I thought we were going to have some level of nerves. For me, it's not over until it's over."
Tomlin thought the 2 minute drive was significant prior to the half ending.
Coach Tomlin was asked about how he thought Benny Snell's performance was last night. He said he was ready to answer the bell when called upon.
"I wasn't suprised by what he was able to do. He's a quality player and one that is maturing and emerging and was ready to answer the bell when called upon."
Final question to Coach Tomlin was in regards to the play James Washington made to get into the end zone.
"That is a guy that has the nose for the end zone. That is a guy in the moment rising up and making the necessary play. He did what he had to do to deliver for his teammates.