[accordion_item title=”Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera” open=”true”]

RE: Status of running backs

“We are thin but we will see. Jonathan Stewart-leg and Mike Tolbert-leg, so we will see the extent of that … Hopefully we will get DeAngelo Williams back and we will see how Fozzy Whittaker is this week as well. Darrin Reaves may have to oil it up and get ready to play football.”

RE: Displeasure offensive line’s quarterback protection

“No, I was not pleased at all by no stretch of the imagination. We missed opportunities. There are some things that we have to do as coaches to make sure we put these guys in the best positions to have success. We have to take a good long evaluation of ourselves first and foremost and then we will watch the tape and evaluate the players. This is a team game and we have to make sure we are giving the players the best opportunity to succeed. At the same time we have to make sure the players are executing.”

RE: Offensive line’s issues tonight

“They did a couple things that were pretty good. They moved their men around. They did some things that were a little bit different. They hadn’t done these things in their previous two games. They really did. If you go back and look at it, they did a really nice job of game planning and mixing some things up.”

RE: Defense giving up two 100-yard rushers tonight

“That was disappointing. The big part of it was just staying in your crease, being disciplined and making tackles. That’s the other thing; we didn’t tackle very well today.”

RE: Returner positions

“We will continue to evaluate it but right now he [Philly Brown] is the most dynamic of all of them that we have. Fozzy Whittaker who is our next guy in line is hurt right now. Darrin Reaves is not really a punt returner, he is more of a kick returner. Bene Benwikere is really a secure catcher as is Brenton Bersin. Philly is the most dynamic of all of them.”

RE: What the Steelers did throughout the game that was different

“Probably the biggest thing they did was get rid of the ball very quickly. A lot of those bubble screens and hitches just didn’t give us the right chance to get our pass rush rolling. Against a team like this you have to get ahead of them. You have to force them to get back into the pocket. You have to make the quarterback hold the ball. If they get a lead early, they can do what they wanted to. They dictated the pace. We never really threated them once they got the lead. It’s by design. They had a nice plan coming in. You have to give them credit. We didn’t keep the game close enough to force them to hold the ball in the pocket. He was able to throw the quick three step stuff.”

RE: Off field actions – distractions or loss of focus?

“No, there was no loss of focus. We got beat by a better football team today.”

RE: Key turning point of the game – offside penalty

“That was a big disappointment. Again, they had a good idea. They came out there – they held the snap, they held the snap, they held the snap, knowing that we would get itchy. We jumped and we can’t do those things. If you do those things, that’s what happens. You give team’s opportunities. You can’t give good quarterbacks opportunities, especially down in the red zone.”

RE: Kelvin Benjamin’s progress

“It was good for Kelvin. He did some really nice things. Philly did some nice things as did Bersin. We’ve got a good group of young guys. We just have to keep mixing in the veteran guys and the tight ends and the backs. But, we can’t do anything unless we protect the quarterback. That’s the first thing we have to do.”

RE: Status of Newton’s health

“I just took Cam out mostly because I was trying to protect him. I just didn’t want to see him get hit anymore.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers QB Cam Newton” open=”true”]

RE: Philly Brown’s muffed punt

“My thing to him was, he had too much of a good game to dwell on something that bad. That’s just the moral of the game. One play was this player, the next play was that player. People just took turns making mistakes. Philly is a great player and you saw that today. I have no doubt in my mind that he will bounce back and be a big impact for us.”

RE: What happened on his turnover

“When I drop back, I’ve got to do a better job of moving up in the pocket to make it easier on Byron Bell and Nate Chandler. But when I was ready to throw, someone clipped my elbow, and I was getting ready to throw it, it was kind of like perfect timing for someone to touch my elbow and release the ball. I’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football. I’ve got to do a better job of moving up in the pocket and if we do that then that play doesn’t happen and maybe it would have been a first down for us.”

RE: Was Greg Hardy’s situation a distraction

“No, we don’t want anyone to feel pity for us being that we went through something that any other team didn’t. There are multiple teams that are going through some type of media trauma so to speak. But we have to be professionals at the end of the day.”

RE: The origin of the lackadaisical attitude

“When you’re winning, when you’re having fun, it’s signs of a mature team that when it’s time to play, you get serious. I’m not saying we didn’t have a great week of practice because we did. But what I am saying is the times where the things we could have been better at in practice, we could have done.”

RE: Did all the injuries throw them off

“Not necessarily, but it can become a little frustrating. As a professional, you have to focus in and worry about the cards that you’re dealt. Knowing this game, so much is going to be thrown at you, but you can’t let that distract you or deter you from what you play this game for and we play this game to win football games.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers TE Greg Olsen” open=”true”]

RE: Difficulty in the running game

‘We didn’t block good enough, all of us. It’s pretty simple. We had it going there for that one drive and it just seemed like we would gain 6 and back up 10. We’d gain 7 and back up 15. Even when we did get the running game going it seemed like every positive run was negated by a penalty. We’ve got to stop hurting ourselves. We were able to overcome it last week against Detroit. We had a lot of those first-and-twenties and second-and-twenties and we were able to somehow convert and win, but you’re not going to win consistently in the League having to get two first downs on every drive. These teams are too good.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin” open=”true”]

Re: Atmosphere of the locker room

“It was very quiet, you could hear a pin drop.”

Re:  Pittsburgh’s defense

“They ran a lot of varying blitzes, did a lot of two-man and brought a lot of blitzes off the two-man.  It was kind of difficult for us to get off fast with the two-man. Later on in the game we just tried to get the ball out quicker.”

Re: Grading your personal performance

“I would grade it as a C, I had plays I left on the field.  I had a ball I could’ve caught in the end zone and a couple more balls I could’ve caught.  There were a couple routes I think I could’ve ran better; I set my standards really high so I just have to keep working to get better.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers WR Philly Brown” open=”true”]

Re: The fumble on the punt return

“Basically I was trying to do too much at the time. I could have just done the smart play and fell on it, but instead I picked it up.”

[accordion_item title=”Panthers DT Kawann Short” open=”true”]

Re: Not a night that would be expected from the Panthers

“Sometimes you need that to humble yourself. Last year, we lost the first couple games and it set us back and we knew what we were capable of being. We got that seven-game win streak. But that’s last year. We know what we’re capable of this year.”

Re: Pittsburgh’s ability to run up the middle

“Just missed assignments. That was the main thing, the main reason, they were successful running the ball tonight. A lot of guys weren’t in place, probably trying to do too much.”

[accordion_item title=”Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger” open=”true”]

Re: Were you surprised by how big those holes were for the running backs?

“There were a couple times I looked back after the fake, and I probably could have gotten at least five yards through there. But that’s our o-line. They take pride in opening the hole and letting those guys run hard.”

Re: WR Antonio Brown 

“The first touchdown was one of those balls that you see him breaking to the back and you throw it up and you think worst case scenario it’s incomplete.  Maybe he’ll make a great play. And sure enough he did.”

[accordion_item title=”Steelers RB LaGarrette Blount” open=”true”]

Re: Team performance and rushing attack

“This was a great game for us. I am not going to say if this is a breakout game because I don’t know if we are going to have a better game than this. I don’t know if we are going to be consistent with this. It was an amazing game against one of the best teams in the NFL.”

Re: Following up Baltimore loss with a win

“It feels amazing especially against a team this good. Coming into the game they were undefeated and they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They have one of the best defenses in the league. To come in here and win in this manner is big for us.”

[accordion_item title=”Steelers LB Lawrence Timmons” open=”true”]

Re: Dominant win

“We shutdown the run and made them one dimensional. Got a lot of hits on the quarterback. It was great. Our D-line won the line of scrimmage. Awesome job today.”

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