Postgame quotes after the Denver Broncos‘ 28-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night.

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

General

“Let’s start by giving credit to the Steelers. They are certainly a well-coached football team, [Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach] Mike Tomlin certainly does  a good job getting them prepared every week. We knew we would have to play 60 good minutes of football to compete, and had an opportunity to win there at the end.  I felt like we did that for a half and then they ultimately  took over the game there in the second half and we struggled to do much offensively, struggled to stop them defensively, and really they took over the game there.”

On the conservative play calling with 2:47 left in the second quarter

“One of our goals in that situation is to not give it back to a team like Pittsburgh. We wanted to just go ahead and get a first down and take it to the two-minute warning, and then we would go ahead and go into the two-minute offense, which we tried to do and ended up with a negative [yardage] play that killed the drive. We accomplished one thing, we didn’t give it back to them with before there was 11-seconds left. We started our two-minute offense with 1:30-1:45 left, which is plenty of time if you run the right way to get down the field and score some points. We would do the same thing again.”

On competing against 2 strong defenses the past 2 games

“We certainly haven’t run the ball very well the last two weeks, and we had trouble protecting the passer tonight. There is a lot of things that go into that, and that is not just an offensive line thing or a tight end thing, or a running back. All 11 guys on the field have to work together to do that, and we certainly have not done enough the last two weeks offensively to help our team win a lot of games. We are going to need to improve significantly in that area and continue to work hard and get better.”

On Pittsburgh offensive adjustments after half

“I know they ran a little no-huddle deal which wasn’t too fast in terms of their tempo. They tried to pick the tempo up somewhat doing that. They also ran the ball effectively as the game wore on, maybe more in the fourth-quarter than anything. They were trying to throw some short passes there in the third quarter, get some things going, get some momentum, get some rhythm. They accomplished that. We tried to come after them a few times. We got to them the one, right there in the first drive. Ultimately [Pittsburgh Steelers QB] Ben Roethlisberger did a nice job of getting the ball to people that needed it, and they stayed balanced, we didn’t. We became one dimensional, they didn’t. In a game like that that is close, 7-3, 10-7  in the third quarter you need to be able to have effective balance, we didn’t and they did and I think that was a really big key to the game. “

On Denver Broncos T Tyler Polumbus

“I thought Tyler hung in there pretty good. He is playing against two really good football players. That was part of our game plan, some of that was for him, some of that was by design for another part of the scheme. We expect him to go in there and play well and sometimes he had help, and sometimes he didn’t.”

On how to achieve balance with the quarterback

“There’s no shortcut to it.  We have to work hard at getting ourselves to run the ball better and be more effective running the football and staying out of third and long, which we were in a lot today.  That alone will allow us to stay balanced.  And if we can maintain our balance with some of the play action passes that worked early in the game the first half I think had more merit to run later in the game but once you fall behind and you really become a one-dimensional offense that is a difficult task to try and overcome and do some of those things because the defense is not going to honor them.  We have to go back to work on Wednesday, we’ve got to get the running game going.  We’ve got a lot of things to do better though, it’s not just the running game.”

On P Mitch Berger

“We’ll take a look at the film and see if there is anything.  I know there were a couple of short punts there.  I know he did good things tonight, too.  Punted some directionally that we wanted directional punted.  We’ll take a look at everything tomorrow morning.”

On QB Kyle Orton

“He started well, obviously.  He did a lot of good things.  I think once the game became a one-dimensional game we had a lot of players that I don’t believe really played as well as we would’ve liked.  It became much more of a passing game than we wanted this to become.  I think we only ran the ball fourteen times so anytime you’re going to put the game in the quarterbacks hands against a defense like that who does a great job of attacking protections, pressuring the middle of the pocket, which they did and seemingly on a consistent basis tonight you’re going to have trouble regardless.  We have to do a better job of making sure that we don’t put that kind of pressure on our pass protection, on our quarterback by maintaining our balance and we didn’t do a very good job of that tonight.”

On Pittsburgh’s defense

“They are an extremely well-coached football team and I think you’re always going to see something different.  This is the National Football League and ultimately they designed their pressures and they designed defenses and their disguises to try to combat what we’re doing, most of which we have blocked before and seen before.  They did a better job of executing it than we did on offense.  Give them credit, they deserve it they played much better than we did for sixty minutes.  We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

DENVER BRONCOS PLAYERS

BRONCOS QB KYLE ORTON

On his first interception of the game

“They ran a blitz where the nose tackle kind of peeled off and relayed to the halfback. As I was getting ready to throw it, the nose tackle kind of bumped (RB) Knowshon (Moreno) off the route, and it led to the pick.”

On the running game being limited in the last two contests

“We would love to be balanced, but we feel like we have got a good pass game. If it comes to throwing the ball 40 times, we have won that way in the past, and we should be able to do it in the future.”

On the offense’s performance at Baltimore and against Pittsburgh

“We got beat the last two games, and you win and lose as a team. Certainly, that means the offense isn’t doing their part, as well. We had a great week of practice. We really did. I think everybody came and was focused and dedicated. I am sure we will get the same amount of effort this week in practice. We lost to two good football teams. They beat us. (We will) move on and get ready for Washington.”

On the offensive struggles at Baltimore and against Pittsburgh

“They are two good defenses, and certainly, when you play those guys, the margin for error is very small. You have got to get all 11 guys on the same page and execute for 10, 11 full plays in a row. We haven’t been able to do that for one reason or the other, and we have got to get it back on track. As a quarterback, I put it on myself. It is my offense, and I will get it back on track.”

On the locker room following tonight’s loss to Pittsburgh

“Certainly, (we are) not (in) panic mode. We are in first place of the AFC West (and) lost to two good football teams that outplayed us for 60 minutes both times. I just think we responded very well throughout the week last week after a loss. (We) practiced very well (and) prepared very well. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to a victory for us this week, but I just feel as long as we come back and prepare that way, get back to work (and) get back on track. We have got a big game at Washington, and it is going to be a big one for us. Hopefully, we will go out and play better and get a win.”

BRONCOS OLB/DE ROBERT AYERS

On if the game plans of Baltimore and Pittsburgh were similar

“Not really, the things we saw them do on film were the same things they (Baltimore) did against us. They executed and made the plays when they needed to make them and that’s the reason why they won.”

On the defensive performance

“Yeah, we made some plays. They made some plays against us but the plays aren’t what wins the game, it’s the final score. They did a good job, they scored more points and did what they needed to do, that’s all that matters. Big plays are big plays but at the end of the game who has the most points is what’s most important.”

On rebounding after consecutive losses

“We just can’t listen to all this stuff, good teams recover from things like this. You bounce back from adversity and that is all you can do is come back on Wednesday and practice hard and correct our mistakes. We need to get better from there and get ready for Washington and that’s all we can do.”

BRONCOS WR BRANDON STOKLEY

On Pittsburgh defense

“They are a good defensive team. We were able to move the ball pretty good in the first half, we just didn’t finish drives off and that’s what you’ve got to do against a good team, put points on the board and we were never able to do that.”

On making offensive adjustments

“Well, they’re a good football team. They throw a lot of things at you and try to confuse you. Hats off to them, they did a good job tonight. But like I said, we’ve just got to finish drives off with touchdowns and put points on the board. We just weren’t able to do that tonight.”

On second half troubles

“We’ve played good teams and we didn’t execute very well in the second halves of both games (Pittsburgh and Baltimore). That’s what happens when you play good teams and you don’t play very well.”

BRONCOS DL KENNY PETERSON

On forcing a third quarter fumble

“Anytime you go out there, you try to get to the quarterback and make a play.  It just happens that I read my guard pretty well and beat him on a play and had an opportunity at the ball.”

On what went wrong after the forced fumble

“They just outplayed us. There is a reason why they are the defending Super Bowl champions. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t capitalize on some of the plays that we made. Hats off to Pittsburgh, they played a good game.”

On difficulties facing no huddle offenses

“Absolutely not, it’s no problem. Like I said, they made plays and that’s what the game is about, making plays and that’s what they did. They beat us in all phases of the game.”

BRONCOS WR JABAR GAFFNEY

On the loss

“We are disappointed with the two losses, but we are still in first place now. We had a chance to do some nice things out there tonight, but we still have a long season to go and we are not going to panic and try to get it fixed.”

On offensive struggles

“It is different things every time, between poor execution and drops. Whatever the case is, we have to stop it. The defense has been playing good, but we’ve been having them on the field too much.”

BRONCOS CB ANDRE GOODMAN

On the loss

“There is no panic here and we just have to get back to the drawing board and do what we have to do to make those proper adjustments. We have to get back to getting off the field on third down in the second half, which we did a good job of in the first six games.”

On the defense

“Sixty minutes, we can play Fifty great minutes of defense but if we don’t play for Sixty minutes then it really doesn’t matter. We got a timely turnover in the red zone and took advantage of that, but they came back in the very next series and scored a touchdown with a lot of big plays, and the staple of our defense has been not giving up big plays. I think they did a great job in both the passing and running game, but that is the reason they are champs. They know how to make their adjustments in the game and if we are going to compete with the heavy weights then we have to learn how to make those adjustments”

On the loss

“It is not tough at all; it is just about doing our jobs. If you told us at the half way point we would be 6-2 most guys would be happy with that. It is just the way that these last two weeks have went, that is kind of disheartening. Both losses have come against the same division and the same type of team which are both playoff teams from last year.”

ILB ANDRA DAVIS

On the Steelers halftime adjustments

“They made some really good adjustments and we really did not have an answer for them. We also did not execute what we were supposed to do. We are not going to get down; we are 6-2 and have a lot of ball to play. We are going to stay positive, and we are still in first place in our division and have 8 more games left. We are going to continue to encourage each other, and play hard for one another and get back on the winning track”

CB TY LAW

On matching up with WR Hines Ward

“That is what they brought me in for. I just had to do what I do and stick to what I know. I wasn’t trying to get to fancy. I was just trying go out there and do the best that I can on such short notice. Overall I am pretty happy with how I did, but I think that I could have done better. I know I can do better, and of course it is a disappointing loss. Once I get a couple of games under my belt, I think I will be able to help the team.”

PITTSBURGH STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN

Opening statement

“It was a pretty big win for us tonight. If we want to be a good team, a team that’s championship caliber, we have to be able to go on the road and beat good people, and this Bronco team is a good team. We hadn’t done that to this point this year, so we’re pretty pleased. We’re going to keep it grounded. We have a big AFC North game waiting on the other side for us back in Pittsburgh next week (vs. Cincinnati) but a big congratulations to all parties involved. We had a bunch of top quality contributions from a lot of people. It was a good team victory for us tonight in a hostile environment. Hats off to the Broncos. They are a quality team, they play hard and they are well coached.”

On the difference in the pass rush tonight

“We’re a developing team. Hopefully we’re better in all areas then we were in week two of the season. I’m not going to make too much out of that. That’s why we come to work during the week. We have to continue to be a team on the rise. I know there are teams that we are competing against that are doing that. That’s what November is about. We are pushing to the latter part of the season. It’s about getting better.”

On S Tyrone Carter stepping up

“Ty is a veteran player. He did a really nice job. He was in the right place at the right time. Usually when plays like that occur it’s a product of a lot of people’s work but he was opportunistic.”

On S Ryan Clark not playing

“Even though he received medical clearance, we thought it was prudent that he not play. Some things are more important than football. Not only from his health standpoint but had he played this football game, his teammates would have been concerned about him. I would have been concerned about him. It would have been tough to stay focused on what we came to do so we made the decision not to play him. We don’t look back at that. Injury is a part of it, illness, etcetera. [DE] Nick Eason stepped up for us tonight and played good ball.[LB] Keyaron Fox stepped up and played good ball for us tonight. That’s what it’s all about. We’re a team. You’re going to have injuries; you’re going to have people that miss games. We’re not going to use that as an excuse.”

On altitude

“We did a nice job of getting off the field in the second half of the game defensively – three and outs. They didn’t put together drives on us. So I think that protected us. On offense we moved the ball and converted some third downs in the second half. The way the game unfolded from that standpoint protected us in terms of the altitude and fatigue. You feel it defensively, I think, more so than offensively. We didn’t allow many snaps in the second half because we were working both sides of the ball. ”

On RB Rashard Mendenhall and the running game

“It [the offensive line] did a nice job and the Broncos have great defense. They’re first in the league in defense. They expected that we would be prepared tonight and their play tonight kind of mirrors that preparation.”

On the Steelers defense

“We have guys that are designed to be great. They play hard every time they come out regardless of their opponent or story line if you will. Those guys are committed to being great every time they step in the stadium.”

On injuries

“[FB] Carey Davis looks like he has a hamstring injury. We’ll have some more information on that. All of the other things seem to be minor.”

On changes in the Steelers offense in the second half

“We just kept pounding. Good defense, part of that is they were driving the ball on us offensively. We had an interception returned for a touchdown so our defense went back on the field. Part of that is we just didn’t possess the ball. But you’ve got to give the Broncos credit, they came out smoking.”

On shutting down the Broncos running game

“It was important to shut it down. They have a monster back there at tailback. [Correll] Buckhalter and [Knowshon] Moreno, they do a nice job. We had an extra week’s work to prepare for them. We respect those guys. The guys [Steelers players] did a nice job. We had to. We couldn’t afford to die on the line out here in Denver and get fatigued. It was important that we kept ourselves out of that situation. We only dressed five defensive lineman and the guys did a nice job. ”

PITTSBURGH STEELERS PLAYERS

PITTSBURGH QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER

General

“TC [S Tyrone Carter] did a great job with two picks tonight. It was a tale of two halves. The first half we didn’t give our defense much rest, but we were able to keep them off the field in the second half.”

On the second half

“In the second half we went to a no-huddle and they only stopped us when we stopped ourselves; when we had a fumble and an interception.”

On RB Rashard Mendenhall

“The sky is the limit for him. He had some great runs today.”

On WR Mike Wallace

“He has done a great job. It’s been fun watching his maturation. He grows every week and keeps getting better. He keeps improving on the little things that you don’t expect a rookie to improve on.”

On third quarter fumble that Broncos returned for touchdown

“I told our guys that there is nothing that we can do about that now. I told them there is nothing we can do but move on and take the ball down the field and score.”

On Broncos CB Champ Bailey

“You always have to know where he is at; he is a phenomenal player. But I like [WR] Santonio Holmes and threw to him. We didn’t come in to the game trying to avoid him, but just be aware of where he is at on the field.”

On coming off a bye week

“Offensively it was hard to get in rhythm in the first half and we were not on the field much. In the second half we were able to get moving though. I think bye week helped us because it allowed us to get healthy.”

PITTSBURGH RB RASHARD MENDENHALL

On the running game

“We feel like we have a balanced offense. We feel like we can do whatever we need to do to win and that we can do it.”

On the offensive line

“Those guys took a lot of heat early in the season, but you see them doing their thing now so that’s why our running game has been able to get moving. They have not gotten enough credit.”

On the coaching staff’s confidence in him

“Between [Running Backs Coach] Kirby [Wilson] and Coach Tomlin, they have faith in me and confidence in me. They know that my ball security is good. Sometimes I let the ball get away from my body.”

PITTSBURGH S TYRONE CARTER

On filling in for S Ryan Clark

“I just like the opportunity to step up and show my teammates that I can make plays when my number is called.”

On his interception returned for a touchdown

“I really didn’t see the referee on that play. All I know from film is that they like to bring their backs out of the backfield, and the quarterback looked right at him, so I bit.”

On forcing turnovers

“We always emphasize making big plays to put our offense in good positions. If you score, great, but you want to create turnovers in order to put your offense in good field position.”

PITTSBURGH WR HINES WARD

On playing at altitude

“I know we were a little blown [winded], but they were too. I know [Broncos CB] Ty Law was a little blown a couple of times. We were no-huddle and played at a fast pace all game. We got in hurry-up mode and made big plays”

On the offense

“We were a little slow early on; both teams were just feeling each other out. We can’t only pass when we are in hurry-up, but we can also run. He [RB Rashard Mendenhall] is a special back and doesn’t yet realize just how good he can be. We have a lot of confidence right now and are playing good team football.”

On winning on the road

“We pride ourselves on being a great, dominant road team. For us to get where we want to go, we need to win on the road and not just at home. I feel like us, along with the Colts and the Patriots, have established ourselves as great teams on the road. To come into a hostile environment on a Monday night, we played well tonight.”

PITTSBURGH WR MIKE WALLACE

On playing at altitude

“It was definitely hard for me to breathe. I took a couple extra gassers to prepare for this, but I came out and I was gassed.”

On his touchdown catch

“That play was just [QB] Ben [Roethlisberger] keeping it alive. That guy you can’t ever stop. He just makes things happen and he was able to find me in the endzone.”

On WR Hines Ward

“I heard things about him coming into the league, but he’s a real great player. He looks to go to work every day and he makes big plays week in and week out.”

PITTSBURGH S RYAN CLARK

On S Tyrone Carter starting for him this week

“I might be like Wally Pipp. I better get back fast so that I don’t lose my spot.”

“He’s a friend and a teammate and he did an awesome job tonight. I’m proud of him.”

On the defense

“Coach Tomlin told us going in that they have the number one defense in the world and we took that personally. This is a team sport and we probably play the best team football in the league.”