Head coach Mike Tomlin had good things to say about a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that fought back from an early 14-3 deficit to hold off the divisional-rival Cincinnati Bengals Sunday night.
Tomlin spoke on the team's performance after the game, and praised the squad's ability to bounce back from a sub-par start. (A transcript of his full press conference is available here.)
Guys did what was necessary. Obviously we were playing without a few guys. I liked the contributions of the men who stepped up in their place. It was what was needed. Hopefully we can build on it is what talked about in there. We got ourselves in a hole; the first thing we have to do is stop digging. We did that tonight.
Disappointing for the coach was giving the Bengals 50 yards in penalties and the fact that his squad committed the only turnover of the game. But the Steelers held the ball for 37 minutes and earned the seven-point victory, 24-17.
That is the nature of NFL football. When you are highly penalized and turn the ball over you are going to put yourself behind the eight ball. But the guys didn't blink. They didn't. It's a testament to them. We were able to settle down and get our jobs done.
Tomlin went on to praise the effort by Heath Miller, who had 53 yards and a touchdown, while expressing disappointment in Mike Wallace for a performance featuring several drops.
The win brings the Steelers to 3-3 in the AFC North, significantly behind the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens already but with a lot of football left to be played.