HEAD COACH MIKE MCCARTHY

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, September 20, 2026

Q: How do you explain the offensive struggles of the last two weeks?

MM: Offensively, clearly not good enough. That starts with me. Felt it in practice frankly, coming off of last week. As I stated, I felt we were real herky-jerky trying to get in the run and pass. The extra time that you put forth, what you're expecting in a game and you don't deliver, it just tells you you need to spend more time on it. What I'm referring to is we put a lot of time and energy into the protection component of how we felt today's game was going to go. Expected pressure, got pressure. As an offensive coach, I always welcome the opportunity to play against pressure defense. I think it's clearly an opportunity for big play potential. That was not the case today. We didn't answer the bell. Our protections weren't clean. We had opportunities, whether it was communication and breakdowns, clearly in the first half that took away some opportunities for big plays. The run game was a little bit herky-jerky. Don't know what the numbers are. I haven't looked at the stats yet. I'm sure it ended up similar to last. I know we were in the two-minute. A couple drives we were on the ball, no huddle, two minutes, so I'm sure it will push the numbers. I felt we were in a focus of run and pass, but we could be clean in the run game. I thought we got better in that area, but the consistency of winning in the trenches, we need to be better there. But the reality of it is the detail is not there, and that's on coaching. It starts with me. I'm calling the offense. I have to get the detail better. If you need someone, fire away. I felt it on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm a veteran coach. I know better. I didn't do a good job.

Q: Would you look at personnel changes, especially in the offense?

MM: It's two weeks. I think the big thing is — the buzz words are to come in here and say everything's correctible, we can fix everything. That's a matter of fact, it's true, but if you're making the same mistakes, those are the things, whether you're young or a veteran, that's what we have to address. We've got to look at the volume, too. That's Marty Schottenheimer, that was his thing. It was a great lesson for a young coach to learn, and here I am some old bastard that didn't do it this week. If it's not clean, you cut the volume down, and we're not clean on offense. So, the volume is getting cut down. That's the first starting point, and that's my fault. I felt it earlier in the week. We've got a quarterback that could play at any volume of game plan, but at the end of the day, it's a team game. We've got to give Aaron [Rodgers] better platforms to throw off of and have the opportunities because I don't want to dink and dunk and play all day and play keep-away football. There's a place for that maybe situationally, but that's not the philosophy. We have to attempt to get the ball thrown downfield. If you look closely at it, we did. I thought actually Aaron, a few times, got the ball down to the backs on the underneath throws. Detail is not there on offense. I thought the defense played well enough to win the game. You hold them to 13 points, I expect to win every game we line up in. I thought two weeks in a row they played well. There's correctible things there. We knew the crews were going to call it tight, and they did. We had a couple of big penalties there. We have to clean that up. Special teams was, frankly, kind of a wash right now. I'll have to watch that. So, offense needs to be better. Mike McCarthy needs to be better.

Q: Mike, when you say you felt something in practice?

MM: Just volume. We've done this a long time. You know when the volume is up, and you know when you're pushing the envelope, too. It's also the first year of the staff and players working together. So you want to push your players, but end of the day, you've got to do it to win a game. We came here to win a football game, fully expected to win a game. Was in the game even for as many things as we didn't do right on offense. Just the basics weren't there, too, with the ball on the ground a number of times. When the detail is not right, that starts with the coaching, and we have to get that cleaned up.

Q: DK Metcalf and his quiet day, how much do you credit Christian Gonzalez?

MM: All this really leads to one thing, and that's your players being confident. When you're not having success, when things aren't rolling, flow is important. We talk about getting up tempo, playing out of the huddle and putting our players in position through rhythm, timing, execution, and it's not there, and that's what happens. Whether you're blocking, whether you're catching footballs, whether you're running routes, whether you're throwing the ball. When the confidence isn't right and it's not peaked, the execution suffers. To me, I think that's football.

Q: Not having [Michael] Pittman [Jr.], how much did that hurt the offense?

MM: Michael is obviously a veteran guy for us. He's fought through some injuries, and thought he was starting to get into a rhythm with Aaron. With that, it's opportunities for others. I'm going to have to take a look at Germ [Germie Bernard] and Roman [Wilson] and see how they played.

Q: What did you see from the Patriots from a pressure perspective that you think might have given you some problems today?

MM: Good pressure plan. I think the biggest thing is the pressure and the challenging our routes man to man. We expected that this week. That's the way we prepped to come into the game. We did not execute. So, you've got to give them credit.

Q: Was Aaron's coming out just situational, and is there any update on Rico's [Dowdle] injury?

MM: I do not. I haven't been in the training room.

Q: But Aaron coming out was just situational?

MM: Situational, yes.

Q: What's the level of frustration in your locker room after this loss?

MM: You don't win, I mean, hell, we'd better be frustrated. We had a game we prepared for, had an opportunity to compete there till the fourth quarter and win. Yeah, I hope they're frustrated.

QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, September 20, 2026

Q: Aaron, what do you see as some of the problems here with the offense and the rhythm, trying to get going? What's going on?

AR: Yeah, I've got to look at the film. We just didn't get into a rhythm. We had too many three-and-outs again. I didn't feel like there was anybody that had an exceptional game out there. We all played below our standard.

Q: Talking with Mike [McCarthy], he was just in here, and he said that he felt, could sense that something was off Wednesday, Thursday in practice. Is that something that you felt that things were kind of herky-jerky is the word he used?

AR: I didn't feel that way maybe Wednesday, Thursday. I felt like it was a grind. We had a good grind practice on Thursday, but I'd have to think about that.

Q: What makes you confident this offense can and will have success?

AR: Just what I've seen saw in practice, what I saw in training camp. These are just the first couple of weeks. You see different looks and unscouted stuff. I don't think we all adjusted very well to some of the things they were doing.

Q: How bothersome was their pressure?

AR: They only got me once, I think, but there was definitely — the pocket wasn't as stable, but they brought a lot of six-man pressure.

Q: How frustrating is it when you can't get in the end zone?

AR: Yeah, it's frustrating, for sure. The defense has been playing great. They've been holding 13 points a game in two games, and offensively, I think we're averaging like 8 points a game. That's not winning football.

Q: Aaron, in that drive before Germie's [Bernard] bobble, what did you see that you liked? Is there anything you saw in that drive that you can use to build on?

AR: I love changing the tempo, and I feel like he had a couple of good plays and some good motions. They played a little bit softer because they were up by 17. But yeah, I like the rhythm of that.

Q: What do you think you need to do to get more on the same page with DK [Metcalf], especially in the vertical passing?

AR: I'm not worried about it. We're going to get it sorted out. We've been on the same page since I came back. I'll talk with DK like I always do, and we'll be fine.

Q: Dylan [Cook] and Zach [Frazier] both talked about what a leader you are. I'm sure today didn't go as well as you wanted it to. How do you encourage them when things kind of aren't going as well as they should be?

AR: I think we've got to take ownership as players. We've got to be accountable to each other about our performance. Mine wasn't good enough, and a lot of guys on offense wasn't good enough. We've got to start with ourselves and not point the finger and not ride the roller coaster. It's a long season. They're the Super Bowl team from last year; we knew it was going to be a tough game. Our defense played excellent football. When they hold them to 13 points, we've got to win the game. It's definitely on us to play better. You're not going to see me panic. I don't think Mike's [McCarthy] going to panic. Urgency is going to go up a little bit for sure, but no panic.

Q: You hopped up pretty quick on the one where you got hit in the back. How were you able to get up that quickly, and it didn't seem you looked like you were fazed.

AR: I've learned you've got to get up quickly, number one, so they don't try and send anybody out to get you. Yeah, that was definitely a shot. I haven't taken too many of those in my career because usually I have a feeling if we're picked up or not picked up. That was a lapse in communication, obviously, there.

Q: How do you expect this team to react to an increased urgency?

AR: Well, I think. As long as the leadership steps up. Can't feel sorry for ourselves. Can't point fingers. We've all got to play better. I think we can all give a little more. The best teams are player-led teams. We've got to keep taking the ownership. In a game like today where there wasn't a lot of flow to it, we need to be better, and that starts with me at making sure Mike [McCarthy] knows what's working, what's not working, our coaches know, so we can call stuff that we feel like has a better chance.

Q: In Germie's [Bernard] debut, you went to him four times in the one drive.

AR: He created some separation, made some contested catches, and then made a rookie play. I thought I saw some growth. I'm proud of him. He's a good kid and cares about it. We're going to need him to keep improving.

Q: Telling Mike [McCarthy] what's working and not working, how do you assess the play calling today and in the last two weeks without a bigger sample size?

AR: It's not that big of a sample size, but I thought we didn't execute very well at all. The plays were fine. We had opportunities, and we've got to dig into the details on some of this stuff. If there's too much stuff in the plan, we've got to cut it back. I always like to push the envelope. If I see guys doing it the right way in practice, then I feel good about it, but we've got to practice the practice to the game, obviously, and all the details that come with it.

Q: Mike McCarthy is taking a lot of ownership, saying things could be better. What do you see from him in these early moments of the first few games with the new team?

AR: I've seen Mike for 14 years. So, Mike is going to take accountability, sometimes when it's not his fault, doesn't need to do that. Mike loves the guys, and he wants us to have some urgency and to bounce back with this. I know we will.

ADDITIONAL STEELERS PLAYERS

Roman Wilson, WR

(On where the game got away from the Steelers)

"That's a hard question. I just feel like, me personally, I could have played a little better. I could have been more detailed in my route running and fighting through pressure on my route. I can't really speak for everyone else because the game just ended."

(On the performance of the Patriots defense)

"I think they did a good job mixing up a lot of their coverages and a lot of their disguises. It could be just a matter of execution."

Alex Highsmith, LB

(On the outcome of the game)

"We didn't do our best executing. I think, for us, we were able to get up on the ball at times, but we just weren't detailed enough in all areas. So, we just have to get back into the lab and clean up what happened. Some of their run game — whenever any team is over 100 yards in rushing, we know that is not acceptable for us. For us it starts there, stopping the run. We just have to get back to the film, and we are going to get out there. We can't come out of the game saying we gave up 13 points on defense, but they had some big plays. No, we can't allow those big plays either. My thing is, we're just taking a look in the mirror and seeing how we can be better."

(On moving forward with the season)

"We have AFC North football next week — a team that we know well, and they know us. We've got to bring our A game. In a day, we just have to move on to the next one. Long season, but we know we're a lot better than this."

Asante Samuel Jr., CB

(On the performance of the defense)

"As a team, we've just got to play better. We, as a defense, could've played better as well, so there's still things we've got to fix on the defensive side of the ball. It's a team game, so we've got to work together. We will go over the mistakes tomorrow and then focus on the next game."