Steelers 24, Giants 20: Players react to loss

Here is some of the post-game reaction from New York Giants' players to Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. To see all the transcripts check out the transcripts page.

Justin Tuck [Full transcript] :

Q: Coach said it was about as frustrating a loss as he could remember in a long time. Do you feel the same way?
A: It's pretty frustrating. I don't know where it ranks on my frustration scale, but we had our chances to win this one. There's a lot of people wanting us to win it, and just like Eli said, you don't make any excuses about it. We were prepared to play our best tonight and we didn't. That's a great football team out there, so they didn't need any help from us, but like I said, we didn't play our best football tonight.

Q: This is the ninth game of the season; it starts the second half of the season. What's the message to the young guys out there, considering some of the history with this team and having some dips?
A: Let's not (repeat) history, unless it's going to end up how it did last year. For us, we understand what November has meant - getting off to a fast start and kind of lulling here. I don't think tonight was a case of that. We played hard, we had our shots, but hopefully we can rectify all that next week. We've got a huge game out in Cincinnati and I think we'll be up for it and hopefully we'll end this November curse.

Martellus Bennett [Full transcript] :

Q: Did it feel like a different week?
A: Yeah. I kind of suffer from weather depression. So, with the weather and the mood of everything that's going on around me, I was kind of down. It was a tough week and it's even tougher to lose a game, and you have to go lay in the dark in the cold, with no lights.

Q: What do you do next? How do you get back to your version of normal?
A: Call (PSE&G). I'm just doing the same thing that everybody else is doing right now, trying to get the lights back on and get in a normal routine. The wife starts school this week. We just try to go to work, get my lunch bag and go to work.

Mark Herzlich [Full transcript] :

Q: How did the first start of the season go for you?
A: Well, we lost, so not very good. I think that for the most part, I was in the right spot for the plays and I thought I played pretty physically and pretty well. But there's definitely some times where I could have played better and capitalized on some of the plays.

Antrel Rolle [Full transcript] :

Q: Did you feel that you would be able to stop them on that last drive and get the ball back for the offense?
A: That's something that we all hope for as a defensive unit and one broke through. It's just something that we definitely have to key on. It's unacceptable as a defense and we will clean it up.

Michael Boley [Full transcript] :

Q: Tom said it was as disappointing of a loss as you guys have had in a long time. Did you feel that way, as well?
A: Yes. Just given the way we played the whole game. A lot of aspects of the game were not Giants football. Obviously, it showed.

Q: An emotional week for you guys. Emotional day, I guess. Tom really said he rallied on those emotions. Obviously, the hurricane and football are different things. Is it tough to not deliver a win today?
A: It's tough being in a situation like this. Not only were we looking forward to this game, a lot of fans were looking forward to this game. A lot of people from just in our area in general. This was something we were hoping to brighten some peoples' days.

Eli Manning [Full transcript] :

Q: Coach was just talking about how badly this team wanted to win this game for obvious reasons and put a smile on the faces of the people for a few hours. Was this team fully prepared for football or was the focus on other places?

A: No, I thought our focus was good. I thought our practice was good all week. I thought guys knew the game plan and knew what to expect. I don't think that was the case - it wasn't like guys were doing the wrong things and guys were in the wrong spots. That wasn't the case. It was a matter of we didn't play well enough offensively. Sometimes you have those games and obviously they're a good defense. They're talented and they do a great job with the defense mixing up the looks. I think we just didn't have it, but we've been in those situations where you have those tough games but in the fourth quarter you need drives and plays, we've been able to bounce back and make those plays, but we didn't do that tonight.

Q: When Tom was just addressing your recent play, he said, "We have to get him back on track," meaning you, individually. Do you feel like the last 2-3 weeks you've gotten out of rhythm or off track?

A: I don't feel off-rhythm. I think offensively in the passing game, we've got to get back to where we're running things we feel comfortable with or getting guys open, so it's a combination. I don't feel like I'm throwing the ball inaccurately, I don't feel like I'm missing guys, so I think it's just a matter of getting back offensively to where we're playing fast, making good decisions, guys are winning, and we'll hit them.

Ahmad Bradshaw [Full transcript] :

Q: What do you think the issue is?

A: We don't know yet. That's what practicing all week does. Helping us prepare for the next team, get better and find our issues.

Victor Cruz [Full transcript] :

Q: What happened offensively out there?
A: Just had a couple of miscues and couldn't attack them the way we wanted to and just had a couple miscues out there on third down. We couldn't complete some balls and things like that, but it's just the nature of the game and it happens.

Q: Were you surprised with all the power outages that 80,000 people did show up today?
A: I wasn't surprised. I know Giants fans and they're going to make it to this game and support their team no matter what. It could be whatever the circumstances are, I know Giants fans are true to their team and they were going to come out and support us today.