Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spent some time wondering if playing in the AFC Championship Game “was almost too big for some of the young guys” on the roster in the wake of their 36-17 loss to the Patriots.
Their inexperience in the postseason isn’t where cornerback William Gay is looking in the wake of the loss. Gay said the reason for the Steelers’ loss was a pretty simple one, namely that the Patriots had a better game plan that they executed better than the Steelers could execute their own.
Gay does think that the taste of playoff action can benefit his younger teammates. He believes it will make them “hungry and determined” for more success next time and that they should focus on that rather than any criticism that might come their way.
“Don’t pay attention to it,” Gay said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s simple as that. Just don’t pay attention to it. ... Football is like life. Everybody, I’m pretty sure all of you guys, go through trials and errors, and what do you do? You press forward, right? So age don’t have nothing to do with it.”
The Steelers defense had a hard time against the Patriots, but the unit made strides over the course of the season as younger players took on bigger roles in some spots. Using this loss as a springboard for further improvements in the offseason would be a good thing for Pittsburgh.
