 Mike, the decision to start dogs, is that more to see and have a comparison contrast in the league, or did you think he gave you a better chance in this game tonight? Well, I'm probably a little bit of both last week, just kind of seeing. Really, it was a great opportunity to evaluate Josh, and then we'll make a decision going forward. I thought he did some good things. I thought he certainly liked to have a couple of throws back, but we'll kind of see where things are here in a couple of days. When did you guys know he was going to be the guy tonight? Early in the week, I told both of them. How'd you like how you play, maybe on defense, keeping the skin close to the penalties? Maybe mistakes end up dooming you at the end? Well, we just beat ourselves too much. I mean, it's too hard to beat the Cowboys or good football teams when you beat yourself, but I thought we competed. I was extremely proud of the way that the 47 guys we had up tonight competed, certainly without mistake. We gave ourselves a chance, but then again, we just did too many things that hurt us and stalled drives or allowed drives to continue. It didn't get the drive stop with a field goal down there in the red zone. Once you made the decision to go to thousands, was there ever any thoughts, OK, if it doesn't work out, to go back to Malik in this game? Does it say anything about Malik's progress, the fact that you bring in a guy from the practice squad? I mean, I think that we're excited about having Malik. We are. We're excited about some of the things that he's done, and we'll continue to just digest this over the weekend and make a decision. Malik has worked hard, but then we just have to see where we're at with the quarterback position here going down to the last week of the season. Panic from some guys in some big moments with some drops or with trade, draping themselves around a guy on 3rd and 19 to give up 51 yards. There's some signs of panic in moments like that. Then just got a penalty, a critical penalty. Panic. You think guys panic, man, they're out there playing their butts off, man. They made a mistake. You had three pass plays of over 30 yards. That's something that hasn't been a part of your offense the last couple of weeks. I thought we protected well. I mean, it threw me out the course of the day. I mean, there were times when it was obviously passing downs. But I thought there was times for Josh to progress through and move the ball downfield. I think trailing got held. I think his left arm got grabbed. Same guy that called Paul's 50-yard pass interference penalty didn't see it the same way on our sidelines. I don't know what to tell you. But I thought there were opportunities where we could have helped Josh out as well. And we couldn't come down with a catch. But there was also other times where we made plays down the field and hit the screen versus pressure and all those things. I thought Hassan had one of the better runs of the year on 4th and 2, ran over a really good player and fell forward for a first down. How about on the rubbing penalties that don't seem pretty similar, races and plans? You know, those are judgment calls, and I think that was bad judgment. You had a lot of scissors to make on players who played who didn't. Did Kevin, by chance, make the case that he wanted to play? I just think he played tonight with the two picks. Well, I value Kevin's opinion. I value his role on his football team as a captain. And you have to make decisions. I felt like just where we were in that case that he was going to play wanted to play. And that was the plan. And then I thought he played well. I thought he took advantage of his opportunities when the ball came his way. And whether it was deflected or tipped or whatever, I thought he tried to tackle and come down and support. But all those things aside, I appreciate his leadership. And it was a different week, the whole circumstances with next week and trying to prepare a team. And again, that's, I guess, I'm proud of the way that they fought. I'm sure that everybody expected us to just lay down. And I know that we didn't do that. Mike, you talked about needing to find a way to win and find some momentum these weeks before you get to Jacksonville and not focus on the importance of that game. Obviously, you didn't get the win tonight. Or was there anything that you took away as maybe positive momentum moving into this? Yeah. I mean, there was things when we didn't beat ourselves or we didn't extend drives with penalties or third downs a little disappointing. I thought we stopped the run with whoever we had in there, whatever group, whatever front, stopped the run. The one had the one big one. It would have been much less than that if we would have just done our job. Been where we were supposed to be. We wouldn't have given up the long one. I think that was a positives. Certainly, the penalties are negative, being able to avoid some of those. Offensively, I thought we got into a rhythm. I thought we kept competing. We need to run the football better. But man, that's kind of been where we've been the last couple of weeks, is doing some good things, just not consistently enough. And then, unfortunately, beating ourselves in the margin for error when you do that is pretty thin. Have you seen Josh's play come some life into the passing day for you? I mean, I think guys were, you know, Woody had a big third down, catch over down a sideline. I thought that was a good ball. And obviously needed some protection to get there. And we'll see where it went and watch the tape. But I thought that there were some good, you know. I wish Traylon would have been able to come down with that one. It was a little behind them. But I think Traylon expects to make that catch. But I thought the timing on it was good and it was going to the right spot. What's the fact that he had this productive of a night dobs on such a short turnaround? May get that much more impressive that he's only been here? Eight days or nine days, I think. He was excited for this opportunity. Get his first start. You know, I think something that we've always said that, you know, since I've been here is that it doesn't really matter how you end up here or how you get here. The only thing that matters is what you do when you're here. And we've had a lot of guys, you know, take advantage of those opportunities. And, you know, I think Josh wanted to try to do the best that he could. Unfortunately, we lost. And I'm sure we'd like to have the interception back. But we did some good things, just not well enough. What has to happen for you guys to be able to flip a switch and the streak win the division? I mean, I think we just have to get some guys back healthy, clean up some of the little details that show up. You know, you only get one opportunity sometimes with a call on offense or defense versus the same exact look. It's going to happen in the game. And, you know, if you don't hit it, you can't say, well, don't darn, we'll just rep it again and practice. And I think we've had far too many of those. But we'll get them cleaned up. We'll have to eliminate big plays on defense to run the football, take care of it. Same thing we always say, just do a little bit more consistently. And I'm excited. Excited to watch these guys walk back in a building next week, energized, recovered, rested. I'm excited. We sat here last week, you had mentioned how you wanted everybody to do a little bit more. You had the same result this week. But do you feel like as if you got that extra more from everybody that you kind of challenged? I mean, I think so. I mean, again, I haven't watched the tape. But I felt like the guys, you know, some of the leadership was really good. Had some good performances, just, you know, not good enough. And, you know, just buying into the meetings, buying into the details, never knowing when you're going to get your opportunity to make a play and be ready to make it. Are you operationally smoother tonight? Well, you know, I think without looking at the tape, maybe. But, you know, I think there were still a few times where, you know, you have to fix those mistakes. Everybody is responsible for that, you know, whether the formation gets called right or wrong or play. Like, you have to know the game plan well enough to know where you line up and hear the call. And, you know, there were some mistakes. Like there is every week. I know you don't want to put anybody on Azure Reserve, but was it horrible to line and did you get a chance to talk to him? Yeah, of course I get a chance to talk to Ryan. Yeah, I think it's always difficult, you know, but I think you have to be realistic as well, where we're at, you know, and what was a realistic expectation, you know, for Ryan to come back and how long that would be. And what that may look like when he did come back. So, you know, that was the decision that we made. He was obviously disappointed, talked about his toughness, no different than all the other guys that we've had to put on our hour. Josh, when did you find out that you were going to start? So, after the last game, it was Christmas Eve, and I was actually driving home. And Pat called and he said, hey, can you come in tomorrow just to be prepared to play? We just want to go through the game plan. We're trying to figure out which way we're going to go, but if you're playing, I just want you to see the stuff as soon as possible. So drove home, spent Christmas morning at home, and then turned around around noon, drove back up. Had a car, finally. So drove back up, and then we started diving to the game plan, and then the next day, they said, hey, we're probably going to start you. So you're going to take all the routes throughout practice, and that's the way we went. How big a challenge to start a game after just being here eight days, and how in your mind you think it is? Yeah, I think it's a unique situation, and it's a wonderful opportunity that I really embraced and had a lot of fun with. So there's obviously things that I know that I can do better and be better, especially situationally, looking back through the game. And we'll dive into that, because I know we've got a big one coming up. But I thought through the preparation and the guys, that's just how we fought throughout the game. It was great to see. I mean, shoot, we're throwing routes out there on the field that we haven't even thrown in practice with it being a short week. So just being able to make those plays, make critical plays throughout the game will propel us into this upcoming week, where we actually have a full week to prepare for the game. What was it like for you to wait in six years for an opportunity to start a game, and then finally, because you did it? Yeah, man, it was a long time. That's for sure. It definitely was a long time. A lot of working out, and you're like, dang, I don't even know. Especially, you're in Pittsburgh for so long, and Ben's playing at a high level still. So you're like, dang, I don't know when I'm going to get a shot. So every week, though, I give everyone the analogies like this. It's like, you know, you have algebra tests every Friday. You know, you have to prepare for the test. And you prepare. You do all the homework on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. You go through the process. You do the extra work. You go to after hours and everything. And then Friday comes, and then you just don't take the test. And then you repeat process. And you never know when you'll have to take the test. So you're not prepared every single week as if I'm going to start, whether I'm dressing, not dressing, starting, not starting. As I said, you know, it's a thing I could definitely do better out there on the field. But I love how I fought personally. I love how the team fought. Took advantage of the opportunity. I'm excited for the next one. And finally, getting the opportunity to start. Did you have those early anxious moments? And if so, what wasn't that you did to allow yourself to settle in, but it seemed like that's what happened? Yeah, I think for sure, when you haven't played a live snap of football since August, and then I was December, that's a long time, especially when you're in a new team, new receivers, new timing, new offense. So yeah, I mean, they're there. I'm human. They're going to be there. And in those moments, I just try to take a deep breath, stay present, stay in the moment, lock in on the game plan, and just the same thing I told the guys was, just take it one play at a time. If you do that, you focus on that play, make it the best play possible, move on to the next one, then you won't get overwhelmed by the moment. So there's a lot of guys out there, not just me, making their first starts or first time back on the field in a long time. And just watching how the guys responded to adversity, responded with success, it was great to see. And it definitely was a building opportunity for us. I know you had a relation with Malik before you got here. What was he like through this process? Helping you or supporting you or however that went? Definitely, he's been great. Just helping, especially a new quarterback, a guy that's been in there, being able to just talk about procedural things, such as cadence, snap count, communication, code words to the guys, especially when we're going no huddle and up tempo. So he's been a great resource, so has Kevin Hogan in the room as well. We have a really good room, the guys really gel well, and it's been good to rely on those guys as well as Pat and Todd, too, to help with my preparation. Building opportunity, obviously, a nice thing that's still a sixth loss in a row. Like, is there a feeling in the room that something's turning tide-wise and that in 10 days can change the result? Well, we control our own destiny. And every single person in the locker room understands that. We go out and play a good game. We play how we know how to play football. We don't hurt ourselves. We go play good, clean football in Jacksonville next Sunday, whenever the game is, and we come out with a win. Then we're in the playoffs, and we're rolling from there. So we control our own destiny. Guys understand that. Obviously, every time you step on the field, you expect to win, and you want to win. So it's tough when you don't get the job done. So now we'll go through our process. We'll review the film, review the tape. We have a longer week for preparation for the Jacksonville game, and we control our own destiny. We go out there, we play the football, we know we can. Then we're in the playoffs, and AOC South champs. First start for you in a while, without having the opportunity to go back and look at the tape, what do you think of the thing or maybe a couple of things you're going to be focused on this week? For sure, situationally, as I look back throughout the game, we fumbled the ball with the ball on the ground in the red zone when we have points, and you just can't do that. That's an opportunity where either get the ball out, take a good clean sack, kick the field goal, get points. Then it's an even tighter game, going to the fourth quarter. So little things like that. I took a sack on a keeper in the second quarter, throw the ball away. So there's little things situationally that I'm aware of that I know I can get better. Of course, that comes with reps and being out there and getting hit for the first time in a while. So I'm not too worried about those. I know I'll clean them up. I'll be excited to dive into the tape with the coaches and continue to grow, improve as quickly as possible, and give the team the best chance that we have to win. Sorry, Josh, how much difference might it be having a Derek Henry possibly available in that game in Jacksonville? No doubt. I mean, Ohio is the best player on offense. So getting a chance to get him out there healthy and playing the football he can will be tremendous for us. I thought the young guys, though, today did a great job toting the rock situationally, tempo, getting the pile moving forward. They did a great job. And obviously, having Derek back will be a great asset for the offense. How do you end up with a football after your first career touchdown? And did Robert Woods know that? No chance he knew. There's no chance he knew. Everyone was obviously extremely excited. So I just ran out. I was like, yo, can I keep this? This is my first one, please. And he's like, yeah, you got it. You're good. And then we just celebrated one from there. So definitely have it. I'm going to give it to the fans so they can take it back home and find a nice spot for it. You go from kind of waiting for an opportunity like this for so long to now getting the opportunity and now looking at potentially a biggest opportunity there is, playing for a spot in the playoffs. How good was it to get one under your belt before that big one for all the marbles? 100%. It was great to get out there. Obviously, just get the jitters out. You're about to get actually hit sitting in the pocket. It's completely different than when you're at practice. They can't hit you. They run by, yell, sack. It was a whole different environment, especially then playing situational football from there. As I said, the stuff that I know I have to clean up. So it was good to get out there and get this opportunity because the next one's for all the marbles, man. It's like, you grow up. You dream about playing playoff football in the NFL. And to have that opportunity is one you never take for granted because just in my career, my six years, I've been to the playoffs, thankfully, three times. But the three years I haven't, the two years I haven't, I guess this is year six. Those are tough years. So you put in a lot of hard work throughout the season. So we go out there. We control our own destiny. It's good to get these reps. Now let's make the most of the next opportunity. Josh, until the line, did you ever feel like you had a chance to show what you can do in this league and go get the start? No, I didn't. Honestly, I didn't. Just given my circumstances and the lack of opportunity I've had, you know, it's definitely been tough because especially when you pour everything into it and you don't get the opportunity, it's always tough. But yeah, you know, I was thinking about it earlier today. It's like your current position is not your destiny. You keep working hard. The opportunities will come. You never know when they will come, but you for sure better be ready when they do come. You expect the start next week? That's up to the coaches, you know. I think they're going to put whoever gives us the best opportunity to win out there. And I respect their decision. So we'll see when we regroup over the weekend and we'll go from there.