Here's what the Falcons had to say after their 17-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday:
VIC BEASLEY, defensive end
On the pass rush: "I feel good. I feel that our young guys are playing exceptionally well. The guys we brought in are playing exceptionally well. We've got a lot of big things coming."
On Takkarist McKinley: "I think he had a couple of pressures. He's starting to get acclimated with the game. Come soon, he'll be good to go."
JACK CRAWFORD, defensive end
On playing: "It felt good being out there because being in a game is a different feel. I was in there for a long drive, like eight plays. It felt good to get my wind going."
On being a captain: "It was nice. I've never been a captain before. That was a really nice experience."
On how he played: There were a couple of plays that I would like to change, but I had a couple of good plays. I felt like it was definitely a first step. This is something definitely that I can build off of going into next week.
On the pass rush: "I feel pretty good about the whole group. Rushing with these guys, we are so deep and we have some bigtime pass rushers on this (defensive) line. I just feel pretty good right now."
QUINCY MAUGER, safety
On his interception: "Jack Lynn did a great job of getting the quarterback out of the pocket. Everybody on the back end did their job of plastering their man and being able to affect the quarterback by just sticking to their man. He just threw the ball up there."
On the difficult catch: "We talk about the emphasis of the ball and getting everything. I made sure I brought it back in.
We focus on those type of catches in practice. Day-in and day-out we keep focusing on making those type of catches. I was pretty easy in game-time.”
JAKE MATTHEWS, left tackle
On the opening drive: "Obviously, we wanted to go out there and get stuff done since we weren't playing the whole game. But I thought we executed really well, mixed it up really well. We moved it down the field and put it in the end zone."
On starting the second series: "It was good for sure. They have a good front and good players. From the time we were in, we were able to do some good things. So, we're happy with it."
RYAN SCHRAEDER
On the opening drive: "It felt good coming out and opening with that drive. We wanted to come out quick. That's what we were harping on all week. We wanted to stay strong throughout the whole game. It felt good getting down there and scoring. We got a few more plays after that. Overall, it felt pretty good."
On heading into the third game: "I'm hoping that we'll get some more (action). It will be whatever coach decides. I'm thinking we'll go through the half if it's like the previous years. It will be good to get in there play a half, make some adjustments and hopefully go back out again and get a few more snaps."
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