On the Patriots...
"They are the best in the world. They are the gold standard, if you will. So you want to have that opportunity to go up to play the best. It will be an awesome challenge for us."
- Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
"They need no endorsement from me. They have the hardware that speaks for that. And [I] have a lot of respect for that. That's why we all do this."
- Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
[wysifield-embeddedaudio|eid="520226"|type="embeddedaudio"|view_mode="full"]On playing the Patriots in the AFC Championship game...
"I don't care who we had to play in the AFC Championship Game. It's the championship game. You have one game to get to the Super Bowl. Like I said, you are going up to the lion's den, the dragon's lair. They are the dragon. We are trying to slay them. It doesn't matter who it is, but they are the 'gold standard.'"
- Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
"We are singularly focused. We are a group that has been on the rise. We are a group that is excited about the opportunity to compete at a high level. We know what is important now, finding a way to get the job done."
- Steelers Wide Receiver Antonio Brown
"Our whole plan in coming into the playoffs is just buy another week at a time and we've been doing that, we've been having so much fun so I didn't give a damn who the hell we played as long as we got another chance and it just so happened to be these guys. We're going into a hostile environment. They're a great team, they have a great three phases and we just have to go out there and play our ball. The Steelers versus New England and it's going to be a helluva game to watch."
- Steelers Tackle Marcus Gilbert
"I'm excited. Right now I look calm, but deep inside my heart's beating 100-miles-an-hour. I'm excited. We worked hard to get here and it's 60 minutes before the Super Bowl so I can't imagine, including myself and my guys on my team and guys on their team. They're going to try to give everything they have and it's going to be a fun, physical, fast football game. It'll be the type of way we like it."
- Steelers Defensive End Stephon Tuitt
On Tom Brady...
"I consider him one, if not the best of all-time."
- Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
"You can't talk about New England without talking about Tom Brady. I think just watching them win that game last weekend, exemplifies that he is a great player, but they are a great team."
- Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
"It's definitely a difficult challenge, but we've faced him before. I think this is my third time going against him and it's always a fun task. We always have a difficult game, a big game. And we have a top tier quarterback, too, so we just have to do our job on defense and give those guys back the ball and just try to disrupt his guys and get him out of control as much as possible."
- Steelers Linebacker Ryan Shazier
On playing the Patriots earlier this season...
"They play really well up front. Obviously, they pride themselves on stopping the run. I think it was a little bit of a circumstance of us not getting enough [carries], too. I think last time we played them we weren't as aggressive, as good at running the ball as we are now. So it's going to be an interesting game going against those guys again."
- Steelers Running Back Le'Veon Bell
On the Patriots defense...
"To me, they are just a defense that beats you. They line up. They get the pass rush after you. Their secondary is incredibly good. They are opportunistic. They don't make mistakes. They are a defense that you aren't going to catch off guard. You're not going to trick them. You're not going to be able to hit them with the gimmicky-type of stuff. They play their fundamentals. They play them very well. They play as a unit. That's what this sport is about. That's why it's the ultimate team sport."
- Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
[wysifield-embeddedaudio|eid="520236"|type="embeddedaudio"|view_mode="full"]"They have quality players. They have solid schemes. They are fundamentally sound. They are never out of place. They are difficult to trick. They keep the ball in front of them. They are extremely ball aware. Guys like Malcolm Butler lead the charge in that regard. They do a great job of applying pressure and applying pressure in a bunch of different ways. Trey Flowers is an edge guy that leads them in sacks. But multiple people are going to come after you. Logan Ryan will come off the nickel. Patrick Chung will come off the nickel. All of their linebackers are capable. Quite often, they bogus pressure you or seemingly bring what appears to be pressure, and they drop folks. They are very multiple. But they are just simply a result-oriented or driven group. They are number-one in the league in terms of fewest points given up. I think they are number-two as a team in turnover ratio."
- Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
On the Patriots secondary...
"Those guys use their hands. They play to the ball. They are a great group. They work together. Bill Belichick is a great coach. He has developed some great schemes to help those guys, and it puts them in perfect position. Butler finishes to the ball. He puts hands on you like no other. We are up for the challenge."
- Steelers Wide Receiver Antonio Brown
On Malcolm Butler...
"I think that he's a very, very good corner that I'm going to have to be aware of where he is, and I think that's as good of a compliment as I can pay someone is that I'm going to keep my eye on him."
- Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
"Obviously it's a big game. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a follow-type corner. He is going to be there. I am excited about having that opportunity."
- Steelers Wide Receiver Antonio Brown
On Dion Lewis...
"He's a dynamic player in the run game [and] in the passing game. He's multitalented. Obviously, I've had some exposure to him over the years from when he played next door at Pitt. I view it as that he's a cog in that machine, a similar cog they've had in the past. He's Kevin Faulk-like in terms of his ability to impact the game in a lot of ways, and is a nice complement to LeGarrette Blount."
- Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin
