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HR 3: Missi Matthews Joins the Steelers Report · The Steelers Report

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Bacco and Ed
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Troup on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: As we've been discussing yesterday and today, a quick turnaround
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Probably about 48 hours now away
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: from Thursday night football. Maybe a little bit more than
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: 48 hours, but you get the theme.
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: Just a couple days.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: So as we all celebrated that big AFC North win
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: on Sunday... We have to move on and we have
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to move on to the Cleveland Browns for Thursday night football.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: A showdown in first place in the AFC North. Both
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: teams 2-1, and we welcome into the program our good
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: friend Missy Matthews, who is the sideline reporter for the
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers. You can also catch Missy's content on Steelers.com. Missy,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: welcome back into the show.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: How are you?
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: Thanks for having me, guys.
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: I'm good.
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: Short week, but you know how that goes. Just got
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: to flip the page, move on.
• 1:05
  Speaker 5: I think it's really easy when it's an AFC North matchup,
• 1:08
  Speaker 5: and unlike the players, Brian and I both get to
• 1:11
  Speaker 5: sleep in our own beds on Wednesday night, go to
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: Cleveland on Thursday, and come back.
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: So, hi. I'm good with that.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Missy, I'm very much looking forward to that set up
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: as well. And, you know, we'll just spend pretty much
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: a whole day in Northeast Ohio and it is what
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: it is. And it'll feel a lot better if we
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: take the bus back with a victory on our sides.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Speaking of which, you know, Sunday was a big victory
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: for Mike McCarthy and the Steelers, his first AFC North game.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: We saw the video of him celebrating with the team
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: in the locker room. What, vibe or sense do you
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: have of how this team is responding to him? Because
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: obviously there was a lot of unknown for everybody with
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: that coaching change, but three games in and two and one,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: I at least get the feeling that players are responding
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to that.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: And of course, a big part of that.
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: Is winning games for the new England game.
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: It was kind of a gut punch for everybody, maybe
• 2:03
  Speaker 5: a reality check in a weird way. And I know,
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: you know, Pat Fryer had said this week that last week,
• 2:09
  Speaker 5: coach McCarthy challenged them to be more physical and Because
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: it felt like they got their butts kicked a little
• 2:14
  Speaker 5: bit up in New England. And I think we saw
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: them do that in all three phases. Just some of
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: the splash plays that they had. I think just the
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: commitment to the offense being what it was expected to be,
• 2:26
  Speaker 5: at least from my perspective. To me, that looked more
• 2:29
  Speaker 5: of what I was expecting out of the gate week
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: one based off of training camp and the different weapons
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: that they have.
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: And I think that we finally saw that.
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: And I think, you know, Mike McCarthy was pretty excited
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: after that win. It meant a lot to him, clearly,
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: and I think it maybe proved to everybody, hey, I
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: can make some wholesale changes in terms of flipping my
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: entire right side of my offensive line. Stick with me,
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: because I promise things will work out, and hopefully that's
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: something they can build on and get a win finally
• 2:56
  Speaker 5: in Cleveland on a Thursday night.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: Missy, Brian and I have been talking yesterday and today
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: here on the show, and actually throughout the first couple
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: weeks of this regular season with Coach McCarthy, that the players' response...
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: to Coach McCarthy so far, at least from our vantage point. Again,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: we're not in the locker room, but from the outside
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: looking in, has been very strong. And these post-game celebrations,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: we've now seen two of them, the first game against
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Atlanta and now this past week against the Bengals, at
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: least a small glimpse. of the players' response. He has
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: the team captains break things down. We saw the big
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: reaction with Zach Frazier this past week. So far, the
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: reaction with this new head coach and Mike McCarthy, a
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh guy, has been very positive from the Steelers players.
• 3:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I have to say I love the inside the
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: locker room postgame look, something that we didn't unfortunately get
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: to see under Mike Tomlin. And I just think it
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: shows maybe a little different side of McCarthy.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: In a way.
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  Speaker 5: And also, I think, you know, I was unsure how
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: I personally felt about having weekly captains. But I think
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: just everybody, you know, Channing Frazier, Frazier after that win
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: being he was one of the three captains.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: I thought that was really cool and is.
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  Speaker 5: Giving guys that maybe would not be in that scenario
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: otherwise a chance to lead. And it sounded like Zach
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: Frazier bored his heart and soul into being a captain
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: last week.
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  Speaker 3: Not surprising from him.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: I think he pours his heart and his soul into
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: everything he does, whether it's football, being a dad, woodworking,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: if that's what he's doing in his spare time on
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: that given day.
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  Speaker 4: What else?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. So, yeah, I mean, that was great
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  Speaker 1: to see. He's just not usually very vocal.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: Or loud about it.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: That's not his personality or his style, but super cool
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: that he was kind of thrust into that role. Ed
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: and I actually talked about that to start the show today.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: Switching gears. I mean, you alluded to it earlier, Missy, and.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Maybe it's just the positivity from that win or me
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: just kind of burying my head in the sand. I
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: haven't even trafficked yet myself mentally in the unfortunate record
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: that the Steelers have lately in Cleveland.
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  Speaker 3: To this point in the week.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: I'm sure I'll naturally have to go down that road
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: before Thursday, but you've been up there a ton. What,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: From your lens, like, why is it so difficult to
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: win there? Because the coaches have changed. The quarterbacks have changed.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: The defensive stalwarts have changed for Cleveland. Not quite as much,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: but they are more now this year. Like, why is
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: that such a difficult place to play? And it always
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: seems to be on a Thursday.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: I do not know.
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: I mean, I'm sure everybody wishes that they could put
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: their finger on it. The Steelers are 0-4 in Cleveland
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: on Thursday night football, which to me is just insane.
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: I think especially when you go back and think, you know,
• 5:36
  Speaker 5: Ben Roethlisberger basically owned the record for that stadium until
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: Baker came along. I just it's just one of those
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: weird things. I don't know if it's because it is
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: a short week and it is very incredibly hard thing
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: to do. I, you know, even Mike McCarthy, who has
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: a winning record on Thursday Night Football overall. He's four
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: and four on the road. I just think it's not
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: an impossible thing to do. Clearly, we have seen it.
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: I just think across the board, across the league, it's
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: hard to get your body ready for that game, especially
• 6:09
  Speaker 5: when you're not the home team and don't get that
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: extra time of not having to worry about travel.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: We're talking with Missy Matthews, the Pittsburgh Steelers sideline reporter.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: You can hear her along with Rob King and Max
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Starks this Thursday night in each and every Pittsburgh Steelers
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: football game, as well as check out Missy's excellent interviews
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: and content that's always up on Steelers.com. Missy, the offensive line,
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: that was the big talk subject the last week or two, right?
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: The lack of the running game the first two weeks,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: the protection of Aaron Rodgers. It seemed to get right
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: against a pretty good Bengals defense this past week, and
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: You know, Brian and I mentioned it, you know, the
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: switch to Brock Hoffman at guard in the first round
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: draft pick Maxi on a chore at right tackle. Certainly,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: at least on Sunday, look to make a big, big difference.
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And I think, you know, maybe that was something
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: that was in the cards earlier in the offseason during
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: training camp. And Max getting might have, you know, prohibited
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: that exactly from happening. I did think, you know, especially
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: since Mike McCarthy had a history with Brock Hoffman, I
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: was a little surprised that he wasn't maybe there first.
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: But I also, you know, understand it's a coaching staff
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: trying to learn an entire new team, players trying to
• 7:21
  Speaker 5: learn an entire new coaching staff and vice versa.
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: But I do think that it paid dividends.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: And I also think, you know, Pat Fryer move and
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: Darnell Washington really helped spark the run game as well.
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: And you could just see everybody getting off of each other.
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: Especially the offensive line.
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: I mean, just going back and watching clips of Zach Frazier,
• 7:40
  Speaker 5: Mason McCormick, going against Dexter Lawrence, you know, there are
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: some good things out there for sure.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: On the defensive side, Missy, I mean, confidence is such
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: a big part of this game, really any sport, maybe
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: anything you do in life. And Derek Harmon's game-clinching strip sack,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: not just anybody, but Joe Burrow in a divisional game,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: What do you think that can do for him? Because
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: he was my breakout pick this season coming into this
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: season for the Steelers. And through the first game, I
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: was sort of like, oh, well, maybe that was wrong
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: because Cam's going to play a lot.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: Keanu Benton just got a new deal. He's going to
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: play a lot.
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: But.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I think that was a great reminder of what Derek
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Harmon can do, why they drafted him. How much do
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: you think this portends a real breakthrough for, for D
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: harm as they're calling him now?
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 8:31
  Speaker 5: I mean, just watching him after it happened, he, he
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: told me on the field afterwards, we got him on
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: WDVE post game that he blacked out. He was like,
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: I really don't know what happened. I just, you know,
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: read boo that I had a chance and went for it.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: And just, Him walking around, teammates going up to him,
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: it just felt like he was still in the zone.
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: A minute celebration after it.
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: Rightfully so. No one got to him. No one sat.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: Jaburo until that last play. And as you said, it
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: was Derek Harmon. I think, you know, hopefully that is
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: something that continues to build. He has an amazing mentor
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: in Cam Hayward. Somebody who has really taken him and
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: some of the other guys, why a black underdog. you know,
• 9:17
  Speaker 5: his wing to help teach him and give back. So
• 9:19
  Speaker 5: hopefully it's something that we continue to see more of.
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: And hopefully just with some of the injuries he dealt
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: with his rookie season, missing some games, this is, you know,
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: going to be a smoother process for him in year two.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: We're talking with Missy Matthews. Missy, we have a few
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: more minutes left with you as we all get ready
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: for the big Thursday night matchup between the Steelers and Browns.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: We probably should have started this question with you to
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: start things off, but Brian and I went right into
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: the nuts and bolts of things. But what is your
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: assessment three games in so far of this football team?
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was a week one game in which
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: the defense had to make the splash play with TJ
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Watt coming up with that big touchdown to beat the Falcons.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: That was the difference there. They go to New England. Well,
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: we know about their struggles on offense week two. And
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: then this past week, they faced an opponent that played
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: very well through the first two weeks of the season
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: in the Bengals. And the Steelers take care of business.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: And now in a short week, they go to Cleveland.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: But the 2026 Steelers, it's a small sample size. But
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: after this week, we'll be about a fourth into the
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: season so far. What is your take so far on
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Steelers through the first, well, we'll say quarter
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: of the season?
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: I think it was so much unknown.
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: I think we all maybe anticipated what we thought the
• 10:29
  Speaker 5: offense would look like. And I think we finally saw
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: that against the Bengals. And then I think with the defense,
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: I'm very intrigued with Patrick Graham and how he really
• 10:38
  Speaker 5: has different game plans each week. It's not just the
• 10:42
  Speaker 5: same thing. And it's, it's interesting to see how he's
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: attacking teams. I think especially in the AFC North, when
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: you've covered the Steelers for so long, you're used to
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: those matchups.
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: Yes. Coach is, Can change quarterback players, but they all
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: still have this identity.
• 10:57
  Speaker 5: And he has embraced the Steelers defense identity, but added
• 11:01
  Speaker 5: some tweaks to it in various ways throughout the first
• 11:04
  Speaker 5: three games. Can't wait to see what he dials up
• 11:08
  Speaker 5: in terms of week four on Thursday night. I don't
• 11:11
  Speaker 5: think anybody is lacking motivation to get this win, knowing
• 11:15
  Speaker 5: what it could mean to go 2-0 so early in
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: the season. And it even feels weird that we're playing
• 11:21
  Speaker 5: two division games within the first four weeks because I
• 11:23
  Speaker 5: feel like normally we're waiting forever, midway through the season,
• 11:27
  Speaker 5: to really start that portion of the schedule.
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: So, yeah, it's.
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: Waiting for some maybe big splash plays on special teams,
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: just to touch on that part.
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: But we'll see.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Two Ohio games out of the way even before– Week
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: five of the season, yeah, that does feel unusual.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: All right, last one that I have for you.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Missy, is not nearly as high stakes or significant as
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: that question. I think I saw somewhere that the Browns
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: are doing the color rush jerseys, the dark brown top,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: dark brown pants with a lighter brown stripe. What do
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: you make of those? They remind me of Anchorman. My
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: apartment smells of rich mahogany. What do you think of
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: those get-ups that the Browns are going to bust out Thursday?
• 12:10
  Speaker 5: I mean, I get why they can't go with orange,
• 12:13
  Speaker 5: but like, you know, I just, no one can compete
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: with the Steelers color rush.
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: It's just so crisp, so fierce.
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: I just feel like, you know, the Browns doing something
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: like that is kind of, you know, prototypical, but I
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: also don't know what their other option would be. I
• 12:32
  Speaker 5: do realize that, you know, for them, this is one
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: of their biggest games of the season. because it is
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: the Steelers because they have our number on Thursday night.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: So I'm sure they're pulling out all stops. You know
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: how it is.
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: They always bring in the big wigs to kind of
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: get the crowd going in the beginning to smash the guitar.
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: So I wouldn't be surprised what we're going to end
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: up seeing on Thursday in terms of how they're pumping
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: up their crowd and they can get a little crazy
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: up there.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: In the dog pound.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Missy Matthews, before we let you go, I have you
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: and Brian Bacco on at the same time. So if
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: I don't bring up the Pitt Panthers, I don't think
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: I'm doing my job. Going into last weekend, there were
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: several undefeated college football teams in the area, West Virginia,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: Penn State, and Pitt. But only you and Brian's Pitt
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: Panthers survived. They're still undefeated. They march on in their
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: 2026 season.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: I'm super pumped.
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: I do realize I was super pumped at the beginning
• 13:23
  Speaker 5: of last season, too. But when you're a Pitt fan,
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: you know, you're in it through the thick and thin.
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: And I just think, you know, what a test, especially
• 13:31
  Speaker 5: to go play Virginia Tech down there in Blacksburg. I
• 13:35
  Speaker 5: don't like James Franklin. My husband went to Penn State.
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: He doesn't like James Franklin. I just really want this
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: one for Coach Narduzzi and that team.
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: It would be huge for them.
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: And then knowing when they come back, it's going to
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: be the 50th anniversary of the 1976 team.
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: Bill Belichick and his crew will be here. So, yeah.
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: It's some exciting football coming up just in Pittsburgh alone,
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: you know, pro and college.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: My quick two cents on it is, you know, you
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: want to win them all, but this is the first
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: game this season for Pitt that's really felt like a
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: big game to me.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: Syracuse is what it is.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Nice homecoming blowout of Bucknell and beating UCF was cool,
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: but Going down to Blackburn won't be easy, and I'm
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: pretty fired.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: I'm sure that Bucknell win will come back and help
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: them at the end when they're figuring all this out.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: I'm kidding, guys.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: I'm a Pitt Panther fan too, so we're all on
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: the same page there. Look, Missy, thank you so much
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: for coming on the show. We appreciate you as always.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Let's do it again soon. Have a good, safe trip
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: up to Cleveland and back. And if you can, bring
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: us back a win.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: Thanks, Missy. All right, thanks, guys.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Missy Matthews, part of our broadcast team with Rob King.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: and Max Starks. You can catch them this upcoming Thursday
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: night in each and every Pittsburgh Steelers game. When Brian
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: and I come back, we're going to get into our
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: top 10 plays and moments from Steelers Bengals. I'm ET,
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: he's BB. It's the Steelers Report here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: part of the Steelers Audio Network.