To borrow one of Mike Tomlin's favorite quotes, this is not William Gay's first rodeo. The Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback has played significant minutes for the team's defense since Tomlin and Gay both joined the franchise in 2007.
But there have been several games in years past where Tomlin would welcome Gay back into the team locker-room after a game with barbs of "Medium-Play Willie Gay."
As William came off the field Sunday in Cincinnati, there were no barbs. Just a silent yet emphatic man-hug from the head-man. And that display spoke louder than any Tomlin quote could. William Gay is capable of the 'Big Play,' and he showed it with his on-field displays, getting his hands on both of his squad's 4th-quarter takeaways in a 24-17 victory over the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
As teammate Larry Foote described it, "We just had to make the play. Will Gay made two great plays on the interceptions, one he tipped to Lawrence and one he caught. Perfect timing. And that's been the difference maker [in] the season is we gotta make them turnovers. Today we did."
The first 'Big Gay Play' came with 12 minutes and change left in a seven point ballgame, with Cincinnati starting a drive at their 47-yard line poised to regain momentum. The paw of Gay batted a ball intended for Cincinnati's Andre Caldwell into the sliding arms of Steelers' linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
And the second 'Big Gay Play' bailed out a scuffling Pittsburgh offense that had failed to stick the dagger in the Bengals on two occasions. Gay took matters into his own hands by jumping a Jerome Simpson post-route on a 2nd-and-9 from the Steelers' 25-yard line, with the Bengals poised to send the game into a late-game deadlock.
For a Pittsburgh defense that had an NFL-record low four takeaways through the year's first nine games, it was a season defining moment as the squad heads into the bye week.
And for Gay, who has re-established himself as the team's starting corner a year after being shifted to primarily a 'nickleback' role, it was his first interception since 2008 and just the second of his NFL career.
The 'Big Gay Plays' also came just a week after the PIttsburgh defense allowed another AFC North opponent to drive and win the contest, with Joe Flacco moving his Baltimore Ravens' team 92-yards in 2:16 for a 23-20 Baltimore victory. On the drive, Gay allowed two critical grabs including a 4th-and-1 conversion by Anquan Boldin.
However, Gay didn't want to discuss redemption, nor did he want to sing his own praises. In fact, below is the transcript of Gay's conversation with the media in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh win over Cincinnati. Perhaps it's the recent sting of harsh criticism that kept him tight-lipped, or perhaps it's the realization that the season is far from over and criticism may yet come again. But William Gay was all about business during and after the game Sunday. For the team and their fans, all that matters is that things got back to a winning business.
On his final interception:
"If you go watch film, we just all around played some great football today."
On the defense getting two takeaways:
"That's playing football."
On putting the Baltimore loss behind them:
"You got to. We've got to put this win behind us. Move on to the bye week, get some rest. And then come back and watch some film on Kansas City."
Is this redemption from last week?
"We just wanted to get a 'W." That's all we wanted to do."
How much momentum does this game give you?
"It just gives us a 7-3 record."
On Cincinnati:
"Shoot, we've got to see them again in a couple weeks. We just gotta buckle down, keep pressing on, keeping listening to coach Lebeau, and just come to play some football every Sunday."
How do you feel about the last drive today compared to last week?
"We're 7-3, man, I'm happy about that."
Your teammates said you took the blame unneccesarily last week. Did you?
"I mean, we lost. We won this week. It's time to move on from this game, go into the bye week and get ready for Kansas City."
What changed when A.J. Green left the game?
"Nothing at all."
What did you think of his TD?
"Good play by him, that's the bottom line. He gets paid too."
Were they attacking you with the Andre Caldwell matchup?
"It's football, man. You can't care what happens on the offensive side you've just got to control what you can control."
What were you looking at on that last interception?
"We played some good defense. That's all, bottom line. I just played Dick Lebeau defense, everybody across the board did and we came out with the 'W.'"
On getting his hand on both interceptions:
"That's some good football being played out there."