Jets Q&A: Happy Holmes-coming for Jets WR

What did Santonio Holmes, who had six catches for 40 yards, have to say about his return to Pittsburgh?

"I couldn't stop looking at the big screen," Holmes said. "I just remembered every game, sitting on the sideline getting ready before the game, always looking at the big screen, just knowing that I've got these guys behind me. And this time looking at the big screen, I only saw the Steelers up there and I knew I had a group of guys that were going to be behind me.

"When those guys told me, 'Tone, you've got the captain by yourself' and those guys just stood out there and watched. They were ready to roll once I turned around. They knew the game was ready to kick off. They knew the fire was burning in my eyes that I really wanted to win this ballgame."

Wait, so Holmes was the Jets' only game captain?

"We had four or five guys that were going to be captain with me," Holmes said. "But Coach said, 'Tone, you are going out by yourself,' and it made me feel so good that these guys really respect me here and the things that I've brought to the team, and to allow me to go out and be the lone captain, it felt great."

Why did Jerricho Cotchery return all the punts and not Holmes?

"I just got hot and just felt comfortable with the returns," said Cotchery, who had 19- and 13-yard returns. "Coach just left the hot hand out there."

The Jets say they brought Jason Taylor here to make game-changing plays in the fourth quarter, so Taylor must've been pleased about tackling Mewelde Moore for that safety, huh?

"It didn't close the game out but obviously helped change the situation down the stretch," Taylor said. "It's what I'm supposed to do, it's what I get paid to do, and while it seems like a cool play and all, it is my job and I haven't done it enough; like to do it more. I had other chances to make some other plays tonight and unfortunately, those are the ones that keep you up at night."

What about Taylor, a Pittsburgh native, doing that in his hometown against the team he rooted for as a kid?

"Yeah, I grew up really idolizing this team and people who played for this team," Taylor said. "I was here for some championship years growing up as a fan, and I love Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene, Rod Woodson back in the day. So growing up in Pittsburgh, the Steelers were always special. There were some other good teams here - Penguins and all - but this is a football town, and this team always exemplifies what Pittsburgh is about. It's great to come back here and play because it's a special place to play."

It appears as if Wayne Hunter did a decent job starting at right tackle for Damien Woody. He must've been geeked about getting that start and not allowing LaMarr Woodley to do much damage, right?

"It felt good, it felt great," Hunter said. "It was a long time coming. I was just hoping to pick up where Woody left off and it seems like I did that. You never know until you look at game tape, but I felt like I did pretty good."

How much different was the Steelers' defense without safety Troy Polamalu?

"His freelancing ability, you never know what he's going to do," LaDainian Tomlinson said, "so you can't coach stuff like that. You can't really say, 'OK, guys, this is what needs to happen when Troy is at this spot' because he's never at the same spot. And so obviously, it was a big difference."