Pittsburgh Steelers' David DeCastro embarrassed by pregame trash talk, loss

Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Veteran offensive lineman David DeCastro was not entertained by the Pittsburgh Steelers' trash talk of the New England Patriots before their playoff exit.

That's because the team should have been focusing on the Jacksonville Jaguars. DeCastro spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday, following the Steelers' 45-42 loss to the Jaguars.

Before the AFC Divisional Round playoffs setback, the Steelers made several references to facing the Patriots in the postseason. Coach Mike Tomlin told Tony Dungy on NBC-TV in November that the Steelers "should win it all" and would likely see the Foxborough foes again.

Running back Le'Veon Bell referred to another matchup with the Patriots when he tweeted on Saturday.

"I love round 2's. We'll have two round 2's in back to back weeks," he wrote. He was referring to the Jaguars and Patriots.

Steelers safety Mike Mitchell told Sports Illustrated last week that the Steelers would beat the Patriots.

"We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England...We're gonna win," Mitchell told the magazine.

DeCastro, 28, joined the Steelers in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The three-time Pro Bowler referenced the Steelers' previous loss to the Jaguars as a deterrent for looking past the AFC South squad.

"They were ready to go, they were mad, they were angry, they had something to prove and they did it," DeCastro told the Post-Gazette.

"Yeah, it's embarrassing. It really is, man. It just blows my mind. They beat us 30-9 [on Oct. 9], we played like crap and we want to talk about New England!"

"I don't know what to say about that. It's just stupid. It's just not what you do. You don't need to give a team like that more bulletin board material."

Jacksonville is now the team facing the Patriots in the AFC Championship. That matchup is set for 3:05 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.