Picking up second half action from the Week One opener between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.
The Steelers will receive the kickoff at the beginning of the 1st half. Here is where they can add to the lead and start to put the game away. Ben Roethlisberger will look to continue his momentum from the textbook 2 minute drill at the end of the first half.
Ray-Ray McCloud gets his first kick return attempt. He was SO close to breaking it, but had a nice 34 yard pickup. Yet again, the Steelers go to the running game on first down as Benny Snell picks up 3. James Conner is still stretching on the sideline. He looks ready to go, but the Steelers are riding with Snell for the time being. Snell found a seam for a 14 yard pickup, brought down by a shoestring.
On 2nd and 5, Snell got brought down for no game by Blake Martinez. On 3rd down, Ben Roethlisberger has a nice toss deep on the right side of the field, but Washington just barely can’t secure the ball. Nice coverage by James Bradberry. The Steelers will punt on their first drive of the half.
Vince Williams with a tackle for loss on a 1st down run play. Daniel Jones, deep in his own endzone, delivered a strike to Darius Slayton on 3rd and 16 – Sutton and Edmunds in coverage. The Giants get a new set of downs.
The Steelers nearly get a sack, but Daniel Jones delivers a beautiful pass as he is falling to Darius Slayton to pick up another 1st down. The Giants are right around mid field now.
We have a Alex Highsmith sighting as the rookie gets a nice stop for a pickup of 1 on first down. On 3rd, Daniel Jones sees an opening and scrambles to very nearly pickup the 1st down. The ruling on the field is 4th and 1. They will go for it.
They go for play action to try and catch the Steelers’ defense off guard. TJ Watt was held to prevent the sack, but the call was missed. The Giants convert and get a fresh set of downs.
3rd down and 6, the Steelers defense has been so close to a sack on numerous occasions, they will look to bring it home here.
Again, the Steelers miss the sack as Ola Adeniyi is unable to bring Jones down. Jones scrambles again for the 1st down.
The Steelers sure are shutting down the run. Being in the AFC north with all the power running that occurs, this bodes well for the season.
With 1st and 10 on the 11 yard line, Saquon Barkley gets his biggest run of the night. A pickup of 7, bringing the Giants inside the 5 yard line.
Bud Dupree pressures Daniel Jones causing an errant throw floating into the end zone. Cameron Heyward gets underneath it and secures the interception. Big man interception!
Bud Dupree is a serious problem. He has made plays, or been the reason for plays being made all night long.
The Steelers will take the ball over from the 25 yard line on the interception-touchback.
On 2nd down, Benny Snell gets a nice long run around the edge on the right side. He fumbled at the end of the play along the sideline, but Juju Smith-Schuster recovers the ball with a nice heads up play.
On first down, Diontae Johnson gets one of his first positive plays of the season. Shaking off the bad plays from earlier in the game to pick up another 1st down. The very next play, Ben throws it to Johnson again, but there was some sort of miscommunication as Johnson’s back was to the ball. Incomplete.
Johnson with another first down catch. He did a really nice job creating separation against Kyler Fackrell for another 1st down.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked for a huge loss. He was given plenty of time by the offensive line, but he couldn’t find anybody open. Moving backwards out of the red zone.
Chase Claypool makes up some of the lost yardage with an 11 yard reception, but the Steelers will be forced to settle for the field goal. Still, this field goal will make it a 2 possession game at 19-10.
The kick hooked to the right, but just barely made it inside the uprights. 19-10 Steelers.
The Steelers will now have an opportunity to pin their ears back and rush the passer. They can generate pressure from just about anywhere and with the running game not working for the Giants, they will be forced to pass a lot to wrap up the game.
Chris Boswell continues his shaky season debut with a kickoff that ends up out of bounds. The Giants get some help starting at the 40 yard line.
On 3rd and 6, Daniel Jones took the snap. On his drop back, Mike Hilton streaks into the backfield and trips him up for the huge sack on 3rd down. 4th and 16 and the Giants will punt.
The Steelers can really put the game away here with a touchdown which would extend the lead to 16 points.
On 3rd and 7, Ben Roethlisberger dropped back and completed the 1st down reception to Diontae Johnson on a deep out route.
Benny Snell seeing more carries as the Steelers look to burn the clock as much as possible on this drive. Yet another 3rd down completion to Diontae Johnson for a fresh set of downs. Johnson had a rough first half, but credit to him for shaking it off and having a strong finish to the game.
Benny Snell is having a breakout game, with a 30 yard rush off the left tackle. That 30 yard rush brings Benny Snell to 100 yards rushing on 15 carries (6.666 ypc). Snell is not afraid to take a couple extra hits if it means an extra yard or two.
If the Steelers score here, making it 25-10, they could very well go for the two point conversion to make it a three possession game and seal the victory.
Stefen Wisniewski was shaken up on the play and helped off the field. He was filling in for David DeCastro at right guard. In comes Kevin Dotson, the rookie, to get his first NFL snaps.
Ben Roethlisberger hooked up with Juju Smith-Schuster for another touchdown. What a great return for the two of them. Unfortunately, Zach Banner was hurt on the play. The Steelers offensive line depth could get interesting depending on the severity of these injuries. If the Steelers get the ball back, Chukwuma Okorafor would presumably get the snaps at right tackle.
Ben Roethlisberger is on the sideline giving Zach Banner a pep talk. Banner is visibly upset on the sideline, not a good sign for the severity of the injury.
The Steelers play it safe and go for the point after attempt. Chris Boswell’s kick is good. 26-10 Steelers.
You can’t help but feel incredible sadness for Zach Banner. Just absolutely sick for him. He worked very hard and despite all odds won the starting right tackle position before getting hurt.
TJ Watt, for what feels like the 5th time this game, narrowly missed the sack. There is only 3:45 remaining. The Giants are in the redzone with a 3rd and 4 attempt. Daniel Jones drops back and dumps the ball to Saquon Barkley for the 1st down pickup, but the clock is ticking.
Devin Bush in coverage against Saquon Barkley on 1st and goal. Barkley gets tripped up on himself and the ball falls incomplete. Alex Highsmith making another appearance chasing Daniel Jones out into the flat before the threw the ball away. Highsmith nearly got his first NFL sack.
TJ Watt has been an absolute terror tonight. Bud Dupree shows up more on the stat sheet, but Watt has been every bit as good. A lot of plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
3rd and goal on the 7, Daniel Jones completes the touchdown pass to Darius Slayton. Steven Nelson trailing in coverage. 26-16 Steelers.
The Giants attempted and onside kick, but Juju was able to secure the ball near midfield. There is 1:48 remaining. The game is still two possession, but the Steelers are looking to make a statement. Benny Snell is the type of back that get better as games go on, and he has certainly demonstrated that tonight.
On 3rd and short, Benny Snell fought for every last inch late in the scrum, but came up just short. The Steelers let the clock run down to 00:55. The Steelers seal the game with an end around to Chase Claypool who slides once he crossed the 1st down threshold. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the game 26-16 and have moved to 1-0.
