Two touchdowns by WR Calvin Austin III and a great second-half performance by QB Russell Wilson led the Steelers to a 26-18 win in primetime over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Steelers offense got moving early, but a facemask penalty by OT Broderick Jones wiped off a touchdown pass from QB Russell Wilson to WR George Pickens, and Pittsburgh had to settle for a field goal on the opening drive of the game. K Chris Boswell hit from 31 yards out as the Steelers took an early 3-0 lead with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
The Giants responded with a field goal of their own that was set up by a 43-yard completion from QB Daniel Jones to WR Darius Slayton. Greg Joseph hit from 29 yards out to tie things up at 3-3 with 5:19 left in the first quarter.
The Steelers answered as a 29-yard gain by TE Darnell Washington was followed up by a 26-yard run by RB Najee Harris, and the Steelers were at the Giants’ 9-yard line. The drive would again stall out though, and the Steelers had to settle for another Boswell field goal. This one from 25 yards out, and the Steelers extended their lead to 6-3 with 3:05 left in the first quarter.
The Giants then put a long drive together, going just 45 yards in 12 plays due to a string of penalties, including one that wiped a touchdown to TE Chris Manhertz off the board. But New York was able to get a field goal on the drive with K Greg Joseph hitting from 39 yards to tie the game at 6-6 with 12:39 left in the first half.
The field goal fest continued as the Steelers had another Wilson-Pickens touchdown taken off the board. Pickens couldn’t get his second foot down on the would-be touchdown, and Boswell extended the Pittsburgh lead to 9-6 with 8:15 left in the first half with a 27-yard field goal. On the ensuing Giants’ drive, the Steelers forced a three-and-out and the first punt of the night.
The Giants would tie the game up at the end of the half with a 44-yard field goal from Joseph. Darius Slayton had another big drive with two first-down catches, and he finished the first half with three receptions for 90 yards.
Back-to-back sacks, one by OLB T.J. Watt and one by OLB Alex Highsmith, took the Giants out of field goal range and forced a point on the first drive of the second half. Pittsburgh followed that up with an ugly offensive drive of its own, but another big sack by Highsmith on second down forced the Giants into a third and long that they didn’t convert.
On the following punt, the Steelers finally scored the first touchdown of the night. WR Calvin Austin III took the punt back 73 yards for a touchdown to put the Steelers up 16-9 following Boswell’s extra point.
New York would again go three-and-out as Pittsburgh’s defense stepped up in a big way in the third quarter. On the final play of the third quarter, the Steelers converted a 3rd-and-11 with Wilson finding WR Van Jefferson down the right sideline for a 36-yard gain to the Giants’ 31-yard line. Three plays later, Wilson went deep to Austin, who scored his second touchdown of the game on a 29-yard grab to put the Steelers up 23-9 with 13:16 left.
The Giants responded with their first score of the game. RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. went 45 yards for a touchdown two plays after Jones made a nice throw over the middle to WR Malik Nabers for a first down on 3rd-and-16. The Giants would go for a 2-point conversion to make it a 6-point game, but Jones’ throw to Nabers was incomplete, and the Steelers held an 8-point lead at 23-15 with 11:07 left to play.
Wilson got his deep ball working again on Pittsburgh’s next drive with a 43-yard strike to Pickens to the Giants’ 10-yard line, but the Steelers would have to settle for a field goal on the drive. Pittsburgh did take a two-score lead from Boswell’s 27-yard make, as they went up 26-15 with 7:14 left to play. New York cut the deficit back down to 8 points with a 48-yard field goal by Joseph, which was preceded by a 17-yard run by Tracy earlier in the drive to give him 137 on the night.
Disaster struck for the Steelers as QB Russell Wilson fumbled on a scramble during the second play of their next drive, and the Giants got the ball back in Pittsburgh territory at the 37-yard line with 4:34 left. But then, T.J. Watt happened. On third down, Watt got a strip sack of Daniel Jones and recovered it as the Steelers took back over at their own 28.
The Steelers wouldn’t be able to close the game out, though, as they punted on a 4th-and-2 from the Giants’ 32-yard line, although Corliss Waitman’s punt would pin the Giants at their own 7 with 1:53 to go. The Giants would get a drive going, as Jones went over the middle to TE Theo Johnson for a 25-yard gain. Nabers then got the Giants to the Pittsburgh 35-yard line on a 15-yard completion with 53 seconds left. But CB Beanie Bishop Jr. would close the game with his third interception in two weeks as he caught another tipped ball. The Steelers would kneel the clock out and move to 6-2.
The Steelers have a bye in Week 9, while the Giants will face the Washington Commanders.
