Fans at Acrisure Stadium spent the first quarter booing. By the fourth, they were all applause. As much as players like TE Pat Freiermuth are locked in on the game, they took notice of how loud Steeler Nation was as Pittsburgh put away the New York Jets in the second half Sunday night in a 37-15 win.
“I think that was the best environment that I’ve been in playing for the Steelers,” Freiermuth told reporters Wednesday via Yardbarker’s Aaron Becker. “So credit to the fans, credit to the atmosphere. It was a great venue to play in.”
The Steelers have gotten comfortable with home football under the lights. This was their second Sunday night game in three weeks, and they’ll host the New York Giants on Monday night. As is typical for a game, the stands were full of Black and Gold with the crowd going into a frenzy once Renegade was played in the second half. The Jets’ ensuing drive ended in a failed fourth-down conversion that brought the house down.
New York finished the game with three false starts, including two by WR Garrett Wilson. Pittsburgh channeled that energy into a strong second-half performance, outscoring the Jets 24-0 over the final 30 minutes. Over the past two games, the Steelers have posted 44 second-half points. Their opponents have just six.
Freiermuth hopes for an encore performance in Week 8.
“Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about,” he said via Becker. “It’s easy to cheer when you’re putting up 37 points.”
While the Giants are struggling through another season, their defense is the strength of the team. With talent up front in NT Dexter Lawrence and DE Brian Burns, they’re the 12th-ranked scoring defense this season. Before allowing 28 points to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, New York had gone five-straight weeks not giving up more than 21 points in a game.
Still, expectations should be high for a Steelers offense that showed serious progress in QB Russell Wilson’s first start, and he can hopefully hit the ground running Monday night now that the rust has been knocked off.
