By Ray Porter Jr.
PITTSBURGH, PA—When you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Monday Night Football, you can easily sum it up with one word: Successful. They have an overall record of 57-37-1 on Monday Nights, including 22 consecutive (their last loss was in 1991) and they are 21-3 under head coach Mike Tomlin.
That winning streak was extended to 22 after the Steelers defeated the NY Giants 26-18 in front of 66,637 Terrible Towel waving fans at Acrisure Stadium and an ESPN National TV Audience that also included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The Steelers improved their record to 6-2 and extended their AFC North Division lead to a full game over second place Baltimore (5-3)
“Man, really appreciative of our efforts. It wasn’t as fluid as we’d like, man, but that’s football,” said Tomlin. “We’ve got to guard against style points and things of that nature. It was prime time television, football against a team that came in here with a good mindset.”
The Steelers knew not to underestimate the Giants (2-6) who have had their challenges in 2024, but were still known to put up a fight as they matched the Steelers field goal to field goal (courtesy of kickers Chris Boswell and Greg Joseph) through the first half as both teams were tied at 9 and they also rushed 157 yards, with RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. accounting for 145 and a TD. WR Darius Slayton also added 4 catches for 108 yards.
Although the Steelers never trailed in the game, Tomlin knew that they missed out on several first half opportunities, “We shot ourselves in the foot some early settling for three. We gave up a couple big plays that allowed them to generate some scoring drives,” he said. “They kicked three. But I just liked the overall look of the group at halftime. We acknowledged where we were.”
And like clockwork, the Steelers Special Teams and offense came alive in the second half as they were finally able to get into the end zone. First on a 73-yard TD by WR Calvin Austin III. “Can’t say enough about Calvin [Austin III], man. I thought that’s a big play, that punt return. It was a catalyst for us,” Tomlin remarked.
Austin would account for the other Steelers TD as he caught a 29-yard pass from QB Russell Wilson (20/28 for 278 yards, TD) who was superb in his second start for the Steelers. Wilson also spread the ball to his WRs as George Pickens (4 rec, 74 yards), Van Jefferson (4 rec, 62 yards) and Austin (3 rec, 54 yards) all contributed. Even TE Darnell Washington added a reception for 29 yards)
On the ground, RB Najee Harris (19 carries, 114 yards) and Jaylen Warren (9 carries, 46 yards) were part of a rushing attack that had a total of 167 yards.
When asked about the success of the rushing attach, Tomlin replied, “It was really impressive again considering some of the circumstances. Can’t say enough about guys like Ryan McCollum who are getting an opportunity to step up and put their hand in the pile, carve out space for themselves in this thing. We talk too much about guys we don’t have in this business. There are always other deserving men on the other end of that conversation who are getting an opportunity. Ryan McCollum is one of those guys. A major component of why we were successful in terms of running the football.”
The Steelers defensive made the necessary adjustments and put the pressure on Giants QB Daniel Jones (24/38 for 264 yards, TD) by sacking him 4 times (2 apiece for LBs TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith), with Watt also forcing a fumble and then recovering it. Rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr. intercepted Jones for his third pick in two games.
“Again, as I mentioned, we just got a lot of guys that want to be the reasons why. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, I thought provided really consistent pressure, particularly in the second half.”
The Steelers will now enter their Bye Week before preparing to hit the road in the DMV (Washington DC, Maryland, and Virgnia area) to face the 6-2 Commanders, an extremely hot NFL team right now. They also know that the time off will prepare the return for several injured players and the return of suspended CB Cam Sutton who missed the first eight games.
“We’re just thankful to be 6-2 at the turn. We need this downtime to get some guys healthy. We had some bumps and bruises associated with play. I think everyone that went down in game was able to return.”
Notes: Steelers DT Cam Heyward had a significant career milestone as he became the Steelers all-time leader in games played by a defensive player with his 202nd NFL game.
Please email Ray at [email protected]
Follow him @RP2872_JR on X (Formerly Twitter
