T.J. Watt is going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, and probably five years after his final NFL game. That’s not an argument anymore.
No defensive player in the NFL means more to his team. When the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a difficult spot Monday night, nearing the end of an ugly performance, it was Watt who made the play to get them a win. It’s hard to depend on an edge rusher to make a game-winning play time and time again, but Watt has done it his whole career.
Watt had a strip sack of Daniel Jones with 2:59 left and the New York Giants deep in Steelers territory, needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. That was the big play of the night, and an interception with 34 seconds left and the Giants in Steelers territory sealed it. The Steelers won 26-18, escaping a game against a bad Giants team in which the offense wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard. Pittsburgh is a surprising 6-2 this season, while the Giants are a predictable 2-6.
Most division leaders are atop the standings with a star quarterback leading the way, whether it’s the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen, the Washington Commanders with Jayden Daniels or the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes. The Steelers don’t have that type of quarterback, but they keep winning. A big reason is they have Watt to make plays like he did Monday night.
An ugly 1st half
For an indication of how the first half went, the biggest talking point was the touchdowns that didn’t count.
The Steelers had a George Pickens touchdown called back due to a face mask penalty on tackle Broderick Jones. Then the Giants seemed to have a touchdown to tight end Chris Manhertz, but there was an illegal shift on Malik Nabers. ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk explained that it was technically the correct call, but it seemed like the type of infraction that is rarely flagged.
In the second quarter, Pickens caught what looked like another touchdown. But the NFL looked at the replay and saw that Pickens never got his second foot down. It was incomplete and the Steelers settled for their third field goal of the night and a 9-6 lead.
The game was 9-9 at halftime. New York fans might have turned on the Yankees game before then. Then the Knicks game. Then they probably just went to bed.
Steelers break through
Finally, there was something to break the boredom. Calvin Austin III took a punt outside of the right hashmark, came all the way back to the left sideline and nobody on the Giants took the right angle to catch him. He returned it 73 yards for a touchdown, the first of the game, and the Steelers led 16-9. Austin followed that up with a 29-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter. It seemed like a 14-point lead would be way too much for the Giants to overcome.
But the Giants finally got a spark. Tyrone Tracy burst through for a 45-yard touchdown, the first time the Giants offense had anything to be excited about on offense for a few weeks. That cut the Steelers lead to 23-15. Then the Giants followed that up with an embarrassing two-point conversion where they lined up their linemen wide and nobody reacted on the snap, allowing the Steelers to easily break up a quick pass.
The Steelers couldn’t quite put the Giants away. A long pass to George Pickens got the Steelers in the red zone but they settled for yet another field goal. The Giants got a field goal back and then with 4:30 left, the door swung open for them to win the game, with Pittsburgh leading by eight. Wilson tried to scramble and when he was running, he got hit and lost a fumble. The Giants had the ball on Pittsburgh’s 37-yard line. They were driving when Watt, inexplicably, wasn’t double teamed. He beat the right tackle, hit Jones and caused a fumble that was recovered by Pittsburgh. It was Watt’s second sack of the game, and he has 6.5 on the season. He has one NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and he might be in line for another this season.
The Giants did get a stop and one more shot at tying the game, but they had the ball on their own 7-yard line with no timeouts. Jones did rally the Giants downfield. But a high throw was picked off and the Steelers had the win.
The Steelers aren’t pretty, but they’re winning. At 6-2, they lead the AFC North and while the offense still has work to do, it has been solid with Russell Wilson at quarterback. And if all else fails, Watt usually makes the exact play the Steelers need at just the right time.
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Final: Steelers 26, Giants 18
The Steelers have now won three straight, and now hold a 6-2 record. The Giants, on the other hand, have lost three straight and four of their last five.
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Steelers INT to seal the game
And that should do it. Beanie Bishop just intercepted Daniel Jones after a pretty solid start to the drive, and Pittsburgh will come out to take a knee.
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Well, the Giants will have one last chance. They stopped Wilson on a scramble to force a fourth and two, which led to a Steelers punt right out of the two minute warning.
Daniel Jones will now have to go more than 90 yards with just 1:53 left in the game.
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Steelers steal it right back
TJ Watt just sacked Daniel Jones to force a fumble of their own, and the Steelers have the ball right back. That’s a huge defensive stand for Pittsburgh to keep their lead in place with 2:59 left in the game.
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Giants force a fumble
Russell Wilson just lost the ball while trying to scramble, and the Giants suddenly have the ball back at the Steelers 37.
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Daniel Jones led the Giants into scoring position, but Malik Nabers dropped a pass that would’ve given them a first down. They settled for a 48-yard field goal, and will need a quick stop here with just 5:06 left on the clock.
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Steelers 26, Giants 15
Ojulari sacked Russell Wilson on third and goal, so the Steelers had to settle for a field goal. They lead by 11 now with 7: 15
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Russell Wilson is dealing in the second half. He just hit George Pickens for a 43-yard gain to put the Steelers right back in scoring position.
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This two-point conversion attempt was … not good.
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Touchdown, Giants
Finally, the Giants hit back. Tyrone Tracy just burst open a 45-yard touchdown run to get the Giants on the board in the second half.
They missed the two-point conversion, so the Steelers lead now 23-15 with 11:07 left in the game.
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Calvin Austin again!
Russell Wilson found Calvin Austin for his second touchdown of the night. Austin hit the corner of the end zone and landed a perfect 29-yard touchdown grab.
The Steelers are up 23-9 now early in the fourth.
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End 3: Steelers 16, Giants 9
The Steelers have suddenly taken full control of this game. Russell Wilson just hit Van Jefferson for a huge 36-yard gain to close out the quarter and put them in scoring position.
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Touchdown, Steelers
That was a perfect punt return for Calvin Austin, who made it around to the left side line and ran it back 73 yards for the first touchdown of the game. The Steelers lead 16-9.
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After having to punt themselves, Highsmith just sacked Daniel Jones again deep in their own territory. The Steelers will get the ball back after the Giants come back out to punt here in the third quarter.
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Finally, here comes T.J. Watt. He came up with a huge sack to force a punt and stall out the Giants’ first drive of the half.
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Tyrone Tracy Jr. runs for 26 yards
Giants get the ball to open the second half. On their second play of the drive, Tyrone Tracy Jr. bursts up the middle for a 26-yard gain.
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Halftime stats
Giants
Total offense: 183 yards
Daniel Jones: 11-16, 141 yards
Darius Slayton: 3 catches, 90 yards
Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 9 rushes, 35 yards
Greg Joseph: 3-for-3 field goals
Steelers
Total offense: 237 yards
Russell Wilson: 12-19, 149 yards
Najee Harris: 10 rushes, 82 yards
Jaylen Warren: 6 rushes, 22 yards/ 3 catches, 31 yards
Chris Boswell: 3-for-3 field goals
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Halftime: Giants 9, Steelers 9
The Steelers don’t kneel the clock out and Russell Wilson completes two passes for 16 yards. But with no timeouts, Pittsburgh can’t stop the clock.
Giants 9, Steelers 9 at the half
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Field goal: Giants 9, Steelers 9
The Giants can’t convert a 3rd-and-5 with a pass to Eric Gray only going for three yards before getting pushed out of bounds.
On 4th-and-2 from the 25-yard line and one timeout, Brian Daboll opts not to go for it with 25 seconds remaining. Greg Joseph kicks his third field goal of the game, this one for 44 yards.
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Daniel Jones to Darius Slayton for 36 yards
What began as a conservative two-minute drill for the Giants now looks promising as Daniel Jones hits Darius Slayton for a 36-yard gain on 3rd-and-8 to the Steelers’ 45-yard line.
