Giants/Steelers Wrap: Don’t Let the Score Fool You

Last Monday night the Pittsburgh Steelers won their third straight game to improve their record to 6-2 by defeating the New York Giants 26-18. What they accomplished was not falling into a “trap” game. If you do not believe trap games exist, just as the Baltimore Ravens fan base what they think. Baltimore should have easily defeated the Cleveland Browns in week eight as Cleveland began that game at 1-6 but instead, the Ravens lost and could not stop Jameis Winston who was making his first start this season for Cleveland.

With the Steelers game, although the final was a difference of only eight points, the Steelers should have finished the game by scoring 40. That’s because they had scored a touchdown that was nullified by a Broderick Jones facemask penalty. Later they scored again as George Pickens made one of his spectacular catches of the night in the back of the end zone and by my opinion, I felt that he got both feet down in the end zone, but the referees disagreed and that score was taken off the board.

Pickens and Russell Wilson were two of the big stories of this game but there are many more names worth mentioning. Now that in successive weeks the Steelers have taken down both New York teams, Wilson was the starter in both and in Pittsburgh facing the Giants, Wilson provided further proof that head coach Mike Tomlin made the right call making him the starter over Justin Fields. Wilson’s poise in the pocket, his ability to roll out and make plays, and most importantly, his willingness to throw downfield has turned this team into one of the scariest teams in the AFC. 

Come playoff time, the Black and Gold is going to be a team no other team wants to come up against. Naming players of importance in the victory over the Giants is a challenging task of where to begin. Before going there, I think Tomlin needs to start thinking about who can replace Broderick Jones on the offensive line. On Monday night he was awful. He wiped out a touchdown by grabbing a Giants’ facemask. His blocking was not particularly good. If top rookie Troy Fautanu and James Daniels were not on injured reserve, I believe Jones would be riding the bench.

While the amazing Steelers defense did not have their best night allowing 157 rushing yards to the Giants, they still made big plays by allowing New York to reach the end zone just once while all other scores came on four field goals. It does not bode well that Tyrone Tracy averaged 7.3 yards per carry and finished with 145 yards rushing on the night. But on a positive note, T.J. Watt and the rest of the defense were relentless in harassing Daniel Jones. Watt had two sacks on the night and two quarterback hits. The rest of his teammates on defense added another 10 quarterback hits.

To further define T.J. Watt’s greatness, consider this…in the history of the NFL only one player has led the league in sacks in three different seasons. That man? T.J. Watt. And he was not named Defensive Player of the Year in 2023? Highway robbery. Currently T.J. is 55th all-time in terms of the number of sacks but if he extends his career, it’s not out of the realm that he will one day catch the leader in history, Bruce Smith, who finished his career with 200. Watt after Monday now has 103. One thing Watt seems to do on a regular basis is use his punch method to force a fumble. He did it again on Monday night causing Daniel Jones to lose the ball and Watt recovered at a crucial time swinging the momentum back in favor of Pittsburgh. For his career Watt has now forced 31 fumbles and is 23 away from catching the all-time front runner, Robert Mathis.

Many Steelers fans will remember Mathis as the player who forced a Jerome Bettis fumble in the 2016 AFC divisional playoffs as The Bus was trying to score on the Indianapolis Colts and if not for Ben Roethlisberger’s shoestring tackle, Pittsburgh would not have reached the Super Bowl that year. Bettis had not fumbled in his last 136 carries and following the Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the ensuing Super Bowl, Jerome Bettis retired. 

The Steelers will now enter their bye week with a 6-2 record, a much-deserved break, and all alone at the top of the AFC North thanks to the Browns upset of the Ravens who are now a full game behind Pittsburgh. After eight games, fans should be thrilled of how this season has progressed for the Steelers. In looking back at this latest victory, where the hell do you begin giving kudos?

I say begin with Russell Wilson. Despite Justin Fields winning four of six games, noticing the differences between him and Wilson becomes obvious in their play on the field. Wilson has exemplified leadership, confidence, ability to read the defense, and air strikes that are a thing of beauty all things Fields did not show us in six games. What should make every Steelers fan grin from ear to ear is how Wilson and George Pickens are developing a relationship that is quickly becoming the most dangerous duo in the entire NFL. 

The long pass from Wilson to Pickens downfield into the red zone was a thing of beauty. It was a perfect pass from Wilson but an even more gorgeous catch by Pickens. G.P. may have the best hands since Lynn Swann. His catches are about as pretty as when Swann was making spectacular catches. The Steelers have had many great wide receivers like Swann, John Stallworth, Louis Lipps, Antonio Brown, Frank Lewis, Hines Ward, just to name a few. But they all had different styles and while they put up great numbers, fans often enjoy watching the pretty pass and catch combination and Wilson and Pickens are rapidly developing those kind of plays.

Let’s talk about Najee Harris. There were some who early in his career were doubting if he could be a force at running back but over the last several seasons he is proving otherwise. He is heading towards what could be his best season ever. Harris has been running extremely hard this season and post contact running has earned him additional yardage. Jaylen Warren is showing signs of becoming the force he was last season and in the Giants game he ran the ball nine times for 46 yards which equates to a 5.1 per carry mark.

I can’t gloat enough about George Pickens. When Justin Fields was calling signals, Pickens was not the force he is now with Russell Wilson. Pickens caught four of five targeted passes for 74 yards and a nice 18.5 yards per reception. He should have had that one touchdown but when Calvin Austin scored the Steelers’ only offensive touchdown, there was G.P. congratulating him by showing he is becoming the teammate we all hoped for.

Wilson spread the ball around hitting Pickens, Van Jefferson, Austin, Pat Freiermuth, Harris, and Warren with at least two passes. Darnell Washington also caught a 29 yarder and MyCole Pruitt had a first down catch for 10 yards. The Steelers had nine offensive plays for 10 or more yards with Pickens hauling in a 43 yarder and Harris taking off on a 26 yard run. Going back to Russ, he did not throw a single interception but did  fumble the ball away once. However, his fumble was the result of a punch out.

T.J. Watt was again a force on defense. One day he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But he is not the only standout on defense. In a word, this defense is LOADED. This current unit in my opinion is approaching the greatness of the Steelers’ defense of the 1970s and 1990s. They probably won’t become as great as Joe Greene’s Steel Curtain defense but in their own abilities, Mike Tomlin’s defensive guys are becoming great.

Joey Porter Jr. might be a better player at defensive back than his father was at linebacker when senior played for the Steelers. Patrick Queen is developing into the best free agent signing of 2024. DeShon Elliott has improved his game after changing teams. Cameron Heyward will be joining Watt in Canton one day. Then there is Beanie Bishop.

Bishop slammed the door shut on a Giants comeback with an interception, his third of the season which puts him in fifth place for picks in the NFL. He also added three solo tackles and was in on another two. Minkah Fitzpatrick is back to playing center field and laid a big hit that caused an incomplete pass. Larry Ogunjobi continues to be a force up front. 

Let’s talk about special teams. Once a hindrance to the team, it’s now a force. Between blocking field goals and punts, the special teams include kick returns. There was some buzz about Calvin Austin being used as trade bait, but you can toss that out the window. Mike Tomlin and Omar Kahn would be out of their mind to send Austin packing. Austin’s touchdown reception saw him simply outrun the defenders. His speed is a serious weapon. That became obvious last Monday night when on one of the two returns he returned it 73 yards to the house using shifty moves and speed to get his second touchdown of the night. 

What more can we say about Chris Boswell, which we haven’t said before? If his career continues on the current track he too will be honored in Canton, Ohio with an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Against the Giants he added four more field goals without a miss and with two PATs he put up 14 points on the night. He hasn’t missed an extra point all season, putting him in a tie for the league lead.

With 85 points this season he is second in that category. His field goal percentage of 95.8% is 10th best. On the punting side, Corliss Waitman remains steady with three punts on Monday and a 43.7 average. His season average of 46.8 yards per punt is not anywhere near the top of the heap but his efforts have not resulted in any game changing plays.

With Monday night’s victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain dominant in prime-time games on national television as the Giants win is the 21st straight victory on Monday night for the Black and Gold. Listening to ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike show on Tuesday morning the crew of Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, and Michelle Smallmon were singing the praises of Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. Canty now has the Steelers in the top five in his NFL rankings. However, Pat Costello, the show’s producer chimed in when the aforementioned three said Mike Tomlin is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Costello objected and said he is not Canton worthy. Ridiculous. 

For all the negative talk about Mike Tomlin in the past, when the chips were down and fans were calling for his head (unfortunately I was thinking that way at one point), this is something that should never be discussed again. Mike Tomlin has CLEARLY proven his worth. Without a doubt he is the best head coach in the league aside perhaps from Andy Reid who has won multiple Super Bowls. Mike Tomlin is going nowhere and the Rooneys will never replace him, his end will come when he decides to call it a day.