In a game that gave Steelers fans a little more of a barometer of where the team is at, the black and gold laid the wood on a New York Giants team that came into Heinz Field on a six-game winning streak, winning in solid fashion 24-14.
Pittsburgh with the win stays even with the Baltimore Ravens at 7-5 in the AFC North, and all signs seem to be pointing to the Christmas Day showdown at Heinz Field as the game that will decide the division.
The Steelers defense was the MVP on the day, holding the Giants to 234 yards, and keeping Eli Manning in check to the tune of 24-for-39 for 195 yards with two touchdowns and two picks.
One of the touchdowns came in the final seconds with the Steelers firmly in control 24-7. The two picks were key, as one came in the second quarter with the Steelers up 5-0 after a safety and field goal and the Giants driving.
Lawrence Timmons snagged a pass towards the end zone, and raced 58 yards to eventually set up a Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown touchdown from 22 yards out with 7:10 to play in the first half to make it 11-0.
The other pick came on a fourth down play when Manning drove the Giants from their 47 to the Steelers 35, and he was looking near the goal line for Sterling Shepard, but Sean Davis picked it off ending another drive with the Steelers up 21-7.
After a Steelers punt the Giants had a last chance to make it a game, as they went from the 50 to the Steelers 24, but on fourth down the drive was snuffed out on a sack by Ricardo Matthews to wrap up the win.
The Steelers drove 11 plays and 48 yards with Randy Bullock kicking a 38-yard field goal with 1:39 left to make it a 24-7 game.
Roethlisberger was 24-for-36 for 289 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Le’Veon Bell again dominated the run game, rushing 29 times for 118 yards.
The passing game was led by new tight end Ladarius Green, who Ben went to often. He caught 6 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown which made it 21-7 after the Giants drew within 14-7 in the third quarter on a Rashard Jennings touchdown on a screen pass.
New York did little in the run game, as the Steelers defense held them to 56 yards on 14 carries, and Manning struggled as the Steelers D came down hard on him most of the afternoon.
With a quality win under their belt, the Steelers will travel to Buffalo next week to take on the Bills, a team that fell to 6-6 with a loss to the Raiders in Oakland Sunday.
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Dave B.
December 5, 2016 at 7:17 am
A nice win over a quality opponent . However , it has to continue . With four games left the Steelers need to run the table , get on a roll and build some momentum . One loss in these last four games and they could easily find themselves on the outside looking in . Lastly , Artie Burns and Sean Davis are starting to get comfortable , you can see it . They’re starting to make plays and thinking alot less . You can see it in their play . Stay focused , and take it one game at a time .
Scott lauderbaugh
December 5, 2016 at 11:28 am
Defence can’t let up they tend to do so.my suggestion is play all 60 min and we will win every time they are starting to tell keep it up offence is great enough defence stay strong and healthy. Go steelers
DrGeorge
December 5, 2016 at 2:32 pm
Yes, the defense is improving as the rookies learn and develop. The offense had a better run-pass balance in this game, too. That augurs well for next year.
But our playoff hopes as a wild card are thin. We’re tied with the Ravens at 7-5, and Kansas City is two games up on us among the also-rans. That means, if we don’t win our conference, we’ll be competing with the 7-5 Dolphins for the last playoff spot. Our last four games are: Bills, Bengals, Ravens, Browns. Miami’s last four are: Cardinals, Jets, Bills, and Patriots. Given the injuries suffered by the Cardinals and Patriots, Miami would seem to have the easier road to travel. Since we lost to Miami, head to head, we can’t afford to match their record; we’ll have to beat it. That means, realistically, we’ll have to win out the rest of the season just to have a chance at a wild card.
Strangely, our prospects for winning the division are better. The Ravens last four are: Patriots, Eagles, Steelers, Bengals. That’s a tough row to hoe. And we can’t afford to tie the Ravens either, because they also beat us head to head. Which tells me that the Steelers best hope of making the playoffs lies in beating the Ravens and winning the division, rather than in hoping for a wild card berth. But again, that probably means having to win all of our remaining games.