PITTSBURGH STEELERS 26 – NEW YORK GIANTS 18…
The New York Giants lost their third game in a row, falling 26-18 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night at Acrisure Stadium, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Giants are now 2-6. This is the seventh time in the last eight seasons the Giants have started a season 2-6 or worse.
The overall game statistics were relatively even. The Steelers held slight advantages in first downs (20 to 17), total net yards (426 to 394), net yards rushing (167 to 157), and net yards passing (259 to 237). However, the Giants committed 11 penalties and lost the turnover battle 2 to 1. The Giants also gave up a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown when the game was tied late in the third quarter.
The Steelers had five first-half possessions. The first three ended with field goals after drives of 57, 63, and 61 yards, each drive stalling in the red zone. The Giants had four first-half possessions with three also resulting in field goals with drives of 59, 45, and 57 yards. Both teams had touchdowns nullified by penalties.
At the half, the game was tied 9-9.
Each team punted to start the third quarter. Disaster then struck after New York’s second drive of the quarter resulted in a 4th-and-17 punt. The 54-yard punt by Matt Haack was returned 73 yards for a touchdown by wideout Calvin Austin. The Steelers were now up 16-9.
After another three-and-out by the Giants, it appeared the Steelers were in complete control after a 9-play, 80-yard drive ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to Austin. The Steelers were now up by two touchdowns (23-9) with 13 minutes left to play.
However, New York made things a little interesting in the final quarter. After a 16-yard reception by wide receiver Malik Nabers on 3rd-and-16, running back Tyrone Tracy broke off a 45-yard touchdown run. Oddly, the Giants went for the 2-point conversion and failed. The Giants now trailed by 8 points, 23-15.
Both teams then exchanged field-goal drives. Pittsburgh drove 61 yards in seven plays to set up a 27-yard field goal. New York drove 40 yards in eight plays to set up a 48-yard field goal. With five minutes to go, the Giants still trailed by 8 points, 26-18.
The Giants created a golden opportunity for themselves when Bobby Okereke recovered a fumble at the Pittsburgh 37-yard line after being sacked by Okereke and fellow linebacker Micah McFadden. However, five plays later, on 3rd-and-7 from the Pittsburgh 19-yard line, quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked by defensive end T.J. Watt, forcing a fumble that was also recovered by Watt with three minutes to play.
Despite the Steelers picking up two first downs, the Giants did force another punt. The Giants got the ball back at their own 7-yard line with 1:53 left to play. Jones completed 5-of-7 passes for 58 yards to the Pittsburgh 35-yard line. But with 42 seconds left, Jones badly overthrew running back Devin Singletary and his pass was picked off to seal the game for the Steelers.
Jones finished the game 24-of-38 for 264 yards, no touchdowns, and one game-deciding interception. He was sacked four times and officially hit 12 times. The leading receivers were Nabers (7 catches for 71 yards) and Darius Slayton (4 catches for 108 yards). Tracy ran the ball 20 times for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Giants gave up 426 yards of offense and five scoring drives, although only one of those was a touchdown (total of 19 points). The Giants also had four sacks, two by outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, one by outside linebacker Brian Burns, and the split sack by Okereke and McFadden.
GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.
PRACTICE SQUAD ELEVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
The Giants activated (standard elevation) OLB Tomon Fox and CB Greg Stroman from the Practice Squad.
Inactive for the game were ILB Ty Summers (ankle), CB Cor’Dale Flott (groin), CB Adoree’ Jackson (neck), P Jamie Gillan (left hamstring), QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB), OG Jake Kubas, and DL Jordon Riley.
RB Tyrone Tracy left the game with a shoulder injury, returned, and then left it later again with a possible concussion.
POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:
- Head Coach Brian Daboll (Video)
- QB Daniel Jones (Video)
- WR Malik Nabers (Video)
- WR Darius Slayton (Video)
- OLB Azeez Ojulari (Video)
WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll will address the media on Tuesday.