Someday, perhaps five years after his last NFL game, TJ Watt will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That’s not an argument anymore.
Not having a defensive player in the NFL means a lot more to a team than that. On Monday night, when the Pittsburgh Steelers were in a difficult position against the New York Giants, nearing the end of an ugly performance, Watt made the play that gave them the win. It’s difficult to rely on edge rushers over and over again to make game-winning plays, but Watt has done it throughout his career.
Watt took a strip sack of Daniel Jones with 2:59 left, and the Giants were deep in the Steelers’ territory, needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. That was the big play of the night, with an interception with 34 seconds left, and the Giants, in the Steelers’ territory, shut it down. The Steelers won 26-18, escaping a game against an inferior Giants team whose offense didn’t light up the scoreboard. Pittsburgh has an amazing record of 6-2 this season, while the Giants are a predictable 2-6.
Most division leaders are led by star quarterbacks, including the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen, the Washington Commanders with Jaden Daniels, and 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’re letting Watt play like he did Monday night.
ugly first half
To give you an idea of how the first half went, the biggest story was the touchdown that didn’t count.
The Steelers had George Pickens’ touchdown called back due to a facemask penalty on tackle Broderick Jones. The Giants then appeared to score a touchdown on tight end Chris Manhertz, but there was an illegal shift on Malik Nabors. ESPN Rules Analyst Russell Yuk said that while it was technically the correct call, it appeared to be a type of violation that rarely gets reported.
In the second quarter, Pickens caught another shot that appeared to be a touchdown. The NFL watched replays and noticed that Pickens never put his second leg down. It fell incomplete and the Steelers made their third field goal of the night to take a 9-6 lead.
The game reached halftime at 9-9. New York fans may have been watching Yankees games by then. Next up was the Knicks game. Then they probably went to bed.
Steelers break through
Finally, there was something to break the boredom. Calvin Austin III took a punt outside the right hash mark and came back all the way to the left sideline, but no one on the Giants made a right angle to catch him. He returned it 73 yards for the game’s first touchdown, giving the Steelers a 16-9 lead. Austin followed that up with a 29-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter. The 14-point lead seemed too much for the Giants to overcome.
But the Giants finally found a spark. Tyrone Tracy scored a 45-yard touchdown, marking the first time the Giants had any excitement on offense in recent weeks. This cut the Steelers lead to 23-15. The Giants then lined up their linemen wide, had no one react to the snap, and had a quick pass easily broken up by the Steelers for an embarrassing two-point conversion.
The Steelers couldn’t completely pull away from the Giants. A long pass to Pickens put the Steelers in the red zone, but they made another field goal. The Giants got a field goal back with 4:30 remaining, opening the door for victory wide open and giving Pittsburgh an eight-point lead. Wilson attempted to scramble, but made contact while running, resulting in a lost fumble. The Giants had the ball on the Pittsburgh 37-yard line. They were driving when Watt was inexplicably not double-teamed. He beat the right tackle and hit Jones, causing a fumble that Pittsburgh recovered. It was Watt’s second sack of the game and he now has 6.5 sacks this season. He has won NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and could win another this season.
The Giants stopped the game and tied the score with one more run, but had the ball at their own 7-yard line with no timeouts. Jones counterattacked downfield for the Giants, but his high throw was deflected and the Steelers won.
The Steelers aren’t pretty, but they’re winning. They lead the AFC North with a 6-2 record, and while the offense still has some work to do, it’s been solid thanks to quarterback Wilson. And when all else fails, Watt usually makes the exact play the Steelers need at the right time.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER45 Update
Monday, October 28, 2024, 11:28 p.m. EDT
Final: Steelers 26, Giants 18
The Steelers have won three in a row and now have a record of 6 wins and 2 losses. Meanwhile, the Giants have lost three straight and four of their last five games.
Monday, October 28, 2024 11:26 PM EDT
Steelers’ INT decided the game.
That should be enough. Beanie Bishop would just intercept Daniel Jones after a pretty solid start to the drive and Pittsburgh would come out to hit the knee.
Monday, October 28, 2024 11:19 PM EDT
Now, the Giants have one last chance. They scrambled to stop Wilson and force a fourth-and-2, which led to a Steelers punt just after the two-minute warning.
Daniel Jones must go for at least 90 yards with 1:53 left in the game.
Monday, October 28, 2024 11:10pm EDT
The Steelers will take it back soon.
The Steelers got the ball back when TJ Watt sacked Daniel Jones and forced a fumble of his own. This was a big defensive position for Pittsburgh to maintain the lead with 2:59 left in the game.
Monday, October 28, 2024, 11:07 p.m. EDT
Giants forced a fumble
Russell Wilson tried to scramble and lost the ball, and the Giants suddenly got it back at the Steelers’ 37.
Monday, October 28, 2024, 11:01pm (Eastern Daylight Time)
Steelers 26, Giants 18
Daniel Jones got the Giants into scoring position, but Malik Nabors dropped a pass that would have given him a first down. They made a 48-yard field goal, but they would have to make a quick stop here with 5:06 left.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:54 PM EDT
Steelers 26, Giants 15
Ojulari sacked Russell Wilson on a triple and scored, forcing the Steelers to settle for a field goal. Currently leading by 11 points with 7:15 left.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:50 PM EDT
Russell Wilson will be in charge in the second half. He hit George Pickens for a 43-yard gain, putting the Steelers back in scoring position.
Monday, October 28, 2024, 10:47 p.m. EDT
This two-point conversion attempt…was not good.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:44 PM EDT
touchdown, giants
Finally, the Giants fought back. Tyrone Tracy scored a 45-yard touchdown run to give the Giants the lead in the second half.
The missed two-point conversion gave the Steelers a 23-15 lead with 11:07 left in the game.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:36 PM EDT
Calvin Austin again!
Russell Wilson found Calvin Austin for his second touchdown of the night. Austin hit the corner of the end zone for a perfect 29-yard touchdown grab.
The Steelers led 23-9 early in the fourth.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:29 PM EDT
End 3: Steelers 16, Giants 9
The Steelers suddenly took control of this game. Russell Wilson hit Van Jefferson for a huge 36-yard gain to end the quarter and put him in scoring position.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:16 PM EDT
touchdown, steelers
It was a perfect punt return for Calvin Austin, who looped all the way to the left sideline and ran it back 73 yards for his first touchdown of the game. The Steelers led 16-9.
Monday, October 28, 2024 10:12 PM EDT
After being forced to punt, Highsmith again sacked Daniel Jones deep in his own half. In the third quarter, the Steelers would get the ball back after the Giants went back to punting.
Monday, October 28, 2024, 10:02 p.m. EDT
Finally, TJ Watt appears. He came up with a huge sack that forced a punt and stalled the Giants’ first drive of the first half.
Monday, October 28, 2024 9:57 PM EDT
Tyrone Tracy Jr. runs for 26 yards.
The Giants got the ball and started the second half. On the second play of the drive, Tyrone Tracy Jr. exploded up the middle for a 26-yard gain.
Monday, October 28, 2024 9:45 PM EDT
half time statistics
giants
Total attack distance: 183 yards
Daniel Jones: 11-16, 141 yards
Darius Slayton: 3 catches, 90 yards
Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 9 rushes, 35 yards
Greg Joseph: 3 of 3 from the field
steelers
Total offensive yards: 237 yards
Russell Wilson: 12-19, 149 yards
Najee Harris: 10 rushes, 82 yards
Jalen Warren: 6 rushes, 22 yards/3 catches, 31 yards
Chris Boswell: 3 of 3 from the field
Monday, October 28, 2024 9:41 PM EDT
Halftime: Giants 9, Steelers 9
The Steelers did not take a knee out of the timeout and Russell Wilson completed two passes for 16 yards. But with no timeouts, Pittsburgh can’t stop the clock.
First half, Giants 9, Steelers 9
Monday, October 28, 2024 9:38 PM EDT
Field goals: Giants 9, Steelers 9
The Giants were unable to complete a 3rd-and-5 on a pass to Eric Gray, which went just 3 yards before being pushed out of bounds.
There was one timeout on 4th-and-2 from the 25-yard line, but Brian Daboll chose not to take a shot with 25 seconds left. Greg Joseph kicked his third field goal of the game, gaining 44 yards.
Monday, October 28, 2024 9:35 PM EDT
Daniel Jones to Darius Slayton for 36 yards.
What started as a conservative two-minute practice for the Giants turned promising when Daniel Jones hit Darius Slayton for a 36-yard gain on a third-and-8 to the Steelers’ 45-yard line.
