Steelers down Giants after another second-half surge: Key takeaways

By Charlotte Carroll, Mike DeFabo and Lauren Merola

A second-half surge propelled the Pittsburgh Steelers past the New York Giants 26-18 on “Monday Night Football” at Acrisure Stadium.

After a touchdown-less first half, the Steelers pulled away in the third quarter thanks to two touchdowns by wide receiver Calvin Austin: a 73-yard punt return and a 29-yard catch. Quarterback Russell Wilson improved to 2-0 as the starter for Pittsburgh (6-2), which maintains a one-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

The Giants, meanwhile, lost their third straight to drop to 2-6 — the third consecutive game in which quarterback Daniel Jones failed to throw a touchdown. And rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., a bright spot with 145 yards and a touchdown, left the game in the fourth quarter and was placed in concussion protocol.

A new quirk to the catch rule

In the first half, a would-be Steelers touchdown put an asterisk on the widely assumed rule that putting two feet down in the end zone after a catch accounted for a TD.

Correction: Putting both feet down in the end zone equals a score.

Or so George Pickens learned.

The Steelers wide receiver had two touchdowns called back in the first half, and one for failing to land on both his left and right foot in the end zone. Instead, Pickens caught the ball in the end zone and landed on his right foot, but a push by Giants cornerback Deonte Banks toward out of bounds only allowed Pickens to drag his right foot on the ground once more.

According to the NFL rulebook, both feet must touch the ground inbounds to be considered a catch.

Deonte Banks did not let George Pickens get that foot down 😳

📺: #NYGvsPIT on ESPN/ABC/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/GgV9rnWaTb

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024

Even without the nixed scores, Pickens finished with a team-leading 74 yards.

Second-half Steelers do it again

While slow starts have plagued the Steelers throughout the season, they’ve also been one of the NFL’s best second-half teams. Through the first seven weeks, they ranked first in scoring defense and second in scoring offense in the final two quarters.

On Monday, a second-half surge propelled the Steelers to victory once again.

After three red-zone trips resulted in just three field goals in the first half, the Steelers found a spark from third-year receiver Austin. With the score tied at 9, Austin showed off his track-caliber speed with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The following series, Austin scored his second touchdown when Wilson found him from 29 yards out. While there were some nervous moments down the stretch, those plays helped give the Steelers the necessary cushion to secure victory. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer

Pittsburgh’s red-zone woes

With Wilson at quarterback, the Steelers moved the ball between the 20s more fluidly than they have in some time. Running back Najee Harris picked up yards in chunks and Wilson spread the ball to several targets. However, red-zone woes allowed the Giants to hang around.

Four times the Steelers drove inside the 20, including three times in the first half, but they were forced to settle for field goals on all four instances.

Different problems popped up in each series. On the opening drive, a Broderick Jones facemask penalty negated a touchdown pass to Pickens. Later, Pickens looked like he made a fantastic toe-tapping catch, but he got the same foot down twice rather than both feet. In the second half, the problems persisted as Wilson was sacked on third down to force a fourth field goal.

Wilson’s return from injury has mostly taken the offense to a new level. But they need to find ways to finish drives and clean up miscues. — DeFabo

Where was Banks after preventing the Pickens score?

The story of the Giants defense was the apparent benching of Banks, the team’s 2023 first-round pick. There was no injury update and Banks stood on the sidelines with his helmet but did not play following the Pickens non-touchdown in the second quarter.

It caps an eventful week for the second-year cornerback, who was in the spotlight after a poor effort play in the Giants’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. — Charlotte Carroll, Giants beat writer

A frustrating day for Giants offense

Jones, the Giants quarterback had a rare angry outburst after a failed fourth-quarter two-point conversion in which none of the blockers blocked, simply watching Jones throw the ball.

It felt emblematic of the night.

The offense would do something right and then take two steps backward due to miscues and plenty of sloppy, penalty-filled football. Following that play, Jones was visibly upset on the sidelines, flailing his arms at one point in conference with coach Brian Daboll.

Jones was sacked four times, with the offensive line struggling to protect him from T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Late in the fourth quarter, the defense forced a fumble with game-tying potential, but right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor couldn’t hold off Watt, who forced a fumble of his own.

Jones went 24-for-38 for 264 yards and an interception. — Carroll

Required reading

(Photo: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)