PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pulled Calvin Austin III aside before the undersized receiver took the field to return a punt in the third quarter of a somewhat dull game against the New York Giants.
The Steelers were fighting. The offense was moving the ball, but not into the end zone. Tomlin knew that the 5-foot-9, 162-pound Austin had come close to breaking out several times this season. And the NFL's longest-serving head coach had a feeling.
“I thought it was his moment,” Tomlin said. “And he thought it was his moment. And he complied.”
Not merienda, but twice.
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Austin, who texted his friends over the weekend telling them he should break a big one, sprinted down the field and sprinted 73 yards for a touchdown after Tomlin's little pep talk. He later added a 29-yard overhand touchdown catch to give the Steelers the boost they needed to beat the Giants 26-18 on Monday night.
Pittsburgh (6-2) won its 22nd straight home game under the lights Monday night thanks to Austin's play and a pair of late turnovers. TJ Watt sacked Daniel Jones with less than three minutes left to end a New York drive, and rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop intercepted Jones with 42 seconds left to end it.
“It wasn't as smooth as we'd like, but that's football,” Tomlin said. “We have to protect ourselves from (worrying about) style points.”
Good thing, because style points were in short supply on a night in which three apparent touchdowns (two by Pittsburgh, one by New York) were nullified, the teams combined for 16 penalties and the sequences regularly stalled near the end zone .
The Steelers won their third straight game and enter their bye week leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore. After relying heavily on their defense for the first month, the Steelers' offense has found another gear since Wilson returned from a calf injury that forced him to miss the first six games.
The 35-year-old completed 20 of 28 passes for 278 yards in his second home start as a Steeler. His only current error was a fumble with 4:42 left that briefly opened the door for the Giants (2-6).
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Watt closed it out a few moments later after New York opted not to double-team with the Giants looking for the potential tie.
“He has a unique talent, a unique approach,” Tomlin said. “You get unique results.”
Najee Harris ran for 114 yards, surpassing 100 for the third straight game for the first time in his career. Chris Boswell scored four field goals to rescue an offense that regularly stalled in New York territory.
Wilson also spread the ball around, connecting with eight players, a promising development for a team that has relied heavily (perhaps too much) on George Pickens to make something happen in the passing game.
Austin finished with three catches for 54 yards. Van Jefferson added four receptions for 62 yards. Even third-ranked tight end MyCole Pruitt caught a pass.
“The guys are believers,” Wilson said.
Maybe Austin is the most. Before games, the third-year pro spends time reading notes he keeps on his phone from skeptical people he found online who felt he was too small to make it in the NFL. Yet there he was later, listening to fans chant his name after Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on a promising first two months.
“We are all competitors,” Austin said. “We will always trust each other, regardless.”
Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy rushed for a season-high 145 yards, including a 45-yard dash early in the fourth quarter that brought New York within eight. The Giants attempted a 2-point conversion, but the ill-conceived play to rookie receiver Malik Nabers behind the line of scrimmage was easily denied.
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Jones, benched in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to Philadelphia last week, completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards and the final pick. Darius Slayton finished with four receptions for 108 yards and Nabers caught seven passes for 72 yards. Greg Joseph kicked four field goals for the Giants, who were defeated by 11 penalties for 65 yards and a defense that allowed the suddenly potent Steelers offense led by Wilson to rack up 426 yards.
“There were a lot of good things, but not enough,” New York coach Brian Daboll said.
It's been that way for a while for the Giants, who are 2-6 for the second straight season. Two years after a great season that ended with New York making the playoffs and the Giants lavishing Jones with a lucrative extension, the franchise appears to be adrift.
There were flashes of progress against the Steelers, but the Giants were defeated by the kind of mistakes (flags, turnovers and blown assignments) that have become all too frequent during their free fall.
“We got hurt a lot tonight,” Jones said. “That's the most frustrating part. We have to be more detailed, starting with me. The good things that happened were negated by the mistakes.”
Injuries
Steelers: Justin Fields served as an emergency quarterback behind Wilson and Kyle Allen after suffering a hamstring strain in Saturday's practice.
Next
Giants: They will host Washington on Sunday.
Steelers: After a break, visit the Commanders on November 10.
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