In what may be a preview of Super Bowl XLIII, the New York Giants won back their status as road warriors by edging the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, 21-14 at Heinz Field.
The Giants defense was stifling, shutting down the Steelers offense with five sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and too many hits to count on "Big" Ben Roethlisberger.
Despite giving up two big plays for touchdowns, a 32-yard scoring run by Mewelde Moore and a 65-yard Roethlisberger strike to Nate Washington, they held the Steelers to less than 26 minutes of possession and 250 total yards.
In contrast, the Steelers defense didn't get to Eli Manning at all. The Giants line kept Manning upright all game, and, as has become his trademark, he kept the Giants close by not making any mistakes before bringing home the win in the fourth quarter.
But make no mistake, this was a defensive victory. The Giants "D" came out hitting and didn't stop until the final whistle. Kenny Phillips began to live up to his reputation as a punisher with a huge hit on Washington. Mathias Kiwanuka had three sacks and a forced fumble and James Butler put a kill shot on Limas Sweed that led to a Bryan Kehl interception.
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Switching gears to offense, the story is more spotty. Although the Giants moved the ball well, they couldn't break through with any touchdowns until late in the game. John Carney was his usual steady self, going 4-for-4 on field goals, keeping the game close.
The Giants were stymied repeatedly by a stout Pittsburgh defense in the red zone, going 0-for-their-first-4 chances before breaking the ice with a Manning-to-Kevin Boss four-yard touchdown pass with 3:11 left in the game.
The offensive line did a great job all day. Although the running game never achieved any consistency, it kept Manning safe in the pocket. Pittsburgh came in with an NFL-leading 25 sacks, but, thanks to the O-line, didn't get to pad that statistic.
The Giants have entered into what most observers believe is the tough part of their schedule. The next two weeks bring games against two division rivals, first at home against the Cowboys and then a road game against the always-tough Philadelphia Eagles.
After two more tough games with Baltimore and Arizona, it's on to another showdown with the Washington Redskins, which could ultimately be for NFC East supremacy.
The victory against the Steelers will be one to savor, but not for long. It's on to the real business of winning the NFC East, and the road to that title starts now.
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2 months ago
theyve got a tough stretch of games but yesterday was an excellent start and really showed how tough of a team the Giants are...
2 months ago
Yup, they're entering the tough part of the season, and I don't think their 6-1 record will hold up forever. But they've proven they can play the tough teams, so I don't expect any sort of collapse. They may not run the table from here on out, but they're legit, and they'll keep on playing well.
from 2 months ago
For me, 6-1 now is a treat, I was thinking 5-3 in each half of the season. Still, even from here I think that 11-5 would be a tremendous year for NYG. The division is too good to sweep everyone, and it seems like they let down some for out of conference and division games. Anything more than that would be gravy.,
2 months ago
I liked your opening statement, Stove. After the debacle in Cleveland, nice to see that the Giants have indeed kept the mantle of road warriors. Gutsy victory. Of course, the consensus in other football circles is that the Steelers threw (or long snapped??) the game away. I argue the team left a lot of points on the board. Despite the Cowboys limping into the Meadowlands, they shoudn't be taken lightly. Go article.
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