Calvin Austin’s 2 TDs help lead Steelers past Giants

PITTSBURGH — On a Monday night when kickers dominated, the Pittsburgh Steelers muscled past the New York Giants 26-18 thanks to two trips to the end zone courtesy of Calvin Austin III.

Not only did Austin score the franchise’s first punt return touchdown in nearly five years in the third quarter, but he later caught another signature Russell Wilson moon ball in the fourth for his second receiving TD of the season.

And though the Steelers defense allowed Giants rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. to erupt for a career rushing night with 145 yards and a touchdown, T.J. Watt came through — as he’s apt to do — with a massive strip sack of Daniel Jones and fumble recovery to keep the Giants from capitalizing on Wilson’s fourth-quarter fumble. Beanie Bishop Jr. had a game-sealing interception on the Giants’ last drive.

QB breakdown: In his second start as a Steeler, Russell Wilson had no problem building on his 245-yard performance from a week ago with 278 passing yards and one touchdown. Wilson unleashed his moon ball several times in the win, most notably with a pair of deep passes to Van Jefferson to end the third quarter and a 29-yard bomb to Austin early in the fourth for the first offensive touchdown by either team. At the point of that touchdown, Wilson was 4-of-6 with a TD on passes of at least 20 air yards this season. Wilson was sacked four times and lost a fumble, but showed increased mobility and escapability.

Promising trend: Though they only put up nine first-half points, the Steelers were moving the ball at an impressive clip, recording 14 plays of at least 10 yards. It was their most in a half since Week 2 of 2018 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, when they also had 14, per ESPN Research. Prior to this week, the Steelers had trouble moving the ball in the first half, but they recorded 237 yards of offense — including 104 rushing yards — in the first two quarters, a sign that perhaps the slow starts are behind them. The Steelers also scored field goals on each of their first three drives, marking the first time since Week 10 of the 2023 season against the Packers that they opened with three straight scores.

Pivotal play: House call. Austin’s third-quarter, 73-yard touchdown was the Steelers’ first punt return for a TD since Diontae Johnson scored one in Week 14 of the 2019 season against the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did it give the Steelers their first touchdown of the night and a 16-9 lead after their first two were called back, but it was another feather in the cap of longtime Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith, whose unit blocked kicks in three consecutive games entering Monday night. Austin found the end zone again a quarter later on a 29-yard moon ball from Wilson.

Next game: at Commanders (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 10)

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. The Giants are a team that needs to play close to perfect to beat quality opponents like the Steelers on the road. They didn’t do that Monday night.

Far from it. The Giants and their struggling offense committed six penalties on the first two drives. One negated a touchdown.

And then their special teams, which seems to be competing with their offense for the worst unit on the team, allowed a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown to Austin. This is how you end up losing six of your first eight for the second straight year.

QB breakdown: Daniel Jones had a productive first half despite being under heavy pressure. He went 11-of-16 passing for 141 yards, but was unable to get his team into the end zone. The pressure was too much in the second half, though. Jones was sacked four times, including a strip sack by Watt in the fourth quarter. Jones finished 24-of-38 passing for 264 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in Steelers territory in the final moments. Not good enough. Jones fell to a woeful 1-15 in prime time, which includes seven straight losses.

Biggest hole in game plan: Where’s the run defense? The Giants still can’t seem to get this right. Coach Brian Daboll continues to lament the team’s run fits. Not good enough again as they allowed 104 yards and 6.5 yards per carry in the first half alone. The Giants came into the contest 32nd in the NFL, allowing 5.43 yards per rush. They allowed 167 yards on the ground Monday.

Most surprising performance: Tyrone Tracy Jr. The Giants seem to have found a running back. Tracy, a rookie fifth-round pick, had his second 100-yard game in four weeks and the first against the Steelers this season. He rushed for 145 yards on 20 carries before leaving with an injury. That includes five runs of at least 10 yards, with a 45-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Eye-popping stat: 34.2 air yards to Darius Slayton. The Giants needed to hit some explosive plays and Jones and Slayton connected on a deep ball on the Giants’ opening drive that went for a 43-yard gain. It was just the second pass thrown over 30-plus air yards that Jones has completed this season. He was 1-of-11 passing on throws of 30-plus air yards prior to the first-quarter toss Monday. The Giants finished with three explosive plays (20-plus yards), but Jones was just 1-of-3 on deep balls.

Troubling trend: Deonte Banks’ play. The Giants’ second-year cornerback was pulled from the game in the second quarter after some shaky tackling and soft coverage. The team did not report an injury. Instead, the 2023 first-round pick was replaced by Greg Stroman Jr. just one week after Banks gave poor effort trying to tackle Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Not encouraging.

Next game: vs. Commanders (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 3)