Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin pulled Calvin Austin III aside before the undersized wide receiver took the field for a punt return in the third quarter of a somewhat lifeless game against the New York Giants.
The Steelers were scuffling. The offense was moving the ball, just not into the end zone. Tomlin knew the 5-foot-9, 162-pound Austin had come close to breaking a big return several times this season. And the NFL's longest-tenured head coach had a feeling.
“I thought it was his time,” Tomlin said. "And he thought it was his time. And he delivered.”
Not once, but twice.
Austin — who texted his friends over the weekend that he was due to break a big one — sprinted across the field and raced 73 yards for a touchdown after Tomlin's little pep talk. He later added a 29-yard, over-the-shoulder scoring grab 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 Monday night lights behind Austin's playmaking and a pair of late turnovers. T.J. Watt strip-sacked Daniel Jones with less than three minutes to go to end one New York drive, and rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop picked Jones off with 42 seconds to play to end it.
“It wasn’t as fluid as we’d like but that’s football,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to guard against (caring about) style points.”
Good thing, because style points were in short supply on a night when three apparent touchdowns — two by Pittsburgh, one by New York — were nullified, the teams combined for 16 penalties, and drives regularly bogged down near the end zone.
The Steelers won their third straight and head into their bye week leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore. After relying heavily on their defense over the opening 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 real miscue was a fumble with 4:42 remaining that briefly opened the door for the Giants (2-6).
Watt closed it a few moments later after New York opted to not double-team him with the Giants driving for the potential tying score.
“He’s got a unique talent, a unique approach,” Tomlin said. “He gets unique results.”
Najee Harris ran for 114 yards, topping 100 for a third straight game for the first time in his career. Chris Boswell kicked four field goals to bail out an offense that bogged down regularly 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 heavily — on George Pickens to make something happen in the passing game.
Austin finished with three receptions for 54 yards. Van Jefferson added four receptions for 62 yards. Even third-string tight end MyCole Pruitt caught a pass.
“Guys are believers,” Wilson said.
Perhaps Austin the most. Before games, the third-year pro spends time reading notes he's stashed away on his phone from doubters he found online who felt he was too small to make it in the NFL. Yet there he was in the aftermath listening to fans chant his name after Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on a promising opening two months.
“We’re all competitors,” Austin said. "We are going to always bank on us, regardless.”
Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy ran for a season-high 145 yards, including a 45-yard sprint early in the fourth quarter that pulled New York within eight. The Giants tried a 2-point conversion, but the ill-conceived play to rookie receiver Malik Nabers behind the line of scrimmage was easily swatted away.
Jones, benched in the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to Philadelphia last week, completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards and the late pick. Darius Slayton finished with four receptions for 108 yards and Nabers caught seven passes for 72 yards. Greg Joseph booted four field goals for the Giants, who were undone by 11 penalties for 65 yards and a defense that let the suddenly potent Wilson-led Steelers offense pile up 426 yards.
“There was a lot of good things, just not enough of them,” New York coach Brian Daboll said.
It's been that way for a while for the Giants, who are 2-6 for a second straight season. Two years removed from a breakout 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 undone by the kind of miscues — flags, turnovers and blown assignments — that have become far to frequent during their freefall.
“We hurt ourselves a lot tonight,” Jones said. “That’s the most frustrating part about it. We’ve got to be more detailed, starting with me. The good stuff that happened was negated by the mistakes.”
