Oct. 28—The Pittsburgh Steelers were stunned when two first-half touchdown passes to George Pickens were called back, as penalties stalled scoring drives by forcing them to repeatedly settle for field goals.With the game against the New York Giants tied at halftime, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told his team to acknowledge that they needed to make some plays to break it open. Wide receiver Calvin Austin answered the call in the second half with a pair of touchdowns that caused a seismic shift in momentum.Austin scored on an electrifying 73-yard punt return late in the third quarter and added a 29-yard catch early in the fourth to spark the Steelers to a 26-18 win Monday night before an announced crowd of 66,637 at Acrisure Stadium.It was their 100th prime-time regular season game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and their 22nd consecutive victory in a Monday Night Football home game, a streak that dates to a 23-20 loss to the Giants on Oct. 14, 1991.“The best part about it was that we overcame the obstacles. That’s the silver lining in it all,” said Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, who completed 20 of 28 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown. “We scored two touchdowns that were beautiful by George, and we still overcame it. That game would’ve really been broken out if we’d had those two. We’ve got to keep finding those moments that really break out those games. ... I can’t say enough about Calvin. That was a big play. That punt return was a big catalyst for us.”The Steelers (6-2) enter the bye week in first place in the AFC North, with a one-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers visit the NFC East-leading Washington Commanders (6-2) on Nov. 10. The Giants (2-6) play host to the Commanders this Sunday.Where the offense carried the Steelers as they compiled 426 yards of total offense, with Najee Harris rushing for 114 on 19 carries, the defense started slow but finished strong. The Giants got 145 rushing yards from Tyrone Tracy, whose 45-yard touchdown run was one of their five plays of 25 yards or longer. But the Steelers came up with critical turnovers in the fourth quarter on a T.J. Watt strip sack and fumble recovery and Beanie Bishop’s last-minute interception.The teams traded field goals in the first half, and Chris Boswell and Greg Joseph both converted all four attempts for the ...
