Pittsburgh Steelers won the first Monday Night Football this season, beating the New York Giants at the MetLife Stadium tonight, 26-16. Mike Tomlin’s defense was something that made a difference tonight, as it neutralized Saquon Barkley and harrassed Daniel Jones when needed the most.
Believe it or not, Barkley had six rushing yards on 15 carries, managing to get out of the negative yardage zone in the third quarter.
On the other side, Jones was picked twice, once in the moment when his team started to create a pretty big swing. Steelers were up 16-10, and the young QB led his Giants to only four yards away from the endzone. When he needed to finish, Jones got into trouble and Cameron Heyward intercepted his toss, which was already blocked by Bud Dupree.
Big Ben made his comeback with a win. And even though he wasn’t in the middle of attention having some spectacular numbers, his performance was enough for a routine triumph. Roethlisberger was 21-for-32 for 229 yards, and three TD passes, suffering two sacks for 21 negative yards.
The Steelers were trailing only at the start of the game, following a field-goal kick. But after shifting into a higher gear, they didn’t look back.
Benny Snell Jr. stood above all other players in his team, as he rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries. James Conner picked up an injury, and even though it seems odd to hear, that ended up well for the hosts.
JuJu Smith-Schuster caught two TD passes and had six overall catches for 69 yards. JuJu also recovered Snell’s fumble in the next drive following Jones’s above-mentioned pick, keeping the momentum on Pittsburgh’s side.
James Washington added one touchdown catch, having two during the whole match for 34 yards.
Jones concluded the night with 279 yards, 26-for-41 with two TD passes and picks. He was sacked three times for 17 yards. Darius Slayton was the only one worth mentioning in Giants’ offensive team. The WR had 102 receiving yards for two touchdowns.
New York Giants now travel to Soldier Field, meet the Chicago Bears next week, and host the last year’s Super Bowl runner-up, the San Francisco 49ers.
The Steelers have two games at home, against the Denver Broncos and after that against the Houston Texans.