Ben vs. Eli, No. 4
Memorable series moment
Steelers 17, Giants 13
Nov. 21, 1971 at Three Rivers Stadium
The only Steelers home win over the New York Giants in the last 52 years occurred during Chuck Noll’s third season as coach with his fledgling “Steel Curtain” defense. In a preview of Super Bowl IX quarterbacks, Fran Tarkenton led the Giants to a 419-175 yardage edge but he couldn’t produce more than one touchdown. Tarkenton’s pass off a fake field goal in the second quarter was intercepted and returned 70 yards for a touchdown by cornerback John Rowser to tie the game, 10-10. The other key play was Preston Pearson’s 77-yard kickoff return to open the second half. It set up Terry Bradshaw’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Ron Shanklin for the game’s final points. Tarkenton twice drove the Giants to the Pittsburgh 20 in the fourth quarter. An interception by rookie Jack Ham stopped the first threat and L.C. Greenwood’s third-down sack — his second of the game — stopped the second. The win evened the Steelers record at 5-5 in a 6-8 season.
Tale of the Tape
“What’s remarkable about the Giants is they look a lot like the ’80s trapping offense of the Steelers. They’re not very good at the short traps but they’re good at the long traps. The short traps are very much like the 2 and 3 traps we run with the guards pulling, and you have to make quick decisions, and that’s where they get in trouble. They’re better at the long traps and they do it pretty effectively. Half of their run game is a trapping offense. It’s rather unusual. It’s not what you would expect to see from a 2016 running offense.” — Steelers Radio analyst Craig Wolfley.
Top question
Can the Steelers keep the Giants pass-rushers off Ben Roethlisberger?
It was nearly a year and a half ago that the immensely talented Giants defensive end, Jason Pierre-Paul, blew off his index finger, half his middle finger and half his thumb in a fireworks accident. JPP came back in Week 9 last season and seems to just now be back in full swing. Last week against Cleveland he recorded seven tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown. He has 5.5 sacks in the last two games to give him seven for the season and 17 QB hits. His bookend, Olivier Vernon, had 1.5 sacks and 5 QB hits last week and leads the Giants with 12 tackles for a loss to go along with his 5.5 sacks. The Steelers have allowed only 14 sacks this season but haven’t faced a pair of edge rushers the equal of this one.
Game breakdown
What to look for from the Steelers today at 4:25 p.m. at Heinz Field:
ON OFFENSE: Running the ball won’t be easy against a defense that hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in its last 12 games. Passing on the Giants won’t be easy, either, with Janoris Jenkins shadowing Antonio Brown. Jenkins, the Giants’ $62.5 million free agent, has covered Dez Bryant and A.J. Green and allowed only eight catches for 76 yards combined. Brown, of course, leads the NFL with 82 receptions but needs help on the other side with Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton sharing the load. The Steelers’ No. 2 WR will go up against struggling rookie Eli Apple, who last week was flagged for a 35-yard interference penalty and allowed a 54-yard reception to Terrelle Pryor. Giants media is calling for No. 3 CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to replace him, but Apple is expected to make his sixth consecutive start today.
ON DEFENSE: The Giants are 31st in rushing yards, 31st in time of possession, 26th in third-down conversion rate and have the seventh-most turnovers in the NFL. They gained just 296 yards last Sunday against a Browns defense that had been allowing 409.5 yards per game. It kind of makes talented WR Odell Beckham a ticking time bomb. “We are trying like crazy to get it to number 13,” offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan said Thursday. “When 13 gets the ball, we’re a better offense.” Look for the Steelers to put Ross Cockrell on Beckham as often as possible. What may help is that Beckham has been playing through a thumb injury he suffered two weeks ago, and, like Coates with his broken fingers, endures pain every time he catches a pass.
Prediction
The Steelers are 22nd in passing yards allowed and the Giants are 23rd. Both teams have rookie cornerbacks and both teams protect their quarterbacks better than all but one other NFL team. Look for those quarterbacks to isolate those rookie cornerbacks in what should be a thrilling shootout. Let’s give new kicker Randy Bullock the game ball for beating the Giants for the second consecutive season. Steelers, 30-29.
Downloads
— The Steelers signed veteran kicker Randy Bullock on Saturday to fill in for Chris Boswell, who was added to the injury report with an abominal injury. Bullock is a former Groza Award winner at Texas A&M and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 draft by the Houston Texans. He spent his rookie season on IR but set team records through 2013-14 with 16 consecutive field goals, 19 points in one game and six field goals in one game. His longest field goal was 55 yards. Bullock was released early in the 2015 season and eventually signed with the New York Jets. He scored 11 points against the Giants in December, including the game-winner in overtime. He was signed by the Giants for the opener this season to replace the suspended Josh Brown. The Steelers released CB Al-Hajj Shabazz to make room for Bullock.
— Draft Day 2004 and Ben Roethlisberger is sitting with his college coach, Terry Hoeppner, at Radio City Music Hall. Hoeppner told Ben he had a strong feeling he was being drafted No. 4 by the Giants. But the Giants instead took Philip Rivers, whom they then traded to San Diego for Eli Manning. Roethlisberger watched his coach throw his cell phone and kick a water bottle, but ended up living happily ever after with the Steelers, who picked him 11th. Roethlisberger should’ve known. His friend from Cleveland had picked out the black and gold outfit Ben was wearing that day. “Sheer coincidence,” said Roethlisberger. “Maybe the Lord was telling me something.” Today will be the fourth meeting between Roethlisberger and Manning, with Roethlisberger holding a 2-1 advantage. They’ve each been named to four Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls.
— The Giants turned to Odell Beckham last Sunday to return punts, and after the game Coach Ben McAdoo called him “electric.” Beckham had three returns for 35 yards and had two returns, one a 59-yarder for a touchdown, nullified by penalty. McAdoo wouldn’t commit to Beckham keeping the job for the same reasons Mike Tomlin is always looking for a replacement for Antonio Brown. But the Steelers are preparing for Beckham. “He’s got great ability to cut and he’s got that top-end speed so I’ve got to make sure I put him in position where he can’t get to those positions,” said punter Jordan Berry. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot better this year with my directional stuff than what I was last year, but I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement so I’ve got to make sure I’m on top of my game.” Berry has punted seven times to the NFL’s Nos. 1 and 2 punt returners — Jamison Crowder of Washington and Tyreek Hill of Kansas City — and the Steelers allowed a combined total of 37 yards in returns.
— Actress Kate Mara is the daughter of Giants VP of player personnel Chris Mara and Kathleen Rooney, so that makes Kate the great-granddaughter of both of the team founders, Art Rooney and Tim Mara. She appeared on Conan earlier in the week and told a story about her boyfriend, who visited the family home shortly after the Giants won a Super Bowl. He was asked if he wanted to hold the Lombardi Trophy, and picked it up by the base. But the trophy wasn’t attached and began toppling to the ground. “A pretty good soccer player,” the boyfriend kicked the trophy back up to his hands, but his steel-toe boot put a dent in it. “That was the end. We broke up and that was it,” said Mara, who described the intra-family rivalry on rare game days this way: “The good news is we always win.”
Parting shot
“Now is the time to be at your best. The weather gets bad and that’s what we love. It’s just time to go out and play football.” — Ben Roethlisberger.