It wasn’t pretty, and there were certainly some harrowing moments in the fourth quarter, but the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to make the necessary plays late in the game to earn a 26-18 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night. Football. They moved to 6-2 on the season and enter their much-needed bye week on a high note.

Russell Wilson and the Steelers’ offense turned in another impressive performance, consistently moving the ball and scoring points time and time again against the Giants. The defense had two forced turnovers too late to make the necessary stops and win a game where the unit was not at its best.

They don’t ask what it looks like; they just ask what the final score is.

That said, things looked better than the final score might have indicated, especially in attack.

Let’s go to some numbers.

QB-B

Once again Russell Wilson put in a strong showing through the air. The veteran quarterback completed 20 of 28 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown. His stats should have looked even better as two touchdown passes to George Pickens were negated, one on a penalty on Broderick Jones and one after Pickens failed to get a second foot down in the end zone.

That was certainly frustrating, but Wilson acted all night long. He threw a great deep ball to Calvin Austin III for a touchdown in the second half, and also had a perfectly placed ball to Pickens to set up a Chris Boswell field goal.

However, Wilson did take a few bad sacks and made the confusing decision to rush in what was very clearly a four-minute offensive situation and then went to bat, giving the Giants great field position. However, a few plays later he was saved by one Trent Jordan Watt.

Despite the sacks and fumbles, Wilson played well, taking what was there and hitting the deep shots when he had the opportunity. This all led to another solid offensive performance.

RB-B+

Najee Harris is currently on the warmer and shows no signs of slowing down.

Harris rushed for a career-high 119 yards on just 19 carries, an average of 6.0 yards on the night. He got off to a fast start and never looked back. The offensive line opened up some holes and Harris flew through them, breaking tackles and delivering another great day.

Jaylen Warren also had a nice night, finishing with 46 yards, an average of 5.1 yards on nine carries. He ran hard, punched holes quickly and cut the Giants to pieces when called upon. He was also dynamic as a receiver, finishing with two receptions for 13 yards, converting a big third down early in the game.

WR-B

Overall, a nice night for the wide receivers, although there were some mistakes.

Pickens led the Steelers with four receptions for 74 yards. He had a huge 43-yard shot down Wilson’s left sideline in the fourth quarter, sparking the Steelers’ offense. He also had a nice catch and run in the first half that apparently set up a touchdown.

Instead, Pickens didn’t get his feet on the play and was ruled out of bounds, forcing the Steelers to settle for a field goal. Losing a touchdown on a Broderick Jones facemask penalty wasn’t fun either.

Van Jefferson finished with four receptions for 62 yards and made a big play on a back-shoulder ball for a 36-yard gain that livened up the offense. It was a great adjustment and great body control to stay in the lines and make the play. He will be a key receiver for Wilson.

Calvin Austin III finished with three receptions for 54 yards, including his 29-yard touchdown that seemingly broke the game open for the Steelers. He ran a great route and won easily against man coverage, and Wilson dropped it in the bucket for him.

Scotty Miller also saw some running that night and was once directed deep, but the ball went through his arms. Still nice to see him taking a deep shot.

TE — B-

Things started well when Darnell Washington hauled in a 29-yard catch and run from Wilson on the game’s first drive, but he wasn’t targeted after that.

Pat Freiermuth had just two receptions for 19 yards, while MyCole Pruitt had one catch for 10 yards. It was a quiet night in the passing game for the tight ends.

However, the group did solid work in the run game, especially Connor Heyward, who was the pseudo fullback and helped open up lanes. Washington also controlled the line of scrimmage, as did Pruitt. Freiermuth has improved in that area of ​​his game as well, and it all came together to lead to another strong rushing performance.

OL-C

A really tough night for Broderick Jones, who committed a penalty that negated a touchdown, allowed a sack and was blown up on a draw that led to a huge tackle for loss. It led to criticism on social media from an OL guru about his commitment and efforts.

Not great for Jones. The really worrying season continues for him.

Dan Moore Jr. was again very solid during the evening. He was a rock for the Steelers in the trenches. It was quite telling that on the one play he missed, backup Calvin Anderson was beaten for a sack. Moore was good in the run game and was quite steady in pass protection.

Isaac Seumalo also quietly had a strong game, save for a confusing false start penalty in which he didn’t appear to move. The same goes for the false start penalty on center Ryan McCollum, where it looked like he caught the Giants offside but was instead flagged himself.

He struggled against Dexter Lawrence that night, which was expected. He also suffered from an arm injury.

Mason McCormick was also very good that night and continues to be a people mover in the run game. However, he did allow a quick push on Lawrence, which led to Wilson’s sack.

DL-C

Cameron Heyward played solid football during his record-setting performance with the Steelers. He finished with six tackles, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. But he had some issues in the run game, as did many others. However, he was into football and was bold when it mattered most.

Larry Ogunjobi quietly put in three tackles, while Keeanu Benton started the game quickly, playing with good effort and chasing the football time and time again. But he had some issues getting off blocks in the run game and wasn’t really a factor.

Isaiahh Loudermilk and Dean Lowry were quiet and also struggled in the run game. A little disappointing to see the struggles in the run game from the defensive line.

LB—B+

Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt were playmakers, period. The pair had two sacks each, as Highsmith blew up a two-point conversion and Watt had a key strip sack in the fourth quarter in the red zone.

The Giants had no answer for either, as they turned up Jones and the Giants’ offense. It’s remarkable to see those two roles as they are.

On the inside, Patrick Queen had some nice plays in coverage, but he fell during the Giants’ 46-yard touchdown run, taking out safety DeShon Elliott. Queen still had eight tackles, but it was some of the plays he didn’t make that were frustrating.

Elandon Roberts played well at times, coming downhill against the run and finishing with three tackles and a tackle for loss. Payton Wilson had three tackles and two quarterback hits, and was called upon as a blitzer at times. Make no mistake, though: the outside linebacker duo ruined this game for the Steelers.

DB—C-

A very rough, concerning night for the secondary, aside from rookie Beanie Bishop Jr.’s interception.

The Steelers played soft, conservative coverage for much of the evening, allowing Jones and the Giants to score on a number of plays.

Joey Porter Jr. led the Steelers in tackles with eight, but was often seen throwing his hands up outside the zone and looking rather confused and frustrated that receptions were allowed.

Donte Jackson also had problems at the other end, including giving up a long shot from Darius Slayton early in the game, getting knocked through the seam after Jones looked past safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to open the window.

When Jones tried Fitzpatrick, he made plays including blowing up Slayton on the Giants’ sideline to force a third-down incompletion in the first half.

DeShon Elliott had seven tackles and a pass breakup, but getting picked off on Tyrone Tracy’s touchdown run was frustrating, in part because he wasn’t attacking downhill like he normally does. This allowed Queen to trip and eliminate him.

Terrell Edmunds also had coverage issues as Jones targeted him a few times.

Truly a performance against an offense that wasn’t that good. The good news, however, is that they nullified Malik Nabers for much of the game. He finished with seven receptions for 71 yards, but it was a quiet performance.

Special teams — A

Once again, Danny Smith’s special teams strike.

This time it wasn’t a blocked kick, but a punt return for a touchdown.

Calvin Austin III raced home 73 yards for a punt-return touchdown, picking up some great blocks from Rodney Williams, James Pierre and Jeremiah Moon. It’s a culture in Pittsburgh. Special teams are so important.

Austin’s punt return showed that.

Along with the punt return touchdown, Chris Boswell was a perfect four-of-four on the night and remains on pace to set an NFL record. Corliss Waitman was quite good at kicking the football, averaging 43.7 yards on three punts and two punts inside the 20-yard line.

The Steelers allowed a 47-yard kickoff return, which came immediately after Wilson found Austin for the 29-yard touchdown. That kickoff return led to Tracy’s 46-yard touchdown run, as the Giants only had to travel 55 yards on the drive.