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Giants use fourth-quarter rally to beat Steelers

Oct 27, 2008 - 2:10 AM By Brad Everett PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Things just weren't going very smoothly for the New York Giants. But as the defending Super Bowl champs proved Sunday, winning doesn't always have to be pretty.

Eli Manning found Kevin Boss for a 2-yard touchdown with 3:07 remaining to push the Giants to a 21-14 victory against the Steelers at Heinz Field.

In a showdown of 5-1 teams, the Giants couldn't seem to do much right against the Steelers, dropping a bevy of passes, committing several key penalties and - most importantly - missing out on a boatload of opportunities to score touchdowns deep in Pittsburgh territory.

But after a fourth-quarter miscue by the Steelers resulted in a game-tying safety, Manning quarterbacked the Giants (6-1) on a seven-play, 53-yard drive highlighted by a 25-yard completion to Steve Smith on 3rd-and-7.

Four plays later, Manning found a wide-open Boss in the end zone to make it 21-14.

"It was a play action goal-line play there," Boss said. "I was so open that I almost stumbled coming out of there."

"We hung in there tough, and that's what I am most proud of," Manning added. "There are things obviously that we can work on and fix, but guys stepped up and we just hung in there tough and found a way to win."

Pittsburgh (5-2) saw its 14-12 lead slip away when Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison - filling in at long snapper after Greg Warren was injured earlier in the game - snapped the ball over punter Mitch Berger's head and out of the end zone for a safety with 6:48 remaining.

"We got some snaps on the sideline and we felt comfortable. We just weren't able to get it done," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "That was the first game that I have been involved in that we didn't have a snapper."

A battle of young Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks - and 2004 first-round picks - wasn't very pretty for the most part.

Manning no doubt got the better of counterpart Ben Roethlisberger, finishing 19-of-32 for 199 yards and the biggest stat of his evening - no turnovers. The reigning Super Bowl MVP benefited from a New York offensive line that allowed no sacks against a Steelers defense that entered the contest with a league-leading 25 sacks.

"The offensive line played great," Manning said. "That was our goal - getting the ball out quick. It's hard to get the ball down field on these guys. We hung in there and played smart enough to win the game."

Roethlisberger, on the other hand, was sacked five times - three by Mathias Kiwanuka -and struggled throughout the contest, completing 13-of-29 passes for a touchdown and four interceptions, two coming in the fourth quarter. The Steelers were a combined 1-for-14 on third and fourth down conversions.

"They are the world champions for a reason," Roethlisberger said. "They are a great defense. You have to give them a lot of credit. And we didn't play well enough today from top to bottom, and it starts with me."

Struggling to muster up anything offensively and facing a 9-7 deficit early in the third quarter, the Steelers hit for the big play they sorely needed when Roethlisberger connected with Nate Washington on a 65-yard touchdown.

Roethlisberger and Washington hooked-up again for a would-be touchdown on the next series, but a holding penalty by offensive tackle Willie Colon negated the score.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flag come," Roethlisberger said. "It's one of those ones where you're more mad if you start celebrating and run all the way down the field. It's disappointing. Nate made a great play. I'm not going to talk about the call (because) I'll get in trouble."

The Steelers had jumped on the Giants early, spending just 1:27 to drive down the field on an opening drive capped by Mewelde Moore's 22-yard scoring jaunt.

What transpired next for the Giants was a series of missed chances - four consecutive drives into the Steelers' red zone that generated just three field goals by John Carney.

Shortly after Carney booted his first field goal from 26 yards away, James Butler intercepted Roethlisberger at midfield, and the Giants marched to a 1st-and-goal at the Steelers 2.

After Brandon Jacobs' 1-yard scoring run on third down was challenged by the Steelers and reversed, Jacobs again tried to get in. But his plunge from the 1 on fourth down was stuffed by defensive ends Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith.

"They were number two in the league at turning people away in the red zone, and we knew it was going to be tough," Giants coach Tom Couglin said. "It was frustrating being there at the one-inch line. It was so close. I just wanted to find a way to get the ball in the end zone."

On their next two possessions, the Giants moved to the Steelers'17 and 7, but were forced to settle for a pair of short field goals by Carney.

And while those shortcomings looked like they would cost the Giants the victory, in the end, their strong finish came up anything but short.

"You have to give (the Steelers) credit," Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer said. "They're a great defense. You can only do so much when we put ourselves in bad situations, but dealing with that is what our team's signature is."