Giants-Steelers: New York Strings Together a Masterful Fourth Quarter

Giants 21, Steelers 14

The New York Giants faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the cold at Heinz Field. This matchup was overshadowed by the constant hype of Roethlisberger vs. Manning, since they were both drafted in the 2004 NFL Draft, and they both won Super Bowls. However, in the beginning, Manning did not put up huge numbers.

It seemed like Manning was a little confused by not having Plaxico in the offensive system in the beginning. Manning had targets like Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Kevin Boss to throw to, but he did not go to them enough in the first half. The Giants did, however, get to the half-yard line but got stopped by the Pittsburgh D. The Giants only got three John Carney field goals off to put them up 9-7 at the end of the first half. Pittsburgh scored on a Mewelde Moore 32-yard touchdown run.

Moore ran for a grand total of 84 yards.

The Steelers were definitely in control until Roethlisberger and the Steelers went three-and-out again. Setting up to punt, long snapper James Harrison snapped the ball about 30 yards over Mitch Berger’s head, and the result was a safety, tying the game at 14 a piece.

On the ensuing drive, Manning would hook up with Kevin Boss for what would be the game-winning touchdown. I have to say it was a great game. The Steelers were able to stop Brandon Jacobs, who only ran for 47 total yards, and the Giants' defense stepped up, causing Roethlisberger to throw four interceptions.

Roethlisberger had 184 yards and a 65-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington.

The thing that got me going was the bias of commentator and former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman. Say what you want about him in his playing days—yes, he was a good QB and did a lot for Dallas—but once a Cowboy always a Cowboy, and his commentating shows that he is definitely biased against the Giants.

Today, throughout the game, even with the Manning touchdown, he did not give Eli the credit he deserved. Eli had a rough game but overcame it, and Aikman failed to see the good in Eli’s performance, only stating the bad. Troy needs to be let go as a FOX commentator.