Steelers 24, New York Giants 20November 4, 2012
Met Life Stadium

Overcoming adversity was the theme in the Steelers 24-20 win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants, who brought a four-game winning streak into the day.

After the New York/New Jersey area was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, football would still be played. The Steelers changed their travel plans, arriving the day of the game as opposed to the normal day before, for the 4:25 p.m. kickoff.

"There are a lot of people that have a lot more adversity than what we had to deal with," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "The bottom line is we were here when they kicked the ball off and that was going to be enough. We focused on those things. I thought our guys did a nice job of handling it, we talked openly about it and we showed up to the stadium to play the game."

The Steelers got on the board first when Emmanuel Sanders pulled in a four-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger for the 7-0 lead.

It was a lead that wouldn't last long as the Giants got on the board on the ensuing drive. The Giants got great field position when Keenan Lewis was hit was a 41-yard pass interference penalty, a call many thought was just a good defensive play. On third-and-two from the two, Ike Taylor broke up Eli Manning's pass, but Ryan Clark was hit with a penalty for a blow to the head of Victor Cruz. Andre Brown took it in from the one-yard line for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.

Things didn't look good when Osi Umenyiora hit Roethlisberger's arm, knocking the ball free. Michael Boley recovered it and returned it for a 70-yard touchdown and 14-7 lead, a score that was upheld despite it appearing that Roethlisberger had some control of the ball as his arm moved forward and he threw it into the ground.

The Steelers closed the gap to 14-10 just before halftime on a Shaun Suisham 30-yard field goal.

The second half got off to a rough start for the Steelers. Lawrence Tynes extended the lead to 17-10 on a 50-yard field goal, and a Roethlisberger interception culminated with another Tynes field goal and 20-10 Giants lead going into the fourth quarter.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter the Steelers were breathing down the Giants' neck when Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace for a short completion, and Wallace broke loose and went past everyone for a 51-yard touchdown to close the gap to 20-17. 

After a three-and-out by the Giants, Sanders gave the Steelers incredible field position at the 12-yard line following a 63-yard punt return. Looking to make a quick splash and take the lead, Tomlin called for a fake field goal from the three-yard line and Suisham was stopped for a one-yard loss and the Giants took over.

"I took a shot and the guys backed my play like I knew that they would and I appreciate that," said Tomlin. "They overcome bad coaching sometimes and that's on me. The Giants did a nice job and I tip my hat to Tom Quinn and that group over there in the special teams unit. They were ready for it and they did a nice job."

This was a team that wasn't going to be denied. The defense stepped up, forcing a three-and-out and punt from the seven-yard line, once again stopping Manning who only had 10 completions for 125 yards on the day.

Another strong defensive stand gave the offense a chance to take the lead, and they pounced on it. Roethlisberger engineered a nine-play, 51-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Isaac Redman, who had 147 yards rushing, and a 24-20 lead they would hold on to. 

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