The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t mind winning ugly. They take pride in rallying to pull victories out of the muck. And that’s exactly what they did on Monday Night Football, where they defeated the New York Giants 26-18 to claim first place in the AFC North.
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Pittsburgh scored just one offensive touchdown versus the pesky Giants. However, they nearly had two. In the second quarter, wideout George Pickens appeared to secure a 9-yard score with an impressive jumping catch.
But upon replay review, Pickens double-tapped his right foot, but never dragged his left foot across the grass. Since he didn’t get both feet down, the 3rd-and-Goal pass was deemed incomplete.
George Pickens just learned that two feet down doesn’t account for two right feet
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 29, 2024
The Steelers settled for a 25-yard field goal on the drive and took a 9-6 lead. But the ruling helped keep the Giants in the contest and gave them an opportunity to force overtime on their final drive.
After the game, quarterback Russell Wilson discussed the funky play. He said he wasn’t sure if Pickens’ method should suffice for a touchdown, but knows things likely would have played out differently if it were allowed.
“That’s an interesting rule… we thought maybe he had dragged his toe, maybe got it down… getting two [right feet] maybe should count, but I don’t know… it really would have broken out the game early on for us.”
Pickens has been an unfortunate victim of many wiped-away big plays and touchdowns in 2024. He also appeared to score a touchdown on Pittsburgh’s first possession, but it was negated by a facemask penalty.
Through eight weeks, the third-year receiver has recorded 35 receptions, 548 yards, and one touchdown.
Wilson, making his second start of the year, completed 71.4% of his passes (20/28) for 278 yards and one touchdown. Pittsburgh’s offense has posted more than 4oo total yards in each of his two appearances.
Their sudden emergence, coupled with their defense’s dominance, has the Steelers looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender heading into their Week 9 bye.
