EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Ben Roethlisberger shook off some early rust and got rolling in the second quarter, throwing three touchdown passes in the final three quarters in his first game action in nearly a year after surgery to repair torn flexor tendons in his throwing elbow.
The result was a sometimes sloppy, and what would turn out to be, somewhat sloppy, 26-16 win over the Giants here at MetLife Stadium in front of a crowd of, well, nobody.
With MetLife Stadium empty because of COVID-19 concerns, Roethlisberger didn't have the crowd on hand he might have wanted to see him play in his first game in nearly a year to the day. Roethlisberger was injured in the Steelers' Week 2 loss to the Seahawks last Sept. 15.
The quarterback finished 21 of 32 for 229 yard and three touchdown passes, two of which went to JuJu Smith-Schuster. The three touchdown passes ironically moved into a tie with former Giants star Eli Manning for eighth place on the NFL's all-time list with 366. Manning, who retired after last season, and Roethlisberger were both part of the famed 2004 draft class.
Roethlisberger threw his first touchdown pass to Smith-Schuster following a TJ Watt interception at the line of scrimmage in which Watt read the eyes of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and plucked the ball out of the air at the New York 36.
Roethlisberger, who had completed just four of his first nine passes for 47 yards to that point, seemed to get going at that point. He connected with Eric Ebron for an 18-yard gain on third-and-5, then tossed his first TD pass to Smith-Schuster on a crossing route early in the second quarter, lofting it up and allowing the receiver to run under it.
It was the first touchdown pass for the Steelers' quarterback in 624 days. He played in just six quarters in 2019, failing to record a touchdown pass before his injury.
Chris Boswell, however, missed the PAT following that TD and the Steelers trailed 10-9. New York had taken advantage of a Diontae Johnson muffed punt to put a field goal on the board early, then got a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Darius Slayton to finish off a drive that was helped along by a 12-yard pass interference penalty on Joe Haden on third down.
"We could have played better," said Mike Tomlin of his team. "There was some sloppiness that was kind of reflective of where we are, probably a lot of us. It was our first time in a stadium. We dropped a punt early. We got penalized on a third-and-long and extended a drive. They scored on the next play. We kicked off out of bounds. We didn’t start with great fluidity on offense.
"All of those things, it’s reasonable to expect us to get better and get better in a hurry."
Roethlisberger really got going late in the second quarter when the Steelers went to a no-huddle offense after getting the ball back at their own 22 with 1:32 remaining. Roethlisberger completed five-of-seven passes for 65 yards and also scrambled 11 yards, looking 10 years younger, to give the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish.
He finished it off with an 13-yard touchdown pass to James Washington on a little quick slant on which Washington did this:
“That was a good drive for us," Roethlisberger said. "The guys were protecting up front and my job is to get it out of my hands as fast as I can to the playmakers. And that’s what we did. We got the ball in the hands of guys that made plays for us and took the ball down the field and put points on the board at the end of the half like we always want to do."
Benny Snell, who entered the game in the second quarter after James Conner suffered an ankle injury, ground out a career-high 113 yards on the ground on 19 carries. Conner was not the only injury for the Steelers (1-0). Right tackle Zach Banner (knee) and right guard Stefen Wisniewski (pectoral) were lost on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter.
But the Steelers defense posted a pair of interceptions and three sacks while also shutting down star running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley was limited to just six yards on 15 carries in the game.
"We had a commitment and we weren’t going to be shy about that commitment," Tomlin said of his team's work against Barkley. "We thought that guy was going to be a catalyst for whatever they were going to do offensively. We put our secondary in harm’s way some. But it’s a team game. They embraced that challenge. We needed to stack the line of scrimmage. We did what we thought was necessary to minimize his impact on the game."
It wasn't the best defensive game as the Steelers were focused on stopping Barkley, but the Steelers did make some big plays.
Watt had the interception. Cam Heyward also had one in the end zone after Bud Dupree, who was a major factor with four tackles, two of which were for a loss, hit Jones as he released a pass and it squirted into the air where Heyward plucked it for his first career interception.
That ended a 19-play drive for the Giants, that saw them go 87 yards and eat up most of the third quarter trailing 16-10 only to come away with nothing.
"I saw Bud lay him down and I just tried to make a smart play and flow to the ball," said Heyward. "I didn't want him to be able to throw the ball against his body. Sometimes you see that in goal line and red zone. They throw the ball back across.
"It wasn't perfect. There were a lot of plays we can improve on, but we had the mentality that they were going to get some yards, it's the first game. But we've got to make the plays. In the red zone, I've got to be (Darrelle) Revis."
That was essentially the last gasp for the Giants. Roethlisberger led the Steelers on a field goal drive to make it 19-10, then extended the lead to 26-10 on their next possession, with Snell pounding out yardage to supplement the passing game, including this 30-yard run.
Roethlisberger finished off that drive with his third TD pass and second to Smith-Schuster, putting an exclamation point on his day.
"I’m excited we won the game. I told the guys before the game that it’s not about me," Roethlisberger said. "It’s about these guys. I came back for these guys. It’s a special group of football players and men. I’m just thankful to be a part of it."