8:45PM EST November 4. 2012 - EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – In the battle of which team could handle the adversity of the fallout from Hurricane Sandy, the Pittsburgh Steelers endured.The Steelers overcame a flight into town the morning of the game, a few questionable calls by the officials and even a head-scratcher of a fake-field-goal decision by coach Mike Tomlin to beat the New York Giants 24-20 Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants were hoping to give their fans a lift after a week of cleanup and recovery along the Jersey coast and elsewhere. They honored first responders in the pregame, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even stopping by to thank the firefighters, police, EMS workers and nurses on hand.
BOX SCORE: Steelers 24, Giants 20
But the Steelers (5-3) played tougher mentally and physically, with Isaac Redman running through tacklers late in the second half to punctuate the victory. Redman reached over the goal line for the game-winning touchdown with 4:02 remaining, two plays after running through the arms of Osi Umenyiora on a third-and-2.
The Giants (6-3) would've stopped the Steelers short of a first down on a third-and-7, but rookie cornerback Jayron Hosley was offside on the play, pushing the ball up 5 yards and giving Redman his shot to bust through Umenyiora.
A few minutes later, after the Giants went three-and-out, Hosley lost Emmanuel Sanders on an out route to convert a third-and-9. One rumbling run by Redman later, the Steelers were taking a knee.
It took a while for the Steelers to take control of this game because the officials gave it to the Giants in the first half.
A questionable call on a sack and forced fumble of Ben Roethlisberger resulted in a 70-yard touchdown return for the Giants' Michael Boley. The call on the field was a fumble forced by Umenyiora, though replays showed Roethlisberger seemed to maintain control of the football for an incomplete pass.
Referee Bill Leavy obviously believed the ball was loose before Roethlisberger's arm was moving forward, and Leavy upheld the ruling on the field. Fox analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL's former head of officiating, wrote on Twitter he believed it should've been ruled an incomplete pass.
No matter, the Steelers overcame the ruling and also shook off the failed fake field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Kicker Shaun Suisham took a backward flip from holder Drew Butler and couldn't shake cornerback Michael Coe on the edge. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had faith in his defense when he made the call and the unit delivered by forcing a three-and-out to set up the winning drive.
