In the days leading up to Sunday’s game with the Steelers, Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks said that Ike Taylor and the other Pittsburgh defensive backs got away with holding opposing receivers too often.
The Steelers won the game 24-20 and the Giants passing game didn’t contribute anything beyond a pair of long pass interference penalties called on cornerback Keenan Lewis. Taylor had one interception in the game, dropped another in the end zone (on the play that ended with Steelers safety Ryan Clark penalized for hitting Victor Cruz in the head even though Clark never made contact with Cruz’s head or illegal contact with him anywhere) and wound up as the AFC’s defensive player of the week as a result.
Taylor and the rest of the Steelers defensive backs helped hold the Giants to 114 net yards passing, a big reason why the team was able to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Eli Manning was 1-for-5 for one yard in that quarter while also getting sacked twice and launching a litany of “What’s wrong with the Giants offense?” thinkpieces in New York and elsewhere.
There haven’t been so many pieces on what the Steelers defense did right. Taylor’s award makes up for some of that and their performance lends some strength to those who believe the Steelers can mount a comeback in the AFC North race as well.