The Steelers are closing in on a victory over the Giants, but the first game of the season took a toll on the team’s health.
Right tackle Zack Banner had to be helped off the field without putting weight on his right leg after going down on a play that saw Ben Roethlisberger hit JuJu Smith-Schuster for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Banner had tears in his eyes while getting encouraging pats on the back from teammates who then helped him to a cart for a ride to the locker room.
Banner took over the starting job this summer with Matt Feiler moving to left guard. The Steelers also saw right guard Stefan Wisniewski depart a couple of plays earlier. He got the start in place of the injured David DeCastro.
Running back James Conner is also down with an ankle injury, so those developments represent the bad news with the Steelers up 26-10 in the final minutes.