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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants are all but in
the playoffs, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are all but out. And
that's all but guaranteed.
|  | | The Steelers had trouble moving the ball against the Giants, and in this case Jason Sehorn interfered with Hines Ward on a second-quarter pass play. |
Kerry Collins passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and the
Giants shut down Kordell Stewart and Jerome Bettis and dampened the
Steelers' already slim playoff hopes with a 30-10 win on Sunday.
The victory was the third straight for the NFC East-leading
Giants (10-4) since coach Jim Fassel guaranteed that the team would
make the postseason for the first time since 1997.
"He set the tempo for us," Giants defensive tackle Keith
Hamilton said of Fassel. "He told us where we were headed. He put
it out there for us, and it was up to us to follow."
Not only has the team responded, New York has suddenly started
playing its best football, knocking off Arizona and Washington on
the road before ending a two-game losing streak at Giants Stadium.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Question on the Steelers: What happened to the Steelers' offense?
Donahoe: The Steelers suffered on offense today because they did not
take advantage of their red-zone opportunities. Plus, the Giants controlled
the football, which limited the Steelers' chances on offense. Kordell
Stewart threw the ball effectively, but his receivers had some drops,
and the Steelers were never able to get Jerome
Bettis and their running game in gear.
Question on the Giants: Should the critics shut up about the Giants'
lack of quality wins now?
Donahoe: This may have been the Giants' best overall effort of the
season. They beat a quality team and they thoroughly dominated the game
offensively, defensively and on special teams. Whatever coach Jim Fassel has
said to his team in recent weeks is obviously working. Kerry
Collins' performance was especially impressive today. He was on the
money and made good decisions. His performance was aided by Amani
Toomer's outstanding game -- Toomer had a career receiving day.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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"Guys are starting to believe if we keep it going we can have a
very good team and we can make some noise once we get to the big
dance," veteran offensive tackle Lomas Brown said.
If the Giants win either at Dallas or in their home finale
against Jacksonville, they will win the division since they have
the tiebreaker edge with the Philadelphia Eagles (10-5). Two more
wins would give New York at least a first-round playoff bye and a
home game in the conference semifinal.
"I want to be home and have a week off" cornerback Jason
Sehorn said. "The idea you can sit there and relax with your
family, that's the motivation."
Pittsburgh (7-7) almost certainly will have New Year's off after
seeing its two-game winning streak snapped. That would mark their
third straight year out of the playoffs after going there in Bill
Cowher's first six seasons as coach.
"We had more at stake this game, but we just didn't come out
and fight like we should have," Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland
said. "I don't know if it was a natter of effort, but we just
didn't get it done."
"It was our worst effort of the year," Cowher added.
While the game was a must-win for the Steelers, the Giants
showed all the urgency. They jumped to a 13-0 lead on two field
goals by Brad Daluiso and a short touchdown run by Tiki Barber, and
then they blew the game open in the second half when Collins
sandwiched touchdown passes of 9 yards to Ike Hilliard and 2 yards
to Amani Toomer around a 21-yard field goal by Daluiso.
Kris Brown kicked a 32-yard field goal for the Steelers late in
the first half, but he also missed from 36 and 45 yards in the
second half, and the Giants responded with scores after each
mistake. Stewart, who was 20-of-34 for 224 yards, threw a 5-yard TD
pass to Bobby Shaw with 1:04 to play for Pittsburgh, which was
averaging 29 points in its last four games. Bettis had 39 yards
rushing on 17 carries against the NFL's second-best rushing
defense.
Collins finished 24-of-35 for 333 yards, giving him a
career-best 3,149 yards. It's the first 3,000-yard passing season
for a Giant since Phil Simms (3,038) in 1993, and the most in a
season since Simms had 3,359 in 1988.
"He's a big-time quarterback who can play in big-time games,"
Fassel said Collins, who has revived his troubled career with New
York the past two seasons.
Toomer had nine catches for 136 yards, while Hilliard, playing
for the first time since bruising his sternum and a lung against
Detroit on Nov. 19, had five catches for 90 yards.
New York jumped on the Steelers from the start. Omar Stoutmire
returned the opening kickoff 47 yards -- the Giants' longest return
of the season. Daluiso, who has made 12 straight field goals,
converted from 38 yards for a 3-0 lead.
The Giants, who held Pittsburgh to 68 first-half yards,
stretched the lead to 6-0 early in the second quarter as Daluiso
kicked a 40-yarder.
Game notes
Daluiso and Jaret Holmes have made 14 straight field-goal
attempts for the Giants since Week 3. ... Giants G Glenn Parker had
his left knee lock twice after Steelers DE Kevin Henry grabbed his
face mask and threw him to the ground in the second quarter. Parker
missed the ensuing series, and he eventually left late in the
fourth. ... Giants suspended rookie WR Ron Dixon for the game for
missing a team meeting on Saturday. New York WR Joe Jurevicius
sprained his left knee in third quarter and left the game. ...
Steelers safety Lee Flowers hurt his left knee in the third
quarter. ... New York was 9-of-14 on third down (64 percent). The
Steelers were 5-of-13 (38 percent).
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 FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kerry Collins Official Site
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