EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ Ben Roethlisberger passed for 229 yards and three touchdowns, highlighting his return from elbow surgery and helping the Steelers to a 26-16 victory against the New York Giants in the season opener.
Roethlisberger threw touchdowns of 10 and 8 yards to JuJu Smith-Schuster and another of 13 yards to James Washington to finish with a passer rating of 117.8. Running back Benny Snell rushed for 113 yards on 19 carries after replacing an injured James Conner (ankle) in the second half.
In a surreal setting in which no fans were allowed at cavernous MetLife Stadium because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Steelers defense shut down Giants running back Saquon Barkley, holding him to just 6 yards on 15 carries. They also got interceptions from linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive end Cam Heyward, leading to a touchdown and field goal, respectively.
In his first game since sustaining a season-ending elbow injury in Week 2 of the 2019 season, Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 passes and did not throw an interception. Two of the touchdowns came in the first half when the Steelers came back from an early 10-3 deficit and took a 16-10 halftime lead.
Roethlisberger's final touchdown was an 8-yarder to Smith-Schuster with 5:23 remaining, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by Snell's 30-yard run to the Giants 14.
The Steelers sustained a couple significant injuries to their offensive line in the fourth quarter, in addition to losing Conner. Guard Stefen Wisniewski, who started for injured David DeCastro, left with a torn pectoral muscle _ a potentially serious injury. Also, Zach Banner, making his first NFL start at right tackle, injured his knee on Roethlisberger's final touchdown and did not return.
The Steelers padded their lead to 19-10 at the start of the fourth quarter on a 36-yard field goal by Chris Boswell, but it came right after a goal line interception by Heyward that ended a 19-play, 87-yard drive by the Giants.
Outside linebacker Bud Dupree forced the interception, chasing quarterback Daniel Jones out of the pocket and hitting his throwing arm as Jones was trying to throw across his body. Until then, Jones was keeping the Steelers defense off-balance _ and exhausted _ by running a no-huddle offense that moved the ball from their own 9 to the Steelers 4.
The Steelers scored on two of their final three possessions in the first half, thanks to a pair of touchdown throws by Roethlisberger, to take that 16-10 halftime lead. After a tentative start, Roethlisberger completed 12 of 21 passes for 145 yards in the first half.
The game was tied after one quarter, thanks to a 41-yard field goal by Boswell on the Steelers second possession with 49 seconds remaining.
What would have been the Steelers first possession never came about because Diontae Johnson muffed a punt at his own 12 that the Giants recovered at the 3. But Jones misfired on two pass attempts, and the Giants had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Graham Gano and a 3-0 lead.
Roethlisberger completed 4 of 7 passes on the 13-play field-goal drive, the biggest a 28-yarder down the right sideline on third-and-9 to rookie Chase Claypool, who made a nice toe-tapping catch inside the boundary.
The Giants took a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter when receiver Darius Slayton got behind cornerback Steve Nelson on a deep post to catch a 41-yard touchdown from Jones _ one play after cornerback Joe Haden was called for pass interference on third-and-12 that kept alive the Giants' drive.
But after the Steelers went three-and-out on the ensuing series, Watt intercepted Jones' pass on first down from the Giants' 35, setting up Roethlisberger's first touchdown pass since Week 16 of the 2018 season _ a 10-yarder to a wide open JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Boswell, however, missed the extra point _ something he didn't do in 28 attempts last season _ cutting the lead to 10-9. It was Boswell's first extra-point miss since a Dec. 2, 2018 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, ending a streak of 37 in a row.
The Steelers took a 16-10 lead right before halftime with a typical, last-minute drive by Roethlisberger, who threw a 13-yard touchdown to receive James Washington with seven seconds remaining. It capped a 78-yard drive in which Roethlisberger accounted for the entire yardage _ completing 5 of 7 passes for 67 yards and even had an 11-yard scramble.
