Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger were drafted just a handful of picks apart in 2004. Since, Manning and Roethlisberger have both won two Super Bowls. Also, Manning and Roethlisberger have reputations for being two of the best quarterbacks in the league when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter.
On Sunday, it was Roethlisberger not Manning who lead his team to a fourth quarter victory. The Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the New York Giants 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The Giants had built their lead despite a poor day of passing by Manning. Michael Boley had a 70 yard touchdown when he picked up a Roethlisberger fumble. Andre Brown had a short touchdown run that was set up by a long pass interference penalty, and Lawrence Tynes was perfect on both of his field goal attempts.
On the Steelers first drive in the fourth quarter, Roethlistberger hooked up with Mike Wallace on a 51 yard catch and run for a touchdown. Then, the Steelers drove to inside the Giants 5 yard line where their drive stalled. The Steelers attempted a fake field goal that was snuffed out by the Giants and stopped. Manning couldn’t take advantage and the Giants were forced to punt the ball back to the Steelers. With the ball in his hands again, Roethlisberger drove the Steelers back to the Giants goalline. This time, Isaac Redman scored the game’s winning touchdown.
Despite having over four minutes after the Steelers took the lead, Manning and the Giants couldn’t find any fourth quarter magic. The Steelers held on for a 24-20 victory.
The game was played at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ in front of a full house despite the challenges left by Hurricane Sandy.
Next week, the Steelers (5-3) are home to play the Chiefs on Monday Night Football, the Giants (6-3) will travel to Cincinnati to play the Bengals.
