Not once, but twice.

Austin, who had texted his friends over the weekend to let them know he was going to score a big touchdown, ran the length of the field after a little pep talk from Tomlin and ran 73 yards for a touchdown. He then added a 29-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to give the Steelers the boost they needed to beat the Giants 26-18 on Monday night.

Pittsburgh (6-2) won its 22nd straight game at home under Monday night lights behind Austin’s playmaking and a few late turnovers. TJ Watt strip-sacked Daniel Jones with less than three minutes left on a New York drive, and rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop picked off Jones with 42 seconds to go.

“It wasn’t as fluid as we wanted it to be, but that’s football,” Tomlin said. “We must protect ourselves against style points.”

It was a good thing, because style points were in short supply on a night when three field goals (two by Pittsburgh, one by New York) were negated, the teams combined for 16 penalties and drives stalled near the end zone.

The Steelers won their third straight and entered the bye week with a one-game lead in the AFC North over Baltimore. After relying heavily on their defense in the first month, the offense has found a new gear since Wilson returned from a calf injury that caused him to miss the first six games.

The 35-year-old completed 20 of 28 passes for 278 yards in his second home start as a Steeler. His only real mistake was a turnover with 4:42 left that briefly opened the door for the Giants (2-6).

Watt closed it out a few minutes later after New York opted not to double-team, racing for the potential tying score.

“He has a unique talent, a unique approach,” Tomlin said. “It achieves unparalleled results.”

Najee Harris rushed for 114 yards and reached 100 yards for the third straight game for the first time in his career. Chris Boswell threw four goals to rescue an offense that was regularly bogged down in the New York area.

Wilson also passed the ball around, connecting with eight players; It’s a promising development for a team that relies heavily — perhaps too much — on George Pickens to get things going in the passing game.

Austin finished with three receptions for 54 yards. Van Jefferson added four receptions for 62 yards. Even third-string tight end MyCole Pruitt caught a pass.

“Men are believers,” Wilson said.

Maybe Austin the most. The third-year pro spends time before games reading notes he found online and stashed on his phone from suspects who thought he was too young to make the NFL. Still, he was listening to fans chant his name after Pittsburgh spent two months putting the finishing touches on a promising opener.

“We are all competitors,” Austin said. “No matter what happens, we will always be counted on.”

Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy rushed for a season-high 145 yards, including a 45-yard sprint that pulled New York to eight interception early in the fourth quarter. The Giants attempted a 2-point conversion, but an ill-conceived play by rookie Malik Nabers behind the line of scrimmage was easily deflected.

Backed up in the fourth quarter of last week’s blowout loss to Philadelphia, Jones completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards and a late pick. Darius Slayton finished with four receptions for 108 yards and Nabers caught seven passes for 72 yards. Greg Joseph kicked four field goals for the Giants, who were undone by 11 penalties for 65 yards and a defense that allowed the Steelers’ suddenly potent offense, led by Wilson, to accumulate 426 yards.

“There were a lot of good things, but not enough,” New York coach Brian Daboll said.

That’s been the case for a while now for the Giants, who are 2-6 for the second straight season. Two years after a breakout season that ended with New York making the playoffs and the Giants offering Jones a lucrative extension, the team appears adrift.

There was progress against the Steelers, but the Giants were devastated by the kind of miscues—flags, turnovers, and wasted assignments—that were all too common during their freefall.

“We hurt ourselves a lot tonight,” Jones said. “This is the most frustrating part. We need to be more detailed, starting with me. “The good things that were done were wasted by the mistakes that were made.”