The Steelers are 7-6, and the Giants are 9-4.
It's hard to believe that playing various opponents throughout the season through 13 games, both these teams have scored exactly the same amount of points - 253. On points given up, it's close as well with 198 for the Giants, and 201 for the Steelers. That difference of 3 points is about the amount the Giants are favored by in this game. (No that's not the way they figure it out).

It's also hard to believe.
That the Giants are in 1st place with only 3 games to go.
That the Giants need to win just 2 of their last 3 games to clinch the NFC East.
That if they win all 3, they not only clinch the division, but a first-round playoff bye.

Steelers are next, but one last look back at the Washington game.
It's hard to believe:
That the Giants played so hard in that Redskins game, and had only 3 field goals worth 9 points to show for it.
That the 9 points were enough to win against the Redskins offense.
That Norv Turner did not switch from quarterback Brad Johnson to Jeff George at half time.
That Jeff George almost took it all away in the end.
That Eddie Murray's last-chance field goal was going to miss because it was so straight and true.
That the Giants were smart enough to hold onto reliable Jaret Holmes as an unnecessary second backup place-kicker, and kept him from being picked up by the Redskins.
That the Redskins are almost eliminated from post-season play, having lost the last two games in a row with missed field goals, and they passed on Holmes earlier in the season.

It's hard to believe that the Steelers beat the Raiders last week.
Coming into this game, the Raiders held the best record in the AFC at 10-2, and Pittsburgh was clearly the underdog. Before long, Kordell Stewart had to come out of the game with a knee injury. Kent Graham replaced him and was intercepted for only the first time this season, but it resulted in a 27-yard touchdown return. Graham was sacked 3 times in less than a quarter, and at the end of the half, trailing 17-7 to the Raiders, it looked like the Steeler fans had little to hope for.
A limping Stewart returned at the start of the second half, and his return picked up the team, as they went on one of their longest touchdown drives of the season. Stewart engineered a 16-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a pass to tight end Mark Bruener, who dragged Raiders safety Calvin Branch along into the end zone from the 4 yard line. The Steelers finally regained the lead in the 4th quarter on a drive which included running back Jerome Bettis bursting 30 yards through the Raiders defense, for his longest run of the season, and ending in Kordell Stewart's 17-yard touchdown run. The Raiders were held to only 3 points in the second half, as their rookie No. 1 draft choice Sebastian Janikowski, missed a 44-yard field goal attempt near the end of the game. The Steelers held on to win 21-20.

Wait there's more.
Raiders 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end Regan Upshaw spit in Steelers punter Josh Miller's face after the two argued. The NFL fined Upshaw one game check (about $29,411) Thursday for what the league termed "unsportsmanlike conduct.".
Also in the closing seconds of the game, the Raiders drove to the Steelers 41 and the Three Rivers scoreboard showed third down instead of fourth. Rich Gannon threw a pass which fell incomplete, and later said the Raiders would likely have run a different play if had they had known what down it was, called a timeout on a completion, and set up for a winning field goal attempt.
Yes, the Raiders hadn't played in Pittsburgh in 20 years, but their games do seem to leave deep memories. The Steelers beat the Raiders in the 1972 AFC playoffs on Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception, and they say that owner Al Davis is still incensed about a 16-10 loss in the 1975 AFC title game played on a suspiciously icy field. Now they have this game to remember.

Three Rivers Stadium.
These games all happened at Three Rivers Stadium, the Steelers' home since 1970. There were 13 playoff victories, 14 AFC Central championships and seven AFC Championship games in 31 seasons, and the Steelers had five Super Bowl appearances. This all comes to an end, as it is scheduled to be torn down. The last regular season game will be against the Redskins, and the Steelers will move into their new home on the shores of the Ohio River next season.
This season, the Steelers are 3-4 in Three Rivers, and they hadn't had a losing season there in 29 years until going 2-6 last season. There was a lot at stake last week. Winning over the Raiders meant that they could still prevent a losing season at Three Rivers this final season. It gave them more wins than they had last year, and kept the Steelers dim playoff hopes alive. In this hard hitting battle, safety Lee Flowers said. "Some guys even had tears in their eyes.", and the Steelers won it 21-20. This highly emotionally driven team, with an outside chance of bringing a final playoff game to their home stadium, comes in to play the Giants at the Meadowlands this Sunday.

More on Kordell Stewart.
Giants head coach Jim Fassel called Stewart "the fastest, quickest, most elusive quarterback we'll play this year." Stewart is the Steelers' second-leading rusher, with 328 yards, and has scored five rushing TDs. Kordell Stewart has accounted for 9 touchdowns in his past nine quarters, and he has run and passed for a TD in each of the past 3 games.
The Giants have faced a number of scrambling quarterbacks this season with good success. For instance, Donovan McNabb ran for a total of 87 yards in two Giants victories over the Eagles. The Cards Jake Plummer gained only 18 yards in the season opener. The Bears Cade McNown managed only 4 yards, and even though they lost to the Titans, Steve McNair ran for only 21 yards. Still, that doesn't make it easy. Stewart worked through his injury in the Raiders game, and insists that the injury won't be a factor at all.

About Kent Graham.
Former Giants quarterback Kent Graham won the Steelers starting job out of training camp, but he hurt his hip as the Steelers started 0-3. Kent missed the next two games, and Stewart led the team to 2 wins. Graham started again, but was benched early in the game against the Cleveland Browns in October, and has been the backup since then.

About Tyrone Wheatley.
How does he fit in here? The former running back and number 1 draft pick for the Giants in 1995 now plays for Oakland, and was in the Pittsburgh game last week. Wheatley had two fumbles which probably came about because he's playing with a broken finger on his left hand. Wheatley is a big mystery to Giants Fans. Jim Fassel couldn't make use of him here at a time when he really needed a good running back. In 1999, Jimmy Johnson turned Wheatley loose from his Miami Dolphins training camp almost as soon as he laid eyes on him, but somehow, it all got turned around. Last year in Oakland Wheatley racked up 936 yards for an average of 3.9 a carry, and 8 TDs. This year he's doing even better. With three games left, he has 746 yards for an average of 4.4 a carry and 8 TDs.
Tyrone Wheatley gets mentioned here because fans watching the Giants game on TV and even those who go to the stadium, can have a chance to see him play later on, in the Sunday night game on ESPN when the (10-3) Raiders take on the (9-4) Jets.

Head coach Jim Fassel.
Based on the team's 6-1 road record compared to their 3-3 mark at home, coach Jim Fassel has decided to make this game seem like a road game. The Giants will stay in a hotel on the night before the game and go through their usual preparations. This includes full-scale meetings Saturday night like they do on the road, but have not been doing before home games.
"Then we'll have our snack, go to bed and get up and have breakfast together," coach Fassel said. "Right now I'm doing anything that's feasible, anything I think makes sense, we're going to do it. I'll change the schedule, I'll do anything I can right now to maximize this team's ability to win."

How does Fassel feel about actually playing the game at home in front of the fans? "I feel good about our crowd, we can get them into it.". Unfortunately, it hasn't always been easy for the fans to cheer. In the three home losses, the Giants fell behind 16-0 to Washington, 14-0 to St. Louis, and then 28-0 to Detroit.
Fassel says, "I love our fans, our players love our fans. They want to see us win. They can create noise that can make it difficult on the other team. They're knowledgeable, they love the Giants, and I think they can help us."

Under head coach Jim Fassel, the Giants have gone from 10-5-1 to 8-8 to 7-9 and now stand at 9-4, which is the second best record to the Vikings in the NFC. They are ahead of the Rams, the Bucs and the over-priced Redskins.
The Giants can clinch the NFC East title Sunday if they beat the Steelers, and the Browns beat the visiting Eagles. If not, they can clinch a wild card if they beat the Steelers, and either the Rams or Saints lose.
As to looking ahead, one player put it in perspective. "I don't think we can look ahead," Jessie Armstead said. "We're not that type of team. If we worry about the long term, we will get cut short.".

Injuries: GIANTS: QUESTIONABLE: T Lomas Brown (back); WR Ike Hilliard (sternum/lung); RB Joe Montgomery (thigh); RB Damon Washington (hamstring).
PITTSBURGH: OUT: C Dermontti Dawson (hamstring); RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala (foot). QUESTIONABLE: WR Courtney Hawkins (knee); LB Mike Vrabel (knee). PROBABLE: RB Jerome Bettis (glute); TE Mark Bruener (Achilles/tendonitits); T Wayne Gandy (shoulder); QB Kordell Stewart (calf); CB Deshea Townsend (abdominal); DL Kimo von Oelhoffen (knee); WR Hines Ward (ankle).

Notes

Steelers are tied for 20th in total offense, 5th in rushing, 29th in passing.
Steelers are 10th in total defense, 21st against the rush, 7th against the pass.

Giants are 10th in total offense, 7th in rushing, 18th in passing.
Giants are 7th in total defense, 2nd against the rush, 18th against the pass.

Steelers have rushed for 140 or more yards in four straight games.

Steelers Kordell Stewart has thrown for 6 TDs in his last three games.

Steelers - Giants game, in pouring rain in 1976, where the Steelers won 27-0 resulted in Giants head coach Bill Arnsparger (7-28) being fired in mid season, the first time the Giants ever did such a thing. He was replaced by John McVay (14-23).

Giants quarterback, Scott Brunner in 1982, made all the team's 298 pass attempts. So far, since then, only Kerry Collins has thrown all the passes (429 of them).

Giants have forced two or more turnovers in three straight games.

Giants Ron Dayne is only 103 yards shy of breaking the Giants' rookie rushing record, held by Tuffy Leemans, who ran for 830 yards in 1936.

Giants Tiki Barber, with 1,681 all-purpose yards, needs just 127 more yards to surpass Dave Meggett's Giants record of 1,807, set in 1989.

Giants running backs, Barber and Dayne, both have shots at reaching 1,000 yards this season. This has only been done by a pair of teammates three times in NFL history:
Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris - Dolphins in 1972,
Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier - Steelers in 1976,
Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack - Browns in 1985.

Phil Simms attended Giants practice on Friday along with broadcasting buddies, Greg Gumbel and Arman Keteyian, in preparation for the game.

BTW - If you're looking for a book about the Giants for the holidays, or maybe a team video, we have a pretty comprehensive listing:

Next Game
Dec 17, Giants at Dallas, 8PM ESPN

For those very organized fans.
If you use a Palm Pilot and want to keep the Giants schedule, and actually, the whole NFL schedule on it, there is a free download available here at PFL.

Last Week's review, Giants 9 , Washington 7

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