Steelers and Giants seem to be heading in opposite directions as New York travels to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The relentless questions surrounding the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh seem to have finally stopped.

Temporarily anyway.

Having Russell Wilson account for three touchdowns and showing flashes of his “Let Russ Cook” prime — as he did in a win over the Jets in his Steelers debut last week — certainly helped.

Mike Tomlin, inundated constantly about the status of his quarterback room over the first several weeks as Wilson rehabbed a calf injury and backup Justin Fields performed capably in Wilson's absence, faced one solitary inquiry about whether Wilson would get the nod again when the Steelers (5-2) host the struggling New York Giants (2-5) on Monday night. And even that was merely as a point of clarification.

“He’s scheduled to take first-team reps,” Tomlin said, the smile on his face and the hint of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke giving off the vibe of a coach only too happy to move on.

Those same questions that have quieted in Pittsburgh only appear to be growing louder in New York, where the Giants are reeling and Daniel Jones hardly looks like the player that led the organization to lavish him with a four-year, $160 million extension just over 18 months ago.

New York coach Brian Daboll — whose job status going forward appears to be stable at this point — is sticking with Jones for now, believing the issues plaguing the NFL's 30th-ranked offense go far deeper than his quarterback.

“He’s the starter, and we’ll work on improving the things we need to improve,” Daboll said of Jones.

And the Giants will have to do it against a T.J. Watt-led Steelers defense that is second in the NFL in takeaways and points allowed. Oh, and they'll have to do it in Pittsburgh, which hasn't lost a Monday night game at home since 1991, a streak of 21 straight wins and counting.

“Before even some of y’all were born, the Steelers have lived up to a standard on defense and they’ve maintained that for a really long time, and they still hold that true,” Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton said. “It’s obviously going to take a physical four-quarter game for us to be able to beat them.”

Or exactly the kind of game the Steelers specialize in, particularly at home under the bright Monday night lights.

If there has been a silver lining to Jones' very real problems while playing at home, it's that he's better on the road. Jones is one of three quarterbacks with two-plus TD passes and a 100-plus rating in three road games this season.

Pittsburgh special teams coordinator Danny Smith challenges one of his units to get their hands on at least one kick a week, an audacious goal that he does not apologize for setting.

Smith's players are listening. The Steelers have blocked a kick in three straight games, the first time any team has done that since the New England Patriots in 2017. And that's without All-Pro special teams ace Miles Killebrew getting into the mix. That's fine by Killebrew, who is only too happy to see teammates such as defensive tackle Dean Lowry and outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon get into the mix.

“It's addicting,” Killebrew said. “I can say from experience blocking a kick in a game is probably one of the more exhilarating things you can do in this sport. It's a game-changer.”

Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers caught a season-low four passes last week in returning from a concussion that caused him to miss two games.

When asked why only four, the first-round pick responded bluntly that's when he “was open.”

New York's best path to pulling off the upset runs through Nabers, who is tied for seventh in the league with 39 receptions.

“Those guys that get an opportunity to hug (commissioner) Roger Goodell man (at the draft), it’s usually because of some real tangible things and some also some real intangible things,” Tomlin said. “And (Nabers) has both, and he has our attention in that regard.”

Longtime Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward will appear in his 202nd regular-season game on Monday, the most ever by a Steelers defender, breaking a tie with Hall of Fame defensive back Donnie Shell.

The 35-year-old Heyward hasn't lost much of a step in his 14th season. Heyward's three sacks are one more than he had during his injury-marred 2023 and he's one of the main reasons the Steelers are third in the league against the run.

Heyward, a six-time Pro Bowler, understands who he's passing in the team record book. It's one of the reasons he doesn't take his role for granted, even now.

“It’s something that I got to produce,” he said. “And, you know, I want to hold up my end of the deal.”

Pittsburgh's offensive line has been an injury-riddled puzzle for most of the season, with five different starting combinations in seven games.

Yet the constant shuffle up front hasn't slowed down the running game. If anything, the Steelers are starting to find their groove on the ground, with Najee Harris leading the way. Harris has topped 100 yards in consecutive weeks for the second time in his career, with most of them coming in the second half as opposing defenses wear down.

“I think that’s just football,” Tomlin said. “I think that anybody who has a commitment to running the football is going to wage a war of attrition if you will ... the dam eventually breaks.”

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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Bengals won 17-7. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) carries against New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams in the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) steps back to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) scrambles in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The owner and manager of the cargo ship that caused the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse have agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs to settle a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, officials said Thursday.

The settlement does not cover any damages for rebuilding the bridge, officials said in a news release announcing the agreement. That construction project could cost close to $2 billion. The state of Maryland has filed its own claim seeking those damages, among others.

The settlement comes a month after the Justice Department sued the ship’s owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both based in Singapore, seeking to recover funds from the cleanup.

The Justice Department alleged that the electrical and mechanical systems on the ship, the Dali, were improperly maintained, causing it to lose power and veer off course before striking a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss.

Six men on a road crew, who were filling potholes during an overnight shift, fell to their deaths. Cleanup crews worked around the clock searching for bodies and removing thousands of tons of mangled steel and smashed concrete from the bottom of the Patapsco River. The Dali remained stuck amid the wreckage for almost two months, with collapsed steel trusses draped across the ship’s damaged bow.

“This resolution ensures that the costs of the federal government’s cleanup efforts in the Fort McHenry Channel are borne by Grace Ocean and Synergy and not the American taxpayer,” Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement.

The collapse snarled commercial shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore and put many local longshoremen out of work before the channel was fully opened in June. It interrupted East Coast shipping routes as the port is one of the busiest in the country, especially for cars and farm equipment.

Grace Ocean and Synergy filed a court petition just days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability in what could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history.

Court records show attorneys for both parties said in a joint filing Thursday that they had reached a settlement agreement and requested dismissal of the Justice Department’s claim, which sought $103 million in cleanup costs.

The claim is one of many filed in an expansive liability case that will ultimately determine how much the ship’s owner and manager will owe for their role in causing the disaster. The other claims are still unresolved. They’ve been filed on behalf of the victims’ families, companies whose business has suffered as a result of the collapse, municipal entities and more.

FBI agents boarded the ship in April amid a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse.

When it was filed last month, the Justice Department civil claim provided the most detailed account yet of the cascading series of failures that left the Dali’s pilots and crew helpless in the face of looming disaster. The complaint pointed to “excessive vibrations” on the ship that attorneys called a “well-known cause of transformer and electrical failure.” Instead of dealing with the source of the excessive vibrations, crew members “jury-rigged” the ship, the complaint alleged.

It also noted cracked equipment in the engine room and pieces of cargo shaken loose. The ship’s electrical equipment was in such bad condition that an independent agency stopped further electrical testing because of safety concerns, according to the lawsuit.

FILE - The cargo ship Dali is stuck under part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)