The Steelers did their part for the New York metropolitan area in the wake of the devastation Hurricane Sandy had left behind, so maybe they had this coming to them.
Maybe karma had a hand in the Steelers’ 24-20 comeback victory over the Giants yesterday at MetLife Stadium.
You could have made an argument the Steelers were already trailing the Giants before the opening kickoff, based on the rare day-of-game trip they made from Pittsburgh to New Jersey.
Late last week, the Steelers decided not to travel to the area on Saturday because they did not want to take up hotel rooms that could otherwise house families displaced from their homes because of the storm. So they sacrificed.
“One word comes to mind — noble,’’ Giants coach Tom Coughlin said on Friday, addressing the Steelers’ actions.
“We talked to a lot of people, including the state police, and they said it would be helpful if we didn’t stay in a hotel,’’ Steelers owner Dan Rooney told The Post after the game. “That’s all we wanted to be, helpful. We don’t want to he held up like we did anything special. Hopefully this is the way we act.’’
They acted with class off the field in making that organizational decision and they acted with resilience on the field yesterday in a game they looked for much of the afternoon like they were going to lose.
The Steelers trailed 14-7, 17-10 and 20-10 before scoring the game’s final 14 points and winning on the road for only the second time in five tries this season.
And, because of the sacrifices they made, the victory tasted sweeter.
“We came here old-school, high-school style, riding in day of the game,’’ Steelers left tackle Max Starks said. “When you put this team up against all odds, which we were today, this was a classic example of how we respond.’’
Steelers running back Isaac Redman said it was “a weird feeling’’ traveling on the same day as the game, but added, “We knew the Giants were dealing with their own adversity, so we couldn’t feel bad for ourselves.’’
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was quick to say he didn’t want to “bring focus to’’ whatever hardship his team faced.
“There are a lot of people that have a lot more adversity than what we had to deal with,’’ he said. “The bottom line is we were here when they kicked the ball off. Our guys did a nice job of handling it. We didn’t talk too much about it.
“This is a game. What’s happened here in this region this past week is life and reality. It was a little bit of an adjustment for both teams. I’m sure it was more of an adjustment for the Giants. We wanted to focus on the things we could control.’’
Said former Jets and current Steelers receiver Jerricho Cotchery: “We know what this game offers — a lot of inconvenience and adversity. But we don’t make a big deal out of much. Our focus was to come in here and try to get a victory.’’