Surge Is Fueled by Fassel Guarantee

The New York Giants are all but in the playoffs, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are all but out.

Kerry Collins passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and the Giants shut down Kordell Stewart and Jerome Bettis to dampen the Steelers’ already slim playoff hopes with a 30-10 victory Sunday.

The victory was the third in a row for the NFC East-leading Giants (10-4) since Coach Jim Fassel guaranteed that the team would make the postseason for the first time since 1997.

“He set the tempo for us,” Giant defensive tackle Keith Hamilton said of Fassel. “He told us where we were headed. He put it out there for us, and it was up to us to follow.”

If the Giants win either at Dallas on Sunday or in their final regular-season game at the Meadowlands against Jacksonville, they will win the division because they have the tiebreaker edge over the Philadelphia Eagles (10-5). Two more wins would give New York at least a first-round playoff bye and a home game in the conference semifinal.

Pittsburgh (7-7) almost certainly will not make the playoffs after losing for the first time in three games.

That would mark their third consecutive season of not making the playoffs after getting there in Bill Cowher’s first six seasons as coach.

“We had more at stake this game, but we just didn’t come out and fight like we should have,” Steeler linebacker Levon Kirkland said. “I don’t know if it was a matter of effort, but we just didn’t get it done.”

While the game was a must-win for the Steelers, the Giants showed all the urgency. They jumped to a 13-0 lead on two field goals by Brad Daluiso and a short touchdown run by Tiki Barber, and then they blew the game open in the second half when Collins passed for touchdowns of nine yards to Ike Hilliard and two yards to Amani Toomer.

Collins completed 24 of 35 passes, and his second 300-yard passing game of the season gave him a career-high 3,149 yards.

The Steelers, who had averaged 29 points in their previous four games, didn’t score a touchdown until 1:04 remained in the game. Stewart, who had accounted for 10 touchdowns in his previous three games, was held in check, going 20 for 34 for 224 yards and the late touchdown. Bettis had 39 yards in 17 carries against the NFL’s second-best rushing defense.

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(D12) IF YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE...

With 333 yards against Pittsburgh, Kerry Collins became the first New York Giant quarterback to pass the 3,000-yard mark since Phil Simms in 1993. Here is a look at how other Giant quarterbacks have fared since 1993:

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Yards TD/INT QB Rating Phil Simms 1993 3,038 15/9 88.3 Dave Brown 1994 2,536 12/16 72.5 Dave Brown 1995 2,814 11/10 73.1 Dave Brown 1996 2,412 12/20 61.3 Danny Kanell 1997 1,740 11/9 70.7 Dave Brown 1997 1,023 5/3 71.1 Danny Kanell 1998 1,603 11/10 67.3 Kent Graham 1998 1,219 7/5 70.8 Kerry Collins 1999 2,316 8/11 73.3 Kent Graham 1999 1,697 17/20 74.6 Kerry Collins 2000 3,149 19/11 96.4

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