Not once, but twice.

Austin — who texted his friends over the weekend that he was going to crack a big one — sprinted down the field and ran 73 yards for a touchdown after Tomlin’s little pep talk. He later added a 29-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown to give the Steelers the momentum they needed to beat the Giants, 26-18, on Monday night.

Pittsburgh (6-2) won its 22nd straight home game under the Monday night lights behind the play of Austin and a pair of late turnovers. TJ Watt sacked Daniel Jones with less than three minutes left to end a New York drive, and rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop picked off Jones with 42 seconds to play.

“It wasn’t as fluid as we would have liked, but that’s football,” Tomlin said. “We have to beware of (for) style points.”

Good thing, because style points were in short supply on a night where three apparent touchdowns — two by Pittsburgh, one by New York — were negated, the teams combined for 16 penalties and drives ‘s regularly got stuck near the end zone.

The Steelers won their third straight and head into the bye week leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore. After relying heavily on their defense in the first month, the offense has found another gear since Wilson returned from a calf injury that forced 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 fumble with 4:42 left that briefly opened the door for the Giants (2-6).

Watt closed it moments later after New York, driven for the potential tying score, opted not to double it.

“He’s got a unique talent, a unique approach,” Tomlin said. “He achieves unique results.”

Najee Harris rushed for 114 yards, surpassing 100 for the third straight game for the first time in his career. Chris Boswell kicked four field goals to rescue an offense that regularly stalled in New York territory.

Wilson also spread the ball around, connecting on eight players, a promising development for a team that relied heavily — perhaps too much — on George Pickens to make things happen 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.

“Guys are believers,” Wilson said.

Maybe Austin the most. Before games, the third-year pro spends his time reading notes he stashed on his phone from doubters he found online who thought he was too small to make the NFL. Yet he was there listening to fans chant his name after Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on a promising opening two months.

“We’re all competitors,” Austin said. “We’ll always count on us, no matter what.”

Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy ran for a career-high 145 yards, including a 45-yarder early in the fourth quarter that pulled New York within eight. The Giants attempted a 2-point conversion, but the ill-conceived play to rookie receiver Malik Nabers behind the line of scrimmage was easily brushed aside.

Jones, benched in the fourth quarter of a loss to Philadelphia last week, completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards and the 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, which were canceled out by 11 penalties for 65 yards and a defense that allowed the Steelers’ high-powered rushing attack led by Wilson to amass 426 yards.

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

It’s been that way 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 giving Jones a lucrative extension, the franchise appears to be adrift.

There were flashes of progress against the Steelers, but the Giants were undone by the kind of mistakes — flags, turnovers and dropped missions — that have become far too common during their freefall.

“We got hurt a lot tonight,” Jones said. “That’s the most frustrating part. We need to be more detailed, starting with me. The good things that happened were undone by the mistakes.”