Giants coach Tom Coughlin didn't mince words. And there was good reason.

“That is as disappointing of a loss as we’ve had in a long time,” Coughlin said after his team’s 24-20 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers .

Coughlin was frustrated by New York’s suddenly anemic offense, its lackluster tackling, poor special teams play and the inability to capitalize on Pittsburgh’s mistakes. But “frustrated” doesn’t even begin to cover how Coughlin and his players felt about disappointing the Giants’ fan base, which is still suffering in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

“We wanted, emotionally, so badly to win the game for obvious reasons, for all of our neighbors who are struggling and who need some type of inspiration,” Coughlin said. “Of course, we didn’t provide it for them.”

To their credit, the Steelers (5-3) overcame a series of obstacles, some of which were self-inflicted (three, first-half pass-interference penalties, a botched fake field goal, etc.), to win in a manner that isn’t reflected by the score. Pittsburgh out-possessed and out-gained New York (6-3) by nearly 10 minutes and exactly 167 yards. And even with running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Jonathan Dwyer out, third-string RB Isaac Redman carried the ball 26 times for 147 yards, much of which came after first contact.

The Steelers didn’t play perfectly on Sunday, but they easily outplayed a suddenly befuddled Giants team that will spend the next week searching for answers in all three phases of the game. 

When the game turned: As poorly as the Giants played in the first half, they had a chance to go into the locker room with a 17-7 lead, thanks to a 46-yard pass interference penalty on Steelers CB Keenan Lewis.

But rather than advancing the ball past Pittsburgh’s 34-yard line, false starts by TE Martellus Bennett and RT David Diehl -- who was starting his first game since Week 2 because of an MCL sprain and three weeks of backup duty -- the Giants needed an 11-yard pass from QB Eli Manning to WR Victor Cruz to even have a chance at a 51-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal.

The kick fell short with 36 seconds remaining, and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger responded by completing passes of 24 and 23 yards to WR Jericho Cotchery and TE Heath Miller, setting up a 30-yard field goal for K Shaun Suisham.

Needless to say, that six-point swing played a factor in the Giants’ four-point loss.

Highlight moments: Perhaps the most controversial play of the game was Giants WLB Michael Boley’s 70-yard return of a Roethlisberger fumble for a touchdown, which gave New York a 14-7 lead. Roethlisberger appeared to be throwing the ball, but the call on the field was upheld after a challenge by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin… Roethlisberger got some revenge early in the fourth when he hit WR Mike Wallace on a short crossing route. Wallace, who had been held in check up until that point, outflanked the entire Giants secondary to register a 51-yard touchdown reception… A 63-yard punt return by Emmanuel Sanders set the Steelers offense up at the 12-yard line (Giants P Steve Weatherford made an impressive touchdown-saving tackle) with a chance to take the lead later in the fourth quarter. The Giants defense held strong for three downs, but the Steelers still had a chance to tie the game with a 20-yard field goal. Clearly, that wasn’t a road that Tomlin wanted to take. Instead he called for the fake, and Suisham was stopped well behind the line of scrimmage by Giants CB Michael Coe … Pittsburgh responded on its next possession with a nine-play, 51-yard drive, which ended with the game-winning touchdown -- a 1-yard run by Redman.

Top-shelf performances:

  • Steelers WR Jericho Cotchery -- four targets, four catches, 50 yards

  • Steelers RB Isaac Redman -- 26 carries for 147 yards, 1 touchdown

  • Steelers CB Ike Taylor -- One interception, seven tackles, helped limit

  • Giants WR Victor Cruz (who was targeted 11 times) to just five catches

  • Steelers KR Chris Rainey -- Averaged 34.6 yards on five kick returns

  • Giants WLB Michael Boley -- 11 tackles, one fumble recover, one touchdown

  • Giants DE Justin Tuck -- Five tackles, two sacks, one pass deflected

What they said about the decision to uphold Boley’s touchdown, rather than ruling Roethlisberger’s fumble an incomplete pass:

  • Steelers coach Mike Tomlin -- “I didn’t ask for an explanation. I can’t figure out some of this stuff now. I just tried to move on as best I can because that’s what our guys need to do.”

What they said about the Steelers’ unsuccessful fourth-quarter fake field goal attempt:

  • Tomlin -- “I took a shot and the guys backed my play like I knew that they would and I appreciate that. They overcome bad coaching sometimes and that’s on me.”

What they said about the Giants’ run defense:

  • Giants LB Mathias Kiwanuka -- “Tackling. Bottom line. I think, you know, the coaches will do their job schematically and look at what they could have done different, but as players we have to be able to hit, wrap up, tackle, swarm to the ball or get him down before he gets two, five, 10 yards after contact.”

What they said about Giants QB Eli Manning, who has passed for just 317 yards and zero touchdowns in the last two games:

  • Manning -- “I feel like I’m throwing the ball accurately when I have opportunities to, it’s just trying to find guys open and trying to just get in good situations.”

  • Giants coach Tom Coughlin -- “We’ve got to get him back on track. He is our guy and we have to get him back playing the way he was a couple of weeks ago. And we have to do it in a hurry. It’s just not Eli now. We’re struggling to get ourselves in position so it’s an automatic for the quarterback."

Numbers you should know: Manning had 60 yards on 4-of-12 passing in the first half, but the Giants went into the locker room with a 14-10 lead, thanks in large part to 87 yards on three pass interference penalties by the Steelers. Manning didn’t do much better in the second half (he completed only six passes) but he still reached the 30,000-passing yard plateau for his career. ... This was Roethlisberger’s 30th fourth-quarter-or-later comeback of his career. ... Manning was 1 for 6 on third down, while Roethlisberger was 8 of 9. The Giants did not register a first down in the fourth quarter.

Injury update: Steelers -- WR Antonio Brown suffered a mild, high-ankle sprain, according to Tomlin, who added that Rainey has a rib cage injury of some kind. S Will Allen had a stinger. LB Adrian Robinson injured his “quad,” Tomlin said.New York Giants Giants -- Cruz suffered a rib injury, RB Andre Brown hurt his shoulder and DT Chris Canty had a groin injury. Everyone but Brown returned, but he said he could have had be been asked to do so.

Going forward: Giants -- New York now heads to Cincinnati for a Week 10 game against the Bengals. That game is followed by a Week 11 bye and a Week 12 home game against the Green Bay Packers. Steelers -- Pittsburgh has eight days to prepare for a Monday Night game against the Kansas City Chiefs before consecutive divisional games against the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.

Follow the Giants and Alex Raskin @CBSGiants and @AlexRaskinNYC.

Follow Steelers reporter Chuck Finder on Twitter @CBSSteelers and @CFinder.