After five close games to start the year, it seems the Pittsburgh Steelers have figured out how to win in comfortable fashion. In Week 6, Pittsburgh went on the road and easily took care of the Las Vegas Raiders, 32-13. The Steelers followed that with a dominant showing on Sunday Night Football, beating the New York Jets 37-15.
This week, the Steelers remain at home for another primetime affair against a New York-based team. Pittsburgh hosts the New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium on Monday Night Football, and at first glance, it seems like a favorable matchup for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are riding high with a 5-2 record while New York is doing the opposite with a 2-5 record of its own. The advantage for the Steelers this week seems to be clear.
Every week, the NFL’s YouTube channel releases a preview video of each game on the upcoming slate. At the end of the video, 10 of their analysts predict the winner of the game, and the final score. This week, all 10 of the analysts picked the Steelers.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Last week, only five of the 10 analysts predicted the Steelers to take down the Jets. That was mostly due to the lingering questions at quarterback, with the decision between starting either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields remaining up in the air at the time. While that game was close for a while, Wilson eventually led the offense on its most explosive, high-scoring game of the season. With that in mind, plus the Giants’ overall ineptitude, it makes sense that Pittsburgh’s massive favorites here.
However, as we all know by now, anything can happen on any given Sunday. The Giants have been a frisky team at times. A couple of weeks ago, they defeated the Seahawks in Seattle, 29-20. They’ve also played some decent teams close this year, including the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals.
New York’s defense has quietly been solid this season. They’ve given up 149 points through seven games, the 14th-fewest in the NFL. The Giants have been especially good against the pass. New York has given up 1,256 passing yards on the season, the ninth-least in the league, and nearly 300 less than the Steelers, who have allowed 1,521. Although Wilson had a good debut with Pittsburgh last week, he can’t afford to overlook the Giants in this department.
However, the Giants’ rush defense has struggled this year. They’ve allowed 967 rushing yards, the sixth-most in the NFL. This will be an area the Steelers should, and will, attack, with Najee Harris coming off back-to-back 100-yard performances on the ground.
The Steelers’ defense should have the tastiest matchup of all on Monday Night. New York’s offense has struggled throughout the year, with a 29-point performance against Seattle remaining the Giants’ highest-scoring effort of the season. The Giants are also coming off a measly three-point showing against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.
The Giants have the potential to be a problem at times. Still, if the Steelers are serious playoff contenders, this is a game they should win easily.
