The Steelers take on the Giants at the MetLife Stadium in the first of two Monday Night Football games. Who will come out on top?
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants Preview
The last time the Giants started someone not named Eli Manning to open the season as quarterback was in 2004, when Manning spent his rookie season backing up Kurt Warner. The Giants are beginning life after Eli this season, as 2019 sixth-overall pick Daniel Jones will be get his first chance to become the newest franchise quarterback for the Giants on Monday night.
On the other hand, the Steelers will have a familiar face returning as their starting quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger takes the field on Monday. Roethlisberger missed all but two games last season after suffering a tendon tear in his right elbow, but he will be the uncontested starter heading into his seventeenth (and possibly final) season.
Both the Giants and Steelers are almost universally recognized as being legendary NFL franchises, but lately both teams have struggled to find sustained success. The Giants have made the playoffs just once in the past eight seasons and have managed to win just twelve total games over their last three seasons. On the other hand, the Steelers have missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and their starting quarterback hasn’t played a single game in almost a year.
On paper this matchup is not very even at all. The Steelers defense was ranked the fifth best in football last season, and they’re taking on a rookie head coach, the 20th best offensive line in football, and a quarterback who fumbled more than any other quarterback since David Carr in 2002. While I don’t think it’s impossible for the Giants to win, especially if they can get Saquon Barkley rolling early in the game, I certainly will be avoiding any Giants bet heading into this matchup on Monday Night.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants Key Stats
- Ben Roethlisberger has an 8-7-1 record in season openers for his career.
- The Giants have not won their season opener since 2016.
- The Steelers led the NFL in sacks (54), fumble recoveries (18), and takeaways (38) last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants Betting Lines
- The O/U for this game is 46
- The Steelers are 5.5 point favorites on DraftKings
- The Steelers are -230 on the ML, Giants +200
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants Spread Prediction
I am all over the Pittsburgh Steelers covering at -5.5 and under 46 points for this game. I am a bit concerned about Roethlisberger’s ability to push the ball down the field and making the elite passes that we know him for, but between the Steelers elite defense, the playmaking abilities of James Conner, and the lack of any legitimate stopper on the Giants defensive line, the Steelers won’t have to do much to walk out of MetLife stadium with an easy win. I think both the over/under and the spread are great bets, but if I had to pick one it’d be Steelers -5.5.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants Spread Pick
Pick: Steelers -5.5 (-115 at FanDuel)
