Monday Night Football Week 8 Preview: Giants vs Steelers
New York Giants (2-5) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
- Spread: Steelers -5.5
- Over/Under: 36.5
Breakdown
The Giants have had their struggles this season and this test against a 5-2 Steelers team with a potent defense, is not going to be an easy game to get back on track with. The Giants are sticking with quarterback Daniel Jones, even though the offense has struggled a bit. Jones is averaging 206 yards a game passing but has just 6 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. Jones just signed a massive contract extension and has yet to live up to it. One of the bright spots on this Giants offense has been the rookie receiver sensation, Malik Nabers. Nabers missed 2 games due to a concussion and is still putting up some great numbers. In just 5 games played this season, he has multiple 10+ catch games and has 39 receptions in those 5 games. He is averaging 85 yards a game and has scored 3 touchdowns. The running back room got a bit of a shake-up when Devin Singletary missed a couple of games due to injury. He was having a decent season but rookie running back, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has shown flashes in his few games where he got plenty of opportunities. Tracy, in the two games of Singletary’s absence, showed great ability, rushing for 179 yards combined and recording a 57 receiving yard game.
The Steelers are off to a great 5-2 start, to many people’s surprise. Justin Fields did a good job getting the team to this point but in week 7, Russell Wilson was healthy enough to start and Head Coach Mike Tomlin gave the reigns to Wilson. Russ had a great debut game, throwing for 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no turnovers. Russ was not scared to throw the deep ball and George Pickens was the benefactor. Pickens had 5 receptions for 111 yards and a score in the matchup with the Jets. Pickens and Russ may have a great connection and that could be just what this team needs. Najee Harris has been the lead back and he has been very steady. He is 4th in the league in rush attempts and 8th in the league in rush yards, with 478 yards going into this week. This Steelers team is off to a great start and they’re favored again in this matchup.
Keys To Victory
Giants: Daniel Jones Play. Jones is off to a slow start this season, passing only for 6 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. The Steelers have a great defense so moving the chains on the ground will be pivotal to the success of the Giants offense. Jones will need to be active with his legs in this matchup against a defense that has shut teams down all season. If Jones can utilize all aspects of the offense, he has a real chance of providing good offense against a tough Steelers defense.
Steelers: Limit the Turnovers. The Steelers defense is so solid, but you don’t want them to be exerted more than they have to. If the Steelers can feed Najee and Russ can move the chains consistently, it should not take too many points to come out on top in this game.
Prop Bet Pick
Daniel Jones Over 25.5 Rushing Yards (-113)
Jones has hit this line in 3 of 7 games but had 20 rushing yards in 2 other games, putting him very close to hitting this line. The Steelers have an excellent pass rush that could see Jones being pushed from the pocket and being forced to scramble to pick up yards. Jones is a great rusher of the ball and has proven on many occasions that he is good when using his legs. With the Steelers good pash rush and solid secondary, Jones may even see designed quarterback runs to propel the offense down the field.
DFS Value Picks
Giants: Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson has been a target machine and most of the DFS platforms play with PPR scoring or at least .5 PPR scoring. In a game where it looks like the Giants will be trailing, Robinson could see plenty of targets. Robinson only has 1 game this season in which he saw less than 7 targets. He has recorded 5 or more receptions in all but 1 game this season as well.
Steelers: Chris Boswell. Boswell has been lights out recently and should see plenty of field goal opportunities again. He has only missed 1 field goal attempt this season. In his last 2 games he has made 3 and 4 field goals and scored double-digit fantasy points in both those games. Deciding on a Steelers pass catcher after George Pickens is a tough call and I expect Boswell to have a few opportunities to kick in this game.
I would recommend tight end Pat Freiermuth as the other Steelers pass catcher. He has been steady this season and could be a good target for Wilson. In his first game with Wilson, he had 51 receiving yards.
