Two teams rapidly going in opposite directions meet in Pittsburgh on Monday night as the 5-2 Steelers, winners of two straight, host the New York Giants, who have lost two games in a row.
The Steelers replaced quarterback Justin Fields for last week's win over the Jets, despite him leading the team to a 4-2 start. That controversy was quickly laid to rest when Russell Wilson threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score as Pittsburgh scored 31 unanswered in a 37-15 victory.
The Giants are now 2-5 and look in disarray, having scored a combined 10 points in humbling losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals in the last two weeks. Quarterback Daniel Jones has been benched, and the team has lost tackle Andrew Thomas for the year while linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux is on injured reserve.
Pick a quarterback, any quarterback. Right now, it doesn’t seem to matter. Both Fields and Wilson have led the Steelers to more than 30 points and definitive wins the last two weeks, albeit against the lowly Jets and the Las Vegas Raiders. The Giants fit well into that classification though.
Without Thomas last week, the Giants surrendered seven sacks to the Eagles and have now allowed 22 on the season, third most in the league. That should pique the interest of the Steelers’ TJ Watt, who only has 4.5 sacks so far this season and could use this matchup as a breakout game this season.
Pittsburgh is allowing just 14.4 points per game, the second best in the league. That matches up well against a Giants team that is 30th in the league at 14.1 points per game.
The Steelers appear to be clicking in all facets on offense as running back Najee Harris surpassed 100 yards each of the past two weeks after having not done so the first five weeks of the season. He also rushed for a touchdown in each game.
The Steelers are 5-2 against the spread this season, including 2-1 ATS at home. They have also won 4-of-5 against the Giants.
Look for Pittsburgh to make that 5-of-6 and cover that six-point spread Monday night.
This is mostly an indictment of the Giants, who have played to the under in seven of their last eight games. In fact, they have totaled less than 36.5 points with their opponents in five of seven games already this season. This is just a sputtering offense right now, and the Steelers’ defense is not the opponent to get better on.
The only threat to the under is the Steelers’ newfound prowess on the offensive side of the ball.
New York is tied for 12th in the league, allowing 21.3 points a game, and the loss of Thibodeaux has been impactful. But this is also a Giants defense that leads the league with 31 sacks. Dexter Lawrence II leads the NFL with nine sacks, including six in the last three weeks. This team should do a better job slowing the Steelers’ offense down than the Jets and Raiders the past two weeks.
Look for these two teams to play under 36.5 points.
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New York Giants | +210 ML |
Pittsburgh Steelers | -260 ML |
Spread | Pit Steelers -6.0 |
Total Points | O/U 36.5 |
Malik Nabers (NY Giants) | +175 |
Devin Singletary (NY Giants) | +240 |
Tyrone Tracy Jr (NY Giants) | +300 |
Najee Harris (PIT Steelers) | -105 |
George Pickens (PIT Steelers) | +150 |
Pat Freiermuth (PIT Steelers) | +250 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.