|
Giants (2-5) Pittsburgh (5-2)
Last Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers were trailing
at the end of the half in their game with the Jets. The Steelers kept them off
the board the rest of the game, and finished with a 37-15 win.
The Giants were
no match for the Philadelphia Eagles in their game at MetLife Stadium. The home
fans were disappointed to see them take a 28-3 loss. Pittsburgh
Steelers
The Steelers have played in eight
Super Bowls, and won six of them, tying them with the New England Patriots for
the most in the NFL. Since 1969 the Steelers have had only two coaching changes.
When Chuck Noll retired after 23 years, which included 4 Super Bowl wins, Bill
Cowher took over for the next 15 years. In 2004 he led the team to a 15-1 record,
and the next season a Super Bowl win. After the following season Cowher resigned
to spend more time with his family. Mike Tomlin is now in his 18th season as the
Steelers' head coach, and inherited Ben Roethlisberger, who in his second year
was the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
With Roethlisberger's help
Tomlin become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl in his second year.
Pittsburgh lost in another two years later and they haven't been back since. Consistency
is what the Steelers favor, and Tomlin and Roethlisberger worked together, and
never had a losing season. In 2022 the Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett to replace
Roethlisberger, who had retired. That position is currently in a state of flux
in 2024, as they signed on Russell Wilson, traded Pickett to the Philadelphia
Eagles, and added Justin Fields in a trade with the Chicago Bears. Pittsburgh
Steelers Offense
Russell
Wilson couldn't play in the first six games because of a calf injury, and Justin
Fields was the starter. The team had won their first three games with Fields,
then lost the next two games by just three points in each one. Then the Steelers
were back on track with a 32-13 win over the Raiders, their highest score of the
season. They had three rushing touchdowns, Fields had two, and running back Najee
Harris had one. There were no passing touchdowns, and over these games Fields
has thrown just 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. Last week Mike Tomlin made a
quarterback switch from Justin to Wilson.
Last week in his first outing, Wilson
threw 2 touchdown passes, ran for another, and Pittsburgh scored 37 points for
a new high over these last two seasons. George Pickens led the team in receptions
and receiving yards last season, and is doing the same now, catching 31 of the
53 passes thrown his way. Last week he had 5 receptions for 111 yards, his second
most to date, and caught his first touchdown of the season. Tight end Pat Freiermuth
has been a workhorse, catching 24 receptions on 29 targets, with 12 first downs
and 2 touchdowns. Without Fields playing, running backs Harris and Jaylen Warren
each had their most carries on the season, and Harris had a 10-yard 1 touchdown
run. Pittsburgh Steelers
Defense
As expected, linebacker T.J. Watt
leads the team in sacks. Watt had 19 sacks last year and has 4.5 now. The strength
of this defense is not sacks, but pressure. Tackle Cameron Heyward had double
digit sacks the two years before last where he had just 2. Heyward suffered a
groin injury in the first game of the season, missed a number of them after that
and dealt with the issue over the rest of the season. Heyward is healthy now and
second to Watt with 3 sacks.
The two know how to bring pressure and they do
it every game. This defense was ranked sixth last year in points, allowing 19.1
a game. This year they're in second place averaging just 14.4. They're also in
second place, limiting teams to just 81 rushing yards per game. Those two items
could be hard on the Giants, who are 25th with their rushing attack and struggle
with their scoring efforts.
The secondary has Joey Porter, Jr., who was the
32nd overall pick last year. Porter had a strong rookie season, and the Steelers
traded for veteran Donte Jackson, who had 14 interceptions in his six years with
the Carolina Panthers. They may not be tested too quickly, as the Giants are coming
off their offensive line struggles last week, and may try to establish a rushing
attack to start things off. Giants
Offense
The Giants had a lot to work on
this week, as they were able to come up with only 3 points in their last outing.
The offensive line had the same five starters play in every game, and that changed
when left tackle Andrew Thomas went on IR after having foot surgery. Joshua Ezeudu,
filing in for Thomas, got off to a real poor start, and the whole offensive line
seemed to be out of sync. It was a tough spot for Ezeudu to step into against
the Philadelphia Eagles pass rushers. The Giants second and third drives were
killed on third down plays when Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith got past him for sacks.
Tight ends had to assist, limiting some play options, and Daniel Jones had to
be concerned about his blind side on every snap. Jones had limited time to throw
downfield, and took 7 sacks during the game. There was talk this week about having
Evan Neal starting at right tackle and moving Jermaine Eluemunor to the left side,
but Eluemunor is dealing with a hip issue. If he plays, it might be best having
him stay put in his usual spot, dealing with T.J. Watt who usually lines up on
that side. Giants Defense
When
it comes to sacks, these guys have been bringing it. The Giants lead the NFL with
31 sacks after seven games. The Broncos trail them by 3 sacks, and the Giants
total sack yards lost is 201 compared to 159. The Vikings have played in just
six games and have 24 sacks, but the one area they have over the Giants and Broncos
is with interceptions. The Vikings have 11, the Broncos have 5, and the Giants
only 1. If you think the Giants should ease up just a bit on the sacks and let
the quarterback throw a desperate pass into the secondary, don't put that out
to Dexter Lawrence, who now leads the NFL with a career high 9 sacks.
Not to
be ignored is Brian Burns dealing with a groin injury, who had four tackles, two
quarterback hits hits, and one sack. Azeez Ojulari also had one sack, and those
linebackers are behind Lawrence with 4 sacks each. They will be anxious to see
how much they can disrupt Russell Wilson, who has all the experience he needs,
but not yet the playing time on the field. One thing the defense will have to
be aware of is that Mike Tomlin held back on some planned plays that would involve
Justin Fields. He didn't need them last week against the Jets, but they likely
involve running plays. That's a weak area for the Giants, who are looking forward
to the day they get Kayvon Thibodeaux back off IR for their run defense.
Cornerback
Deonte Banks is responsible for covering the opposing teams top receivers, and
has done well in his second year. Banks drew some heat last week for what seemed
to be a lack of effort on his part that allowed Jalen Hurts to rush for a first
down. The Giants need to be all in to avoid their sixth loss of the season. They
need to depend on Banks, as cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson has been ruled out, Cor'Dale
Flott is doubtful, and Tre Hawkins is questionable.
Rookie cornerback Andru Phillips played well last week and could see more action
as time moves on. The presence of Justin Fields
(and therefore his rushing ability) has meant that the Steelers have been a more
effective running team than passing team this year. However, their effectiveness
on the ground remained after the switch to Russell Wilson. Overall
The
Giants are hoping to straighten out their failing season, and it won't be an easy
task this Monday night to do it in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. Do the Giants
have a shot? With the way their defense keeps them in games, they do. It's time
for their offense to step up and show they can be a competitive team in the NFL. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (4-2)
at Bengals (3-4)
Sunday at 4:25pm Bears (4-2) at Commanders (5-2)
Sunday
at 8:20pm Cowboys (3-3) at 49ers (3-4)
Monday at 8:15pm Giants (2-5) at Steelers
(5-2)
No NFC East teams are favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Next Games
Nov
3 Washington at Giants
Nov 10 Giants at Panthers (Germany)
|
