The Steelers look to continue their winning ways on Monday Night Football, as they host the sputtering New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Steelers just changed their starting quarterback, and with whispers growing louder of an imminent change at QB for the Giants, the result of this matchup could have huge ramifications on Big Blue. We bring you our full betting preview below!
NFL Week 8 Preview & Betting Tips
Pittsburgh Steelers vs New York Giants
Acrisure Stadium, Tuesday 29th October, 11:15am (AEDT)
Last Week
The Steelers made the controversial decision last week to bench quarterback Justin Fields after a 4-2 start with his new team, in favour of Russell Wilson. Through the first four drives of their game last week, there were many Steelers fans who appeared upset with the move. Russell Wilson looked horrible making throws from the pocket early, missing high, low, and everywhere in between. Seemingly out of nowhere, Russ started cooking though, with deep balls to George Pickens and Calvin Austin III showing Russ still has some skills. The Steelers stormed home to beat the Jets 37-15 as home underdogs and come into this week looking to continue their push for another playoff appearance. Wilson finished with 264 yards and 2 touchdowns, whilst Najee Harris continued his breakout season, rushing for 102 yards and a score.
The less said about the Giants’ offense last week, the better, as quarterback Daniel Jones was assaulted all game by the Eagles’ pass rush, as he was sacked 8 times and hit on seemingly every drop back. The Giants managed just 105 yards in the passing game, which turned into just 43 net yards when taking into account the 8 sacks. With Andrew Thomas possibly gone for the season, this problem may not be fixable, particularly in the short term. The positive for the Giants continues to be their pass rush, with Dexter Lawrence II putting together a Defensive Player Of the Year type season, with two sacks last week bringing his total to 9 for the season, the most in the league.
Injury Report
Pittsburgh Steelers
Roman Wilson (WR) – OUT
Tyler Matakevich / Nick Herbig (LB) – OUT
Zach Frazier (C) – OUT
Dylan Cook (OT) – OUT
Cordarrelle Patterson (RB) – Doubtful
New York Giants
Andrew Thomas (OT) – OUT
Jamie Gillan (P) – OUT
Adoree Jackson (CB) – OUT
Ty Summers (LB) – OUT
Cordale Flott (CB) – Doubtful
Jermaine Eluemenor (OT) – Questionable
Tre Hawkins III (CB) – Questionable
Match Preview
The Steelers and Giants meet once every four years, with the last matchup being played in week 1 of the 2020 NFL season. The Steelers got the better of the Giants 26-16 on the road, however, as is generally the case with these sorts of results from four years ago, I take absolutely nothing from this result when making my handicap for this game.
The Steelers were 4-point favourites on the lookahead, before re-opening as 6-point favourites after last weekend’s games. This got to Steelers -7 for a moment, before being bet back on to where we now sit with the Steelers as 6-point favourites. The move from 4 to 7 is a massive move in the NFL from one week to another, and the +7 on the Giants was an obvious play. However, with it now back down to Steelers -6, I don’t see any value here, with my fair on the game Steelers -5.5. Slight value on the Giants at +6, but not enough for a play. I’m also concerned that the Giants offensive line will not be able to hold this Steelers pass rush, so no bet on the side.
As for the total, it opened 38, before re-opening at 37.5. It has been bet down to 36.5, and I fully agree with the move. Both these teams’ strengths are their pass rush and defence in general, and I can see both teams struggling to score points in this game on offense. The concern with betting the total is the high variance that both these quarterbacks play with. They are both capable of turning the ball over, and with short fields off turnovers, this total could go over. So, I’m going to back the Steelers to hold Giants under their team total, which currently sits around the 13.5/14.5 mark, depending on where you are betting. I think both are fine, and I’m of the belief the Giants will need a defensive touchdown to go over this number. With talk from Giants’ owner that Head Coach Brian Daboll’s job is safe, Daboll could well be looking towards next season. If that’s the case, don’t be surprised to see Daniel Jones hooked if things aren’t working here offensively. Whilst Drew Lock is more volatile, I don’t believe he will come out and just throw the ball all over the place, given this might be his chance to take over as QB1 for the rest of the season, he will want to play it safe.
As for a prop, I like Steelers’ running backs to have big games this week, and I also like Russell Wilson to go over his rushing yards prop (15.5). The Giants push hard to get to the quarterback, and Wilson has always been good at sensing pressure, getting out of the pocket, and scrambling for yards. But my favourite bet is the Najee Harris over rushing yards, which currently sits in the low to mid 60’s. Harris is averaging 16.5 carries per game this season, and I expect him to surpass this with a game script that will surely lend itself to the Steelers keeping things on the ground. A solid bet for Monday Night Football.
Prop Bet
Najee Harris (over) 63.5 rushing yards - $1.90 at Bet365 (1.5u)
Giants (team total) under 14.5
$1.90 (1.5 Units)
