Coming off beating the other New York team in prime time, the Pittsburgh Steelers welcome the New York Giants for Monday night football in Week 8. The Giants are left reeling after a devastating loss at home to the Eagles, putting up only three points against their division rival. It’s safe to say they are up against the odds if they are to bounce back into the win column this week. If they can do it, here are the key players in this matchup that will be vital for a win.
Key Players for the Giants
With the loss of Andrew Thomas, and replacing him with Joshua Ezeudu, the offensive line was unable to block effectively. That caused them to give up a whopping eight sacks last week after only giving up nine in the previous six games. We can’t talk about key players without mentioning the players on the OL, as winning in the trenches is key to the success of the team. Jermaine Eleumunor is going to be a key player as he is the right tackle and TJ Watt loves to play on that side of the field.
Hopefully, Eleumunor can play. Brian Daboll said this Friday that he’s hopeful he can suit up. If not, it looks like Evan Neal will be right tackle in his place, who’s been a huge disappointment up to this point in his career. Neal will be tested early and often against one of the best linebackers in the league. Let’s hope the new OL coach can showcase some development from the top draft pick.
According to Jon Runyan Jr., it looks like Josh Ezeudu will be lining up at left tackle again, so let’s hope he’ll play better than last week. He struggled throughout the game last week, and we’ll see if he can win his matchups against a top tier pass rush.
Another key player is Daniel Jones, who has been incredibly inconsistent this season. Last week showcased a low, where he only threw for 99 yards and no touchdowns; and that was against the Eagles, who haven’t been an elite defense this year. On the other hand, the Steelers have been top-8 in total yards allowed and tied for third in touchdowns allowed on the season. Jones is going to need to step it up against Pittsburgh’s tough defense.
The Steelers passing defense isn’t as stellar as their run defense, so Jones would be wise to at least attempt to lean into the passing game. He has Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Darius Slayton to rely on.
Nabers, for one, has been a top tier receiver all season. He’s already top of the league in yards per route run and is second overall in targets per route run, and he’s just a rookie getting started.
Robinson is top of the league in total targets. He has a knack for getting open in space for short yardage, which is why his yard totals aren’t top of the league but he’s still an integral part of the offense. Meanwhile, Slayton has been a reliable receiver for Jones to turn to when Nabers isn’t an option. Jones will need all his receivers in this game, especially if they can’t get anything going on the ground.
Let’s hope the Giants can get the run game going more than they did in Week 7 against the Eagles, gaining only 76 yards and the running backs only accounted for 41 yards of the total. Tyrone Tracy Jr. seems to be the lead back, getting 67 percent of the snaps compared to only 21 percent for Devin Singletary last week. If they can’t get the ground game going, they’ll need to utilize Tracy’s receiving skills out of the backfield to help alleviate some pressure off of Jones.
On defense, the team was gashed last week. New York allowed 269 yards on the ground and 114 through the air. On the season, the Giants have allowed a league high 5.3 yards per carry on rushes to the inside this season.
Per @NextGenStats, the #Giants defense has allowed a league-high 5.3 yards per carry across 55 designed rushes to the inside this season.
Of those runs, 17 went for 8+ yards. Dexter Lawrence was absent on 8 of them. Another three of those runs with Lawrence on the field had 5 or…
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) October 24, 2024
Outside of Dexter Lawrence, the Giants have had an issue with the inside linebackers stopping the run. On the bright side, they’ve allowed the eighth lowest yards per carry on rushes to the outside with 3.9, so the corners and safeties have been helpful in their defense.
The Giants did get five sacks in Week 7, still leading the league, so that at least is a positive. They’ll need to get some pressures on the quarterback if they have any shot at winning tonight’s game. Lawrence had two sacks last week and nine on the season. He will remain a big part of the game plan this week.
Being that Russell Wilson is known to be able to throw it down the field, the Giants will need their secondary to step up. Deonte Banks has had issues with effort on multiple occasions this year, and it looks like the coaching staff is taking notice. According to Pat Leonard, Bowen did leave the door open to benching him in the game for disciplinary reasons.
Bowen was asked to clarify if Banks will be starting the game. “Yeah, he’ll be playing,” he said, avoiding the word “start.” Sounds like Banks being benched at the beginning of the game may at least be on the table.
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) October 25, 2024
The secondary with Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips, Cor’Dale Flott, and company will need to step up and limit the Steelers passing attack.
Key Players for the Steelers
Mike Tomlin made the bold move and started Wilson even when they were sitting at 4-2, and it paid off. The Steelers passing attack took a leap forward with Wilson, who had 264 yards, two touchdowns, and earned a QBR of 109 in the process. George Pickens went for 111 yards on five catches, which was a season-high. Wilson will aim to air it out this game and will lean on Pickens throughout.
While the Steelers offensive line has struggled at times this season, the last couple weeks have been good for the rushing attack. Najee Harris has had back-to-back games with over 100 yards and a touchdown. On top of that, Jaylen Warren finally looks healthy. Expect both running backs to be used in this game.
The Steelers defense and their pass rush has been top of the league this year, with Watt and Alex Highsmith leading the attack. They will be getting at Jones early and often in this matchup. If the pass rush can get home, they can effectively shut down the Giants offense and lead to a win for the Black and Gold.
While their secondary hasn’t been as dominant as their pass rush, they still have key players like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joey Porter Jr. They’ll be busy with Nabers and company all game.
Keys to a Giants Victory
The Giants will need to rely on their defense to keep the Steelers out of the endzone. They will need to rely on Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, and Azeez Ojulari to get pressure on Wilson. Meanwhile, the Giants need their rushing defense to step up against Harris and Warren, and their secondary to limit Pickens. If they can keep the Steelers from scoring touchdowns, they have a shot at winning the game.
On offense, New York will need to rely on Nabers to open up the passing game and stretch the field. If Jones struggles with accuracy yet again, then they’ll need to lean into the screen game and get some yards after the catch, which Nabers can excel at. Robinson and Slayton will be needed to spread the ball around and make sure the defense can’t just key in on Nabers and shut them down entirely.
If the Giants can’t get anything going in the run game, then they will need to utilize Tracy’s dual threat ability out of the backfield and get some yards through the air. Hopefully they can use Tracy, Singletary, and even Jones to get something going on the ground. Jones has shown his willingness to run the ball and will most likely need to, given the fact that the pass rush will be in his face throughout the game.
Jones has had issues throwing touchdowns at home this season, but luckily this game isn’t at home. He will need to throw some this game to stay competitive against a team that can run up the score as showcased in Week 7.
Can the Giants get the win and turn their season around? We’ll find out Monday night.
Evan Solomon
Evan is originally from Queens, NY and grew up on Long Island, and grew to love The New York Giants being surrounded by Giants fans. He's a social media marketer and content creator by day, which is what led him to joining The League Winners creating content about something he loves - football. Keep an eye out for his fantasy content and NFL team breakdowns.