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Monday Night Football Predictions: New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers

by Mike Allen - 10/24/2024

Monday Night Football predictions for New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers Najee Harris

The New York Giants looked abysmal against their divisional rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Sunday. Daniel Jones was under an immense amount of pressure from the defensive line, and eventually, head coach Brian Daboll had mercy on the kid, pulling him in the 4th quarter.

I think the owner made a call downstairs and said, we're off the hook next year with Jones' contract, only if he's healthy. An injury to the lame-duck QB would void the team's option out. In his defense, "It" is rare, and I'm not even sure how to describe this "It". All I know is DJ does not have it. That said, he's set to start for New York on Monday night under the lights of Acrisure Stadium. Jones has one night game win in his career. Okay, we'll be here all day if I keep bashing the guy.

Conversely, the Pittsburgh Steelers have two 20-point wins in a row, including giving the Jets their worst beating of the year. The biggest news out of the Steel City isn't how the Iron Curtain handled Aaron Rodgers. Say Beanie Bishop three times fast.

What has everyone talking is the quarterback switch from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson. Mike Tomlin said this week that he was impressed by the veteran's composure after a non-fluid start. Wilson may be slower of foot, but he's far better than Fields. If Pittsburgh can protect him, watch out, because they have a Super Bowl-caliber head coach and defense.

Let’s get to the betting odds of this week’s Monday Night Football game between the Giants and the Steelers.

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New York Giants (+6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6)

This line opened at (-4) for Pittsburgh and quickly got up to (-6.5) before recently slipping back to (-6). It makes sense. I don’t see how you could bet on the Giants right now. The offense is bottom five in the league in both yards/pass and yards/rush.

Moneyline

Giants: +235

Steelers: -290

Point Spread: 36.5

We opened at 39, and you know that got bet down promptly past the key number of 37. For that reason, we have to keep walking.

Giants at Steelers Betting Analysis

The Giants have a route to victory this week. Their passing attack nor their running game are good enough to break the game open, especially against a defense like the Steelers’. Balance will be the key.

Against Seattle in their most recent win, New York threw the ball 34 times and ran it 34 times. They were highly efficient on offense. That got them the lead, and that's when this team gets stronger. The Giants' pass rush is a thing of beauty. The team leads the NFL with 31 sacks. How many would they have if the team was winning?

I can't remember the last time I've seen such an effective defensive line at getting to the quarterback. The individual athletes are elite, and the schemes/stunts are genius. If you don't want to tune in to see Jones double and triple pump his way to the bench again, watch the game just to see the Giants' pass rush wreak havoc on Wilson.

If you're the Steelers, what do you do to counter this? It's pretty simple. You run the ball with Najee Harris. The California native is healthier than he's been in years. One of the Steelers' leaders on defense, Patrick Queen, said this week that Harris was a game-changing running back. When you size him up, Harris isn't much smaller than his fellow Bama alum Derrick Henry. He's listed at 6'1 and 242, with Henry standing at 6'2" and 247, with the latter 0.12 seconds faster in the 40.

Harris was the first Steeler ever to rush for 1,000 in each of his first three seasons. The man is running with violent intent at the moment, and we know he can hurdle someone if he has to in the open field.

Targeting Harris for a rushing prop seems like the most logical answer this week. Tomlin isn't dumb. He wants to keep the ears of the defensive line flipped forward and focused on the running game. If we play Harris, we have to accept that he probably won't muster much up the middle, with Dexter Lawrence either spinning or taking up space. Their backup, Cordarelle Patterson, is still injured. That seems like the obvious play.

Heck, I want to bet on the Steelers too. Philly recorded 8 sacks on Jones’ 29 dropbacks last week. They ran the ball for 200 yards on them. New York is a mess. I’ll stick with my first instinct, though. Harris could go for 67 in each half.

Giants at Steelers Betting Pick

Najee Harris Over 67.5 Yards Rushing Yards: -137

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