Analyst Makes Case for Giants' Upset Over Steelers

Iain MacMillan of Sports Illustrated gives his take as to why the Giants will beat the Steelers on Monday night.

Sep 14, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) slides as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton (28) defends during the second half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Giants have a tough road ahead in their matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, but not everyone seems to think the Giants are going to end up on the wrong end of the ledger.  

Iain MacMillan of Sports Illustrated chose the Giants as his Upset of the Week and pointed out the defense as the reason why he believes they can pull out a victory.

"My upset of the week is going to be the New York Giants taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. My belief that the Steelers aren't as good as their record is going to continue to haunt me, but let's remember this team ranks 19th in Net Yards per Play (-0.2)."

MacMillan believes the Giants defense will bring out the worst side of Russell Wilson, the side he presented as a member of the Denver Broncos. The Giants aren't strangers to Wilson, as they were able to defeat him four years ago when he was on the Seattle Seahawks.

It's a completely different team nowadays, but the Giants defense includes one of the league's best pass rushers in Dexter Lawrence II, who has a league-leading nine sacks out of the Giants’ league-leading 31. 

They've kept the team in games for the most part this season, as the offense has failed to match the production. Despite this, MacMillan still thinks the Giants' overall fight will help them come out victorious on Monday night.

"I think this Pittsburgh team is overvalued against a feisty Giants squad. I'll take a shot on New York pulling off the upset," MacMillan said.

If the season ended today, the Giants would currently hold the No.10 pick in April's draft. This isn't surprising, as they currently boast one of the league's worst offenses and seem to have no answer to improving their woes. 

Going up against a strong Steelers defense this week doesn't help either, as they're allowing just 14.4 points per game and have a talented front that should pose problems all game long.

Given the current left tackle situation, leaving Josh Ezeudu as Jones' blindside protector, things could get ugly quickly on the offensive side of the ball. This is a game where Brian Daboll is going to have to get creative in order to get the ball to his playmakers in space. 

There isn't going to be a lot of time for long-developing plays, especially with TJ Watt rushing on the other side. Utilizing quick game concepts, establishing a run game and taking advantage of opportunities when they're available are going to be the keys on offense for a Giants victory.

Also, history is unfortunately not on the Giants' side in this matchup. Quarterback Daniel Jones is 1-14 all-time in primetime games, while the Steelers currently have a 21-game home winning streak on Monday Night Football. If the Giants have any chance of winning this game, it'll need to be a perfect performance from all three phases of the game.

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