New York Giants Open Week 8 as Underdogs vs. Pittsburgh

The New York Giants are back on the road for a daunting primetime matchup with the Steelers, and oddsmakers expect their struggles to continue.

Oct 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrates with running back Jaylen Warren (30) against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Following another offensive down spiral against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 28-3 loss, the New York Giants’ long streak of holding underdog odds lives on and is growing a little wider heading into Week 8. 

Per FanDuel’s opening lines, the Giants (2-5) are heading over to the Steel City as a 5.5-point underdog against the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2), who are hosting a primetime game for the second consecutive week, this time on Monday Night Football.

One of the surprisingly successful teams in the NFL through a third of the regular season, the Steelers are rolling into the meeting fresh off a dominant 37-15 rout of the New York Jets on Sunday night that notched 409 yards of offense and saw quarterback Russell Wilson return to command the starting reins. 

The team’s success hasn’t waned with their quarterback’s absence as they are enjoying a two-game winning streak to hold one of the league’s best records and have scored 24 or more points in their last three contests. 

The home advantage granted to Pittsburgh is not a shock, as their last two victories at Acrisure Stadium have come by differences of 7 and 22 points, respectively. On the other side, they are welcoming a Giants squad that has scored 15 points or less in four of their last five games and been outscored by an average of 13 points in each of their five defeats this fall. 

The matchup presents not only a tough task for the Giants on the defensive end as the Steelers average 23 points per game and are one of the best units at pounding the pigskin on the ground. 

They are also boosted by one of the stingiest defenses in football, led by All-Pro edge man T.J. Watt, that currently ranks 10th in team pass rush win rate and is holding opponents to 14.1 points, which is the same number that New York is averaging in the same span. 

While the Giants offense has fared better in games on the road in 2024, including an average of 354.6 yards and nine touchdowns in their last three trips, recent history has not been on their side in striking the endzone. 

Brian Daboll’s group has not scored in seven of their last eight quarters of football and have only achieved 10 total in comparison to the Steelers 15, eight of which come from their backfield.

There are also the franchise’s losing trends that continue in primetime affairs, as the Giants are now 23-34-1 in their evening slots, including 12-19-1 on the road and 1-15 under the guise of quarterback Daniel Jones. 

If the Giants want to be successful in this raucous road environment, their best bet could be to test the air as a means of moving the football. They have struggled with this to sit at the bottom in major passing categories, but the Steelers haven't shown themselves to be world beaters with the most opponent pass attempts and 26th passing yards allowed. 

The combined points total for the game is set at over/under 36.5 points with the Giants defense allowing 21.3 points to opposing teams in seven games, a number that rose as a result of the Eagles’ blowout. New York has finished under the total in five of those games while Pittsburgh has covered it in four straight competitions. 

The two teams have played each other a total of 78 times, with the Giants holding an impressive 44-31-3 advantage over the Steelers. The latter team has had better luck recently though, stealing five of the last six meetings with the last 26-16 victory coming in September 2020 at MetLife Stadium.

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