2016 GAMEDAY 12: New York Giants

4:25pm
The House That Hines Built
TV: FOX (map)
Radio: WDVE and other affiliates

This will be just the third meeting between the Steelers and Giants in Pittsburgh since the Steelers won their first Super Bowl. The last time the Steelers beat the Giants in Pittsburgh was in 1971, losing on a Monday Night in 1991 and on the James Harrison long snap game in 2008.

What To Watch For

1. Ben Roethlisberger vs Eli Manning

Big Ben and Eli have been forever linked as members of the 2004 draft class. Both have two Super Bowl rings and this will be their fourth meeting. Interestingly, the road team has won all three of the previous games with Ben holding the advantage 2-1. Both quarterbacks have had similar seasons, with Eli throwing for 2902 yards, 20 TDs and 10 INTs and Ben throwing for 2745 yards, 23 TDs and 7 INTs. Interestingly, they are two of the lowest-sacked quarterbacks with Ben only being sacked 14 times and Eli just 13. The difference in style is that Eli loves to work the short passing game and gets the ball out fast while Ben will hold on to the ball and push it down the field.

2. Antonio Brown vs Odell Beckham

Ben and Eli also have the advantage of being able to throw to two of the best receivers in the league. Brown currently leads the league with 82 receptions and 10 TDs and is third in yardage with 998. Beckham is close behind with 915 yards and 8 TDs. Both players are capable of turning any catch into a huge gain and are a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Both players have been the centers of critique for their sometimes ridiculous, sometimes penalized, touchdown celebrations. Antonio Brown has twerked (and got penalized last week for shaking hands with Le’Veon Bell, which was a ridiculous penalty) and Odell has had an ongoing affair with a kicking net. If either one of them score tomorrow, you can bet on them doing something crazy.

3. The Pass Rush

Two weeks ago, the Steelers were next-to-last in the league in sacks. Two tames later after facing the Browns and Colts (who are 1 and 2 in the league in sacks allowed), the Steelers are back in the middle of the pack with 24. Bud Dupree returned last week against Indianapolis and should continue to see increased playing time (likely at the expense of Jarvis Jones in the rotation). Similarly, the Giants pass rush has heated up over the last few weeks with a 7-sack performance against the Browns last week. Defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon lead the way with 7 and 6 sacks respectively. While the Giants get most of their pressure from the outside, the Steelers do not have a consistent pass rusher but have been able to get sacks across the front from both their interior linemen and outside linebackers.

4. Special Teams carousel

News leaked out this week that Steelers kicker Chris Boswell was questionable for Sunday’s game with an abdominal injury. The first thought was that this would encourage Tomlin to go for two even more (and still might). The Steelers made a quick roster move, signing former Giants kicker Randy Bullock. In his 5-year NFL career, Bullock is an 80% kicker but has been shaky on long distance kicks, going just 27 for 36 (75%) on kicks from 40-49 and 5 of 11 on kicks over 50. He has also missed 4 extra points over the last two seasons since the kicks were moved back. For their part, the Giants also have a former Steelers specialist in punter Brad Wing, who is currently averaging over 47 yards per punt.

5. Playoff Races

Both the Steelers and the Giants are embroiled in tight playoff races. The Steelers are currently tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North but lost the head-to-head game so currently trail in the tiebreaker department. The Ravens face Miami at home today so the Steelers could get some help from the red hot Dolphins (who seem to be this year’s version of last year’s Chiefs). The Steelers are currently 8th in the Wild Card standings, a game behind Miami and Denver who are tied for the 6th and final playoff spot. Given the Steelers head-to-head loss to Miami, we need to keep winning in order to keep pace. Denver plays at Jacksonville who is once again looking forward to a top 5 pick. The Giants are 8-3 and currently holding down the first Wild Card spot in the NFC. They are kind of in no man’s land, a game and a half ahead of Washington (who is the second Wild Card) and two games ahead of Tampa, yet two games behind Dallas for the division lead.