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Giants (8-3) vs Steelers (6-5)
Last
week the Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a
fast start in Indianapolis. They held a lead throughout the game, and came away
with a 28-7 win over the Colts playing without Andrew Luck.
The Giants traveled
to Cleveland and also led throughout their game. They were able to extend their
win streak to six, which also continued Cleveland's losing streak to a record
0-12, as they lost the game, 27-13.
Giants
- Browns Wrap-Up
Pittsburgh
Steelers
Mike
Tomlin has been the head coach of the Steelers for 10 years. He's had them in
the playoffs in six of those years, which includes one Super Bowl victory. The
last time the Giants and Steelers met up was on Nov 2, 2012 at MetLife Stadium,
days after Hurricane Sandy. The Steelers couldn't get enough rooms to stay in
the area on Saturday, and needed a league travel waiver to arrive and play on
game day. Some players were sleeping in the hallways of the hotel after their
morning meetings.
As bad as it was for them, the Giants were at home all during
the storm, experiencing the damage of the flooding and power outages. Eli Manning
threw for only 125 yards, completing 10 passes out of 24 with one interception,
in one of the worst games of his career. Still, the Giants held a 20-10 lead going
into the fourth quarter, but Pittsburgh was able to come back. They came up with
two touchdowns to end a Giants four-game win streak with a 24-20 score. Pittsburgh
Steelers Offense
Drafted in the same year as Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger is one of those quarterbacks
that can make things happen on the field. Roethlisberger threw the ball only 20
times last week in Indianapolis, and three of those passes were touchdowns to
Antonio Brown. Brown caught five out of six passes, and he now leads the NFL with
82 catches, and is tied at the top with 10 touchdowns. Brown was their top receiver
last year, but the next two that followed him became unavailable for 2016. Martavis
Bryant is on a one year suspension and tight end Heath Miller retired.
They
wanted to rely on Markus Wheaton, who injured his shoulder early on, and Sammie
Coates. In the first five games Coates was hot, catching 19 passes for 421 yards
and two touchdowns, but he broke his finger during the Jets game. Coates continued
to play and broke another finger on that same hand. Roethlisberger
is an accurate passer, and though he missed on 6 of his 20 passes, three of them
were targeted to Sammie Coates, who still continues to struggle trying to come
back off the two broken fingers in his left hand.
To pick up the slack, running
back Le'Veon Bell, who has 266 rushing yards in the last two games, has 57 receptions
averaging more than 7 catches a game. Tight end Ladarius Green is also a big factor
as they continue to work the free agent back into the mix coming off his ankle,
knee and recurring headache issues. Last week his two catches, both over thirty
yards, were instrumental for touchdown drives. Pittsburgh
Steelers Defense
Last
year their strength was in their rushing defense and that has continued. Their
passing defense was near the bottom and that has improved. Overall they limit
other teams to about 20 points a game, and are the number one red zone defense
in the NFL. They have allowed just 15 red zone touchdowns on 36 red zone drives.
In the last two games they had 11 sacks in wins over the Cleveland Browns and
Indianapolis Colts, and caused four turnovers, including a fumble recovery for
a score. Last game they held solid against the Colts twice lining up
at the goal line, and surrendered no points.
This week they face Eli Manning
who has been sacked just four times while throwing
15 touchdowns in the past six games. Even though Justin
Pugh has missed nearly a month with a knee injury, and won't be available for
this game, they've done a nice job of pass-blocking. Eli Manning helps out in
that by getting rid of the ball before he can be hit, and the Giants are tied
for second in the league with just 14 sacks allowed. The Giants 31st-ranked running
game will likely do poorly against the Steelers 9th-ranked run defense, so expect
Manning to try his best hoping to connect for some big plays in the passing game. Giants
offense
The Giants have a nice 8-3 record,
only three teams in the league are better, and much of the thanks goes to their
defense. They have yet to score 30 points in a single game this season, and did
that in nearly half the games last season without Victor Cruz and Sterling Shepard.
Last week Shepard, with 44 receptions for 476 yards and five touchdowns, was virtually
ignored by Eli Manning for reasons that he was either too well covered, or that
they wanted to get Odell Beckham Jr. involved early and more frequently.
Shepard
wasn't targeted even once, and his only contribution was a 22-yard run on an end-around.
That boosted the lackluster running number for the game to over a hundred yards,
so at least they got that. Manning connected with Cruz for only one pass out of
five, and with Beckham's two touchdowns and with Dwayne Harris catching one, the
offense totaled 21 points. Jason Pierre-Paul also added six with his 43 yard forced
fumble returned for a touchdown. That all worked against an 0-12 Cleveland team,
but will it hold up against the Steelers? Giants
defense
The defense seems excited for this
game, and why not? They have been playing top notch, and know that it's thanks
to their efforts that the team is 8-3. They are allowing less than 20 points a
game, and have contributed to the offense by adding some points of their own.
This week they have to stop running back Le'Veon Bell, who is averaging 142 yards
from scrimmage in his eight games. Bell would have more than 699 yards and 57
receptions, except that he had to serve out a three-game suspension at the start
of the season. Bell is a running back, but he actually leads the NFL in yards
after catch.
Safety Landon Collins, and every Giant on the field, will have
to pay particular attention to tackling in this game, and that extends to Ben
Roethlisberger, a big quarterback who is hard to take down. That is if you can
get past his offensive line, which didn't
allow a sack last week, and created holes for 148 rushing yards. Overall
The
Steelers had some extra time to prepare for the Giants because they played on
a Thursday. They're also playing at home, another advantage. The Giants are bringing
it on defense, but still haven't proven themselves on offense, so why should they
be able to beat the Steelers on this road trip? Unless the Giants can come up
with some unexpected new wrinkle, like suddenly
utilizing tight end Will Tye more effectively,
or maybe having Odell Beckham Jr. make things
happen as a punt returner, the Steelers win this one. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 8:30pm Cowboys (10-1)
at Vikings (6-5)
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles
(5-6) at Bengals (3-7-1)
Sunday at 4:25pm Giants (8-3) at Steelers (6-5)
Sunday
at 4:25pm Redskins (6-4-1) at Cardinals (4-6-1)
The Cowboys are the only NFC
East team favored to win in these games.
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Notes.
Giants
Jason Pierre-Paul has six of the Giants 21 sacks during their six-game winning
streak.
Giants Landon Collins is the
first safety in Giants history to be named NFC Defensive Player of the Month. Giants
Janoris Jenkins is finally on a team that will finish .500 or more since he was
drafted by the Rams. Giants are one of
three teams to have all of their games within one score in the fourth quarter
this season. Steelers Ben Roethlisberger
has 15 touchdown passes, and just 2 interceptions while playing at home. Steelers
have an average margin of victory of 18.8 points.
Check out.
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On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
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DVDs and Posters.
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Next Games
Dec 11 - Cowboys at Giants.
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