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Giants (6-2) vs Steelers (4-3)
The
Steelers had no problems dealing with Robert Griffin III and the Redskins last
week. Ben Roethlisberger led the offense to scores on each of their first four
possessions. He threw for 3 touchdowns and their defense held the NFL's top rushing
team to a season low 86 yards giving the home fans a 27-12 victory to enjoy.
It
was a wild game for the Giants last Sunday. They blew a 23-0 early lead in the
second quarter and fell behind 24-23 late in the third quarter to the Cowboys.
Lawrence Tynes fourth and fifth field goals put them up 29-24 in the fourth quarter.
That became the final score when Tony Romo's touchdown pass to Dez Bryant was
overturned with seconds left. Steelers
Offense.
Ben Roethlisberger is one of the
top quarterbacks in the NFL with a passer rating of 101.4. He's big and strong
and hard to bring down even though his offensive line grants some nice opportunities
at times. It's become even harder to sack Roethlisberger now as he's been getting
rid of the ball quicker, opting for short passes and he has completed 66.8 percent
them. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and only has three interceptions.
Tight
end Heath Miller has caught 6 of those touchdowns. Wideouts Mike Wallace and Antonio
Brown are as fast as they come. Wallace has 4 touchdown catches off 36 receptions
and 459 yards and Brown has 40 catches for 480 yards and 1 touchdown. Their top
two running backs, Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, have been sidelined with
injuries, but Jonathan Dwyer has filled in just fine. He's had two 100-yard games
in two starts and considering they weren't running the ball all that well at the
start of the season, he's a pleasant surprise. Steelers
Defense.
They are the NFL’s second-ranked
defense overall and first in the league against the pass. That could spell trouble
for the Giants considering the passing game may have stalled, dropping under 200
yards in two of the past three games. This defense has registered 12 sacks on
the year and only 1 in the past two games they've won. The Giants offensive line
is hard to crack, giving up just 7 sacks overall.
The Steelers have a strong
secondary. They'll be working without safety Troy Polamalu, but that didn't hurt
them last week against the Redskins. Cornerback Ike Taylor plays a real physical
game and he pulls a lot of defensive pass interference and holding calls. Giants
Offense.
If you look at last week's 29-24
score you're surprised to find that the offense had only one touchdown and converted
on just 3 of 13 third down plays. Eli Manning's passer rating of 58.4 was his
worst of the season. Hakeem Nicks is still dealing with foot and knee issues and
has no touchdowns in the last three games. The defensive focus is on Victor Cruz
and he had just two catches for 23 yards last week and they hit him hard enough
last week to cause an interception.
The rushing game produced over 100 yards,
but take away two long plays and the average per attempt was not that great and
was not consistent enough to sustain drives. The Steelers are a physical team
and having some success with a mix of Andre Brown and Ahmad Bradshaw early on
would be nice. David Diehl will be in the starting lineup back in his right tackle
spot instead of working in the jumbo packages as a tight end. He's had a limited
number of snaps doing that over the last three games so we expect he's at full
strength now for this change. Maybe this will help keep the line fresh, having
Sean Locklear sub in when needed. Giants
Defense.
The Steelers offensive line is
big but they have had injuries and have been shuffling positions so Jason Pierre-Paul,
Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora may be able
to get to Roethlisberger. The pass rushing group might see more running coming
at them to slow them down. Tuck has said that
the Steelers offensive line Is getting away with murder as far as holding goes
and that has created some controversy. Tuck will be going up against a rookie,
Mike Adams, who has had only two starts at right tackle.
JPP
picked off a Tony Romo pass last week and ran it in for a touchdown. His long
arm reach will be helpful if they can get a good push up front. Chase
Blackburn (hamstring) will miss this game and
Mark Herzlich will replace him. The secondary gave up a lot of yards and saved
themselves by getting turnovers last week. Roethlisberger might be looking more
downfield having seen this, but the Giants may mix things up with their three-safety
alignment, using Stevie Brown, Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle together on the
field. Overall
The Steelers may be hitting their stride, having won consecutive games for the
first time this season. As they chew through the NFC East to face the Giants this
week, they already have wins against the Eagles and Redskins. The Giants have
won four straight, but are having trouble punching the ball in from inside the
20. Settling for field goals three times worked against the Cowboys last week,
but won't win every game. The Giants might luck out as the Steelers could be off
balance having to travel and play on the same day because of the recent storm
conditions. NFC East
The Redskins (3-5) host the Panthers (1-6) in the early Sunday game at 1pm. At
8:20pm the Cowboys (3-4) take on the undefeated Falcons (7-0) in Atlanta. On Monday
night at 8:30pm the Eagles (3-4) play in New Orleans against the Saints (2-5).
The Giants and Redskins are favored to win their games. The Cowboys and Eagles
are not. From thirty two
to sixteen to six to three to two to one.
Atlanta in the NFC is the only undefeated team with a 7-0 record. 
Check out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put together.
There are some items you certainly haven't seen elsewhere, and each sale helps
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Giants DVDs
and Posters. 
TeamGiants on Twitter.Notes.
Giants have started nine seasons at 6-2 or
better with Tom Coughlin as coach.
Giants
and Steelers have combined to win four of the past seven Super Bowls. Steelers
have scored on their opening drive in five of the last six games.
Next Games
Nov 11 - Giants at Cincinnati.
Giants Tickets
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or Sell
Nov 25 - Green Bay at Giants.
Giants Tickets
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